Looney Statement on Nursing Home Union Deal Announcement
HARTFORD – Today, Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) released the following statement regarding the recently announced deal between the administration and nursing home employees:
“This pay increase, retirement benefit enhancement, and strengthened training for our nursing home workers is long overdue. They were on the front lines for our most vulnerable residents during the worst pandemic in a century and we rightfully lauded them as heroes. Now, with this agreement, we are putting money behind those words and financially supporting them for their critical work. Thank you to Governor Lamont and his administration for coming to an agreement that supports workers, averts what would have been a disruptive strike, and stabilizes a vital industry which serves the most frail and disabled. Also, I am grateful for the effective advocacy of SEIU District 1199 on behalf of its members who are often among our lowest income working constituents and who serve such a vital role.”
Sen. Anwar Proud as Co-Sponsored Bill Allowing Officers Increased Religious Freedom Passes Senate
Sen. Anwar Proud as Co-Sponsored Bill Allowing Officers Increased Religious Freedom Passes Senate
Today, State Senator Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor) was proud as the State Senate passed legislation he co-sponsored that will provide police officers statewide with increased religious freedom of expression regarding their uniforms.
“Many religious police officers may have to choose between following traditions they believe in and wearing their assigned uniforms,” said Sen. Anwar. “Under this legislation, those officers will now have the freedom to wear religious head coverings as part of their uniforms, giving them increased ability to both protect the community they are sworn to serve and follow their religious beliefs as they so choose. This is a development that will be beneficial, even improving community relations in some parts of the state, and I’m proud to have co-sponsored it and to pass it alongside my colleagues.”
Senate Bill 120, “An Act Allowing Police Officers To Wear Religious Head Coverings As Part of a Police Uniform,” would require law enforcement units to permit a police officer to wear a religious head covering in accordance with their religious beliefs while on duty and wearing uniforms unless they must wear tight-fitting protective headgear.
Sen. Cohen Leads Senate in Passing Bill to Ban Dangerous PFAS Chemicals in Firefighting Foam & Food Packaging
Sen. Cohen Leads Senate in Passing Bill to Ban Dangerous PFAS Chemicals in Firefighting Foam & Food Packaging
HARTFORD – State Senator Christine Cohen (D-Guilford) today led the Connecticut State Senate in the unanimous passage of a bill to ban the use of dangerous PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ in firefighting foam and in food packaging,
Sen. Cohen, who is Senate Chair of the legislature’s Environment Committee, led the passage of a bipartisan “strike all” amendment to an existing PFAS bill that will ban the use of PFAS chemicals in Class B firefighting foam used in Connecticut as of October 1, 2021, and will ban the use of PFAS in food packaging used or sold in Connecticut as of January 1, 2024.
The bill now heads to the state House of Representatives for consideration.
“The past two years have provided us with a multitude of examples in Connecticut and of new research which shows just how harmful to the environment and the human body these PFAS chemicals can be,” Sen. Cohen said. “It is our duty as legislators to act on that information and to move to protect the public and our natural resources. I am proud that we are taking progressive action, and I thank my colleagues for working in a bipartisan manner today to protect our environment and the public health.”
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of man-made chemicals that have been manufactured and used in a variety of industries around the globe, including in the United States, since the 1940s. PFAS are very persistent in the environment and in the human body – meaning they don’t break down and they can accumulate over time. There is evidence that exposure to PFAS can lead to adverse human health effects.
According to the EPA, PFAS are typically found in food packaging, commercial household products (including stain- and water-repellent fabrics, nonstick products, polishes, waxes, paints, and cleaning products) firefighting foams, production facilities (i.e., chrome plating and electronics manufacturing) and in living organisms, including fish, animals and humans, where PFAS have the ability to build up and persist over time.
Today’s Senate action comes on the heels of several recent news stories regarding PFAS pollution and the dangers of PFAS.
Just yesterday, The Guardian newspaper reported that chemical giants DuPont and Daikin knew the dangers of a PFAS compound widely used in food packaging since 2010, but hid them from the public and the federal Food and Drug Administration.
