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Author: Devin James
STATEMENT OF SENATE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE MARTIN LOONEY AND SENATE MAJORITY LEADER BOB DUFF ON GOVERNOR LAMONT’S VETO OF H.B. 5431, “AN ACT ESTABLISHING A CONNECTICUT FAMILIES AND WORKERS ACCOUNT”
Tuesday, June 11, 2024
STATEMENT OF SENATE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE MARTIN LOONEY AND SENATE MAJORITY LEADER BOB DUFF ON GOVERNOR LAMONT’S VETO OF H.B. 5431, “AN ACT ESTABLISHING A CONNECTICUT FAMILIES AND WORKERS ACCOUNT”
“It is disappointing that this legislation has been vetoed by the governor. The bill would have provided important relief to low-income workers. Legislators will return next year with a renewed focus on passing the original version of this bill, which the Senate passed two years ago.
“H.B. 5431 would have had a limited impact on employers and businesses and was designed to address an increase in an employer’s unemployment compensation costs by providing state funds to meet this need. We are determined to return with the original concept which will address the governor’s concern regarding “criteria for eligibility or the specific types of assistance that will be provided.”
“Our neighboring states of New York and New Jersey have passed legislation providing unemployment compensation to workers who have been on strike for two weeks or more; these bills were signed into law by Democratic governors. Workers do not strike casually or without justification; striking usually results only when employers have been intransigent or have refused to bargain in good faith. These workers often sustain hardships due to the painful decision to strike, which this bill sought to address and ease.
“The commitment to advance equity for workers will continue in the next session.”
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STATEMENT OF SENATE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE MARTIN LOONEY AND SENATE MAJORITY LEADER BOB DUFF ON GOVERNOR LAMONT’S VETO OF H.B. 5431, “AN ACT ESTABLISHING A CONNECTICUT FAMILIES AND WORKERS ACCOUNT”
Tuesday, June 11, 2024
STATEMENT OF SENATE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE MARTIN LOONEY AND SENATE MAJORITY LEADER BOB DUFF ON GOVERNOR LAMONT’S VETO OF H.B. 5431, “AN ACT ESTABLISHING A CONNECTICUT FAMILIES AND WORKERS ACCOUNT”
“It is disappointing that this legislation has been vetoed by the governor. The bill would have provided important relief to low-income workers. Legislators will return next year with a renewed focus on passing the original version of this bill, which the Senate passed two years ago.
“H.B. 5431 would have had a limited impact on employers and businesses and was designed to address an increase in an employer’s unemployment compensation costs by providing state funds to meet this need. We are determined to return with the original concept which will address the governor’s concern regarding “criteria for eligibility or the specific types of assistance that will be provided.”
“Our neighboring states of New York and New Jersey have passed legislation providing unemployment compensation to workers who have been on strike for two weeks or more; these bills were signed into law by Democratic governors. Workers do not strike casually or without justification; striking usually results only when employers have been intransigent or have refused to bargain in good faith. These workers often sustain hardships due to the painful decision to strike, which this bill sought to address and ease.
“The commitment to advance equity for workers will continue in the next session.”
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New Law Enhances Training for Connecticut Hairstylists on Curly, Coiled, and Wavy Hair
New Law Enhances Training for Connecticut Hairstylists on Curly, Coiled, and Wavy Hair
New hairstylists and barbers in Connecticut will receive training on caring for a more diverse range of hair types under a new law celebrated Monday by the governor and supporters during a ceremonial bill signing in Stamford.
The law, which was passed during this year’s legislative session, requires that the curriculum for barbers and hairstylists include training to provide services for people with curly, coiled and wavy hair.
The bill was championed by Sen. Patricia Billie Miller, a Stamford Democrat who chairs the legislature’s Black and Puerto Rican Caucus. During Monday’s event at Vanity Studio in Stamford, Miller said the new policy would help ensure that no one is turned away from hair salons based on a stylist’s unfamiliarity with textured hair.
“For me, it’s about social justice,” Miller said, “it’s about inclusivity, it’s about making sure that there’s equity, because I was one of those individuals where doors were closed on me. When someone walks into a salon, they should be able to have the service, and not — and I’ve been there — say, ‘we don’t do that type of hair.’”
Before putting his signature on ceremonial copies of the bill, Gov. Ned Lamont credited Miller with leading passage of the new law. The governor said the policy was part of an ongoing effort to ensure the civil rights of all residents.
“This is a battle that never ends and we keep fighting it everyday,” Lamont said. “This is just one more small way that we’re able to fight this battle: treat everybody with respect they need, starting with how they look and how their hair is treated.”
ShaQueen Valentine, co-founder of Vanity Studio, said that diversifying the training of barbers and stylists would open up opportunities for hair care businesses across Connecticut.
“This opens the market up for you as a business owner as well as allow these clients to feel welcome in every salon,” Valentine said. “The curly, coily curls are also movers and shakers and they’ve got places to go and people to see and they want to feel welcome and feel as though there is a stylist in your salon that is knowledgeable and skilled in their hair texture.”
The new policy builds on the 2021 CROWN Act, which prohibited discrimination based on natural hairstyles like Afros, dreadlocks, twists among others. Connecticut’s new textured hair training requirement puts it alongside just three other states: Louisiana, New York, and Minnesota.
