State Senator James Maroney Leads Passage of Bill Regarding Consumer Protection
Today, State Senator James Maroney (D-Milford), Senate Chair of the General Law Committee, lead State Senate passage of a bill that regards consumer protection and financial reporting by charitable organizations. The bill will set several regulations that will benefit all Connecticut consumers when making specific purchases.
Senate Bill 1058, ‘An Act Concerning The Attorney General’s Recommendations Regarding Consumer Protection And Financial Reporting By Charitable Organizations,” passed the State Senate with a unanimous vote and now heads to the House of Representatives.
“This is a very strong consumer friendly bill,” said Sen. Maroney. “I have heard so many complaints about robocalls, ticket prices, and cable companies overcharging residents in Connecticut. This legislation will help protect everyone from annoyances and companies that abuse their customers. Along with Attorney General Tong, I am honored to lead the unanimous vote that will advance reforms that will address the unfair ticketing practices, constant robocalls and expensive bills for cable Connecticut consumers are faced with.”
SB 1058 will protect Connecticut residents’ information. It will be required by companies to notify Connecticut residents when their location data is compromised in a data breach. Geolocation data poses significant privacy and security concerns as it can reveal intimate details of an individual’s routines, choices, and beliefs, such as one’s personal health decisions. While new state consumer privacy laws like the recently enacted Connecticut Data Privacy Act (“CTDPA”) acknowledge the sensitivity of this data and provide consumers with rights over how it may be processed and disclosed, these laws do not require that consumers be notified when their geolocation data may be at risk due to a data breach.
SB 1058 also addresses abuses in ticket pricing. The bill will take action in reforming unfair, anti-consumer ticketing practices in the live event industry and would revise Connecticut’s disclosure law on ticketing surcharges, which has not been updated since 1991. This part of the bill is modeled after a law enacted in New York in 2022 and requires ticket sellers to disclose the “all-in” price of a ticket, inclusive of all fees and surcharges, from the time the ticket is selected for purchase. Disclosure of fees from the start of the ticket purchase process will save consumers valuable time selecting the perfect seat for a reasonable price only to discover a huge mark-up in fees and surcharges when they are about to click “purchase.” It also requires resellers to disclose how much they originally paid for the tickets they are selling.
Currently, Connecticut has an active investigation into the live event ticketing industry following widespread concern regarding the recent handling of Taylor Swift concert ticket sales.
SB 1058 addresses telemarketing and do not call registries. This bill broadens applicability of the state’s telemarketing laws, Do Not Call laws, and other restrictions. It prohibits initiating a commercial transaction or telephonic sales call using various types of technology to contact a telephone number with a Connecticut area code and establishes rebuttable presumptions on call locations.
The robocall-blocking company YouMail states that in 2022, Connecticut consumers received approximately 471 million robocalls. Of those, 26%, or about one out of every four robocalls, were scam calls.
This legislation offers Connecticut consumers some relief, first by prohibiting U.S.-based telecommunications businesses called VoIP providers from providing essential assistance to overseas fraudsters by routing their calls through to unwitting recipients, effectively stopping illegal phone traffic at its point of entry to the United States.
And SB 1058 addresses consumers cable bills. This will require cable companies to pro-rate a person’s bill if they cancel their subscription mid-month. A person who cancels will receive a pro-rated refund for the rest of the month they did not use cable for.
State Senator James Maroney Leads Senate Passage of Bill Protecting Children Online
State Senator James Maroney Leads Senate Passage of Bill Protecting Children Online
Today, State Senator James Maroney (D-Milford), Senate Chair of the General Law Committee, lead State Senate passage of a Senate Democratic Caucus priority bill concerning data privacy. This bill focuses on protecting consumers health data online.
Senate Bill 3, ‘An Act Concerning Online Privacy, Data And Safety Protections,’ passed the State Senate with a unanimous vote and now heads to the House of Representatives.