The Guardian reported that the chemicals are now linked to a range of serious health issues, and that Americans are still being exposed to them in greaseproof pizza boxes, carryout containers, fast-food wrappers, and paperboard packaging.
In March, PFAS were detected at elevated levels in untreated water from a public source used by a manufactured-home community in Killingworth.
And in June 2019, a malfunction in a fire suppression system at a Bradley International Airport hangar operated by a private company resulted in a spill of about 50,000 gallons of a mixture of PFAS firefighting foam and water. The mixture flowed into the sewers to an MDC plant off Poquonock Avenue in Windsor, and then drained into the Farmington River. Officials warned against eating fish caught in the river.
Link to the strike-all amendment: https://cga.ct.gov/2021/lcoamd/pdf/2021LCO08517-R00-AMD.pdf
Sen. Kasser Leads Senate Passage of COVID-19-Related Foreclosure Protections
Sen. Kasser Leads Senate Passage of COVID-19-Related Foreclosure Protections
HARTFORD – State Senator Alex Kasser (D-Greenwich) voted for four bills and against one in the State Capitol on Monday.
HARTFORD – State Senator Alex Kasser (D-Greenwich) today led state Senate passage of a bill that expands Connecticut’s existing foreclosure mediation program to create a safety net for homeowners who may be at risk of losing their homes in foreclosure due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senate Bill 891, “AN ACT CONCERNING THE EZEQUIEL SANTIAGO FORECLOSURE MEDIATION PROGRAM AND OTHER ALTERNATIVES TO FORECLOSURE,” passed the Senate on an 34-2 vote and now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.
The bill addresses the immediate housing crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic by requiring lenders – for the next six years – to provide homeowners with options for assistance through Connecticut’s Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (EMAP). If a homeowner is behind on their mortgage payments or has delinquent tax liens, water or sewer charges or even condominium charges, this program can now offer them help.
Connecticut’s home mortgage delinquency rate soared to 9.6% in May 2020 – the highest level since the Great Depression, with more than half a million mortgages delinquent. Three months ago, in February 2021, the mortgage delinquency rate in Connecticut was at 7.1%.
“In Connecticut and across the country, many homeowners are in financial trouble due to the impact of the pandemic,” said Sen. Kasser, who is Senate Chair of the Banking Committee. “This bill is a response to the COVID-19 crisis, and it gives homeowners who may have lost their job the support they need so they don’t lose their home, too.”
Another section of the bill extends Connecticut’s existing foreclosure mediation program for six years, until June 30, 2029. The program brings together judicial branch mediators, lenders, and borrowers to keep financially troubled families in their homes. In the 5 years before the pandemic, the program helped 14,000 homeowners with a 91% success rate – meaning that 91% of those cases were resolved.
Since its inception in 2008 – at the height of the recession and housing crisis – this program has conducted over 32,000 foreclosure mediations, with 71% of homeowners remaining in their homes. At least one homeowner from every town in Connecticut has taken part in the program. The bill that passed the Senate today extends that track record of success and offers expanded support for CT homeowners in the years to come.
Bill that Reduces Permit Fees for Club and Café Owners to be Effective Immediately
Bill that Reduces Permit Fees for Club and Café Owners to be Effective Immediately
Today, state Senator James Maroney (D-Milford), Chair of the General Law Committee, lead discussion on the senate floor that would allow Senate Bill 263, ‘An Act Reestablishing Club And Nonprofit Club Permits,’ to be effective immediately.
SB 263 recently passed the Senate on Wednesday, April 8 and it will now be signed immediately by Governor Lamont. This bill will help to reduce permit fees for non-profit clubs that been inadvertently raised by the sweeping overhaul of the state’s liquor statutes in 2019. This bill will allow for an adjustment to the annual fee for the prior holders of club permits and nonprofit club permits and allows the Department of Consumer Protection to refund anyone who paid the difference.
“I’m thrilled that this correction is being made quickly and will allow our clubs to resume operation without further financial burdens,” said Sen. Maroney. “The hardship placed on cafes during the pandemic was undesirable and this adjustment will allow for organizations to continue to thrive going forward.”
