We can celebrate the passage of legislation in the recently concluded session, some after years of effort while I am disappointed that certain bills would have to start over next year.

Wallingford’s legislative delegation worked together to restore Wallingford’s water line reimbursement costs. This was held up after the town completed the work to supply water to homes on South Broad Street after the state’s grant deadline.

The legislature on June 5, 2019 finally ratified the State Water Plan, a technical and policy document 4 years in the making and 18 years in the planning since the legislature first required a water plan in 2001.

Water is our most precious natural resource and must be protected and preserved for future generations. In the past Connecticut has not had a cohesive policy, so my colleagues and I in the House of Representatives took a significant step forward to safeguard our water supply.

The House of Representatives and Senate passed a budget this week which is responsible, stable, and funds the Rainy Day Fund at historic levels. The budget makes significant investments in education, job growth, and economic development while holding the line on spending. The growth rate for fixed costs in the General Fund is 1.3% and for non-fixed costs is simply 0.03%.

We passed a balanced 2-year budget for Connecticut out of the House of Representatives last night. While it does not go far enough in embracing a more equitable, publicly-supported, fair-share budget that we advocated hard for, it is indeed a significant step closer to a fairer, stable and fiscally responsible budget than we have had in a generation.

I applaud passage of invasive species legislation.

Styrofoam food containers and coffee cups fill our landfills and pollute our parks, waterways and beaches. Last week the House approved legislation HB 5384 to ban restaurants and caterers from providing Styrofoam as to-go containers for customers.