“Over 95% of children have access to social media sites including YouTube and today we took a small step in making sure children are safe online,” said Sen. Maroney. “Creating these boundaries with privacy legislation reduces the risk of minors being taken advantage of online. In addition, people who seek reproductive medical care and those who face tough decisions should be able to do so on their own. They should not have targeted ads on their mobile phones just because they are in a specific location.”
SENATE BILL 3:
Health Data Privacy
Senate Bill 3 will help maintain a person’s privacy when seeking care at a medical office or abortion clinic and will protect a person’s privacy when using online apps. This bill will create privacy rights for consumer health data that are not provided under HIPPA or other laws.
Menstrual apps, smart watches, online stores, search engines, and other services using technology collect personal information that is used to make determinations about people’s health conditions that is then sold for marketing or other purposes. The bill prohibits businesses from collecting, sharing, or selling consumer health data without the person’s consent and ensures the consent is well informed and not buried in standard terms and conditions.
SB3 will also prohibit geofencing mental health facility, a reproductive health care facility, or a sexual health facility such as an abortion clinic. Geofencing is the practice of constructing consumer health data based upon the location of a person’s phone.
In the United States, if you tell a psychologist that you are depressed or suffer from a mental illness, your health privacy is protected under existing law. But if you download an app to manage your depression, your personal and health information can be bought, shared, and used for marketing or any other purpose. It is not only mental health apps that share our personal information, but also menstrual apps that assist with pregnancy, smart watches that count steps, and even purchases made online. Personal data is sold unrestricted, to anyone, in unregulated markets. Using geofencing, our information can be connected to locations we visit at specific times. Ad agencies have targeted people who have not only visited abortion clinics but have also run anti-choice advertisements on the phones of people in the waiting rooms.
Child Data Privacy and Well Being
If a service is offered to minors online, a data protection assessment must be given. The assessment addresses the purpose of the service being offered, categories of the personal data that is being collected, and purposes for which the controller processes the data collected.
According to a February report by the CDC, 57% of high school girls in 2021 reported feeling “persistently sad or hopeless” over the previous year, up from 36% in 2011. Thirty percent of high school girls seriously considered attempting suicide in 2021, up from 19% in 2011. Teen boys have also experienced an increase in feeling persistently sad or hopeless, increasing from 21% in 2011 to 29% in 2021.
One explanation for the rapid deterioration of our children’s wellbeing is social media. Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok have become standard for our youth. Social media can foster friends hips and expand connections, but it also has been determined to be the cause of loneliness. Tech companies push out content that is not age appropriate to tweens, and yet 38 percent of those 8 to 12 years old report using social media daily, an increase from 31 percent in 2019. Tech companies use personal data of minors to target them with advertisements, to lure them into scrolling longer, and bait them to watch just one more video.
SB3 will expand on previous data privacy legislation passed last year – “An Act Concerning Personal Data Privacy and Online Monitoring.” Under this bill, it will protect the privacy of minors and prohibit the use of their personal data from being used in ways that causes them harm. It follows the UK’s Age-Appropriate Design Code, after which Google made SafeSearch the default for minors, YouTube turned off autoplay and set bedtime reminders for minors, and TikTok disabled messaging between minors and unknown adults. While tech companies are adopting these and other protections for minors, not all are applied in the US.
Websites and apps that process personal data will need to take reasonable care to avoid certain “heightened risks” to minors, which includes unfair or deceptive treatment, financial, physical or reputational injury, or invasion of privacy. These apps must refrain from selling personal data of minors or using it for targeted advertising and may not use personal data to lure minors or extend their screen time, and geolocation data collected on a minor must only be used for providing the specific service sought out by the minor.
Senate Bill 3 now requires that parents can delete social media accounts if a child is under 16.
Dating Apps
Under this section of the bill, dating apps must offer an online safety center which will provide resources concerning safe dating the safety center will provide: explanation of mechanism for reporting harmful or unwanted behavior; safety advice to use when communicating online and meeting in person; a link to resources concerning domestic violence and sexual harassment; educational information concerning romance scams.