In 2019, the General Assembly enacted a sweeping bill to modernize liquor laws. The bill cut the numerous categories of liquor permits and combined various permits for on-premises consumption, including club and nonprofit club permits, into the existing cafe permit, making the annual fee for a cafe permit $2,000. This bill, SB 263, has been amended and brings the fee for private clubs, like veterans’ organizations to $300, and non-profit clubs to $815. The bill will allow for reimbursement for these organizations who have already paid this year.
The coronavirus pandemic provided hardship on businesses including cafes around the state. Several organizations depend on donations to continue to be successful and with a cost reduction for local public, private and non-profit clubs in the state, places such as The American Legion and The Elks Lodge and stay open and use their funds to continue to support and educate members.
The American Legion exists to serve veterans, their family members, and their direct descendants of eligible wars. They are not operated for a profit and they also sponsor many community programs. Elks invest in their communities through programs that help children grow up healthy and drug-free, meet the needs of today’s veterans, and improve the quality of life. With the passage of this bill, private clubs like The American Legion and The Elks Lodge would benefit as they continue to operate on a tight budget. With a lower cost permit fee, it would allow for funds saved to be put toward helping serve our veterans.
Senator Haskell Leads Senate Approval Legislation Protecting Safety of Service Workers
Senator Haskell Leads Senate Approval Legislation Protecting Safety of Service Workers
Today, State Senator Will Haskell (D-Westport), Senate Chair of the Transportation Committee, led the State Senate in its approval of legislation that will protect the safety of service workers. The legislation requires a driver to give a service vehicle three feet of distance when passing them on the left to ensure that they do not injure the worker.
“There’s a reason this legislation passed the Transportation Committee unanimously – it’s an easy and effective change that will keep service workers safe when picking up garbage, delivering mail, dropping off packages, and going about the day,” said Sen. Haskell. “This work can be dangerous, as these vehicles see frequent stops and starts. I want to thank my colleagues for supporting this bill.”
Senate Bill 983, “An Act Concerning Slowing Down For Service Vehicles,” will require drivers passing stopped or slow-moving service vehicles to give three feet of space between their own vehicle and the service vehicle. This will provide additional space to prevent any potential accidents. The bill also classifies such workers as “vulnerable users,” extending existing protections that apply to pedestrians.
Service workers specified in the legislation include those working in garbage and recycling collection; those dispersing liquids and gases carried in tanks such as water or gas delivery; U.S. mail trucks; agricultural tractors; and vehicles driven by express delivery carriers such as delivery package drivers.
Senator Anwar Releases Statement Regarding PURA Levying $30 Million Punishment Against Eversource for Tropical Storm Isaias Response
Senator Anwar Releases Statement Regarding PURA Levying $30 Million Punishment Against Eversource for Tropical Storm Isaias Response
State Senator Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor) today released the following statement in response to the civil penalties levied against Eversource Energy by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority last week, which total $30 million, the maximum allowable penalty. The penalty was due to Eversource’s improper response during and after Tropical Storm Isaias in August 2020; thousands of Senator Anwar’s constituents were without power for several days after the storm, with response widely considered unacceptably slow.
“The decision made by PURA is the correct one, considering the extreme hardships levied on the population in dealing with days-long power outages in the peak of the summer’s heat during the increased stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Sen. Anwar. “The unacceptably slow response to Tropical Storm Isaias by Eversource contributed to significant difficulties for countless residents statewide. The General Assembly last fall passed legislation in response to this and other ineffective storm responses by Eversource, and I am encouraged to see this further action by PURA in ensuring such inefficiencies are rectified.”
After Tropical Storm Isaias struck Connecticut in early August 2020, as many as 1.1 million Connecticut residents lost power, with tens of thousands losing power for days before repairs were made. Among changes made by legislation passed by the General Assembly in response: electric utility companies must now pay up to $250 for spoiled food and medication if a power outage lasts more than four days; outages lasting more than four days will see customers credited an additional $25 per day.
