Author: Devin James

SEN. OSTEN WELCOMES $776,000 IN STATE GRANTS FOR NORWICH ARTS & HISTORICAL ORGANIZATIONS, EASTERN PEQUOTS

Posted on by Devin James

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

SEN. OSTEN WELCOMES $776,000 IN STATE GRANTS FOR NORWICH ARTS & HISTORICAL ORGANIZATIONS, EASTERN PEQUOTS

NORWICH – State Senator Cathy Osten (D-Sprague) today welcomed news that two Norwich organizations will receive more than $355,000 in state grants to improve their facilities and their public outreach.

Artreach, Inc. in Norwich, which is an arts and health agency supporting mental health and wellness through the creative and performing arts, will receive $49,450 to create a trauma-sensitive and accessible space that will continue to serve as a classroom and rehearsal space.

The Norwich Historical Society, founded nearly a quarter-century ago to preserve, protect and promote the rich history of Norwich, will receive $306,053 to partner with the Society of the Founders of Norwich to create a campus where the circa 1675 Leffingwell House Museum will be the museum space, and the Greenleaf house will be the handicapped-accessible multipurpose event space.

“We’ve just finished the state budget, which makes huge investments in the nuts and bolts of everyday life in Connecticut, like education and public safety. But we’ve also taken time in the past to set aside funds to invest in our local arts and historical organizations and all the other types of local nonprofits that really make up the fabric of each community, that everyone recognizes and values. That’s what these grants are all about,” Sen. Osten said. “These are great investments in the fabric of our towns, and I’m pleased to have voted for this program nine years ago and I’m thankful to Governor Lamont and the DECD for recognizing the value of these projects.”

Also announced today, the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation in North Stonington will receive a $421,050 grant to develop public programs that value their ancestry, traditions, and way of life.

The grants were announced today by Governor Ned Lamont. Connecticut is releasing more than $7 million in state grants to several nonprofit organizations for the purposes of making facility and infrastructure upgrades at 34 cultural and historic sites statewide.

The funds are being released under the state’s Good to Great Grant Program, which is co-administered by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) and CT Humanities. Good to Great 2.0 grants of up to $500,000 fund capital projects for nonprofit arts, cultural, or history organizations that connect art, history, and tourism to enhance visitors’ experience of an arts or cultural venue and/or historic site. Funded through Public Act 14-98, which Sen. Osten voted for, Good to Great grants are intended for capital projects that not only look beyond basic facilities repair, rehabilitation, or expansion but also

towards new means of sharing and telling the stories of our cultural and historic sites in engaging, meaningful, and relevant ways.

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SEN. OSTEN WELCOMES SUPREME COURT DECISION ON NATIVE AMERICAN ADOPTIONS, ISSUES STATEMENT OF SUPPORT

Posted on by Devin James

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, June 15, 2023

SEN. OSTEN WELCOMES SUPREME COURT DECISION ON NATIVE AMERICAN ADOPTIONS, ISSUES STATEMENT OF SUPPORT

State Senator Cathy Osten (D-Sprague), who is a strong advocate for Connecticut’s Native American tribes and of other tribes across the country, welcomed today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision which upheld a 1978 law, the Indian Child Welfare Act or “ICWA”, aimed at keeping Native American adoptees with their tribes and traditions.

“This Supreme Court decision today is a big deal. It really is. This decision is a win for humanity and a recognition of the fact that tribal nations are sovereign and that they have the right to govern themselves, and that their citizens are a part of their nation,” said Sen. Osten, whose 19th State Senate District includes the towns of Montville and Ledyard and borders the sovereign tribal nations of the Mashantucket Pequots and the Mohegans. “This year in Connecticut we incorporated the federal ICWA and all its definitions into state statute. We spelled it out in Connecticut, not knowing what the outcome of this Supreme Court decision would be.”

