Month: June 2021

East Windsor Leaders Welcome Reinforcement Of Stiles Bridge Ahead Of Larger Bridge Replacement Project

As the structure needs significant repairs and was found to be in serious condition, East Windsor officials commended the recent reinforcement work performed on the Stiles Bridge. The immediate action will allow for the town’s emergency vehicles to cross the bridge, an important public safety need, while the Department of Transportation prepares a project to replace the bridge, currently scheduled to begin in 2023.

“This bridge supports 1,500 vehicles per day, but in recent years has not been used to its full potential, for reasons including its rating in ‘serious’ condition making it dangerous for emergency vehicles to cross,” said State Senator Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor). “That is a huge safety issue for the town and its residents. I’m thankful that Department of Transportation officials are taking action and reinforcing this key structure until we can guarantee long-term safety with its repair.”

“I learned about the dire condition of the Stiles Bridge shortly after coming into office,” said State Representative Jaime Foster (D-East Windsor). “Because of the immediate and collaborative advocacy of the East Windsor delegation, we were able to meet with officials from the Connecticut Department of Transportation and develop this temporary solution to reinforce the bridge. I look forward to the full replacement in the near future and am grateful to DOT for this stop gap measure to improve safety and allow all our emergency vehicles to pass.”

“Structural concerns associated with Stiles Bridge have exacerbated response times to critical life safety incidents for a decade or more,” said East Windsor First Selectman Jason E. Bowsza. “I’m grateful to Senator Anwar and Representative Foster for their advocacy on behalf of first responders and residents in my community, and appreciate the efforts of Commissioner Giulietti and DOT for their responsiveness to this serious issue.”

The reinforcement project comes as the bridge needs more extensive repairs, which according to the Department of Transportation are slated to come in 2023. The bridge, built in 1925 and last rehabilitated 34 years ago in 1987, is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Currently, a proposed project involves replacing the entire existing bridge with a new multi-girder steel superstructure on reinforced concrete abutments. The bridge is expected to be closed for nine months should the project move forward; the estimated cost is $9 million, anticipated to be funded by 80% federal funds and 20% state funds. Construction is pending based on availability of funding and approval of permits.

Connecticut State Senate Approves Final Passage of Crumbling Foundation Relief with Crumbling Foundation Caucus, Local Legislator Support

Hartford – Today, State Senator Steve Cassano (D-Manchester) led and State Senator Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor) and State Senator Dan Champagne (R-Vernon) joined the Senate in its final passage of House Bill 6646, “An Act Concerning Crumbling Concrete Foundations,” legislation aiming to protect homeowners negatively impacted in recent years by crumbling concrete in their homes’ foundations. The legislation, developed by the bipartisan Crumbling Foundations Caucus, was previously passed by the House; with its passage today, it proceeds to the Governor’s desk for signing.

Sen. Cassano, Senate Chair of the Planning and Development Committee, led passage of the bill. Chairs of the Crumbling Foundations Caucus include Sen. Anwar, State Senator Dan Champagne (R-Vernon), State Representative Tom Delnicki (R-South Windsor) and State Representative Jaime Foster (D-East Windsor, Ellington).

“Knowing the extreme hardships suffered by so many with crumbling foundations, I’m proud to vote in support of this legislation to provide them with further support,” said Sen. Anwar. “By removing the cap on reassessment, we can provide them with accurate information about their homes, supporting finances as well; by establishing standards for quarries and building tests, we take further steps to prevent such an issue from arising again in the future. With the pain and anguish faced by those struggling with issues in their homes, purchases they sunk their lives into and planned to live for decades, we must do all we can to limit further struggles.”

“This has been a disaster for our community and it’s something that’s affected thousands of people, beyond homeowners. Businesses, apartment complexes, senior housing and school buildings have all been negatively impacted,” said Sen. Champagne. “For municipalities, it’s a significant loss of tax revenue that’s needed to operate. I’m proud to have worked with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to address this problem and get these families back to where they belong. This bill is a prime example of collaboration to do what’s right for the people that have entrusted us as their voice. I look forward to the Governor’s signature to get it across the finish line,” he said.

“This is great news for people that are victims of the crumbling foundation issue. Our work and our commitment to help people put both their lives and their homes back together continues. I’d like to thank the Senate for passing this bill out for the governor to sign,” said Rep. Delnicki.

