State Capitol Update for the week of March 21st
March 25, 2022Dear Friend,
This is my State Capitol update for the week of March 21st.
If you prefer to watch rather than read, click here.
This week the first of the “JF Deadlines”, which mark the final day that a committee may pass bills out of committee, began to take effect. Most committees have deadlines in March. The three committees with the latest deadlines are Appropriations, Finance (the “money committees”) and Judiciary. This is because these committees must consider many bills that are referred from other committees: anything that costs money must go to Appropriations; anything that raises or reduces revenue must to go Finance; and anything that affects a criminal penalty must go to Judiciary.
As the deadlines pass, and we all focus on how few session days there are in the “short session” in even calendar years, we’re all combing our lists of bills for which ones are most critical and urgent, which can be accommodated in the budget, and which bills have strong bipartisan support and are therefore less likely to take scarce time to debate. One of the tasks on my list this afternoon’s task for me is to rate all of my committee’s bills on those criteria.
Wednesday this week was a session day, in which the House (and later the Senate) passed an emergency-certification that will ease some of the financial burden on Connecticut residents and working families whose wallets and budgets have taken a hit due to rising gas prices and record-breaking inflation levels. The bill (which passed with unanimous support in both the House and Senate, and which the Governor has now signed) suspended the 25-cent-per-gallon gas tax from April 1st through June 30th, made bus rides through June 30th free, and created an additional sales tax-free week on clothing and shoes under $100 in April. (For more information, see section below.)
It's also National Ag Week, and this morning Ag Day is returning in person to the Armory in Hartford. In honor of Ag Week, I want to announce that I will be holding a forum on the future of farming on the evening of April 11. Details and participants to follow, but I’m looking forward to digging into a topic that affects everyone who eats (and pays for) food, is concerned about our climate, or is interested in ways to manage our waste, among many other topics!
|
|
For several additional graphs and tables containing more data, including a list of cases in every municipality, visit ct.gov/coronavirus and click the link that is labeled, “Data Tracker.”
Public Hearing Schedule for the coming week
A look at the schedule of public hearings being held this week. Please remember that you only need to register if you wish to provide testimony. If you want to observe the hearings, you can tune in to watch the proceedings live on the committee’s YouTube channel.
You can register to testify and find more detail on this week’s public hearings, including the bills that will be heard, in this week’s CGA Bulletin. You can access the Bulletin here: https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/CGABulletin/Bulletin.asp
Bipartisan legislation suspending gas tax signed into law
Yesterday emergency bipartisan legislation (House Bill 5501) suspending Connecticut’s excise tax on gasoline from April 1, 2022, to June 30, 2022, was signed into law. In addition, the legislation suspends fares on public buses statewide during that same period, and it creates a one-week sales tax holiday on clothing and footwear under $100 from April 10, 2022, to April 16, 2022.
The state’s excise tax on gasoline is 25 cents per gallon. The legislation includes language asserting that failure by retailers to reduce the per-gallon price of gasoline by this amount during the suspension period will be considered an “unfair or deceptive trade practice.”
The legislation was approved in the House and the Senate with unanimous support by lawmakers.
is incumbent upon oil and gas companies to do the right thing by consumers and lower their prices. I hope you join me in calling on them to do so immediately.
We still have to keep an eye on the unscrupulous with respect to gas gouging. Today's bill implemented safeguards that will allow the state to go after the companies who do not lower their prices, but remember, if you see something unusual, say something.
Tips for filing a complaint:
Use our complaint portal HERE.
Identify the specific location of the gas station or business.
Identify the date and time of the offer or sale
Include documentation, especially receipts.
National Medal of Honor Day
The Medal of Honor is the United States government's highest and most prestigious military decoration that may be awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, guardians, and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. Today, we celebrate and honor all of these recipients in Connecticut, with a special shout out to Northwest Corner recipients
- Elijah A. Briggs - ARMY - (born/resided in Salisbury) - Civil War
- Frank Rocco Fratellenico - ARMY - (born in Sharon/resided in Albany NY) – Vietnam, and
- Wesley Gibbs - ARMY - (born in Sharon/resided in Salisbury) - Civil War
For the complete Connecticut list, see: https://bit.ly/3Le3OJ8 Please let me know if we’ve missed anyone!