Last year, Sen. Osten successfully passed legislation – House Bill 5336, “AN ACT APPLYING THE PROVISIONS OF THE INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT TO CHILD CUSTODY, PLACEMENT, ADOPTION AND TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS PROCEEDINGS INVOLVING AN INDIAN CHILD” – to ensure that the provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act apply to child custody, placement, adoption and termination of parental rights proceedings involving an Indian child. The bill required the state Department of Children and Families commissioner to make sure that any action or proceeding under the child welfare laws involving an American Indian child’s custody or placement in a foster or adoptive home, or the termination of the child’s parents’ parental rights, is according to the federal ICWA.

This year, Sen. Osten successfully passed legislation – Senate Bill 1204, “AN ACT CONCERNING THE CONNECTICUT INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT” – which codified the federal ICWA into Connecticut state statutes; her bill was passed in the event the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the tribes and Connecticut tribal families needed protection. The bill generally codifies into state law the federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 which governs jurisdiction over the removal of American Indian children from their families in custody, foster care, and adoption cases. In doing so, the bill expands ICWA’s coverage to the state-recognized Golden Hill Paugussett, Paucatuck Eastern Pequot, and Schaghticoke Tribes (the federal ICWA already applies to federally recognized tribes.)

According to reporting from the New York Times, the U.S. Supreme Court case stems from a white foster couple from Texas who had filed a lawsuit against five tribes and the Interior Department as they battled over the adoption of a Native American child. Under ICWA, preference is given to Native families, a policy that the Texas couple said violated equal protection principles and discriminated against Native children and non-Native families who wanted to adopt them because it hinges on placement based on race. The tribes argued that they

are political entities, not racial groups, and that doing away with that distinction, which underpins tribal rights, could imperil nearly every aspect of Indian law and policy, including measures that govern access to land, water and gambling.

The 1978 ICWA legislation was designed to address the legacy of abuses of Native American children, hundreds of thousands of whom had been separated from their tribes to be raised by families with no connection to their culture.

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SEN. OSTEN HONORS CADET NURSES, CALLS FOR FEDERAL PROGRAM TO ADDRESS NATIONAL NURSING SHORTAGE

Posted on by Devin James

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, June 15, 2023

SEN. OSTEN HONORS CADET NURSES, CALLS FOR FEDERAL PROGRAM TO ADDRESS NATIONAL NURSING SHORTAGE

HARTFORD – On the day that Connecticut now recognizes as Cadet Nurse Corps Day, state Senator Cathy Osten (D-Sprague) took a moment to honor all those who served in the United States Cadet Nurse Corps and to suggest that the federal government could help address the current national nursing shortage – America needs to add 200,000 nurses a year for the next several years – by creating a new national nursing program patterned after the World War II program.

The United States Cadet Nurse Corps was established by Congress on June 15, 1943; the Connecticut legislature voted in 2018 to recognize the day every year. The purpose of the Nurse Cadet Corps was to ensure that America had enough nurses to care for its citizens at home and abroad during World War II; it’s estimated that by the end of the war in 1945, about 125,000 cadet nurses were providing 80 percent of the nursing care in American hospitals while other nurses served overseas.

“Our country is today facing a shortage of nurses much like the nursing shortage during World War II,” said Sen. Osten, who is a U.S. Army veteran. “While Connecticut is working to increase its healthcare workforce, and will continue to do so, a national program patterned after Cadet Nurse Corps from World War II is needed because of the critical shortage of nurses America is once again facing. Our country needs an increase in nurses and other healthcare professionals: dealing with this shortage is imperative. There’s not a state in our union that isn’t suffering from a shortage of nurses, from Louisiana to Alaska, from Connecticut to South Dakota, the need is great. So let’s bring back the United States Cadet Nurse Corps!”

