Rachel Khanna

In the legislative session that just ended, we passed several bills to support seniors throughout the state. 
 
First, in the budget, we smoothed the retirement tax cliff. The budget gradually reduces the amount of pension, annuity, and IRA income a taxpayer may deduct until the exemption fully phases out at $100,000 ($150,000 for joint filers). 
 
In addition, in House Bill 5781, we:

• Established a new coordinator of state services for people with neurodegenerative disorders or diseases 
• Strengthened patient's involvement in their homemaker care plans and streamlined the process for filing complaints
• Expanded eligibility for seniors to participate in adult day services (serving those with early onset dementia)
• Required homemaker companion companies to provide notice to their clients before they abruptly close and prohibited any increases in rates without at least 60-day notice

In other important legislation, we:

• Expanded Medicaid coverage for services like primary healthcare, physical therapy, and meals (House Bill 6677)
• Increased funding for elderly nutrition and Meals on Wheels (House Bill 6941)
• And, importantly, to help shield our older residents from being victimized, we passed P.A. 23-161, AN ACT CONCERNING FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION OF SENIOR CITIZENS. Starting July 1, 2024, banks and credit unions will have the power to temporarily suspend or hold transactions involving an account of an adult over the age of 60 if there is a reasonable suspicion of financial exploitation for up to 45 days.

 These bills will ensure that our seniors receive the quality-of-life services and care they need and deserve, as well as address their financial security. 

On Wednesday, July 26, the Greenwich House Delegation visited Camp Seton in Greenwich to celebrate funds secured through the Department of Economic and Community Development. The plan is to remediate the damage done to one of the bridges by Hurricane Ida. Scouting helps youth develop many skills that help them in their adult lives. These funds will allow Greenwich Scouting to continue to serve youth from Greenwich and surrounding towns.

To read more about it in the Greenwich Free Press, click HERE. 

On Friday, July 28, the Greenwich Delegation hosted the Commissioner of the Department of Revenue Services and our infrastructure czar, Mark Boughton in Greenwich. We visited three sites: the dam near 200 Pemberwick Road; the Town/NYSDOT portion of the Byram River Flood Study Project/Route 1 Bridge replacement (east/west); and the Holly Hill Resource Recovery Facility.

I thank Commissioner Boughton for taking the time to visit Greenwich. While this is just a first step in the process, I'm pleased with the progress made to identify potential projects in Greenwich that would benefit from the infrastructure grants, so that we can make necessary capital improvements.

To read more about it in the Greenwich Time, click HERE. 

It was an honor and pleasure to learn about the Back-to-School Shop program at the 9^th Annual Back-to-School Shop event in Stamford on July 31. The program provides about 400 elementary school children from Stamford Elementary with the opportunity to shop for brand-new clothing (coats, sneakers, pants, shirts, underwear, hats, and gloves) backpacks, and school supplies. The children are assisted by volunteer “personal shoppers” while the parents have an opportunity to meet with local agencies in the Japha Family Resource Center to discuss important services that may be available to them. The work that the Back to School Shop does is so important in giving children the tools and self-confidence critical for their success.

• Getting Back to School Sleep Schedules Back on Track - by Dr. Lynelle Schneeberg, Director of the Connecticut Children’s Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program
• 6 Ways to Raise Children with a Growth Mindset - by Dr. Preeti Sandhu, Pediatric Psychologist
• Backpack Wearing Do’s and Don’ts - by Dr. Philip Mack, Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon

• Benefits will be deposited onto existing SNAP EBT cards on August 13, 2023, to over 42,635 households (57,313 eligible children) who were under age 6 and receiving SNAP benefits from DSS between September 1, 2022, and May 11, 2023.
• The one-time additional benefit is $172.72 per child who received SNAP benefits for the entire covered period.
• Children who did not receive SNAP benefits for the entire covered period will receive a lower, pro-rated amount of P-EBT benefits.
• Families do not need to apply for P-EBT benefits, all eligible families will automatically receive additional benefits. 

Benefits can be used at any location that accepts SNAP/EBT cards, including farmers' markets and direct market farms. P-EBT participants also have access to eligible food purchases online through delivery or curbside pickup at participating retailers. Additional information is available here.

DSS received information from CSDE to implement the P-EBT Child Care plan, which was approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service. The P-EBT Child Care SNAP funding was authorized by the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act, with additional amendments made in the Continuing Appropriations Act and Other Extensions Act of 2021, as well as the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.
 
Additional Resources:

• The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) can help you stretch your food budget further. Click here to learn more and apply.
• All children up to 5 years old receiving SNAP benefits are also eligible for FREE Head Start/Early Head Start programming that develops early learning skills, healthy lifestyles, language skills, and literacy skills. Click here to learn more and apply.

In 2019, the legislature passed and Governor Lamont signed P.A. 19-25 into law, creating CT Paid Leave, and employee payroll contributions began in 2021. One year later, on January 1, 2022, benefit payments began for qualified applicants.

Families in Connecticut shouldn't have to worry about whether they can balance taking care of family needs or paying the bills. With this program, both can happen, as it offers partial income replacement benefits.

What qualifies for eligible leave?

• Parental bonding - the birth of an employee's child or placement of an adopted or foster child with the employee
• Serious health conditions - for the employee or a family member of the employee
• Donors - to serve as an organ or bone marrow donor
• Armed Forces - for family members in the armed forces undergoing treatment for an injury or illness incurred in the line of duty or being deployed to a foreign country
• Family violence - for family violence victims to seek medical care or counseling, obtain services from a victim services organization, relocate because of family violence, or participate in civil or criminal proceedings related to the family

Connecticut should be proud of its paid leave program. It is held up as a national model for other states to emulate. 

• CT Legal Services: 1-800-453-3320 
• Office of Consumer Protection: 1-800-842-2649 
• CT Healthcare Advocate: 1-866-466-4446 
• Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA): 1-800-382-4586 
• Medicare Hotline: 1-800-633-4227 
• Care-4-Kids: 1-888-214-5437 
• CT SNAP Program: 1-855-626-6632 
• Veteran's Benefits and Information: 1-860- 616-3600 
• CT Pharmaceutical Assistance Program: 1- 800-423-5026 
• Infoline: 211 

This is a SCAM. Hang up the phone and block the number if you can.