Kate Farrar

The Governor is directing U.S. and state flags in Connecticut to be lowered to half-staff in honor of the two Bristol police officers who were shot and killed in the line of duty Wednesday evening. 

My heart goes out to the families, friends, and colleagues of the Bristol police officers who were senselessly killed and the officer who was seriously injured while responding to an emergency call of domestic violence. This tragedy highlights the risks our law enforcement officers take each day they report for duty to protect our communities. These officers are heroes. 

This session, I was proud to champion a law that will provide free menstrual products at school so no one needs to choose between their education and these essential products. Our work in the Connecticut General Assembly should continue to build upon this and recent efforts to serve as a national and global model on how we can remove the barriers girls face to fully thrive.

Individuals who work in licensed centers, group childcare homes, and family child care homes, as well as license-exempt programs that receive school readiness or child day care contract funds are eligible for this bonus.

Childcare program operators will be required to apply for the funds and then disburse the payments to their childcare staff. The Connecticut Office of Early Childhood will contact eligible childcare programs and provide them with additional information. Click here to learn more.

In recent years, our state has implemented a number of reforms to provide more support and protection to domestic violence victims and survivors. Among these is a 2021 law that expanded the definition of domestic violence to include coercive control. Coercive control is a pattern or behavior that can use threatening, intimidation, or exploitation to trap individuals in abusive relationships.

This expanded definition recognizes intimate partner violence can be more than physical abuse – it can take shape as emotional, psychological, and sexual abuse. This measure will help make the process of filing for restraining orders, divorce, child custody, and other family court matters easier for victims and survivors. It would also create a new legal aid program to provide legal representation for victims and survivors of domestic violence.
 
To support and help victims and survivors of domestic violence visit CTSafeConnect.org or call or text (888) 774-2900. Help is available 24/7. 

In addition, as a result of a law we passed this session, more voters will be eligible to apply for an absentee ballot. Voters are eligible to vote by absentee ballot if:

• they are unable to go to their polling place on Election Day because of absence from their town for a period of time on Election Day;
• because of a sickness; or
• because of a disability.

The new, expanded eligibility includes voters who are unable to go to their polling place because of a sickness or physical disability of another person, or because of the continued presence of a sickness, such as the COVID-19 virus.
 
Click here for more information.

In addition to this initiative, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong will appoint a new Special Counsel for Reproductive Rights to lead the Office of the Attorney General in protecting abortion access and reproductive care in Connecticut and nationally. The Attorney General also released a legal overview and analysis of abortion law in our state, a Know Your Rights Flyer, and frequently asked questions.

These efforts build upon Connecticut's recent work to safeguard access to abortion care and reproductive freedom in our state. This session, I proudly supported a law that establishes protections for those seeking abortions and those who provide these services. The law also protects medical privacy for those seeking and providing abortion care, and expands eligibility to perform abortion care to include advanced nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, and physician assistants. 

Sincerely,

Kate Farrar
State Representative
she/her/hers