The governor also said he would support the transfer of $100 million per year from other programs to transportation. t
Lamont ratchets up pressure for vote on tolls
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Support for Lamont’s budget
We are writing in support of Gov. Ned Lamont’s 2019-2020 biennial budget proposal. We believe that his budget proposal is a solid effort to fund essential services in Connecticut while providing an effective approach to resolving the state’s legacy fixed-cost issues while slowing the growth of government. We might have preferred lower taxes and more reductions in costs, but we recognize that your proposal is a holistic effort to balance the budget, fund necessary services, reduce the reliance on debt and restructure the legacy pension and healthcare obligations.
Posted inHealth
Lawmakers set hearing on wiping out religious exemption to vaccines
The hearing on Monday is a possible first step in introducing 11th hour legislation to repeal the religious exemption provision.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
High-deductible health plans bad for patients, doctors
High deductible health plans are increasingly common – more than half of all people who are covered by workplace insurance plans and 90 percent of those covered by health plans offered from state insurance exchanges are high deductible plans. High deductible plans require policyholders to pay out of pocket for 100 percent of the cost of their medical care until they reach a deductible of at least $1,350 for an individual or $2,700 for a family. These are minimums. Many plans come with substantially higher deductibles that –- when a serious medical need arises -– are beyond the patient’s financial grasp.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut’s public health emergency – the opioid epidemic
I always admired the strength and courage of grieving parents who turn tragedy into advocacy, hoping to bring into the world what could have saved their own child’s life. On July 13, 2018, that inspiration became a call to action when we lost our son Alec to an accidental overdose in Canaan, CT on his 26th birthday.
Posted inJustice
Senate passes bill toughening penalty for disseminating intimate images, ban on gay panic defense
The penalty for disseminating intimate images without consent would be considerably more severe.
Posted inMoney
Lamont willing to compromise on transportation — if tolls are involved
With less than a month left in the legislative session, Gov. Ned Lamont made an appeal for compromise on tolls.
Posted inHealth
Nursing home workers set new strike deadline
Connecticut’s largest health care employee union set a June 3 strike deadline if additional funding for pay raises isn’t added to the state budget.
Posted inPolitics
Marathon debate, then House vote for $15 minimum wage
Democrats and Republicans sharply split in an overnight debate over whether raising Connecticut’s $10.10 minimum wage to $15 over four-and-a-half years is an overdue lift to low-wage workers or an ill-considered blow to small businesses in a state that has yet to fully recover from the Great Recession of 2008.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Three important education issues to watch
The Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education Funding [CCJEF] is paying close attention to three key policy issues before the General Assembly that will dramatically impact state support for K-12 public education. These three issues are (1) education funding in the state budget for the new biennium; (2) a new mandate that towns and cities pay for some of the costs of teacher retirement; and (3) establishing a new task force to study the Education Cost Sharing [ECS] formula. .
Posted inEnergy & Environment
House gives final approval to pilot hemp program
Lawmakers gave unanimous approval late Wednesday to a bill authorizing a pilot program for the production and sale of hemp, which the governor pledged to sign into law.
Posted inPolitics
Gun-storage bill passes the House
Approving a gun-control bill for the third time in less than 24 hours, the state House of Representatives passed legislation Wednesday that bars gun owners from leaving a handgun in an unattended motor vehicle unless the firearm is locked in the trunk, a glove box or “a securely locked safe.”
Posted inPolitics
Senate endorses early voting, but not with margin to get on 2020 ballot
The Senate endorsed a constitutional amendment that would create an early voting system, but failed to pass it by the margin necessary to place it on the 2020 November ballot.
Posted inNews
Uncertainty, then overnight debate on $15 minimum wage
A deal to gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 over four years showed signs of fraying Wednesday night with some Democratic senators pushing to stretch out the implementation schedule for another six months or a year.
Posted inPolitics
Lamont sees no deal on gambling in ’19 session
Gov. Ned Lamont’s efforts to negotiate a grand bargain with the state’s two tribes about casino expansion and the legalization of sports betting have stalled.