“Crumbling foundations are a huge threat to our local property values and tax assessments. Most importantly, however, many households with crumbling foundations had to dip into their life savings or have diminished equity in order to address the issue. HB 6646 not only provides relief to those homeowners, it also includes provisions that will ensure that crumbling foundations will not be an issue in our community or state again, ” said Rep. Foster.

“What has been most pleasing to see is the way that Senators and Representatives from throughout the entire state have committed to funding this program to help people in our region,” said Sen. Cassano. “Some folks could have looked the other way, but people really came together. The fact that Connecticut is helping people in need, when everything they own is in jeopardy, is impressive.”

“The Crumbling Foundations bill previously passed by the House that the Senate sent to Governor Lamont today is a significant step forward in ensuring every homeowner impacted by this epidemic gets the support and resources they need to move back into their homes,” said State Representative Jeff Currey (D – East Hartford, Manchester, South Windsor). “Thank you to everyone at CFSIC, particularly Superintendent Michael Maglaras, and the advocates who worked tirelessly to make this program successful and for working to move this bill through the legislative process to provide additional relief to property owners.”

House Bill 6646 takes several steps to protect homeowners struggling with crumbling concrete foundations, most notably removing a five-year cap on reassessing properties, further establishing a quarry standard as well as testing requirements for buildings. By establishing standards for quarries and building tests, such an issue is less likely to arise in the future. The bill further includes language explicitly stating homes must be included in revaluation, allocates $175,000 to a study on nonresidential buildings and extends Freedom of Information protections to those reporting information to the Department of Consumer Protections.

The Crumbling Foundation Caucus has worked for years to combat crumbling foundations, which were caused by homes built with concrete containing the mineral pyrrhotite. That mineral, over time, caused the degradation of many homes’ foundations, requiring expensive fixes or abandonments of family homes.

Caption: The legislation passed the Senate Monday night by a 33-3 vote.

Senate Gives Final Passage To Bill Developing New Program To Fight Opioid Addiction, Abuse

Today, the State Senate gave final approval to legislation that seeks to develop a new program to be used in continued efforts to fight opioid addiction and abuse in Connecticut. With the approval of House Bill 5597, “An Act Concerning Opioids,” this new program would engage in different communities in the state to address the needs of those with opioid use disorder, with focus on non-coercive and non-stigmatizing methods to engage them. State Senator Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor) today joined the Senate’s vote of approval.

“In recent years, opioid use and abuse has continued to climb, and our state has lost thousands of beloved children, siblings, parents, friends and family members to the scourge of addiction over that time,” said Sen. Anwar. “Meeting individuals with the support they need in a manner that will best protect their safety is such an important step toward fighting addiction. I’m confident this model will be successful and can be replicated statewide in years to come.”

Under HB 5597, the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services will establish a pilot program in up to five urban, suburban and rural communities to serve individuals with opioid use disorder. Under the bill, those communities will be required to form teams of at least two peer navigators tasked with traveling through the community to address health care and social needs of individuals with opioid use disorder and complete regularly updated training on non-coercive and non-stigmatizing means of engaging with them. DMHAS will report by January 2023 the success of the program.

Additionally, the bill requires the Department of Public Health commissioner to establish guidelines for the use of evidence-based, nonpharmaceutical therapies to treat chronic pain, including chiropractic treatment and physical therapy, and conduct educational and outreach activities to raise awareness.

A “peer navigator” is a person working with individuals with substance use disorder providing nonmedical mental health care and substance use services and has a collaborative relationship with health care professionals authorized to prescribe medications to treat opioid use disorder.

This bill comes as Connecticut residents are more likely to die from drug overdoses than car accidents. Since 2015, more than 6,600 residents of the state have died of drug overdoses, with a median age of 42 among the dead. Just under 2,000 of those deaths were among residents younger than 35, with 431 deaths among individuals younger than 25; the overwhelming majority involved heroin and fentanyl, addictive and extremely dangerous opioids.

Before today’s approval by the Senate, the bill passed the Public Health Committee and the House unanimously.

Sen. Anwar Leads Senate’s Final Passage of Bill Better Providing Oversight, Information Regarding Children’s Mental Health Services In Hospital Emergency Rooms

Today, State Senator Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor), Senate Chair of the Children’s Committee, led the Senate’s final passage of legislation putting information standards in place for children’s mental health services in hospital emergency rooms. The legislation will put additional steps in place to better educate on mental health evaluation and treatment resources available to children. Sen. Anwar also co-sponsored the bill.