State Senator James Maroney Leads Passage of Bill That Regulates Artificial Intelligence in Connecticut
State Senator James Maroney Leads Passage of Bill That Regulates Artificial Intelligence in Connecticut
Today, state Senator James Maroney (D-Milford), Senate Chair of the General Law Committee, lead State Senate passage of a bill that will work to regulate Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Connecticut. The bill will set several requirements for state agencies’ development and use of automated systems for “critical decisions.”
This legislative session, Senator Maroney authored and introduced Senate Bill 1103, ‘An Act Concerning Artificial Intelligence, Automated Decision-Making, And Personal Data Privacy.” Today it passed the Senate with a unanimous vote and now heads to the House of Representatives.
“Today marks an incredible step forward in beginning to implement policies to regulate the state government’s use of Artificial Intelligence,” said Sen. Maroney. “These required impact assessments are necessary ahead of implementing AI in the decision-making process to ensure there are no disparate impacts. Hiring algorithms have been shown to discriminate based on age and some algorithms have given higher interest rates for loans based on race. We owe it to our residents to insure that as a government we do not discriminate in providing or have disparate impacts through the provision of services that our constituents need and deserve.”
Senate Bill 1103 will require assessments ahead of the implementation of AI in specific high-risk incidences. It will create policies and procedures to govern the state’s use of AI, and it will create a task force to work toward creating a Connecticut AT Bill of Rights.
SB 1103 will: establish an Office of Artificial Intelligence; exempt air carriers from certain provisions concerning data privacy; make sure a controller cannot process a consumer’s personal data for purposes of targeted advertising, or sell the consumer’s personal data without the consumer’s consent; establish a task force to study artificial intelligence and develop an artificial intelligence bill of rights; require the Office of Policy and Management to designate an AI officer to develop and adopt procedures for using automated systems; require the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) commissioner to designate an AI implementation officer.
In April, Senator Maroney was joined with state Senator Saud Anwar and the Connecticut Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to discuss the implications of the state using algorithms and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for decision-making. The Advisory Committee that Senator Anwar is a part of recently released a report on the potential harms and abuse of Artificial Intelligence.
In written testimony submitted by the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, they stated one of the biggest problems they have seen is algorithms are trained on biased data. Police departments across the nation – including in Connecticut – use predictive policing algorithms to determine where to deploy officers to deter and investigate crime. They do so by looking at crime rates in the past. Many communities of color have been overpoliced in the past, however, due to bias such as racial profiling. The computer will therefore tell a department to send more police to an overpoliced area in order to address issues in what it identifies as a high crime area. As more police officers go to that area, the officers are more likely to arrest people there, while the same crimes in a different community go unaddressed.
Hiring algorithms have been shown to discriminate based on age. Some algorithms have given higher interest rates for loans based on race, and many government used algorithms in other states, ranging from provision of SNAP benefits to deciding when to investigate reported incidents of child abuse, have been shown to discriminate based on income.
The online world has the increased capacity to store data online that can relinquish unwanted results. AI can produce ethical challenges including lack of transparency and un-neutralized decisions. Choices made through AI can be susceptible to inaccuracies, discriminatory outcomes, and inserted bias.
Digital discrimination is the next frontier in the fight for civil rights. When most people think about discrimination, they think of intentional decisions made by humans against others based on their protected class. The danger of digital discrimination is that it is too often invisible both to the victim and the perpetrator. A few examples of how digital discrimination works will show why bills like HB 1103 are so important.
State Senator James Maroney Leads Passage of Bill That Regulates Artificial Intelligence in Connecticut (2)
State Senator James Maroney Leads Passage of Bill That Regulates Artificial Intelligence in Connecticut
Today, state Senator James Maroney (D-Milford), Senate Chair of the General Law Committee, lead State Senate passage of a bill that will work to regulate Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Connecticut. The bill will set several requirements for state agencies’ development and use of automated systems for “critical decisions.”
