Month: November 2024

STATEMENT OF SENATE PRESIDENT LOONEY AND SENATE MAJORITY LEADER DUFF ON THE PASSING FOR FORMER GOVERNOR M. JODI RELL

Posted on by Devin James

STATEMENT OF SENATE PRESIDENT LOONEY AND SENATE MAJORITY LEADER DUFF ON THE PASSING FOR FORMER GOVERNOR M. JODI RELL

“Governor Rell was a gracious, compassionate, and intelligent leader for many years, guiding Connecticut and reassuring its citizens after the resignation of John Rowland. We always found her to be thoughtful, bipartisan, hardworking, and dedicated to improving the lives of Connecticut citizens. We extend our sympathies to her family and friends and encourage them to take comfort in the shining legacy that she has left the people of Connecticut.”

STATEMENT OF SENATE PRESIDENT LOONEY AND SENATE MAJORITY LEADER DUFF ON THE PASSING FOR FORMER GOVERNOR M. JODI RELL

Posted on by Devin James

STATEMENT OF SENATE PRESIDENT LOONEY AND SENATE MAJORITY LEADER DUFF ON THE PASSING FOR FORMER GOVERNOR M. JODI RELL

“Governor Rell was a gracious, compassionate, and intelligent leader for many years, guiding Connecticut and reassuring its citizens after the resignation of John Rowland. We always found her to be thoughtful, bipartisan, hardworking, and dedicated to improving the lives of Connecticut citizens. We extend our sympathies to her family and friends and encourage them to take comfort in the shining legacy that she has left the people of Connecticut.”

STATE SENATOR MARTHA MARX ISSUES STATEMENT ON PASSING OF GOVERNOR M. JODI RELL

Posted on by Devin James

STATE SENATOR MARTHA MARX ISSUES STATEMENT ON PASSING OF GOVERNOR M. JODI RELL

Today, State Senator Martha Marx (D-New London) issued the following statement on the passing of former Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell, who served Connecticut as Governor from 2004 to 2011, Lt. Governor from 1995 to 2004 and in the House of Representatives from 1985-1994:

“As the second female Governor in Connecticut’s history, Jodi Rell played a vital role to protect the state’s faith in leadership and used a kind, personal approach to connect with the public. She led Connecticut through uncertain times with a steady hand; I send my condolences to her loved ones.”

STATE SENATOR CECI MAHER RELEASES STATEMENT ON PASSING OF CONNECTICUT GOVERNOR M. JODI RELL

Posted on by Devin James

STATE SENATOR CECI MAHER RELEASES STATEMENT ON PASSING OF CONNECTICUT GOVERNOR M. JODI RELL

Today, State Senator Ceci Maher (D-Wilton) issued the following statement in response to the death of M. Jodi Rell, who served as Connecticut’s Governor from 2004 to 2011, Lt. Governor from 1995-2004 and in the House of Representatives from 1985-1995:

“After two decades of serving Connecticut in the House and as Lieutenant Governor, Jodi Rell assumed the Governorship during a key time in the state’s history. In a period where trust in state leadership could easily have eroded, Rell used a steady hand and a kind, respected approach to keep Connecticut on the right track. She set a strong example for leaders and women in our state; I send my condolences to her family and friends.”

SENATOR ANWAR ISSUES STATEMENT ON PASSING OF FORMER CONNECTICUT GOVERNOR JODI RELL

Posted on by Devin James

SENATOR ANWAR ISSUES STATEMENT ON PASSING OF FORMER CONNECTICUT GOVERNOR JODI RELL

Today, State Senator Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor) issued the following statement regarding the passing of former Connecticut Governor Jodi M. Rell, who led the state from 2004 to 2011, previously serving as Lieutenant Governor for nine years and in the House of Representatives for 10 years:

“Connecticut’s second female Governor, Jodi Rell, took the reins of our state during a fraught time. We needed a leader who could keep our state moving forward and retain trust in governance; she succeeded. She expressed kindness and welcoming to countless people across our state and long had a reputation for effective leadership across the aisle. My condolences go out to her friends and family.”

