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Dear Neighbor,
Sen. Matthew Lesser, Rep. Kate Farrar and I held a legislative town hall on Wednesday.
Thank you to all the residents that showed up who were curious informed, and engaged about what’s happening on their behalf at the state and federal levels. You engagement helps educate me on how to best represent the district.
Close to 200 bills passed this legislative session, thousands of other proposals were debated and did not pass, and a two-year budget brought millions of dollars to the town of Newington.
Among the things we discussed -- in addition to the budget -- was the multi-year efforts to finally pass the first-in-nation childcare trust fund to support universal childcare across the state. |
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We also covered the historic investment in special education that will support students, families, and school districts get special education resources in district and ensuring families are at the table when and where there is a need to out place students with special needs.
Housing affordability and availability were also on a lot of residents' minds and the state legislature will continue to try to tackle this challenging issue.
As your tireless advocate at the State Capitol, I will continue to fight for and deliver results for the 27th District. |
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The newly passed federal budget cuts around $185 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which supplements grocery budgets for over 400,000 low-income families in Connecticut.
Anticipating this possibility, we added more funding to assist our food pantries this legislative session.
The cuts to essential services like food, healthcare, and education have the potential to be devastating to many individuals in our state.
We will do everything we can in CT to make up the difference.
For more information, see this CT Mirror article. |
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Governor Lamont signed legislation this week that puts patients first and holds insurance companies accountable.
Here’s what it does:
✔️ Caps excessive premium hikes. Allows the Connecticut Insurance Department to limit rate increases for insurers that have a track record of hiking costs.
✔️ Enforces mental health parity — with real consequences. Insurers must treat mental health like physical health, and those who don’t comply can face fines up to $625,000 and must publicly report how they’re doing.
✔️ Ends harmful “step therapy” delays. Patients with MS, rheumatoid arthritis, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression will no longer be forced to try cheaper meds first while their condition worsens, and trial periods are also cut from 60 to 30 days. |
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| Motor Vehicle Assessments |
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Tax bills have hit many people's mailboxes, including mine.
Some residents may have been surprised by this year's motor vehicle tax bills because their taxes increased, instead of falling, as expected.
Due to the high spikes in used-motor-vehicle values over the past few years, the valuation laws were changed in 2022 in an attempt to blunt the dramatic appreciation of those vehicles.
Vehicles are now valued on a 20-year depreciation schedule based off the vehicle's original MSRP. No longer are JD Power, NADA, KBB or any other pricing guides allowed to be used in valuation. Values are based off a defined depreciation schedule.
Towns were allowed to adopt either of the depreciation schedules posted below.
The Newington, along with most towns in Connecticut, adopted the 90% to 20% valuation schedule.
The depreciated value will then be multiplied by the statewide assessment ratio of 70%, producing the assessed value of your vehicle for taxation. The assessed value of your vehicle will automatically decrease according to the depreciation schedule. Your vehicle will be assessed at no less than $500 for taxation purposes at any time.
For more information, visit the town's motor vehicle assessment page here. |
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| Craft Beer and Cocktail Tasting |
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There will be a craft beer and cocktail tasting on Friday, July 18, at Mill Pond Park, from 6 to 10 p.m.
There will be food trucks and live music by Spirit Shaker.
All craft beer tickets purchased in advance will be $30 (Save $15). Tickets purchased at the event will be $45. The concert is free to the public. All attendees at the craft beer tasting must be 21 or older. Please call the hotline at 860-665-8686 if the weather is inclement.
Click here to purchase tickets.
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| The Life. Be In It. Extravaganza will take place Wednesday, July 16, to Saturday, July 19. See the graphic below for more details. |
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| Please see the graphic below for the following food drive. |
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As always, if I can be of assistance to you and your family, please don't hesitate to reach out to me at 860-240-8585 or email me at Gary.Turco@cga.ct.gov. Don't forget to "LIKE" my Facebook page for news and legislative updates!
Sincerely,
Gary Turco
State Representative |
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