The nurse corps was a non-discriminatory program that allowed Native Americans, African Americans, and relocated Japanese-Americans to participate. The program was open to women ages of 17 to 35, in good health, who had graduated from an accredited high school. Successful applicants were eligible for a government subsidy that paid for tuition, books, uniforms, and a stipend. In exchange, they were required to pledge to actively serve in essential civilian or federal government services for the duration of World War II.

The American Hospital Association credited the cadet student nurses with helping to prevent the collapse of nursing during the war. The Corps operated from 1943 until 1948: 124,065 women graduated from participating nursing schools, including about 3,000 African Americans, 40 Native Americans, and 400 Japanese Americans. The federal government spent $160 million on the program.

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KUSHNER HIGHLIGHTS FUNDING FOR DANBURY IN BIPARTISAN STATE BUDGET

Posted on by Devin James

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

KUSHNER HIGHLIGHTS FUNDING FOR DANBURY IN BIPARTISAN STATE BUDGET

More Aid for Local Schools and Nonprofits Rounds Out Bipartisan Two-Year State Spending and Revenue Plan

HARTFORD – State Senator Julie Kushner (D-Danbury) today joined in the bipartisan Senate passage of a two-year state budget that includes a historic middle-class personal income tax cut while simultaneously providing towns more money for local schools as well as funding much-needed state social service programs.

The $51.1 billion biennial state budget passed the Senate today on a bipartisan vote of 35-1. The new state budget includes a total of $612 million in personal income and pension tax cuts while providing $232 million more in state aid to local school districts and hundreds of millions more for nonprofits to pay their employees higher wages.

“I like the middle-class tax relief in this budget and the $12 million extra for the Danbury public schools, as well as nearly a million dollars more in state aid for Danbury,” Sen. Kushner said. “But there’s no question that we need to find more resources for childcare, nonprofits, and our state universities.”

In the new state budget, Danbury will receive an extra $12,622,576 in state Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grants over the next two years compared to what they are receiving now, and another $918,933 in other state aid such as Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT), Local Capital Improvements (LOCIP), and Town Aid Roads (TAR) — equal to about .65 mils in local property taxes every year.

The budget passed today also includes the first personal income tax cut in Connecticut in nearly 30 years, and it’s focused on Connecticut’s broad middle class – those earning up to $100,000 a year – although all taxpayers will benefit to some extent.

The current 3% income tax rate on the first $10,000 earned by single filers and the $20,000 earned by couples will drop to 2%, and the 5% income tax rate imposed on the next $40,000 earned by singles and $80,000 earned by couples will drop to 4.5%. The income tax cuts are expected to save middle-class households $300 to $500 per year.

The new budget also expands the income tax credit for Connecticut’s working poor from 30.5% of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit to 40%, helping approximately 200,000 Connecticut households.

The new budget also expands the income tax exemption for some pension and annuity earnings, expanding it to single filers making $75,000 – $100,000 and couples making $100,000 -$150,000.

On the spending side, local school districts are the winners, with many towns getting more state aid and no city or town being cut. The new budget provides $232 million more in Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grants for Connecticut cities and towns, thereby helping to keep local property tax rates low. There’s also $16 million to continue expanded free school meals for children.

Private provider organizations that contract for state-sponsored social services (like aging, disability, corrections, housing, mental health and addiction, early childhood, etc.) will receive $87 million more in each year of the budget, providing 4% and 5.4% cost of living wage increases for their employees.

Other budget highlights include:

· $5 million for the Firefighters Fund for the firefighters cancer relief account to support program benefit expenses

· $3 million to expand HUSKY health care for children up to age 15, regardless of their immigration status

· $6 million to expand GPS monitoring of domestic violence offenders across the state

· $5.4 million to implement early voting initiatives

· Restores 100% of service on the New Haven train line and branch lines next year

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SEN. FLEXER HIGHLIGHTS FUNDING FOR DISTRICT IN BIPARTISAN STATE BUDGET

Posted on by Devin James

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

SEN. FLEXER HIGHLIGHTS FUNDING FOR DISTRICT IN BIPARTISAN STATE BUDGET

More Aid for Local Schools and Nonprofits Rounds Out Bipartisan Two-Year State Spending and Revenue Plan

HARTFORD – State Senator Mae Flexer today joined in the bipartisan Senate passage of a two-year state budget that includes a historic middle-class personal income tax cut while simultaneously providing towns more money for local schools as well as funding much-needed state social service programs.