Connecticut partners with New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts to develop regional clean hydrogen hub proposal
Connecticut is joining New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts to develop a proposal to become one of at least four regional clean hydrogen hubs designated through the federal Clean Hydrogen Hubs program included in the 2021 federal bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
The IIJA includes historic levels of funding for hydrogen research and development as well as deployment of clean hydrogen infrastructure.
Hydrogen can be produced electrolytically from renewable or nuclear sources and has the potential to provide an emission-free energy source for otherwise hard-to-decarbonize sectors, such as long-distance transportation. Connecticut’s longstanding leadership in fuel cell development and manufacturing positions the state to be a leader in hydrogen development as fuel cell technology can produce, store, and generate electricity from hydrogen.
The IIJA includes $8 billion for Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs that will create jobs to expand use of clean hydrogen in the industrial sector and beyond.
As part of the multi-state collaboration, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) will partner with Connecticut entities representing the entire chain of hydrogen producers, end users, technology and equipment manufacturers; utilities; and the research and development community including university leaders.
The partners will work together to accomplish the following:
- Define the shared vision and plans for the regional hydrogen hub that can advance safe green hydrogen energy innovation and investment to address climate change, while improving the health, resiliency, and economic development of the region’s residents.
- Perform research and analysis necessary to support the hub proposal and align on approach to quantifying greenhouse gas emissions reductions as a result of deploying this technology.
- Develop a framework to ensure the ecosystem for innovation, production, infrastructure, and related workforce development is shared across all partner states.
- Support environmentally responsible opportunities to develop hydrogen, in accordance with participating states’ policies.
The coalition of states continue to seek additional public and private partners in the region and focus on coordinating the regional fuel cell innovation ecosystem, integrating offshore wind and solar photovoltaic materials into hydrogen production and deploying hydrogen for use in transportation, including potential deployment in medium and heavy-duty vehicles, heavy industry, power generation and maritime applications, or other appropriate uses consistent with decarbonization efforts. Future consortium partners may include utilities, electrolyzer suppliers, fuel cell solution providers, transportation, fueling infrastructure and industrial partners, government agencies, community organizations, institutes of higher education, community colleges, vocational schools, and non-profit organizations.
DEEP is also seeking to engage the broader public and interested stakeholders in this effort by seeking input on hydrogen opportunities as part of the Comprehensive Energy Strategy (CES) process. DEEP will be holding a virtual technical meeting in the CES proceeding on Wednesday, April 6, 2022, to gather input on the hydrogen opportunities the state should pursue, including as part of this regional collaboration. More information on the meeting is available on DEEP’s website.
Ruling ends federal court oversight for Department of Children and Families
In 1989, a federal court ruling (the Juan F. Consent decree) placed Connecticut’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) under federal oversight, following a finding that Connecticut’s child welfare system was not meeting the needs of children subject to allegations of abuse and neglect including those placed into the department’s care and custody. This week that decree was lifted when a federal court in Bridgeport ruled that DCF had met and sustained all outcome measures set forth in the lawsuit.
The court ruling comes after last week’s joint motion was filed by the plaintiffs and defendants in the case indicating the department is “now well-positioned to move forward without judicial oversight.”
Key components of the department’s infrastructure highlighted in court filings include:
- Maintaining caseload limits across the DCF workforce
- Ensuring DCF is a family-centered practice
- Minimizing the use of institutional settings while focusing on clinical treatment needs of young people in group care
- Providing community-based mental health and other supportive services
- Embedding a racial justice focus across the agency
- Supporting older youth
- Building and supporting community and agency partnerships and supporting the contracted services array
- Promoting continuous quality improvement
The department has also been recognized as a leader across the country in the practice areas of racial justice, eliminating the need for congregate care placements and children residing with kin.
First Congregational Church of Kent and St. Andrews Parish to hold prayer service for Ukraine on Sunday, March 27
Norfolk Hub presents 6 Steps to Sustainable Growth on Wednesday, March 30
To register, click here.
Shane Kinsella Memorial Run/Walk returns on April 30
The Shane Kinsella Memorial Run/Walk returns this year on Saturday, April 30 at 11 AM at Camp Cochipianee, after a two-year hiatus. The proceeds support the SMK Children's Fund to assist children directly or children's programs.
Runners must register online here, or via phone on race day. Walkers are asked to please register in advance, but will be able to sign up on race day by completing a paper form.
If you are unable to run or walk that day, but want to donate to the tax exempt fund, please send your donations to Janet Hooper (Box 176, Goshen CT 06756) with a check made out to the Town of Goshen, SMK in the memo.
|
|