Irina Comer

H.B. No. 5044 (Raised) An Act Concerning Immunizations (the “bill”) proposes to eliminate the religious exemption to vaccination. This proposal has become a perennial favorite, notwithstanding that it perennially fails to gain traction. I strongly encourage legislators to allow it to fail again this term.

On an unseasonably warm Sunday, on January 12, I managed to find a room even more full of hot air than anywhere else.  That room was the site of the town hall meeting with Gov. Ned Lamont, hosted by Sen. Will Haskell and Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, at which tales of tolls were spun like records at a David Solomon club party.  A full recap of the town hall’s ridiculousness would be beyond the scope of an op-ed, but some highlights are certainly in order.

Megan Rapinoe’s profanity-accented and premature refusal to travel to the White House if the USWNT won the Women’s World Cup has been extensively reported.  Since the story first broke, arguments have raged both in the media and on social media about whether her statements reflect positively or poorly on her patriotism and professionalism. To me, this conversation is irrelevant.  I don’t doubt for a moment her patriotism or her professionalism as a footballer, but I seriously question her maturity.

Concerned that there is an ever-dwindling number of businesses remaining in Connecticut for the Democrat-controlled state legislature and Democrat executive agencies to hamstring, state Attorney General William Tong has recently announced that he will open his aperture and seek to kill national businesses, as well.  Tong will join a highly partisan field of eight other states and the District of Columbia to sue to block the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint.

The state legislature very recently approved a new Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) which will allow covered employees to take paid leave for up to 12 weeks.  This leave will be paid by the state within certain set limits and, in exchange, employees will have to pay an additional 0.5 percent in payroll taxes.  Much ink has already been spilled debating the merits of this new law.  Suffice to say that some people are generally happy while others are generally unhappy.  One small group of employees is particularly happy, though, and it deserves special mention.