Anne Hughes

On the eve of the session, I want to share with you my legislative priorities, which are the following: 

• Combat federal cuts with surplus to protect services, accelerate Medicaid reimbursement rates, and support healthcare nonprofit providers
• Fund universal school meals by phasing in free breakfasts and make reduced lunch free, fund 50% of school lunch debt relief to municipalities
• Fully fund and update the formula for Education Cost Sharing Grants to towns, in the face of federal funding cuts
• Create a permanent, non-refundable, child tax credit
• Secure Mashantucket-Pequot funding for Easton, Weston, and Redding
• Reform the Department of Corrections (DOC)
  • Codify the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) into the Connecticut Statutes
  • Mandate in-person and trauma-informed training for DOC direct contact staff
  • Require independent medical oversight for inmates
  • Restore inmate programming to pre-COVID levels
  • Eliminate strip searches
• Create a tax credit for Connecticut homeowners that convert their lawns into a native wildflower meadow
• Dedicate revenue to land trust resources, environmental protections to offset the federal EPA rollbacks, rescission of environmental protections

Our mission this session: Fund our services and protect our people in this time.

Together, we have hope for a creative, better, affordable future for all of our neighbors.

I’m proud to support a proposal that would help close a long-standing infrastructure gap in South Norwalk and strengthen regional connectivity.

Along with my legislative colleagues, I signed a letter backing a $250,000 Community Investment Fund grant for the Norwalk River Valley Trail’s Woodward Avenue–Longshore Culvert Connectivity Study.

The study focuses on the southern end of the Norwalk River Valley Trail, working to better connect South Norwalk to the new 125-acre Manresa Wilds public waterfront park.

While the trail already sees strong use in other towns, this project prioritizes an area that has historically been underserved and where safe, non-motorized transportation options matter most.

The proposed study advances our state’s economic and environmental goals by investing in walkable communities, addressing mobility and environmental justice concerns, and using innovative, nature-based solutions to improve coastal resilience. Funding would support the technical planning needed to make these improvements practical, effective, and affordable.

I’m proud to stand behind it on behalf of our community!

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has announced a new 2026 Zero Carbon Request for Proposals that will seek clean, carbon-free electricity from sources like nuclear power, hydropower, solar, wind, and energy storage.

What makes this initiative especially significant is that Connecticut will be working together with other New England states—including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, and Vermont—to pool our buying power. By coordinating regionally, we can secure better deals, spread costs more fairly, and deliver savings to ratepayers.

This approach has already proven successful. A similar procurement in 2018 helped keep the Millstone Nuclear Power Plant operating at a time when nuclear facilities across the country were closing. That decision protected our region’s electric reliability and, to date, has saved Connecticut ratepayers more than $150 million. Those savings are expected to help lower certain charges on electric bills in 2026.

Looking ahead, this new RFP is designed to protect consumers from rising energy costs and future market changes, while continuing our transition to cleaner energy. It also supports new regional projects—such as solar and wind—by sharing both the benefits and the costs across state lines.

I strongly support this effort because increasing our clean energy supply, working collaboratively with our neighbors, and planning ahead are key to keeping electricity affordable and reliable for Connecticut families and businesses.

People who qualify for this Special Enrollment Period include: 

• Households with an annual income between 100% and 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), who are not already enrolled in the Covered CT Program. These people will receive a state subsidy to replace 100% of the expired federal enhanced premium tax credit amounts.
• Households with an annual income over 400% and up to 500% FPL. These people will receive a state subsidy to replace 50% of the expired federal enhanced premium tax credit amounts.  

Eligible people who have already enrolled or plan to enroll in a 2026 health plan will see a credit applied to their carrier bill.
 
It’s important to note that while customers will not see the state subsidy amount in AHCT’s online system until all updates have been made in the coming weeks, all eligible customers will soon receive a notice in the mail from AHCT with the amount of their state subsidy.

Insurance companies will send consumers updated premium bills with the credit for the state subsidy amount. This manual process will begin soon in advance of the system updates to be implemented in the coming weeks.