Funding for Senior Citizens

June 2, 2023


The House of Representatives is meeting nearly every day between now and June 7, when the legislative session comes to an end. We are amending, debating, and voting on a series of bills that would make our community and state a better place to live.
Please read below for highlights on this week's session days, the start of Pride Month, community events, and so much more.

You can click on any of the links above to jump to that section of the email. I hope that you find these resources helpful.

 
Celebrating Pride Month
Happy Pride Month! My colleagues and I celebrated with a special ceremony outside the State Capitol on Thursday including a Pride flag raising. We also paid tribute to our LGBTIQA+ community all over Connecticut.
Pride is all about joyfully celebrating the contributions of the LGBTIQA+ community and recognizing their impact on our history locally, nationally, and internationally. Pride month encourages greater acceptance and support for all youth making communities, schools, and other settings safer, better places for everyone.
 
Memorial Day Weekend
We remembered our service members who paid the ultimate sacrifice over the Memorial Day Weekend. I attended a formal ceremony on Friday night paying tribute to those service men and women who passed this year in Derby and Shelton.
We also honored the Grand Marshal Gary Parker and Chief of Staff Dennis Salzer at the Derby-Shelton Memorial Day Parade. Thank you for the chance to honor those we have lost who defended our country.
We had beautiful weather for the Memorial Day Ceremony in Woodbridge. The community showed its patriotism as we remembered our fallen heroes.
We also paid our respects at the Memorial Day Parade in Orange. I am grateful for everyone who is responsible for organizing and those who attended these touching events.
Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the Hamden Memorial Day Parade, which I heard was a wonderful event. I had already committed to the Woodbridge ceremony, which was scheduled at the same time. Thank you to everyone who attended any event and paid your respect to the service members we have lost.
 
May 30 Session Highlights
We are addressing and expanding vital services to our Intellectually, Developmentally Disabled (IDD) population with HB 5001 by connecting people with the programs they need and qualify for.
High schoolers should be financially literate. SB 1165 provides an educational path for students to learn how to manage money and debt so they can have a brighter financial future.
Speaking of finances and education, under SB 922, Connecticut higher education institutions can no longer withhold transcripts as a means to collect debt.
I reintroduced my bill aimed at protecting our kids from online abuse and exploitation this year and was grateful that the Judiciary Committee took it up in the form of HB 6737. This bill establishes a crime for anyone 25 and older who is involved with harmful communication with a minor and modernizes our state statutes and laws to hold predatory adults accountable for engaging in manipulative and inappropriate behavior with children, especially online.

The bill had bipartisan support with at a vote of 150-0. It now will move onto the Senate where it will hopefully be called and passed. I would like to specifically thank Rep. Pat Callahan from the 108th district for his continued partnership in this work. Please watch my remarks below as I break down the importance of this proposal for our children.

HB 6737 protects our children.
 
June 1 Session Highlights
Students should not have to choose between their education and their reproductive health. The House of Representatives passed SB 1108, which requires the Board of Regents for Higher Education and the UConn Board of Trustees to establish a plan for providing reproductive health care services to students living on residential campuses.
Connecticut is the fifth-highest student debt holder in the nation. HB 6901, which I cosponsored, establishes a program to reimburse some student loan payments for certain Connecticut residents and incentivizes them to stay in our state. cosponsor
Intimate partner violence is a leading contributor to death during pregnancy. HB 6599 requires birthing hospitals and healthcare providers to hand out educational materials to pregnant and postpartum patients on intimate partner violence.
HB 6762 includes provisions for early childhood education, special education, audits of state and local testing requirements, a Multilingual Learners Bill of Rights, and the establishment of task force to study and develop strategies to improve and promote civic engagement and instruction on civics, citizenship, and media literacy.
HB 6796 expands on legislation we passed last year to prevent the theft of catalytic converters by allowing the sharing of information among law enforcement units in other states, creating a uniform approach to the sales and penalty for the theft of a catalytic converter and establishing a task force to further study how to deter these thefts.
The reality is some people witness traumatic incidents on the job. SB 913 expands coverage to make all employees eligible for workers' compensation coverage for post-traumatic stress injuries.
SB 956 requires written hospital and nursing home discharge plans for patients, to include the date and location of each follow up medical appointment and a list of medications the patient is taking.
 
In The News
Milford-Orange Times: June 1, 2023 Issue

Scroll down to page 7 to read my take on the child internet usage.

Minimum Wage Hits $15
Connecticut’s minimum wage hit $15 per hour on Thursday, June 1. Connecticut House Democrats made it a priority to pass legislation that focused on assisting working families by increasing the minimum wage over several years until it reached $15 this week.
The Connecticut Department of Labor and Connecticut Voices for Children estimate those increases will raise wages for more than half a million people in the state by 2024. This increase can spur local economies by putting more money in people's pockets, which drives up spending power and makes it easier to pay household bills.
 
Funding For Senior Citizens 
Connecticut has been awarded $10 million in state funding from the American Rescue Plan to upgrade and enhance our senior centers. $9 million of this funding will be distributed to municipalities, which can use the funding to support upgrades at their local senior centers through:
  • Facility improvements, which can cover a variety of capital improvements, including air and HVAC systems, lighting, accessibility features, vehicle acquisition, maintenance, and repurposing
  • Programming, which can include the acquisition of program registration software, web design renovation capability, extended senior center hours, special or focused entertainment or programming, while also encompassing expanded staff hours to support those programs, when applicable.
The Connecticut Department of Aging and Disability Services will use the remaining funds to support its statewide senior center activities.

CLICK HERE to learn more.

 
Derby Events Calendar
To see whats going on in Derby, please click the button below to access the community calendar.
Derby Community Calendar
 
Upcoming Events in Hamden
Take a look at the fliers below to learn about upcoming events in Hamden:
More Hamden Events
 
Orange Events and Community Calendar
Take a look at the fliers below to learn about upcoming events in Orange. Be sure to click the button below to access the community calendar.
Orange Community Calendar
 
Woodbridge Events and Community Calendar
 Click on the event below to learn more about a fun musical performance and be sure to explore the community calendar by clicking the button below.
Woodbridge Community Calendar