Looney Statement on Passing of Bob Ward
Looney Statement on Passing of Bob Ward
HARTFORD – Today, Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) released the following statement on the passing of Bob Ward:
“Bob Ward was the epitome of a public servant. In the 22 years I served with him in the General Assembly, we often disagreed on policy but he was unfailingly honorable, fair, brilliantly insightful, and kind. My thoughts are with his wife, Anita, children, and grandchildren during this time of terrible loss. His tireless efforts made Connecticut a better place. He will be sorely missed and his years as a legislator, DMV Commissioner, and State Auditor will stand as an ongoing model for other public officials to emulate.”
Sen. Hartley Joins Governor to Announce CT Future Fund Supporting Small Business Recovery; Investment in Women-Owned and Minority-Owned Businesses
Sen. Hartley Joins Governor to Announce CT Future Fund Supporting Small Business Recovery; Investment in Women-Owned and Minority-Owned Businesses
State Senator Joan Hartley (D-Waterbury), Senate Chair of the Commerce Committee and member of the Banking Committee, joined Governor Lamont to announce the directing of $150 million to drive small business recovery and formation, along with stimulating entrepreneurship across Connecticut. To further underscore a commitment toward an equitable recovery, at least 50 percent of the announced funds will support minority, women, and veteran-owned small businesses and businesses owned by individuals with a disability. The new fund program is expected to create or retain over 14,000 jobs.
“This is a welcome opportunity to assist small businesses in underserved communities and to provide greater flexibility to businesses in accessing capital. The CT Future Fund is a methodical plan that will boost support to entrepreneurs and businesses across the state, which will benefit the municipalities they reside in,” said Sen. Hartley. “I appreciate Governor Lamont’s and Commissioner Lehman’s continued cooperation with legislators and Connecticut businesses in charting a path for the state’s economic recovery from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.”
David Lehman, Commissioner for the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, and State Senator Doug McCrory (D-Hartford), Senate Vice Chair of the Banking Committee, also participated in the announcement.
The announcement of the CT Future Fund to drive significant investment in Connecticut’s small businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs consists of two main parts:
- Accelerating small business recovery and drive multicultural innovation – $100 to $125 million
- Partnering with Connecticut Innovations to encourage diversity in the C-Suite – $25-50 million
The CT Future Fund will be funded by a combination of $75 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds and from the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), and $75 million in state bonding while leveraging at least $150 million of private sector capital.
Highlights for the two parts include:
Small Business Recovery and Private Sector Lending Accelerate Small Business Recovery and Drive Multicultural Innovation:
- Investments prioritized to support minority, women, individuals with a disability, and veteran-owned small businesses
- Enabled to offer flexible capital to small businesses: equity investments, low-cost debt, grants, and financial support for training and technical assistance
- Up to 3 funds that will be managed by Community Development Financial Institutions or non-bank community lenders
- A state-supported partial-loan guarantee program
- Collaborate with private and philanthropic sector to co-invest
Partnership with Connecticut Innovations and Support Diversity in the C-Suite
- Investment in businesses that are aiming to improve quality of life, including companies in the information technology, cleantech, and life science sectors
- Between $250,000 and $2.5 million per business in 25 to 50 early-stage businesses
- Funding focused on supporting businesses with diversity in leadership: CEOs, management teams, and on the board level
Senate President and Finance Chair Call for Critical Community Investments Through a More Just Revenue Structure
Senate President and Finance Chair Call for Critical Community Investments Through a More Just Revenue Structure
“Equitable Investment Fund” would target investments toward underserved people and places
HARTFORD – Democratic State Senate President Martin Looney (D-New Haven) and Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee Senate Chair John Fonfara (D-Hartford) today called for Connecticut to address the long-standing underfunding of cities and Black and brown communities through a new “Equitable Investment Fund.”
To fund this investment, the Senate leaders aim to overhaul Connecticut’s fundamentally unfair tax system and increase taxes on millionaires.
Generations of a lack of investment in underserved communities have exacerbated income inequality, lack of opportunity, and concentrated poverty. The Democratic leaders said the legislative and executive branches of government should not kick the can of tax reform down the road this year yet again and should instead fulfill the promises made during the Black Lives Matter movement of 2020.