Connecticut Saves Businesses From Federal Unemployment Tax Increase

Posted on by Devin James

Connecticut Saves Businesses From Federal Unemployment Tax Increase

By Lawrence Cook
November 21 @ 9:00 am

Connecticut businesses will avoid an increase in federal unemployment taxes next year thanks to the state’s decision to repay all 2024 borrowing under the Unemployment Trust fund ahead of a Nov. 10 deadline, Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration announced Tuesday.

The move is expected to save state businesses $215 million.

This is the second year in a row that Connecticut has set aside money in the state budget to make Trust Fund payments, and the fourth consecutive year that Connecticut businesses will not need to pay special assessment fees in order to cover interest on the loans.

In a press release, Lamont said that stabilizing the fund had been a priority for his administration and had helped to save Connecticut employers millions in federal unemployment taxes and assessments.

“Over the last several years and in partnership with the legislature, we’ve worked to build predictability into the system so employers know what’s ahead and can hire and grow,” Lamont said.

Working with the governor, the Connecticut General Assembly passed Public Act 21-200 in 2021 and Public Act 22-67 in 2022, both of which promote long-term Trust Fund solvency. In 2022 the legislature allocated $195 million that the state received from the federal American Rescue Plan Act and directed it into the Unemployment Trust Fund.

Unemployment benefits are administered by the state Department of Labor and are paid from the Unemployment Trust Fund, which is designed to be fully funded by employers. The state borrows money from the federal government to pay unemployment benefits if the trust fund becomes insolvent. This borrowing is typically repaid by employers through increased taxes or special assessments on the interest associated with the loan.

Labor Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo said that Connecticut had prioritized a strong and growing economy by reducing the financial burden on employers.

“Governor Lamont and the legislature established laws that are now paying off for employers and the people and companies who do business with them,” she said.

Connecticut Christmas Movie Trail Celebrates the Value Of Local Holiday Films

Posted on by Devin James

Connecticut Christmas Movie Trail Celebrates the Value Of Local Holiday Films

By Joe O’Leary
November 20 @ 9:00 am

Just in time for the holiday season, the state Office of Tourism has released the first-ever Christmas Movie Trail, designed to draw holiday visitors to Connecticut to tour the places where their favorite comfort movies were filmed.

The trail, announced in a Tuesday press release from Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration, includes 22 stops across the state and features locations related to films released by companies including Netflix, Universal, Hallmark, Lifetime and BET.

The curated map serves as a celebration of Connecticut’s warm inns, idyllic winter landscapes and iconic beauty while drawing attention to the state’s film and media industry.

The trail covers locations across the state where films like “One Royal Holiday,” “Soul Santa” and “Holiday In Harlem” were filmed, sometimes with cities like Hartford filling in for other big cities like New York City. Each featured film, like “Ghosts of Christmas Always,” which filmed in Hartford locations including the Cornerstone deli on Main Street, has several recommended local landmarks for visitors to visit.

Visitors wanting to visit the locales of “Sugar Plum Twist,” a 2021 film shot in New London, East
Hampton and Haddam, among other locations, can visit Downtown New London, the Garde Arts Center and Norwich Town Hall. Meanwhile fans of “Next Stop, Christmas,” which was filmed in Essex, Old Saybrook and Deep River, can visit the Essex Steam Train or local restaurants while they travel the trail.

Some travelers may not know just how many holiday films were shot in Connecticut, either. Fans of Hallmark films may be interested to learn Melissa Joan Hart has shot several movies in Fairfield County, Middletown and Mystic, while names like Denise Richards, Kelsey Grammer, Chevy Chase and Christopher Lloyd have also joined the casts of local holiday movies in recent years.