The $51.1 billion biennial state budget for July 2023-June 2025 passed the Senate today on a bipartisan vote of xx-xx. The new state budget includes a total of $612 million in personal income and pension tax cuts while providing $300 million more in state aid to local school districts and hundreds of millions more for nonprofits to pay their employees higher wages.

“I approach this budget with mixed emotions. The budget reflects the values of our state, and there are some areas in this budget where I am proud of those values. Paying down our debt. An increase in the earned income tax credit, which helps a lot of families in my district. I value the budget support for Day Kimball Hospital in northeastern Connecticut,” Sen. Flexer said. “But there is disappointment in this budget as well, such as the lack of support for our nonprofit agencies. There’s not a person in this legislature who doesn’t value the work that these people do, but we should have represented them better in this budget. Access to higher education is also a deep concern of mine. The second year of our state budget will severely limit who is able to go to a public college in Connecticut. There was a time when college was not accessible to everyone. Now that it has become more accessible, we seem to be pulling back funding. Why is that? We should do better for our students.”

In the new state budget, Sen. Flexer’s 29th State Senate District towns of Brooklyn, Mansfield and Windham will receive a combined $5,355,535 in additional Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grants compared to what they’re currently receiving.

The budget passed today also includes the first personal income tax cut in Connecticut in nearly 30 years, and it’s focused on Connecticut’s broad middle class – those earning up to $100,000 a year – although all taxpayers will benefit to some extent.

The current 3% income tax rate on the first $10,000 earned by single filers and the $20,000 earned by couples will drop to 2%, and the 5% income tax rate imposed on the next $40,000 earned by singles and $80,000 earned by couples will drop to 4.5%. The income tax cuts are expected to save middle-class households $300 to $500 per year.

The new budget also expands the income tax credit for Connecticut’s working poor from 30.5% of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit to 40%, helping approximately 200,000 Connecticut households.

The new budget also expands the income tax exemption for some pension and annuity earnings, expanding it to single filers making $75,000 – $100,000 and couples making $100,000 -$150,000.

On the spending side, local school districts are the winners, with many towns getting more state aid and no city or town being cut. The new budget provides $300 million more in Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grants for Connecticut cities and towns, thereby helping to keep local property tax rates low. There’s also $16 million to continue expanded free school meals for children.

Private provider organizations that contract for state-sponsored social services (like aging, disability, corrections, housing, mental health and addiction, early childhood, etc.) will receive $87 million more in each year of the budget, providing 4% and 5.4% cost of living wage increases for their employees.

Other budget highlights include:

· $3 million to expand HUSKY health care for children up to age 15, regardless of their immigration status

· $6 million to expand GPS monitoring of domestic violence offenders across the state

· $5.4 million to implement early voting initiatives

· Restores 100% of service on the New Haven train line and branch lines next year

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SEN. KUSHNER HIGHLIGHTS FUNDING FOR DANBURY IN BIPARTISAN STATE BUDGET

Posted on by Devin James

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

SEN. KUSHNER HIGHLIGHTS FUNDING FOR DANBURY IN BIPARTISAN STATE BUDGET

More Funding for Danbury Public Schools and Nonprofits Rounds Out Bipartisan Two-Year State Spending and Revenue Plan

HARTFORD – State Senator Julie Kushner (D-Danbury) today joined in the bipartisan Senate passage of a two-year state budget that includes a historic middle-class personal income tax cut while simultaneously providing towns more money for local schools as well as funding much-needed state social service programs.

