Mary Welander

Before I was elected State Representative, I had the life changing opportunity to be a part of Sandy Hook Promise and served as the first Connecticut Promise Leader Ambassador.

Eleven years after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, it is still my privilege to work to try and make our communities safer. Saying the names of those who were taken that day and remembering their families and loved ones is an honor.

Even as horrific gun violence continues across our country, it is all our responsibility to work toward not one more family or community experiencing this devastating loss.

• 424,000 Connecticut households cannot afford home energy costs
• The affordability gap increased 37% (from $440 million to $608 million)
• Housing, transportation, and energy costs have increased during the past three years
• Water rates have risen faster than inflation and other utility costs in the past 20 years

Absent additional federal funding, we need to have a legislative discussion in Connecticut to ensure people get what they need in terms of energy and heat assistance. We must do everything in our power to provide relief on their bills. No one should be living in the cold.

Operation Fuel’s Winter/Spring energy assistance program is scheduled to open on January 8, 2024. Water assistance is available year-round, as funding allows. 

New year, new wage! The state's minimum wage of $15 will increase to $15.69 on January 1, 2024, as part of Connecticut’s first-ever economic indicator adjustment. 

This increase was made possible thanks to legislation passed in 2019, which implemented five incremental increases in the minimum wage between 2019 and 2023, followed by future adjustments that are tied to the percentage change in the federal employment cost index.

Beginning on January 1, 2024, and occurring annually each January 1, the state’s minimum wage will be adjusted according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s calculation of the employment cost index for the 12-month period ending on June 30 of the preceding year. The law requires the Connecticut Department of Labor to review this percentage change and then announce any adjustments by October 15 of each year. The minimum wage adjustments become effective on the next January 1.

Providing livable wages to the lowest-earning workers is a step in the right direction to help them make ends meet and provide for their families. This increase not only assists hard-working Connecticut families, but it 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. Approximately 60% of minimum-wage earners in Connecticut are women, according to the Current Population Survey, calculated by the US. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Everyone deserves the opportunity to support themselves by earning a livable wage through their work, but too many are not able to do so. This change won't eliminate that problem, but it is a small step in the right direction.