Capitol News from State Senator Mary Ann Handley

September 2009 Issue

Capitol address
Legislative Office Building
Room 3200
Hartford, CT 06106-1595

E-mail
Handley@senatedems.ct.gov

On the Web
www.SenatorHandley.cga.ct.gov

Phone
Capitol: 860-240-0441
Toll-free: 1-800-842-1420

SENIOR CENTER TALKS

I will be discussing new state laws that benefit seniors when I visit various senior centers later this month:

Manchester Senior Center
September 17, 1 — 2 PM

Marlborough Senior Center
September 18, 11:30 AM — 1:30 PM

Bolton Senior Center
with special guest Senator Edith Prague
September 30, 1:15 — 2 PM

Senator Handley’s Biennial
4th DISTRICT SENIOR FAIR
October 16, 11 AM — 2 PM
Manchester Community College
Food and drinks provided
*Flu Shots*

Connecticut’s New Biennial State Budget

Connecticut Budget We have a budget! On September 1, the legislature passed a two-year, $37.6 billion budget that Governor Rell is allowing to become law. Like most other states, Connecticut had to resort to a fiscally responsible mix of budget cuts, tax hikes and borrowing in order to meet our citizens’ needs.

I and my Democratic colleagues fought hard to protect a variety of valuable public services from the governor’s budget knife, such as LifeStar, school-based health clinics, public library funding, business tax credits, senior health care and other programs.

Perhaps best of all, Connecticut has finally achieved some small measure of progressivity in its income tax structure with the governor’s institution of a new 6.5 percent tax rate on individual incomes over $500,000 and joint incomes over $1 million.

A Tale of Two Outstanding Connecticut Sisters

In addition to my visits to area senior centers to discuss legislative issues, I will also be giving a historical talk at the Glastonbury Senior Center on September 16 from Noon until 1 p.m. about two outstanding Connecticut women: Edith and Alice Hamilton. Edith and Alice were sisters from New London who rose to great prominence in their respective disciplines at the turn of the 20th century. Edith Hamilton was a classical scholar whose translations of Homer and other classical works became the standard for the next century. Alice Hamilton was a medical doctor who pioneered the discipline that we now call ‘industrial hygiene.’ Alice’s work was a precursor to the eventual development of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the workplace safety standards it enforces. If you have the time, please stop by to hear their story!

Protecting Students From Predatory Credit Card Lenders

student with credit card For many years, salespeople representing banks have solicited students on Connecticut’s college campuses with applications for lines of credit and enticing credit cards, seeking to prey upon the inexperience of first-time credit card users and their unfamiliarity with the consequences of bad credit. They offer incentives to lure first-time borrowers, then turn around and charge high interest rates, citing a lack of credit history.

To protect our public college students from going into debt and building negative credit histories, I supported legislation this year that requires solicitors to register, bans enticements at intercollegiate athletic events, requires parental notification and indemnifies parents from liability for student debt. The new law also requires that formal debt education be provided for students and prohibits schools, university foundations and alumni associations from giving student information to credit card companies without first notifying the student.

Cutting the Cost of Prescription Drugs

Two pieces of legislation were passed this year that have the potential to lower prescription drug costs — especially for seniors — and to save the state and its taxpayers some significant sums of money.

prescription bottle Millions of Americans lack adequate health care coverage for prescription drugs, and government programs — Medicare, Medicaid and Conn PACE — attempt to address this issue. To help fund these programs, Connecticut receives rebates from participating drug manufacturers. The legislature passed a new law requiring these rebates to be equal under all of these programs, thus increasing revenues for the state and helping to lower the cost of these public health-care programs.

Connecticut also spends hundreds of millions of dollars on prescription drugs for senior citizens, people with disabilities, low-income families with children, and state employees. Currently, Connecticut has no process to ensure that we are purchasing these drugs at the most cost-effective rate. That’s why I co-sponsored a law that requires the state to develop a plan for the bulk purchase of pharmaceuticals. Developing and implementing such a plan will ensure that taxpayer dollars are being spent efficiently on prescription drugs.