Month: May 2018

Flexer Leads Final Passage of Bill Protecting 10 Essential Health Benefits for Women

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Flexer Leads Final Passage of Bill Protecting 10 Essential Health Benefits for Women

Senator Mae Flexer (D-Danielson) last night stood up against attacks on healthcare from Republicans in Washington, DC and led final passage of legislation that protects and expands mandated health benefits for women, children and adolescents in Connecticut.

House Bill 5210 passed the Senate 34-2 and ensures that insurance policies offered in Connecticut must cover the “10 Essential Health Benefits” protected in the federal Affordable Care Act.

These benefits include:

  • outpatient care
  • trips to the emergency room
  • prenatal care and ongoing care for the baby throughout its childhood
  • prescription medicine
  • lab tests
  • mental health services
  • substance use disorder services.

House bill 5210 also preserves women’s access to contraception with no out of pocket cost—even if the Trump administration ever succeeds in killing “Obamacare.”

“Connecticut must stand up against attacks from Washington, DC on the healthcare women in our state rely on,” said Sen. Flexer. “This legislation protects and expands upon women’s access to basic healthcare for themselves and their children. It also aims to end the healthcare disparity that results in less access to care and higher rates of maternal mortality in underserved communities, and it protects the ten essential health benefits that provide everyone in our state with access to basic, preventive healthcare access. With the passage of this legislation, Connecticut has stood up to those who would strip away health care from our residents. ”

The bill, which previously passed the House 114-32, now heads to Governor Dannel P. Malloy’s desk for his signature.

Sen. Larson Votes to Pass Bill Banning Bump Stocks

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Sen. Larson Votes to Pass Bill Banning Bump Stocks

Rapid-fire devices can turn semi-automatic weapons into fully automatic machine guns

HARTFORD, CT – Democrats in the State Senate today led passage of critical public safety legislation banning bump stocks which can turn semi-automatic weapons into automatic weapons. Bump stocks are devices that transform the firing mechanism of a semi-automatic weapon into a weapon that fires like a fully automatic weapon; a bump stock was used in the Las Vegas shooting, where the shooter was able to fire an estimated 90 shots in 10 seconds. It also makes the weapon less accurate.

“These bump stocks allow regular firearms to mimic automatic fire which means that once that trigger is pulled and held, that weapon will fire on, and on, and on, and on, and on until the trigger is released or it runs out of ammunition,” said Senator Tim Larson (D-East Hartford). “This serves no purpose for hunting or protection and should be banned in order to make our communities safer.”

HB 5542, An Act Concerning Bump Stocks and Other Means of Enhancing the Rate of Fire of a Firearm, generally makes it a class D felony for anyone, except a licensed firearms manufacturer fulfilling a military contract, to sell, offer to sell, otherwise transfer, or offer to transfer, purchase, possess, use, or manufacture a “rate of fire enhancement” (e.g., a bump stock). By law, a class D felony is punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine up to $5,000, or both.

Massachusetts, California, Washington, Vermont, New Jersey, and Florida have already passed laws banning bump stocks and other rapid-fire devices.

New Haven Senators Vote to Pass Bill Banning Bump Stocks

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New Haven Senators Vote to Pass Bill Banning Bump Stocks

Rapid-fire devices can turn semi-automatic weapons into fully automatic machine guns

HARTFORD, CT – Democrats in the State Senate today led passage of critical public safety legislation banning bump stocks which can turn semi-automatic weapons into automatic weapons. Bump stocks are devices that transform the firing mechanism of a semi-automatic weapon into a weapon that fires like a fully automatic weapon; a bump stock was used in the Las Vegas shooting, where the shooter was able to fire an estimated 90 shots in 10 seconds. It also makes the weapon less accurate.

“Semi-automatic weapons with a bump stock device have been used in a mass shooting where clearly accuracy was not an important criterion to the shooter,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven).  “There is no legitimate reason why bump stocks should be owned or sold in our state. They have no legitimate use in civilian life.”

“The Vegas shooter left 58 people dead and was also able to injure hundreds more just by tacking on one of these bump stocks to his weapon,” said Senator Gary Winfield (D-New Haven). “No average citizen should be able to walk around our communities with that kind of ammunition.”

HB 5542, An Act Concerning Bump Stocks and Other Means of Enhancing the Rate of Fire of a Firearm, generally makes it a class D felony for anyone, except a licensed firearms manufacturer fulfilling a military contract, to sell, offer to sell, otherwise transfer, or offer to transfer, purchase, possess, use, or manufacture a “rate of fire enhancement” (e.g., a bump stock). By law, a class D felony is punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine up to $5,000, or both.