Miller said she hoped Connecticut would next review training requirements for skin care professionals. Everyone should feel confident they can receive quality services from cosmetology businesses licensed by the state, she said.
“I should be able to walk into a salon [run] by someone that does not look like me and ask for services as long as your door is open,” she said.
Posted by Hugh McQuaid
Sen. Lesser Welcomes $554k for Pistol Creek Trail
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SENATORS LOONEY & CABRERA WELCOME STATE BOND COMMISSION APPROVAL OF $8.69 MILLION FOR HAMDEN AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND STREETSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 7, 2024
SENATORS LOONEY & CABRERA WELCOME STATE BOND COMMISSION APPROVAL OF $8.69 MILLION FOR HAMDEN AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND STREETSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS
HAMDEN – Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney (D-New Haven) and state Senator Jorge Cabrera (D-Hamden) today welcomed State Bond Commission approval of an $8.69 million investment in Hamden that will help build 64 units of affordable rental housing at 2980 State Street.
One-quarter of the units are designated for disabled, unhoused persons, or people with intellectual or developmental disabilities receiving support from the Mid-State ARC. The funds approved today will also be used for a Community Hub facility and pedestrian and streetscape improvements around 2980 State Street.
The funding was first approved on March 12 by the Community Investment Fund 2030 Board and then recommended to the governor to be approved by the State Bond Commission.
“Hamden has made great strides in offering affordable housing options, and it’s one of the Top 12 towns in Connecticut that has increased its stock of affordable housing between 2011 and 2022. This grant will only accelerate Hamden’s success,” said Sen. Looney, who is Co-Chair of the CIF Board.
“The lack of affordable housing in Connecticut is a real problem, and we need real solutions,” Sen Cabrera said. “Hamden is a part of that solution, and that’s what this grant will help us do – create more than five dozen additional units of affordable housing in town.”
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SENATORS LOONEY & CABRERA WELCOME STATE BOND COMMISSION APPROVAL OF $8.69 MILLION FOR HAMDEN AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND STREETSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 7, 2024
SENATORS LOONEY & CABRERA WELCOME STATE BOND COMMISSION APPROVAL OF $8.69 MILLION FOR HAMDEN AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND STREETSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS
HAMDEN – Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney (D-New Haven) and state Senator Jorge Cabrera (D-Hamden) today welcomed State Bond Commission approval of an $8.69 million investment in Hamden that will help build 64 units of affordable rental housing at 2980 State Street.
One-quarter of the units are designated for disabled, unhoused persons, or people with intellectual or developmental disabilities receiving support from the Mid-State ARC. The funds approved today will also be used for a Community Hub facility and pedestrian and streetscape improvements around 2980 State Street.
The funding was first approved on March 12 by the Community Investment Fund 2030 Board and then recommended to the governor to be approved by the State Bond Commission.
“Hamden has made great strides in offering affordable housing options, and it’s one of the Top 12 towns in Connecticut that has increased its stock of affordable housing between 2011 and 2022. This grant will only accelerate Hamden’s success,” said Sen. Looney, who is Co-Chair of the CIF Board.
“The lack of affordable housing in Connecticut is a real problem, and we need real solutions,” Sen Cabrera said. “Hamden is a part of that solution, and that’s what this grant will help us do – create more than five dozen additional units of affordable housing in town.”
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DANBURY DELEGATION CELEBRATES FUNDING FOR SOUTH MAIN STREET REVITALIZATION
For IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 7, 2024
DANBURY DELEGATION CELEBRATES FUNDING FOR SOUTH MAIN STREET REVITALIZATION
DANBURY — State Senator Julie Kushner and state Representatives Bob Godfrey and Farley Santos today welcomed the State Bond Commission approval of $1,325,000 for the South Main Street Revitalization project in Danbury.
The funds will be used to improve sidewalks at the intersection of Park and Main Streets, make renovations to Elmwood Park, and conduct a neighborhood drainage study.
The project was first approved by the Community Investment Fund Board in March, but needed final approval today from the State Bond Commission before the funds can be released.
“This state money will help improve the heart of downtown Danbury, home to our community center and senior center and so many thriving businesses,” said Sen. Kushner. “I want to thank Senate President Looney and Speaker Ritter, who are the co-chairs of the Community Investment Fund Board, for recommending this project for approval back in March. The ongoing state investments in the people and places of Danbury are truly amazing and are genuinely appreciated.”
“We worked with each other and with Mayor Roberto Alves to upgrade the area near the old courthouse. It supports the plans to construct badly needed housing along Park Place. It revitalizes an important part of downtown and begins to deal with the flooding between Main St. and Town Hill Avenue. I’m always happy to bring money home to Danbury,” said Rep. Godfrey.
“I am delighted to see that our collaborative efforts, together with Mayor Roberto Alves, to champion for Danbury, are consistently yielding positive outcomes for our community,” said Rep. Farley Santos. “I am pleased to receive this funding, which will facilitate crucial enhancements for this area of our city.”
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Stamford Delegation Welcomes $3.2 Million in Funding from the State Bond Commission
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EAST HARTFORD DELEGATION WELCOMES $20 MILLION IN BONDING FOR LOCAL BUIDLING PROJECTS
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