The $51.1 billion biennial state budget passed the Senate today on a bipartisan vote of 35-1. The new state budget includes a total of $612 million in personal income and pension tax cuts while providing $232 million more in state aid to local school districts and hundreds of millions more for nonprofits to pay their employees higher wages.

“There’s so much in this budget that makes me proud to be in the state Senate representing working families. This budget provides $12.6 million in new funding for the Danbury Public Schools, which is the biggest school funding increase from the state since I was elected in 2018! Supporting our public schools has been one of my top priorities,” Sen. Kushner said. “Danbury will also receive nearly $1 million more in other, new municipal aid.”

In the new state budget, Danbury will receive an extra $12,622,576 in state Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grants over the next two years compared to what they are receiving now, and another $918,933 in other state aid such as Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT), Local Capital Improvements (LOCIP), and Town Aid Roads (TAR).

This budget also includes $5.8 million in the firefighters’ cancer relief fund, allowing firefighters and their survivors to access benefits equivalent to benefits covered under the state’s Workers’ Compensation system and line-of-duty death benefits provided to other first responders.

“Firefighters risk their lives to protect our property and save lives, but too often they come into contact with carcinogens. I’ve been working with the firefighters’ union for four years to expand coverage, and this year, in this budget, we made huge strides,” Sen. Kushner said.

The budget passed today also includes the first personal income tax cut in Connecticut in nearly 30 years, and it’s focused on Connecticut’s broad middle class – those earning up to $100,000 a year – although all taxpayers will benefit to some extent.

The current 3% income tax rate on the first $10,000 earned by single filers and the $20,000 earned by couples will drop to 2%, and the 5% income tax rate imposed on the next $40,000 earned by singles and $100,000 earned by couples will drop to 4.5%. The income tax cuts are expected to save middle-class households $300 to $500 per year.

The new budget also expands the income tax credit for Connecticut’s working poor from 30.5% of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit to 40%, helping approximately 200,000 Connecticut households.

The new budget also expands the income tax exemption for some pension and annuity earnings, expanding it to single filers making $75,000 – $100,000 and couples making $100,000 -$150,000.

On the spending side, local school districts are the winners, with many towns getting more state aid and no city or town being cut. The new budget provides $232 million more in Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grants for Connecticut cities and towns, thereby helping to keep local property tax rates low. There’s also $16 million to continue expanded free school meals for children, and restoration and continuation of meals for our seniors.

Private provider organizations that contract for state-sponsored social services (like aging, disability, corrections, housing, mental health and addiction, early childhood, etc.) will receive $87 million more in each year of the budget, providing 4% and 5.4% cost of living wage increases for their employees.

Other budget highlights include:

· $3 million to expand HUSKY health care for children up to age 15, regardless of their immigration status

· $6 million to expand GPS monitoring of domestic violence offenders across the state

· $4.4 million to implement early voting initiatives

· Restores 100% of service on the New Haven train line and branch lines next year

“While this budget goes a long way toward helping working families in Connecticut, there are also disappointments. We know that we have much to do to fully fund our state universities, to fully fund our non-profits to reward those who care for those who need caring most, and to invest in our children and families by investing more in quality, affordable childcare,” Sen. Kushner said.

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SENS. KUSHNER AND MAHER WELCOME STATE BUDGET INVESTMENTS IN RIDGEFIELD

Posted on by Devin James

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

SENS. KUSHNER AND MAHER WELCOME STATE BUDGET INVESTMENTS IN RIDGEFIELD

RIDGEFIELD – State Senators Julie Kushner (D-Danbury) and Ceci Maher (D-Wilton) announced that the new biennial state budget approved today by the state Senate provides $350,000 for two beloved Ridgefield landmarks: $100,000 for the Ridgefield Playhouse and $250,000 for The Ridgefield Theatre Barn.

Both Sens. Kushner and Maher represent portions of Ridgefield in the state Senate.

