Legislative & Local Updates for the Week Ending February 10, 2023

February 14, 2023
This week, I had the honor of testifying at two public hearings in favor of two bills that I sponsored. 

SB937 is An Act Providing Workers’ Compensation Benefits for Certain Cancers in Firefighters. Firefighters put their lives at risk to protect our own. Not only do they expose themselves to burning buildings, but also to toxic chemicals. It is our duty to look after their long-term health and wellbeing. Yet, too often, firefighters can’t get the disability pay they need because of how difficult it is to prove that their diseases are job-related. 

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recently found that firefighters face a 9 percent increase in cancer diagnoses, and a 14 percent increase in cancer-related deaths compared to the general population. Furthermore, in 2022, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) declared firefighting a cancer-causing profession.
 
As of 2022, federal firefighters will for the first time automatically qualify for compensation benefits when they are diagnosed with certain types of cancer. It is time for Connecticut to join 38 other states in expanding cancer coverage for our firefighters.
 
 
A second bill I sponsored focuses on addressing our labor shortage in order to keep our economy growing. HB5441 is an Act Concerning College Graduates who Work in the Fields of Education or Healthcare in the State. The CT Business and Industry Association has pointed to how our shrinking population constrains our ability to spur economic growth. Currently, there are over 100,000 open jobs in CT that employers are struggling to fill.
 
Being able to retain and attract residents to the state requires that we provide key quality of life services like education and healthcare. Yet it is in these sectors that we are encountering a critical labor shortage. My bill aims to build public-private partnerships with nursing and teaching institutions in order to increase the number of people enrolling in these programs, and then keeping graduates in our state. 
 
 
 
Securing Funds for Our Students
On Thursday, I spoke in the House Chamber in favor of using ARPA funds to ensure access to free school lunches for the rest of the school year.
Yesterday, we secured funding to invest in Connecticut's students.

By utilizing $60 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, we are able to ensure every child in Connecticut can access free school lunches for the remainder of the school year. Equitable access to proper nutrition in school is necessary to support a child's ability to learn and thrive.

My comments in the House Chamber regarding free lunch made the pages of the Stamford Advocate.

I am also proud to have been able to deliver an additional $257,951 for Greenwich's and $859,173 for Stamford's special education funding needs, ensuring that all committed funding increases were provided to our district.
 

Keeping Connecticut Moving Forward
On Thursday, we voted to extend the fiscal guardrails that have allowed the state to cut taxes, invest in families and the economy, pay down debt, and save for the future.

Thanks to our work, we have:

  • Cut over $650 million in taxes
  • Paid off billions in pension debt
  • Invested in preschool education and children's mental health programs
We accomplished this while maintaining record savings for our rainy-day fund to continue our efforts for a fiscally responsible future.

This fiscal year, we will continue to cut taxes for working families, reduce debt levels, save for the future, and most importantly continue our commitment to invest in our communities.
 
Governor Lamont Presents Two-Year Budget 
On Wednesday, Governor Lamont presented his budget for the 2024-2025 biennium to the General Assembly. You can watch his presentation here. I am reviewing the budget proposal and as a member of the Appropriations Committee, I look forward to public hearings and public comment.
 
Below the Belt Screening 
To highlight the work of the legislature's Endometriosis Working Group, and to help raise awareness of this debilitating disease, the EWG will be hosting an advanced screening of an upcoming documentary, "Below the Belt." The screening will take place Tuesday, March 7, from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at The Jackson Laboratory in Farmington. Following the screening, there will be a panel discussion with providers, patients, and policymakers. The event is open to the public. We hope you'll attend!
 
Scholarship Opportunities
I want to alert constituents to a scholarship opportunity. The deadline for this scholarship is March 3.

Spectrum Scholars is an educational program for eligible college juniors with financial need who identify as Asian/Pacific Islander, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino or Native American. The annual scholarship program awards 20 college students $20,000 each, half during their junior year and half during their senior year.

To learn more about it, click HERE. 
 
 

Events in the District
The Ferguson Library in Stamford welcomes broadcaster and author Alvin Hall as he takes his audience on a journey through America's haunted racial past, discussing his new memoir, Driving the Green Book: A Road Trip Through the Living History of Black Resistance. Hall will describe his travels using The Negro Motorist Green Book, the definitive guide to businesses where Black travelers could safely rest, eat and sleep from 1936 to 1967.
 
The conversation will be moderated by Hall's fellow traveler, Janée Woods Weber, a social justice activist and trainer.
 
In 2019, Hall set out to revisit the world of the Green Book during a 12-day 2,000-mile trip from Detroit to New Orleans accompanied by Woods Weber, visiting motels, restaurants, shops, and stores where Black Americans once found a friendly welcome in the Jim Crow era South.
 
This program is one of several Black History Month events being held at the library throughout February.

Hall is an award-winning television and radio broadcaster, author, political activist and financial educator. His numerous BBC radio programs include The Tulsa Tragedy that Shamed America, The Green Book, and Jay-Z: From Brooklyn to the Board Room. For five years he hosted the highly rated and award-winning BBC series Your Money or Your Life. He lives in New York City.
 
This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Monday, February 27
6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Main Library, DiMattia Building
Dudley N. Williams, Jr. Auditorium
REGISTER HERE