2021 Virtual Session

session
January 28, 2021
The Legislative Session is well underway. Bills have been proposed and hearings have begun. Yesterday, the Transportation Committee held its first public hearing. A number of Fairfielders, including fellow Stratfield neighbor Kevin Starke, testified before the committee. Listen to Kevin’s testimony to hear his thoughts on bicycle and pedestrian safety, and to get a sense of how easy it is to participate in a public hearing right from your own home.
 
For years, I have advocated for online sign ups for hearings. I’m sorry that it took a pandemic to get there, but here’s how to do it.
  1. Review what’s called the “Bulletin” daily and check to see which committees are having public hearings. The Bulletin is the daily “Bible” of what goes on in the legislature. It includes sign up links, agendas, meeting times and more. It can be found here, or on the CGA home page under the CGA Daily Records Title.
  2. Once you find the committee you’re looking for, use the “On-line Testimony Registration Form” link in the notice to register to testify. You can also call the number listed if you do not have access to the internet.
    • Make sure you have noted the bill or resolution number(s) you plan to testify on because you will need that to complete the form.
  3. If you’re registering online, you’ll be taken to the Webinar registration page for the hearing at which you would like to testify. Make sure to review the details of the hearing closely to confirm that you are registering for the correct hearing.
  4. You will need to scroll down to find the registration form. The form requests the same information that committee staff would ask you if you were signing up to testify in-person.
  5. Once you submit the form, you’ll receive a pending approval notice to the email address you included in the form. Make sure to keep the information in this notice handy.
  6. Within 24 hours, after you have registered to testify, you will receive an email confirming that you have signed up for the hearing. If you need to cancel, there is the “cancel” link in the bottom left corner.
    • Please note that there is a deadline to register to testify, usually the afternoon before the hearing. You can find the exact time and date that registration closes for a particular hearing listed in the bulletin.
  7. On the morning of the hearing, a speaker list will be generated and posted on the committee web page. Click Committees at the top of the homepage to get there. Once on the committee page, go to “Public Hearings” and click “testimony” and select the hearing date. In the right corner, there will be a document labeled “Speaker Order.” Click to open and find your placement.
  8. Make sure to log onto Zoom before the hearing starts and turn off camera/microphone until it is your turn. You will have to wait to speak as if you are sitting in a hearing room. Because the speaker order list is available online, you can monitor the hearing and join closer to your turn to speak if you’d rather not join for the entire hearing. This is one of the advantages of being online!
  9. You can monitor every public hearing this session in real-time on each committee's official Youtube channel (accessible here under the "CGA Live Streaming Feeds" heading). Some public hearings are also broadcast live on CT-N.
Plenty of you will be interested in submitting written testimony rather than joining in person and I will share more about that in another e-mail. Meanwhile, know that the Bulletin I referenced above is always full of helpful information.
 Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz, the Women’s Business Development Council, and the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development today announced a new COVID-19 relief program designed to provide much-needed cash grants to women entrepreneurs disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
Earlier today, I had the chance to meet with the Lt. Governor who asked that I and others spread the word about the new Equity Match Grant, an exciting opportunity for our women owned businesses. An overwhelming majority of the more than 60,000 Connecticut businesses that secured federal loans for COVID-19 relief were male or white-owned: 78 percent were male-owned; 84 percent were white-owned; seven percent were Asian-owned; six percent were Hispanic-owned; and three percent were Black-owned.

The Equity Match Grant Program, which will be administered by the Women’s Business Development Council through its Opportunity Fund, will aid entrepreneurs in accessing the capital needed to establish banking relationships, improve credit, and overcome challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
 
Together, Lt. Governor Bysiewicz and Fran Pastore, CEO of the Women’s Business Development Council, raised $525,000 in funds. The State will match the funds up to $500,000, bringing the total amount of funds available in the Equity Match Grant Program to more than $1 million. 
 
Grants between $2,500 and $10,000 may be given for clearly defined projects that will have a measurable impact on the business. Applicants are required to provide a 25% match.  

Apply for the Equity Match Grant Program here. 
 
To learn more about the Equity Match Grant Program and receive updated funder information, contact microgrants@ctwbdc.org.

And as always, if you have gotten this far, you will not be surprised that I am reminding you to please, please continue to wear your mask, maintain 6 feet of distance and practice good hand hygiene. Avoid gathering with people outside of those you live with and stay home if you are not feeling well or awaiting test results. I know I am a broken record on this, but I think we can’t say it enough these days.