What will the money be used for??

“Both of these facilities are beloved by the public, but they’re also older venues that could use an infusion of tender loving care. That’s what these state funds are intended for,” Sen. Kushner said.

Maher comment

After three decades as a high school and town theatre, what would later become The Ridgefield Playhouse was abandoned in 1972 when a new, larger high school was built. In 1994, a group of Ridgefield residents got together and formed the Friends of the Ridgefield Performing Arts Center. A building committee was created, and in December 2000 The Ridgefield Playhouse opened its doors. The Ridgefield Playhouse presents more than 200 live shows annually, plus movies, hosting more than 100,000 patrons every year.

The Ridgefield Theatre Barn was founded in 1965 when a handful of Ridgefield residents banded together to form a small theater group dedicated to providing community theater. This not-for-profit organization grew into the Ridgefield Workshop for the Performing Arts, Inc. Housed in a rustic converted dairy barn leased from the town of Ridgefield, the Workshop continues to produce an ongoing series of comedies, dramas, and musicals. It performs four shows per year, with performers chosen through open auditions.

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SEN. KUSHNER GIVES FINAL APROVAL TO SQUANTZ POND PUBLIC PARKING LIMITS BILL

Posted on by Devin James

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, June 2, 2023

SEN. KUSHNER GIVES FINAL APROVAL TO SQUANTZ POND PUBLIC PARKING LIMITS BILL

NEW FAIRFIELD – Heeding the concerns of local leaders and public safety officials, state Senator Julie Kushner (D-Danbury) today voted with the state Senate to give final approval to a bill that will create a new definition of park capacity at Squantz Pond State Park in order to ensure public safety and improve visitors’ state park experience.

House Bill 5009, “AN ACT CONCERNING THE PUBLIC SAFETY CAPACITY OF SQUANTZ POND STATE PARK,” passed the Senate on a unanimous and bipartisan 36-0 vote. The bill now heads to Governor Ned Lamont for his signature of the bill into law.

“There have long been reports of people walking along the roadway, carrying coolers and grills and beach chairs, with children. It’s so dangerous. And I’m so worried. And it’s been going on for years,” Sen. Kushner told the Senate chamber today moments before voting for the bill. “But working with First Selectman Pat Del Monaco and Selectman Khris Hall, the New Fairfield legislative delegation has been able to arrive at a solution that will help avoid a pedestrian disaster while at the same time improving everyone’s visit to Squantz Pond. Nobody wants to be packed in like sardines on the beach. Soon we’ll have new capacity rules, so whether you’re driving from Danbury or New York, you’ll know: get to Squantz Pond State Park early, or plan to make other plans.”

“I would like to thank Senator Kushner for her leadership in the Connecticut Senate to pass this important piece of public safety legislation for New Fairfield,” First Selectman Del Monaco

said. “Overflow crowds at Squantz Pond and on our roads has been an issue for many years. We are thankful to our delegation for their support.”

“Without Senator Kushner’s leadership in the Senate, this bill would not have passed this year,” Selectman Hall said. “We have been working on this for a number of years, and I am grateful for her support of a priority piece of public safety legislation for New Fairfield.”

HB 5009 requires the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to develop and publicly post the capacity limit of Squantz Pond State Park by January 31, 2024. Under the bill, DEEP must use the following factors when determining the capacity limit:

· the number of visitors and swimmers that can be safely supervised given the park and lifeguard staffing levels,

· the park’s parking and public restroom capacity

· pedestrian and vehicular traffic on any highway without a sidewalk leading to the park that may threaten pedestrians’ public safety or impede emergency vehicles using the highway, and

· the DEEP commissioner’s authority to use the number of vehicles entering the park as a proxy for the number of park visitors.

The bill also requires DEEP to coordinate with municipal and state law enforcement to implement traffic control efforts to minimize public safety concerns on local and state roads and allows DEEP to close the park to new entrants when the capacity limit is reached.