This legislative session, Senator Maroney authored and introduced Senate Bill 1103, ‘An Act Concerning Artificial Intelligence, Automated Decision-Making, And Personal Data Privacy.” Today it passed the Senate with a unanimous vote and now heads to the House of Representatives.
“Today marks an incredible step forward in beginning to implement policies to regulate the state government’s use of Artificial Intelligence,” said Sen. Maroney. “These required impact assessments are necessary ahead of implementing AI in the decision-making process to ensure there are no disparate impacts. Hiring algorithms have been shown to discriminate based on age and some algorithms have given higher interest rates for loans based on race. We owe it to our residents to insure that as a government we do not discriminate in providing or have disparate impacts through the provision of services that our constituents need and deserve.”
Senate Bill 1103 will require assessments ahead of the implementation of AI in specific high-risk incidences. It will create policies and procedures to govern the state’s use of AI, and it will create a task force to work toward creating a Connecticut AT Bill of Rights.
SB 1103 will: establish an Office of Artificial Intelligence; exempt air carriers from certain provisions concerning data privacy; make sure a controller cannot process a consumer’s personal data for purposes of targeted advertising, or sell the consumer’s personal data without the consumer’s consent; establish a task force to study artificial intelligence and develop an artificial intelligence bill of rights; require the Office of Policy and Management to designate an AI officer to develop and adopt procedures for using automated systems; require the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) commissioner to designate an AI implementation officer.
In April, Senator Maroney was joined with state Senator Saud Anwar and the Connecticut Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to discuss the implications of the state using algorithms and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for decision-making. The Advisory Committee that Senator Anwar is a part of recently released a report on the potential harms and abuse of Artificial Intelligence.
In written testimony submitted by the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, they stated one of the biggest problems they have seen is algorithms are trained on biased data. Police departments across the nation – including in Connecticut – use predictive policing algorithms to determine where to deploy officers to deter and investigate crime. They do so by looking at crime rates in the past. Many communities of color have been overpoliced in the past, however, due to bias such as racial profiling. The computer will therefore tell a department to send more police to an overpoliced area in order to address issues in what it identifies as a high crime area. As more police officers go to that area, the officers are more likely to arrest people there, while the same crimes in a different community go unaddressed.
Hiring algorithms have been shown to discriminate based on age. Some algorithms have given higher interest rates for loans based on race, and many government used algorithms in other states, ranging from provision of SNAP benefits to deciding when to investigate reported incidents of child abuse, have been shown to discriminate based on income.
The online world has the increased capacity to store data online that can relinquish unwanted results. AI can produce ethical challenges including lack of transparency and un-neutralized decisions. Choices made through AI can be susceptible to inaccuracies, discriminatory outcomes, and inserted bias.
Digital discrimination is the next frontier in the fight for civil rights. When most people think about discrimination, they think of intentional decisions made by humans against others based on their protected class. The danger of digital discrimination is that it is too often invisible both to the victim and the perpetrator. A few examples of how digital discrimination works will show why bills like HB 1103 are so important.
Senator Hochadel Applauds Passage of Workers’ Comp Coverage for PTSI in Any Employee
Senator Hochadel Applauds Passage of Workers’ Comp Coverage for PTSI in Any Employee
HARTFORD – Today, State Senator Jan Hochadel (D-Meriden) is applauding unanimous Senate passage of a bill that will extend certain workers’ comp benefits now in place for police, firefighters and others who witness tragic events on the job to any employee on any job who witnesses similar tragedies.
Senate Bill 913, “AN ACT EXPANDING WORKERS’ COMPENSATION COVERAGE FOR POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS INJURIES FOR ALL EMPLOYEES” passed the state Senate today on a unanimous and bipartisan 36-0 vote and now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration. The bill had previously passed the Labor Committee on a 10-1 vote and the Appropriations Committee on a 53-0 vote.