Massachusetts, California, Washington, Vermont, New Jersey, and Florida have already passed laws banning bump stocks and other rapid-fire devices.

Bridgeport Senators Vote to Pass Bill Banning Bump Stocks

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Bridgeport Senators Vote to Pass Bill Banning Bump Stocks

Rapid-fire devices can turn semi-automatic weapons into fully automatic machine guns

HARTFORD, CT – Democrats in the State Senate today led passage of critical public safety legislation banning bump stocks which can turn semi-automatic weapons into automatic weapons. Bump stocks are devices that transform the firing mechanism of a semi-automatic weapon into a weapon that fires like a fully automatic weapon; a bump stock was used in the Las Vegas shooting, where the shooter was able to fire an estimated 90 shots in 10 seconds. It also makes the weapon less accurate.

“Banning these bump stocks will move us closer to making our state a safe place where people want to raise their children,” Senator Marilyn Moore (D-Bridgeport) said. “In the 22nd Senatorial District, we felt the pain of our neighbors in Newtown in 2012, and we know the damage that can be done using these automatic-style weapons. It’s harmful to families and the communities they live in.”

“Too many lives across the country, including the 58 lives in the tragic Las Vegas shooting, have been lost to these types of weapons,” said Senator Ed Gomes (D-Bridgeport). “These bump stocks, which make it easier to fire rounds quickly from a semi-automatic weapon, have no place in our society. Banning them is the right thing to do to make our communities safer.”

HB 5542, An Act Concerning Bump Stocks and Other Means of Enhancing the Rate of Fire of a Firearm, generally makes it a class D felony for anyone, except a licensed firearms manufacturer fulfilling a military contract, to sell, offer to sell, otherwise transfer, or offer to transfer, purchase, possess, use, or manufacture a “rate of fire enhancement” (e.g., a bump stock). By law, a class D felony is punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine up to $5,000, or both.

Massachusetts, California, Washington, Vermont, New Jersey, and Florida have already passed laws banning bump stocks and other rapid-fire devices.

‘Conor’s Law’ Passes State Senate With Senator Osten, Bipartisan Support

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‘Conor’s Law’ Passes State Senate With Senator Osten, Bipartisan Support

HARTFORD – The ‘Conor’s Law’ skateboard helmet bill that was introduced by state Senator Cathy Osten (D-Sprague) at the behest of Ledyard mother Holly Irwin passed the state Senate this evening on an overwhelming and bipartisan basis and now heads to the state House of Representatives for consideration.

Senate Bill 290 passed the state Senate on a 34-1 vote, with all voting in favor except for Republican state Senator Joe Markley of Southington.

“Conor was a young man with a bright, bright future,” Sen. Osten said on the Senate floor, recalling Conor’s personal, educational, and athletic achievements. “I know Holly misses her son, but she believes that this bill is a way to make a difference for other parents so they don’t have to experience a death as a result of an accident that otherwise may have been prevented.”

The bill requires children under 15 years old to wear helmets while riding a skate board, while roller-skating or inline skating. The bill was introduced by Sen. Osten and Ms. Irwin in memory of her son Conor, an accomplished student-athlete who died at the age of 14 following an accidental fall from his skateboard.

At the March 5 public hearing on the bill, Ms. Irwin told the life story of her son Conor, an active student-athlete who played many sports and who always wore a variety of helmets, but did not wear one when skateboarding, in part because it is not required by law. He died in December 2016, 10 days after suffering a head injury following a fall from his skateboard.

McCrory Votes to Address Issues of Mold, Asthma, Carbon Monoxide in Homes and Apartments

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McCrory Votes to Address Issues of Mold, Asthma, Carbon Monoxide in Homes and Apartments

State Senator Doug McCrory (D-Hartford) today joined a unanimous and bipartisan vote in the state Senate to allocate $3 million in next year’s state budget to combat the problems of mold, allergens, asthma, carbon monoxide, pesticides and radon in Connecticut’s owner-occupied and rental housing—health issues which particularly affect growing children.

Sen. McCrory voted to support Senate Bill 357, which takes $3 million of the $10 million allocated for lead abatement projects in Fiscal Year 2019 (beginning July 1) and redirects that money toward other health issues confronting Connecticut’s children and their development.

