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Dear Neighbor,
I hope you are well.
Below I have listed some local and state updates.
Please contact my office if you have questions or comments about items in this newsletter.
Have a great weekend!
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Climate, Coffee and Conversation
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Join me for coffee and conversation on climate action, Thursday, August 10th at Parkside Cafe. For more information email ctlcv@ctlcv.org or call (860) 236-5442.
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New Law Brings Birth Centers to Connecticut
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A new law giving expecting mothers more access to high-quality maternal health services closer to home is going to take effect January 1, 2024. Governor Lamont signed Public Act 23-147, which will license free-standing birth centers and allow them to operate in Connecticut. These facilities will function independently and serve as an alternative to a traditional hospital for low-risk pregnancies and deliveries. I am proud to have cosponsored this bill, which the House and Senate passed unanimously during the legislative session.
Nationwide statistics find that birth centers:
- Save about $2,100 per infant mother pair
- Decreasing the number of cesarean births
- Increase vaginal births after cesarean deliveries
- Reduce preterm births
Improving equitable access to health care resources, including providers, is a positive step forward to improving maternal health in Connecticut.
You can learn more about the law here: https://rb.gy/30f1u
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Probate Court Grants Available to Help Kinship Guardians
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Connecticut Cuts Prison Population,
Keeps Crime Rate Low
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For more than 10 years, Connecticut has been a model for criminal justice reform.
Connecticut has significantly reduced its number of incarnated people, closed more than 10 prisons and kept the crime rate at its lowest level in more than 40 years. Violent crime decreased 43% from 2012 to 2021, while property crime sank 29% during the same period.
Some of the most prominent reforms to the criminal justice system include repealing the death penalty, raising the age at which juveniles could be charged as adults from 16 to 18 for most crimes, and eliminating some sentencing guidelines that affected predominantly people of color. |
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While there has been measurable and tangible progress, but we can still do more to make Connecticut's criminal justice system fairer. Our antiquated bail system, which keeps too many people incarcerated ahead of trial, is in dire need of an overhaul. We also need increased commutation and parole eligibility, narrow the racial disparity in the prison population and invest in community support, which is a cheaper and effective alternative to incarceration.
Connecticut, however, is firmly on a reform path that other states, some of which have opened, renovated, or finalized plans to build new prisons, should follow, and that I am proud to lead as House Chair of the Judiciary Committee.
For more on Connecticut's criminal justice reforms, please click on the button below to read an in-depth article from Slate. |
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Detour of Route 72: Divinity Street to
Tulip Street in Bristol
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The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) is announcing that Route 72 will be detoured between Waterbury Road and West Street (Route 69) in Bristol starting July 31, 2023. The associated detour is required to complete the reconstruction and realignment of Route 72 between Tulip Street and Divinity West Street (Route 69).
DOT Project No. 0017-0187 was awarded to Richards Corporation at a cost of $7,533,501.55 on November 15, 2022 and is scheduled to be completed November 30, 2025. This project is administered by the CTDOT, Office of Construction, District 1 in Rocky Hill.
DETOUR INFO
Route 72 will be closed between the intersections of Tulip Street and Divinity Street (just west of the West Street/Route 69 intersection) from July 31 through September 27, 2023. Traffic will be detoured onto Divinity Street and back onto Route 72 at the east and west ends of Divinity Street accordingly.
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Sincerely,
Mary Fortier
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