“This bill is intended to bring a sense of relief to those who have experienced trauma on the job,” said Sen. Hochadel. “Witnessing tragic events while also bearing the responsibility to continue carrying out one’s work can bring upon distress and linger for long periods of time. It is only right to ensure we keep those impacted workers secure financially when they stop working. I am proud to support legislation as it will assist in supporting those when they need it the most.”
Current state law generally limits eligibility for PTSI benefits to certain first responders (e.g., police officers, firefighters, emergency medical service personnel, and emergency 9-1-1 dispatchers) who are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress injuries (PTSI) as a direct result of certain qualifying events (e.g., witnessing someone’s death) that may occur in the line of duty.
Under S.B. 913 — if it is approved by the House and signed into law by Governor Lamont — beginning on January 1, 2024, eligibility for workers’ compensation benefits for PTSI will cover any employee in Connecticut who is already covered by the workers’ compensation law; the workers’ compensation system in Connecticut covers nearly all employees despite their occupation, business size, employment duration, or the number of hours worked per day.
Under S.B. 913, all employees in Connecticut would be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits if a mental health professional examines them and diagnoses PTSI as a direct result of an event that occurs in their course of employment in which they: view a deceased minor; witness (a) someone’s death or an incident involving someone’s death, (b) an injury to someone who then dies before or upon admission to a hospital as a result of the injury, or (c) a traumatic physical injury that results in the loss of a vital body part or a vital body function that results in the victim’s permanent disfigurement; or carry, or have physical contact with and treat, an injured person who then dies before or upon admission to a hospital.
Senator Gaston Leads State Senate Passage on Police Traffic Stops
Senator Gaston Leads State Senate Passage on Police Traffic Stops
Today, state Senator Herron Keyon Gaston (D-Bridgeport), Chair of the Public Safety and Security Committee, lead State Senate passage of a bill that requires police officers to inform drivers of the reason for a traffic stop and encourage additional police officer trainings on de-escalation, use of force, customer service, diversity, and bias.
Senate Bill 1022, ‘An Act Requiring Police Officers To Inform Drivers Of The Purpose Of A Traffic Stop,” authored and introduced by Senator Gaston, passed the State Senate with a unanimous vote and now heads to the House of Representatives.
“Today I am proud to be a voice for people who look like me,” said Sen. Gaston. “This bill is intended to make sure each and every person is treated with dignity and respect, even if they are pulled over. We need to hold officers accountable. They need to be transparent when pulling over a driver, no matter the reason.”
SB 1022 will require police officers to verbally inform a motorist for the purpose of their traffic stop. Currently in Connecticut, an officer does not have to tell you why you are being pulled over, they can ask you for your ID during a traffic stop. Too many officers take advantage of this, and it is unacceptable for drivers to be pulled over just because they are Black.,/p>
Research shows police officers stop Black drivers more often than White drivers. The Open Policing Project states on a typical day in the U.S., police officers conduct more than 50,000 traffic stops, with officers generally stopping Black drivers at a higher rate than white drivers. A study done in 2020 shows Black drivers were 20 percent more likely to be stopped than white drivers, and Black drivers were searched about 1.5 to 2 times as often as white drivers.
In September 2022, the 10-year-anniversary of the Alvin W. Penn Act took place, named after the late state Senator Alvin W. Penn. This is Connecticut’s anti-racial profiling law that prohibits any law enforcement agency from stopping, detaining, or searching any motorist when the stop is motivated solely by considerations of the race, color, ethnicity, age, gender or sexual orientation of that individual. Alvin Penn was a hero who fought for our rights.
STATE SENATOR NORM NEEDLEMAN WELCOMES $564,200 INVESTMENT IN 198 ACRES OF EAST HADDAM OPEN SPACE
STATE SENATOR NORM NEEDLEMAN WELCOMES $564,200 INVESTMENT IN 198 ACRES OF EAST HADDAM OPEN SPACE
Today, State Senator Norm Needleman (D-Essex) welcomed a $564,200 grant investment by Governor Ned Lamont’s administration and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to preserve 198.37 acres of open space in East. Two grants were administered by the Governor’s administration for purchases through the Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Grant Program, part of a $3.7 million investment to purchase more than 1,000 acres of open space across the state.