“We have done tremendous work over the past several decades in Connecticut reducing the incidence of childhood lead poisoning. In 1995, six percent of kids under age six in Connecticut had alarming levels of lead in their blood. Now it’s almost half a percent. That’s great work,” Sen. McCrory said. “Now we need to turn our attention to some of the other environmental factors threatening our children’s health, like mold, allergens, carbon monoxide and asthma.”

According to a 2017 “Healthy Homes Surveillance Report” by the state Department of Public Health, a healthy home has several characteristics: it is clean, dry, safe, free of pests, well ventilated, free of dangerous chemicals, and well maintained. But of 1,500 homes surveyed (both owner-occupied and rental units), 99 percent had at least one deficiency, with the average being 14.

  • Carbon monoxide detectors were missing in 54 percent of homes. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas created when fuels like oil or natural gas burn incompletely. Heath effects from exposure to CO range from nausea and headaches to death.
  • Allergens caused by dust mites were likely in 33 percent of homes, because they lacked mite-proof mattress and pillow covers.
  • Mold was detected in 31 percent of homes. Mold spores—which can grow in unvented bathrooms or dryers, or hanging clothes to dry indoors—can cause asthma attacks, coughing, headaches, nasal and sinus congestion, and dizziness.
  • Both mold and allergens contribute to asthma, which is present in 12 percent of Connecticut children.

Senate Democrats Lead Final Passage of Bill to Join National Popular Vote Compact

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Senate Democrats Lead Final Passage of Bill to Join National Popular Vote Compact

Democrats in the State Senate today fought for democracy and to make sure every vote counts. In a 21-14 vote, the Senate Democrats stood with 70 percent of Connecticut residents who agree the president should be elected by the national popular vote and led final passage of a bill that allows Connecticut to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.

Under the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, once it goes into effect the states therein choose to allocate their electoral votes to the candidate who garners the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

“The Electoral College is an outdated relic of the past,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven). “The direct election of the president by popular vote is now critical to the essence of our democracy. I fully reject the notion that the citizens of America, in the year 2018, cannot be trusted to directly elect their president as they do for every other office.”

“The winner of the national popular vote should win the presidency,” said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk).  “By joining the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, we can move our nation one step closer to truly honoring the will of the voters.”

“Every person in the United States has the right to an equal voice in our how country is governed, and enacting a national popular vote ensures that right is upheld,” said Senator Mae Flexer (D-Danielson), Co-Chair of the Government Administration and Elections Committee. “Electing your president should be no different than electing your state senator: the person with the most votes wins. The Electoral College is antiquated and nonsensical and has changed the course of history by altering the results of elections. The Electoral College was specifically designed so that there would be a disconnect between the votes of the people and the election of our president. It is long past time for the voices of Connecticut and all of our nation’s voters to be protected with a national popular vote.”

The compact takes effect only when enough states sign on to guarantee that the national popular vote winner wins the presidency. This means that states with a combined total of 270 electoral votes—a majority of the Electoral College—must join the compact for it to take effect.

To date, 10 states and the District of Columbia possessing 165 electoral votes have approved the interstate compact, which represent 61 percent of the 270 electoral votes necessary to activate it. Connecticut’s neighboring states—New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island—have passed this bill.

The 11 jurisdictions which have already enacted this legislation are physically, politically and geographically diverse: they include four small jurisdictions, three medium-size states, and four large states.

The state-by-state, winner-take-all method of awarding electoral votes is not set out in the United States Constitution. It was not debated at the Constitutional Convention, nor was it discussed in the Federalist Papers. The Founding Fathers did not design the system of allocating electoral votes currently used in most states. Rather, the Founding Fathers established the Electoral College and explicitly left allocation of those electoral votes to state legislators in Article II of the U.S. Constitution without any instructions on how states should use it. The winner-take-all rule was used by only three states in the nation’s first presidential election in 1789 (all of which abandoned it by 1800).

A study of the evolution of the Electoral College notes that, during the 1787 Constitutional Convention, the delegates said they “distrusted the passions of the people,” and particularly distrusted the ability of average voters to choose a president in a national election. The result was the creation of the Electoral College, a system that at that time gave each state a number of electors based on the size of its Congressional delegation. Because there were no political parties back then, it was assumed that electors would use their best judgment to select a president. The concept was that the electors would filter the “passions of the people” and provide a check on the public in case they made a poor choice for president.

Senate Democrats Lead Final Passage of Bill to Join National Popular Vote Compact

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Senate Democrats Lead Final Passage of Bill to Join National Popular Vote Compact

Democrats in the State Senate today fought for democracy and to make sure every vote counts. In a 21-14 vote, the Senate Democrats stood with 70 percent of Connecticut residents who agree the president should be elected by the national popular vote and led final passage of a bill that allows Connecticut to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.