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SEN. KUSHNER VOTES FOR BILL TO CREATE FIRST-EVER BIRTHING CENTER LICENSE

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, June 1, 2023

SEN. KUSHNER VOTES FOR BILL TO CREATE FIRST-EVER BIRTHING CENTER LICENSE

Tour of the Connecticut Childbirth & Women’s Center in Danbury Cements the Need for Birthing Center Licenses

HARTFORD – Just two weeks after touring the Connecticut Childbirth & Women’s Center in Danbury with the state public health commissioner, state Senator Julie Kushner (D-Danbury) today joined a unanimous state Senate vote to create a new and separate licensing category for stand-alone, private birthing centers staffed by midwives.

Senate Bill 986, “AN ACT PROTECTING MATERNAL HEALTH,” seeks to increase access to maternal health services for women across Connecticut. It passed the Senate on a 36-0 vote and now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.

Founded in 1997, the Connecticut Childbirth & Women’s Center is located across the street from Danbury Hospital and is one of the nearly 250 accredited birthing centers in the United States and the only one in Connecticut. Staffed by a team of midwives, its homelike atmosphere meets all local, state, and federal health, fire and safety regulations and is licensed by the state Department of Public Health. Sen. Kushner toured the facility on May 18.

“I first visited the Connecticut Childbirth & Women’s Center four years ago, and that was the beginning of my desire to see legislation that would help women statewide have more and better access to different birthing options other than an expensive trip to a traditional hospital,” Sen. Kushner said.  “For example, 20 percent of the people who deliver at the women’s center are on Medicaid. Having this as an option for them and creating more options like this for other women all across Connecticut, is incredibly important. It also gives women a choice of where they want to have their baby, either at home or in a hospital or in a birthing center like this.”

Sen. Kushner (right) in a room at the Connecticut Childbirth & Women’s Center on May 18, 2023.

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HEEDING THE WISHES OF THE PEOPLE, SEN. FLEXER LEADS FINAL APPROVAL OF EARLY VOTING BILL

Posted on by Devin James

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

HEEDING THE WISHES OF THE PEOPLE, SEN. FLEXER LEADS FINAL APPROVAL OF EARLY VOTING BILL

HARTFORD – State Senator Mae Flexer and the Democrat-led state Senate this evening gave final, bipartisan passage to House Bill 5004, “AN ACT IMPLEMENTING EARLY VOTING,” which establishes a framework for early, in-person voting for all general elections, primaries, and special elections in Connecticut held on or after January 1, 2024.

Sen. Flexer, who is Senate Chair of the Government Administration and Elections Committee, led Democrats in passing the bill after 60% of Connecticut voters approved of an early voting change last fall to the state constitution. Forty-six American states already allow some form of early voting.

The bill passed the Senate on a bipartisan 27-7 vote and now heads to Governor Ned Lamont for his signature of the bill into law.

“We’ve spent several years in Connecticut advancing this issue and getting to this point of approving early voting. Now we’ve got to catch up to the other 46 states in America that already have early voting in their states,” Sen. Flexer said. “Sometimes it’s hard for us who live and breathe politics to understand the balance that is required in other people’s lives to make the time to go out and vote. That’s essential for us to remember. This bill will make a huge difference in getting people to participate in our democracy, and to have their voices heard. And it is my great hope, that in the future we’ll see that early voting has increased the participation of the citizens of our state.”

Specifically, the bill requires a 14-day early voting period for general elections, a seven-day period for most primaries, and a four-day early voting period for special elections and presidential preference primaries.

Every city and town in Connecticut must establish at least one early voting location and towns with more than 20,000 residents may establish more. Early voting locations must be open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., including weekends, except that on the last Tuesday and Thursday before the election, the locations must be open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

The bill also sets various requirements and procedures for early voting including voter eligibility, same-day election registration, ballot custody, staffing and training, and materials.

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