The Christmas Movie Trail isn’t just a new style of tourism outreach, intended to support fans of any number of different holiday movies; it’s meant to highlight the many resources that make Connecticut great, including its small towns, inns and restaurants and unique attractions that come to life every winter.

The initiative is also drawing attention to Connecticut’s film industry, which has delivered more than $58 million to the state’s economy in recent years and spurred the creation of more than 2,000 jobs. Millions have been spent on lodging, foodservice and vehicle rentals through holiday filming, an important infusion of funds throughout the state supporting businesses from Fairfield to Windham Counties.

To read more about the Christmas Movie Trail, click here.

Democratic Officials Oppose New Rate Hike Request by Yankee Gas

Posted on by Devin James

Democratic Officials Oppose New Rate Hike Request by Yankee Gas

By Joe O’Leary
November 19 @ 9:00 am

Another salvo in Connecticut’s battle over rising utility costs was recently fired as Yankee Gas, a natural gas company and Eversource subsidiary, filed for a rate hike that would include a 43% increase in costs for thousands of customers who heat their homes with natural gas.

Amid a tightening regulatory environment in the Nutmeg State and increased eyes on utilities — none more so than Eversource after summer electric bills spiked — the proposal was met with little support from public officials.

Attorney General William Tong was one of the first to issue a statement responding to the request, noting that families were already facing high energy costs and can’t afford another increase.

“This is yet another tone-deaf slap in the face from our out-of-touch public utilities,” Tong said. “You don’t have to be a lawyer to see some basic obvious overreach in this filing. They’re asking for profits that are completely out of whack with other public utilities, including tacking on a non-starter ‘regulatory risk premium’ to account for the fact that our public utilities don’t like oversight and accountability.”

Tong’s comments reflect similar sentiments from Connecticut energy officials, who decried state utilities’ poor service, especially after the damage caused by Tropical Storm Isaias in 2020, when storm cleanup in some neighborhoods took more than a week. The company was fined $29 million in 2021 in response to its shortcomings in response to the storm.

Isaias served as a turning point for Connecticut’s approach to energy regulations, too. Since 2020, the Take Back Our Grid Act and 2023’s Senate Bill 7 worked to support ratepayers by providing more options for restitution in the event of bad storm response.

The policies also imposed “performance-based regulations” in the state, where companies’ performances are graded and their regulatory outlook changed based on how they treat customers.

In a statement, Eversource said it was pursuing a performance-based regulatory plan to prevent cost increases. U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal called Eversource’s “astronomical” rate increase a “cruel joke” and called on state regulators to reject it.

Last month, leaders of the Energy and Technology Committee stressed their commitment to using the legislative process to ensure that Connecticut utility companies are held accountable for their rate requests.

Flood-Impacted Residents, Businesses Face Tomorrow Deadline for Federal Benefits

Posted on by Devin James

Flood-Impacted Residents, Businesses Face Tomorrow Deadline for Federal Benefits

By Hugh McQuaid
November 18 @ 11:30 am


Connecticut residents whose homes or businesses were damaged as a result of historic flooding in August have until tomorrow, Nov. 19, to apply for two federal disaster assistance programs, Gov. Ned Lamont announced last week.

Recovery assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration is still available for those in Fairfield County, Litchfield County, and New Haven County impacted by damage during the Aug. 18 storm.

Those who have not yet submitted applications to FEMA can do so at DisasterAssistance.gov or in-person at the town hall in Southbury, which is located at 501 Main St. and will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Alternatively, FEMA will accept applications over the phone at 1-800-621-3362.

Meanwhile, businesses seeking to submit applications to the SBA can file online at SBA.gov/disaster, over the phone at 1-800-877-8339, or in person at the Business Recovery Center at the Oxford Town Hall, located at 486 Oxford Road. The center will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“At this point, we believe that the overwhelming majority of people who experienced damage from this storm and need disaster assistance have already begun the application process, but we want to remind anyone who may be waiting that they need to get their applications in by the November 19 deadline,” Lamont said in a press release.