“Open space protects local environments and provides valuable educational and recreational opportunities,” said Sen. Needleman. “I’m grateful for the Governor’s valuable and important investment in protecting natural land in East Haddam. These land purchases will benefit our region for decades to come.”
“These state grants are important because they will increase the availability of open space so that we can protect the exquisite natural resources we have in Connecticut,” Governor Lamont said. “Protecting these lands will significantly improve the quality of life for our residents, attract visitors and businesses to the state, and continue making Connecticut a great place to live and work. I am glad the state could partner with towns on these projects.”
The $564,200 investment comes in two grant allocations:
The Town of East Haddam will receive $243,100 to aid its purchase of the Kronberg Property, a 75-acre property on the east side of North Moodus Road. Part of a 95-acre land purchase in total, these 75 acres will be dedicated open space, with a 22-acre hayfield having limited public access to protect local agriculture. The land is located next to East Haddam Middle School and has walking trails to expand upon the school’s trail network.
The East Haddam Land Trust will receive $321,100 to aid its purchase of the 123.37-acre Honey Hill Farm on the north side of Honey Hill Road in East Haddam. The property adds to a large open space corridor in southeast East Haddam including the Lena and Roaring Brook Reserves, Devil’s Hopyard State Park and the Nature Conservancy’s Burnham Brook Preserve. Existing woods roads will be incorporated into hiking trails, which can also be used for snow-shoeing and environmental education, and the land will enhance protections for animals like cottontail rabbits through land management.
In August 2022, Sen. Needleman wrote to the Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition program endorsing the Honey Hill Farm acquisition.
Senator Gaston Supports Senate Passage Of Bill Adding Financial Literacy To Graduation Requirements
Senator Gaston Supports Senate Passage Of Bill Adding Financial Literacy To Graduation Requirements
Today, state Senator Herron Keyon Gaston (D-Bridgeport) supports State Senate passage of a bill that will add personal financial management and financial literacy to the high school graduation requirements. These will be required beginning with the graduating class of 2027.
Senate Bill 1165, ‘An Act Concerning Financial Literacy Instruction,” passed the State Senate with a vote of 35-1 and now heads to the House of Representatives.
“When I was in high school I took Geometry, and I could not tell you about the formulas I learned but what I can tell you about is financial literacy and what I have become appointed to over the years as a result of my mastery of financial literacy,” said Sen. Gaston. “I think it’s important for students to know how to balance a checkbook. The community of Bridgeport will now have the opportunity to give students a better understanding of how to keep their finances in order. This financial literacy program will help drive individuals and their families out of poverty.”
Under Senate Bill 1165, a student will need a half of a credit of personal financial management and financial literacy in order to graduate High School. Currently, a student needs 25 total credits to graduate. Adding financial literacy to the list of credits needed does not increase the necessary credits for graduation. Adding a half credit will decrease 3 credits necessary for electives to 2.5.
Financial literacy includes banking, investing, savings, the handling of personal finance matters, and the impact of using credit cards and debit cards.
According to Forbes.com, over 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and can’t set aside any money for short-term or long-term financial goals. It’s not just a problem affecting low-income families: 41% of Americans earning between $150,000 to $200,000 per year live paycheck to paycheck. Credit card and student loan debt are at an all-time high. And it begins with education. Financially literate individuals have an understanding of basic financial concepts and can apply those skills in their own life. The sooner students understand these concepts, the better, especially if they come from backgrounds without prioritizing financial literacy.
According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), 53% of individuals with a higher financial literacy spent less than their income, and 65% had set aside a three-month emergency fund. In comparison, 35% of individuals with lower financial literacy spent less than they earned, and 42% had a three-month emergency fund set aside. When you learn how money works at a young age, you have the necessary skills to make positive financial decisions as an adult.