The Equitable Investment Fund would focus investments in underserved communities and address income inequality. The Equitable Investment Fund would join 10 other targeted budget funds, including the Special Transportation Fund, Budget Reserve Fund, Insurance Fund, Banking Fund, Consumer Counsel and Public Utility Control Fund, Workers’ Compensation Fund, Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Fund, Regional Market Operation Fund, Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund, and Tourism Fund.
“We must address long-standing underfunding in our cities whose low- and moderate-income residents struggle under an inordinate tax burden,” said Sen. Looney. “To address these inequities, which were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is only right that those of great wealth pay more for the benefit of Connecticut as a whole. This past Juneteenth I stood with my Senate Democratic colleagues to support those protesting racial and economic injustice, with the promise that our words would be backed up with policy. We cannot continue the status quo in Connecticut.”
“We must address the realities of our inner cities in Connecticut,” said Senator Fonfara. “We have communities that have been disinvested in decade after decade, and we see the effects of that. More poverty, children without adequate educational opportunities, and disproportionate property tax burdens that strangle business growth. We cannot say ‘Black Lives Matter’ and then not invest in our inner cities and Black and Latino communities.”
Connecticut’s existing tax structure of nine different types of taxes is weighted heavily against poor and middle-class taxpayers while benefitting the wealthiest residents in the state.
Using the 2014 tax incident report compiled by the state Department of Revenue Services which analyzes the impact of the nine different taxes levied on Connecticut residents –property, personal income tax, sales and use, excise, gross earnings, corporate, insurance, gift and estate, and real estate conveyance – Democrats showed that 20.3% of the total $17.4 billion in various taxes collected to fund the state budget that year was contributed by the lowest 10% or “decile” of income earners – 725,000 households making an average of less than $48,000 a year.
One-third of all the tax revenue collected in Connecticut that year came from the one million state households earning less than $74,400 a year. Nearly two-thirds (65.3%) of Connecticut’s tax burden was paid for by households making under $182,000 a year.
On the other end of the income spectrum, the DRS report shows what the top two “deciles” contributed to state revenues that year: 3,646 Connecticut households who earned between $2 million and $13.2 million in 2014 contributed just 5.6% of all the state tax revenue, while the top 357 state households earning an average of $42 million a year contributed even less – just 5.4%.
Under the proposed income tax and capital gains tax changes passed by the Finance Committee in April, these top two “deciles” combined would still only contribute 14.2% of all state revenues, up from 11%.
Tax burden comparison chart with proposed tax changes
Report: https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DRS/Research/DRSTaxIncidenceReport2014pdf.pdf
The report, they say, confirms that Connecticut’s annual, combined revenue stream of property taxes, income taxes, sales taxes, excise taxes like those on gasoline, real estate conveyance, insurance, gift and estate, corporate and gross earnings taxes fall most heavily on those who can least afford to pay them, effectively making Connecticut’s so-called ‘progressive’ income tax of seven different tax brackets only a modest improvement on the original 4.5% flat rate tax adopted in 1991, which reduced capital gains taxes on the most wealthy.
The Democrats’ demand for more tax fairness comes as the legislature’s Finance Committee has already proposed one of the largest middle-class tax cuts in state history: a proposed new state income tax credit for families with children that would provide $150 million in tax breaks in 2022, and $300 million in tax breaks in 2023, and even more after that.
The Finance Committee also wants to raise the income tax credit for working poor families from 23% to 40% of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, bringing them another $77 million in tax relief each year, and in the years to come.
Meanwhile, the Appropriations Committee is seeking to increase state aid to cities and towns by hundreds of millions of dollars a year through larger Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grants and PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) payments to communities struggling with anemic grand lists and those with a superabundance of tax exempt property, as well as increasing funding by $30 million to $50 million a year every year into the future for Connecticut’s private-sector nonprofit social service agencies.
To pay for these tax breaks and investments in cities and towns to help control local property taxes, Democrats on the Finance Committee are proposing two new taxes on Connecticut’s wealthiest residents, as well as a proposed digital advertising tax on Google and Facebook, whose 2020 revenues rose between 15% and 20% to $181 billion and $86 billion, respectively.