“In a time when children’s mental health services are unfortunately needed in increasing numbers, a document like this is vital to provide access to resources to families struggling,” said Sen. Anwar. “Publicly available information about mental health services will guide families closer to resources some undoubtedly need. I’m encouraged we were able to provide this support statewide.”

House Bill 6510, “An Act Requiring The Provision Of Information Concerning Children’s Mental Health Services In Hospital Emergency Rooms,” requires the Department of Children and Families to develop documents for mental health regions describing behavioral and mental health evaluation and treatment resources available to children. They will do so consulting the Behavioral Health Partnership Oversight Council, the Departments of Mental Health and Addiction Services and Public Health, and the Department of Children and Families’ Youth Suicide Advisory Board.

The Behavioral Health Partnership Oversight Council must distribute documents electronically to each licensed hospital with emergency departments and to local and regional boards of education, as well as make them available online. The documents must be updated annually and hospital emergency departments, beginning in 2022, will need to provide copies to parents and guardians of children upon the child’s discharge from the emergency department.

Documents must contain information for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and a list of evaluation and treatment providers, including physical locations, types of services offered and contact information.

Senator Anwar Leads Final Approval of Bill Requiring Background Checks for Youth Camp Employees

Early this morning, State Senator Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor) led the Senate in its final approval of legislation that would require prospective employees of youth camps to submit to comprehensive background checks if they are applying for positions providing care or involving unsupervised access to children at the camp. Certain municipalities, businesses and nonprofit organizations operating youth athletic activities will additionally require prospective employees or volunteers seeking to become coaches, instructors or athletic trainers to submit to background checks as well.

This bill is designed to provide additional protections for children and protect them from potential abuse or harm; Sen. Anwar, as Senate Chair of the Children’s Committee, played a significant role in the bill’s creation.

“By passing this bill, we provide children and their families with additional security in their safety,” said Sen. Anwar. “The legislation is designed to ensure the individuals we trust to take care of our children, teach them and support them are dedicated to those goals. By requiring background checks upon potential hire, we can allow families to rest easy knowing their children are with trusted guardians.”

House Bill 6417, “An Act Concerning Background Checks for Certain Employees of Youth Camps,” would require summer camps licensed by the Office of Early Childhood to utilize background checks for employees over the age of 18. Background checks must include criminal history records checks by the State Police Bureau or Identification or searching the Judicial Department’s website; checking the state child abuse registry; checking the state sex offender registry; and searching the National Sex Offender Registry public website. Alternatively, a background check may be done by a third party provider of criminal history checks.

Youth athletic activity prospective employees or volunteers seeking to become coaches, instructors or athletic trainers must submit to a comprehensive background check including the same search criteria as above.

Prospective employees and volunteers in camps and athletics may work on a provisional basis while their background check is pending if they are supervised by employees or volunteers who previously passed background checks. Background checks must continue to be conducted on individuals every five years.

This bill passed out of the Children’s Committee 12-1 and has bipartisan co-sponsor support. It passed the House on May 18 by a vote of 146-2. It now proceeds to Governor Lamont’s desk for signing into law.

Sen. Anwar Joins Senate Passage Of Education Bill Requiring Development Of State-Wide Virtual School Plan

Early this morning, State Senator Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor) joined the Senate’s passage of legislation updating state education statutes, particularly encouraged by an amendment to the legislation that will require the State Department of Education to develop a state-wide virtual school plan.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual schooling became a necessary and vital tool to keep students connected to their classwork; in recent months, even as conditions have improved, constituents who are medically compromised and face long-term concerns due to the pandemic have contacted his office and discussed the need for long-term virtual education.

In addition to the addition of the virtual school plan for House Bill 6621, “An Act Concerning Assorted Revisions And Additions To The Education Statutes,” amendments to the bill further include provisions on social-emotional learning, an approach that seeks to better meet students’ needs in the education process, among other significant changes.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is not over, and numerous families statewide remain concerned about the damaging potential of the virus,” said Sen. Anwar. “Medically compromised families deserve access to education that does not put them at risk, and as such, I am grateful that provisions for long-term virtual learning in Connecticut will remain in place for those in need with the development of this new plan. We need to make sure every one of our students have the resources and ability to succeed in ways that keep them safe.”