State Capitol Update For The Week of April 26

April 26, 2024

Subscribe to the newsletter Forward to a friend

Dear Friend,

This is my State Capitol update for the week of April 26.

If you prefer to watch rather than read, click the image below to hear about the issues contained in this newsletter.

Here’s a list of today’s topics:

Session Days Recap. Click here.
Solar for All. Click here.
Upcoming Events. Click here.

Session Days Recap

We now have multiple session days a week as we race toward May 8, when the regular session ends. Here’s a recap of the few of the bills that passed the House this week.

✅HB 5149 – A pro-small business and craft-maker change to our beer and liquor sales

✅HB 5237 – Gives students a louder voice

✅HB 5257 – Revises our dog bite statutes

✅HB 5288 – Modernizes our service animal laws

✅HB 5308 – Easing the path to voting for nursing home residents

✅HB 5317 - An important study on the funding for and effectiveness of the Community Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Program

✅HB 5343 – CT will study pre-paying college tuition

✅HB 5381 – A bipartisan vote to update guidelines on police body-cams

✅HB 5466 – Revises laws on election crimes

✅HB 5261 - Protects children’s health by creating a working group on the effects of energy drinks on children

✅HB 5232 - Expands solar energy projects

✅HB 5153 - Increases workforce housing

✅HB 5318 - Supports new parents by establishing a license for board certified

Paid Sick Leave Passes House

No one should have to choose between missing an important family event, going in to work sick and exposing others or taking a mental health day when needed. It's why we passed House Bill 5005 to allow for the accrual of paid leave, up to 40 hours each year, for those working at least 120 days annually. Businesses that already offer paid time off are exempt.

There has been a cultural change in the workplace since the pandemic where we don't want our coworkers showing up to work sick. This legislation promotes better public health outcomes while allowing workers to care for themselves or a sick loved one without adding financial strain.

And we listened to businesses, the measure will be phased in for employers with 25 employees or more in 2025, 11 or more in 2026 and 1 or more in 2027. Again, businesses that are already offering at least 40 hours of paid time off each year are exempt from this law.

The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Solar for All

It was announced this week that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is awarding the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) with a $62.5 million grant under its Solar for All initiative.

This competitive grant program through the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is aimed at expanding solar energy investment in low-income and disadvantaged communities (LIDAC). The grant competition is funded by President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Connecticut’s grant application was led by DEEP in close collaboration with the Connecticut Green Bank, the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, the Connecticut Department of Housing, the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, and others, making up the Connecticut Consortium. The consortium’s application is called, “Project SunBridge: Connecting Communities to a Solar Future.”

Project SunBridge will reach thousands of households, with a priority focus on multi-family affordable housing units. The project is designed to overcome current barriers for low-income and disadvantaged communities to access solar and storage energy technologies through a combination of financial and technical assistance.

Through greater access to distributed solar and storage installations, Project SunBridge aims to achieve a minimum household energy savings of 20% for all participants, and will further help Connecticut’s goal of a zero-carbon electric sector by 2040, as established by Public Act 22-5.

These measures will supplement and enhance existing incentive programs in Connecticut such as the Residential Renewable Energy Solutions, Energy Storage Solutions, and Shared Clean Energy Facilities programs. The Connecticut Consortium, along with the electric distribution utilities, is already in the process of creating resources to streamline the customer eligibility verification process and to explain and promote what programs and incentives are available. The consortium seeks to implement Solar for All funds in a way that reaches every corner of Connecticut. Project SunBridge will conduct stakeholder outreach to identify barriers to distributed solar and storage deployment in LIDAC households and identify the most impactful use of funding.

Northwest Corner Events

Drug Take Back Day at the Kent Transfer Station - Saturday, April 27, 2024 - 8:30am to 11:30am

Trooper Vicky Donohoe will be accepting any unwanted, unused or expired prescription medications as part of National Drug Take Back Day at the Kent Transfer Station. Unused or expired prescription medications are a public safety issue, leading to potential accidental poisoning, misuse, and overdose. Proper disposal of unused drugs saves lives and protects the environment. Keep Them Safe | Clean Them Out | Take Them Back

Final Performance of the Season for Crescendo
The award-winning chorus Crescendo concludes its 20th anniversary season with a semi-staged performance of light opera compositions by the famous English librettist/composer duo: Sir W.S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan. The program showcases some of their most beloved choral numbers, and a few of the most famous solo roles from
several of their fourteen operettas, loosely tied together by brief narration, and the complete one-act operetta Trial by Jury. The Crescendo chamber chorus of 18 amateur and 12 professional singers is joined by soloists and actors from New York City to Europe who specialize in this genre.

When: Saturday, May 4 at 6:00 PM
Where: Trinity Church, 484 Lime Rock Rd., Lakeville, CT

Tickets are $40 (general seating), $75 (preferred seating), and $10 (youth under 18 years). Purchase your tickets online at www.crescendomusic.org. A limited number of tickets will be available to be sold at the door, starting 45 minutes before the performance.

ICYMI - Upcoming Events

For more information visit the town website.

It is my honor to represent our district. I look forward to hearing from you about the issues raised in this newsletter, or any other topics you think I should know about. You can email me at maria.horn@cga.ct.gov or call me at (860)-240-8585. Thanks for reading, and I wish you a safe weekend.

Click here to forward to forward this email to a friend.

Sincerely,

Maria Horn
State Representative