State Senator Doug McCrory Leads Senate Passage Of Bill Adding Financial Literacy To Graduation Requirements
State Senator Doug McCrory Leads Senate Passage Of Bill Adding Financial Literacy To Graduation Requirements
Today, state Senator Doug McCrory (D-Hartford), Senate Chair of the Education Committee, lead State Senate passage of a bill that will add personal financial management and financial literacy to the high school graduation requirements. These will be required beginning with the graduating class of 2027.
Senate Bill 1165, ‘An Act Concerning Financial Literacy Instruction,” passed the State Senate with a vote of 35-1 and now heads to the House of Representatives.
“I am thrilled all students in Connecticut will learn financial literacy regardless of which school district they live in, “said Sen. McCrory. “This levels the playing field for all students no matter their background and provides them all with the necessary resources they need to function in society. Learning about financial literacy can be beneficial from the time you are ten years old all the way until you retire.”
Under Senate Bill 1165, a student will need a half of a credit of personal financial management and financial literacy in order to graduate High School. Currently, a student needs 25 total credits to graduate. Adding financial literacy to the list of credits needed does not increase the necessary credits for graduation. Adding a half credit will decrease 3 credits necessary for electives to 2.5.
Financial literacy includes banking, investing, savings, the handling of personal finance matters, and the impact of using credit cards and debit cards.
According to Forbes.com, over 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and can’t set aside any money for short-term or long-term financial goals. It’s not just a problem affecting low-income families; 41% of Americans earning between $150,000 to $200,000 per year live paycheck to paycheck. Credit card and student loan debt are at an all-time high. And it begins with education. Financially literate individuals have an understanding of basic financial concepts and can apply those skills in their own life. The sooner students understand these concepts, the better, especially if they come from backgrounds without prioritizing financial literacy.
According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), 53% of individuals with a higher financial literacy spent less than their income, and 65% had set aside a three-month emergency fund. In comparison, 35% of individuals with lower financial literacy spent less than they earned, and 42% had a three-month emergency fund set aside. When you learn how money works at a young age, you have the necessary skills to make positive financial decisions as an adult.
State Senator Martha Marx Leads Senate Passage To Evaluate Best Methods Of Preserving Veteran Gravesites
State Senator Martha Marx Leads Senate Passage To Evaluate Best Methods Of Preserving Veteran Gravesites
Today, State Senator Martha Marx (D-New London), Senate Chair of the Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee, led the Senate’s passage of legislation seeking to ensure veterans’ graves will receive proper care. The bill will create a working group to ensure family members of deceased veterans buried in Connecticut cemeteries can raise concerns regarding the upkeep of their loves ones’ graves.
“This bill is a direct response to calls from constituents defending their loved ones’ final resting places,” said Sen. Marx. “We need to honor our veterans for all of their sacrifices, and that includes ensuring they retain their dignity in death. I’m looking forward to the findings of this working group and building on its recommendations in years to come.”
Senate Bill 642, “An Act Establishing A Working Group To Address Concerns Regarding The Upkeep Of Veterans’ Graves,” would create a seven-member working group including representatives from the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Consumer Protection and Public Health; a representative of the funeral service industry; a representative of a municipal leader organization; a representative of small towns; and a member of the cemetery industry. This working group would develop a process for family members of deceased veterans buried in Connecticut cemeteries to address concerns regarding the veterans’ graves. That working group would operate in the latter half of 2023, reporting their findings to the legislature no later than the start of 2024.
This bill came after lawmakers received reports from constituents regarding the quality and condition of their loved ones’ gravesites at a number of cemeteries across the state. Family members say they have little recourse to see the conditions improved due to limited resources at many cemeteries and limited legal oversight, the Hartford Courant reported earlier this year; some volunteers work to clean and clear gravesites themselves. State Senator Christine Cohen introduced the bill in January.