By Norm Needleman, State Senator.
Legislative Update
Extending Telehealth Services
Telehealth services in Connecticut will be extended through 2023, providing health care providers and patients alike with increased flexibility and freedom to utilize tools benefitting public health. Extended services include allowance of audio-only telehealth and out-of-state providers being allowed to provide services as long as residents have liability insurance coverage. Telehealth has been a vital tool during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure continued health success and strategies despite the virus representing a public health threat and will continue to offer members of the public with the care they feel most comfortable with.
Senate Bill 2 – A Sweeping Bill for Children’s Health
Senate Bill 2 aims to take a transformative approach to how children’s mental health, education, safety, early childhood care and equity is approached in the state, making changes to several dozen policies. Among the most important focuses are its emphasis on mental health support, including the introduction of “mental health wellness days” for students, a reoriented approach to education that focuses on social and emotional needs of the student in addition to primary academics and the development of a new youth suicide prevention training program in a “train the trainer” model, where trainees will be able to educate others upon their completion of the program.
The legislation further takes steps to codify remote and virtual learning in education, including standards and practices to be developed to support that, and school districts will additionally begin offering remote parent-teacher conferences by telephone and video in addition to in-person lessons. The Department of Education will develop a document with information on educational, safety, mental health and food insecurity resources and programs.
Additionally, school lunch debt will no longer be punishable by refusal to serve, delayed service, designating a specific meal for that child or other similar discipline. Boards can also accept gifts, donations or grants from any source to pay off unpaid meal charges; families in need will be referred to food pantries, free/reduced cost meal applications and other resources as needed.
More beneficial parts of Senate Bill 2 include:
- Birth-to-Three services for children will no longer carry parent fees
- The Department of Children and Families (DCF) will develop protocols to ensure children in care and custody receive familial visits
- DCF will develop an app for nonemergency incident reporting and communications
- Birth-to-Three will provide summer preschool to children turning three between May 1 and the first day of the next school year
A 25-member task force will be created to further study children’s needs in Connecticut
Absentee Ballot Option
Connecticut voters will have the ability to vote by absentee ballot through November 3, allowing residents to participate in local budget, referendum, mayoral, town council, school board and other electoral processes without fear of public health concerns. This is an extension of legislation initially approved in 2020 that allowed absentee ballot voting for residents in the November 2020 general election, winter and spring special elections and other aspects of the electoral process.
PURA Proposes $30 Million Penalty Against Eversource For Tropical Storm Isaias Response
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority recently proposed a $30 million civil penalty against Eversource for its failure to meet obligations to ratepayers in the wake of Tropical Storm Isaias in August 2020, the maximum allowable penalty by law, additionally proposing more than $2.1 million in penalties for United Illuminating for its performance following that major storm. The penalties are not yet final and would be in addition to other financial sanctions imposed last week.
Under the new penalties, Eversource would be required to return $28.4 million to ratepayers in the form of credits and pay a $1.6 million fine to the state; United Illuminating would need to return $1.8 million to ratepayers and send $360,000 to the state. These penalties can be challenged in court by the energy providers. They are the result of an eight-month investigation after Isaias, a strong tropical storm, caused damage that left more than a million electric customers in the state without power, with utility responses seen as lacking as some customers were without power for up to nine days.
Announcing New State Investment in the Fight Against Invasive Aquatic Plants
In recent years, invasive aquatic species have caused significant issues in many of our state’s natural waters. They can clog lakes and ponds and harm natural wildlife, also impacting the usability and recreation opportunities available to the public. When many ponds and lakes serve as local recreational draws, they can even negatively impact local economies.
This week, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection announced the recipients of the inaugural round of grant funding through the Aquatic Invasive Species Grant Program, with a total of $360,000 going to 21 projects to reduce impacts of aquatic invasive species on inland waters in Connecticut.
I am proud to have voted in 2019 for the legislation that made the Aquatic Invasive Species Grant Program possible and honored to join in the announcement of the program’s inaugural grant recipients.
Among the projects receiving grant funding are:
- Two from the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station valued at a combined $36,000
- The Connecticut River Conservancy will receive $45,505 to create a management plan for Hydrilla, an invasive species, and to coordinate hand removal of water chestnuts in the Connecticut River watershed
Towns in the 33rd District including East Hampton, Lyme and Old Lyme have experienced growth of invasive weeds and algae in their waterways and bodies of water in recent years, as has the Connecticut River. The Connecticut River flows through and directly impacts nearly every municipality in the 33rd District.
I welcome this new funding for programs that aim to fight these scourges head-on, cleaning up our rivers, lakes and ponds.
“Say Yes to Connecticut” Summer Tourism Campaign
The state will launch a new summer marketing campaign through September 6 titled “Say Yes To Connecticut,” promoting safe travel and aiming to fuel the state’s tourism industry recovery following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Say Yes” comes after a year of having to “say no” to doing many things due to the pandemic – with high vaccination rates and reductions in COVID-19 spread, this summer is expected to give residents plenty of fun things to do. The Office of Tourism found there is growing optimism among Northeast consumers about this upcoming summer and there is significant pent-up demand for travel, especially regional travel. The campaign will feature hundreds of businesses and activities across the state including hotels, inns, bed and breakfasts, museums, historical sites, arts and cultural venues, wineries and breweries and many more.