Under the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, once it goes into effect the states therein choose to allocate their electoral votes to the candidate who garners the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

“The Electoral College is an outdated relic of the past,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven). “The direct election of the president by popular vote is now critical to the essence of our democracy. I fully reject the notion that the citizens of America, in the year 2018, cannot be trusted to directly elect their president as they do for every other office.”

“The winner of the national popular vote should win the presidency,” said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk).  “By joining the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, we can move our nation one step closer to truly honoring the will of the voters.”

“Every person in the United States has the right to an equal voice in our how country is governed, and enacting a national popular vote ensures that right is upheld,” said Senator Mae Flexer (D-Danielson), Co-Chair of the Government Administration and Elections Committee. “Electing your president should be no different than electing your state senator: the person with the most votes wins. The Electoral College is antiquated and nonsensical and has changed the course of history by altering the results of elections. The Electoral College was specifically designed so that there would be a disconnect between the votes of the people and the election of our president. It is long past time for the voices of Connecticut and all of our nation’s voters to be protected with a national popular vote.”

The compact takes effect only when enough states sign on to guarantee that the national popular vote winner wins the presidency. This means that states with a combined total of 270 electoral votes—a majority of the Electoral College—must join the compact for it to take effect.

To date, 10 states and the District of Columbia possessing 165 electoral votes have approved the interstate compact, which represent 61 percent of the 270 electoral votes necessary to activate it. Connecticut’s neighboring states—New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island—have passed this bill.

The 11 jurisdictions which have already enacted this legislation are physically, politically and geographically diverse: they include four small jurisdictions, three medium-size states, and four large states.

The state-by-state, winner-take-all method of awarding electoral votes is not set out in the United States Constitution. It was not debated at the Constitutional Convention, nor was it discussed in the Federalist Papers. The Founding Fathers did not design the system of allocating electoral votes currently used in most states. Rather, the Founding Fathers established the Electoral College and explicitly left allocation of those electoral votes to state legislators in Article II of the U.S. Constitution without any instructions on how states should use it. The winner-take-all rule was used by only three states in the nation’s first presidential election in 1789 (all of which abandoned it by 1800).

A study of the evolution of the Electoral College notes that, during the 1787 Constitutional Convention, the delegates said they “distrusted the passions of the people,” and particularly distrusted the ability of average voters to choose a president in a national election. The result was the creation of the Electoral College, a system that at that time gave each state a number of electors based on the size of its Congressional delegation. Because there were no political parties back then, it was assumed that electors would use their best judgment to select a president. The concept was that the electors would filter the “passions of the people” and provide a check on the public in case they made a poor choice for president.

Senator Duff E-News: Senate Democrats Pass Net Neutrality Protections and Reject Trump Administration’s Rollback

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Sen. Osten Approves Raises For Long-Denied Health Care Workers

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Sen. Osten Approves Raises For Long-Denied Health Care Workers

State Senator Cathy Osten (D-Sprague) joined a bipartisan vote in the state Senate today that gives thousands of unionized health care workers their first pay raise in over a decade – and avoids a harmful strike at the same time.

Sen. Osten joined a bipartisan 29-4 Senate vote on House Bill 5460 to give about 2,500 members of the SEIU 1199 labor union a raise of up to 5 percent beginning January 1, 2019. The workers staff about 170 group homes in Connecticut that care for physically and developmentally disabled state residents.

The workers now earn an average hourly wage of $14.19 an hour – about $30,000 a year – which is less than half the average household income in Connecticut. They have not received a cost of living adjustment since 2004.

“In the public hearing on this bill, we heard from group home operators all across the state about how important this bill is in attracting and retaining qualified, caring, hardworking people who, quite frankly, have one of the toughest jobs in Connecticut: caring for people with physical and developmental disabilities,” Sen. Osten said. “These workers who are impacted by today’s bill earn an average $14.19 an hour – less than $30,000 a year. That’s less than half the average household income in Connecticut. And they haven’t had a cost of living adjustment since 2004. I’m pleased that today’s Senate vote was ultimately a bipartisan vote and that these personal care workers will get the long-delayed pay raise that they not only need, but have worked so hard to deserve.”

The state House of Representatives had passed the same bill earlier in the week on a 88-62 vote, with just nine Republicans joining all Democrats to vote in favor. The bill now heads to the governor for his signature.