The benefits offered by the two federal agencies are intended to supplement other disaster recovery efforts and will not completely compensate residents for all damages caused by the August storm.

As of Thursday, around $5.9 million in federal benefits had already been distributed to 278 small businesses and nonprofit organizations whose operations were damaged by the storm, according to the Lamont administration. Applications for those grants were accepted between early September and October.

In a statement, Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Daniel O’Keefe said the program had worked as intended.

“The grants gave these small businesses a lifeline when they needed it most and acted as a critical bridge to accessing the federal resources that came later in the recovery process,” O’Keefe said.

Senators Looney and Duff Call for Action to Protect Connecticut’s Values from Trump Policies

Posted on by Devin James

Senators Looney and Duff Call for Action to Protect Connecticut’s Values from Trump Policies

HARTFORD – Today, Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) and Senate Majority Leader Duff (D-Norwalk) sent a letter to Governor Ned Lamont urging anticipatory measures to safeguard Connecticut’s values ahead of President-Elect Donald Trump’s taking office on January 20, 2025.

“Mr. Trump has already pledged to enact a variety of significant public policy and economic changes that will likely adversely impact the health and well-being of millions of Americans, including our constituents here in Connecticut,” the senators said. “We must act now to ensure that Connecticut remains a safe, fair, and inclusive state for all, as promised in our Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and Bill of Rights.”

The Senate leaders cited several concerns about how a second Trump administration could negatively impact Connecticut’s values, including women’s health care rights, protections for LGBTQ+ individuals, and public health safety.

The full letter is below.

The Honorable Ned Lamont
Governor, State of Connecticut
State Capitol
210 Capitol Avenue
Hartford, CT 0610

Dear Governor Lamont,
We write this letter urging you to continue to work with us and to take anticipatory measures to ensure that Connecticut is well-prepared to safeguard our common values and safety ahead of President-Elect Donald Trump’s taking office on January 20, 2025. Mr. Trump has already pledged to enact a variety of significant public policy and economic changes that will likely adversely impact the health and well-being of millions of Americans, including our constituents here in Connecticut.
We appreciate the efforts of your administration, the Department of Public Health, UConn, legislators, and others who are currently developing a plan to stockpile doses of mifepristone. States such as Massachusetts, Washington, and New York have already taken similar actions, and we are pleased that Connecticut plans to follow their lead. Time is of the essence, and we must act promptly to ensure the safety and protection of women in Connecticut. Tens of millions of American women have already seen their reproductive healthcare options diminished by Mr. Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court and various Republican state legislatures. We need to do our part here in Connecticut to ensure that a new Trump administration does not further undermine these rights for our residents.
We will not passively acquiesce to Mr. Trump’s Republican agenda as outlined in the odious Project 2025 presidential transition plan. To effectively counter Project 2025, we must develop an effective strategy among Connecticut state agencies to protect critical human rights and services. We must protect LGBTQ+ and other human rights and reassure all of our citizens that, here in Connecticut, they should not fear discriminatory Republican actions based solely on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
We must protect the health and well-being of Connecticut residents against Mr. Trump’s statement that he’ll “make a decision” about banning vaccinations in America and that he may appoint to his cabinet a man opposed to fluoride in our public drinking water supplies and to vaccines that have protected generations of American children.
We are prepared to partner with you and with other New England governors and legislatures to establish a unified, regional response to protect our citizens and their families. Partnering with our surrounding New England states will strengthen our reaction to any Trump administration attacks on human rights and the economy while amplifying our commitment to our citizens. We must act now to ensure that Connecticut remains a safe, fair, and inclusive state for all, as promised in our Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and Bill of Rights.

Signed,

Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney & Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kevin Coughlin | 203-710-0193 | kevin.coughlin@cga.ct.gov