Senator Lisa Seminara of Avon, Senator John Kissel of Enfield and Representative Mark Anderson of Granby appeared in the town hall meeting room on June 26 to report on some of the proposals passed in the recently concluded State of Connecticut legislative session.
Kissel led off with the announcement that the State Bond Commission approved a $2 million grant to add to funds approved in the town’s referendum for a new communication system to support all the town’s emergency services: police, fire, ambulance, public works and the emergency response team. Five radio towers will greatly improve coverage and have compatible linkage with surrounding towns for joint operations. In addition to his own staff, and those of Seminara and Anderson, Kissel noted that Governor Ned Lamont and the Bond Commission were very supportive of the grant.
Seminara followed with the results of the committees with which she is associated. A new bill was enacted that calls for a home care provider registry for people receiving Medicaid home and community-based services. Clients can choose a provider that seems to best fit their needs. The law also requires home care workers to wear identification badges including their name and photo. Another provision is a presumptive eligibility system that allows qualified candidates to receive Medicaid services before they have completed the extensive and time-consuming process of applying for Medicaid.
Another law is focused on improving the quality of nursing home care. It provides for a consumer online dashboard where clients can rate their caregivers and includes such provisions as allowing only two beds per room and discipline for establishments that do not meet standards and/or fail to comply with corrective action plans.
Seminara also reported that a new law to improve oversight of youth camps, especially pertaining to sexual abuse, and another to greatly improve wheelchair repair by establishing an advisory council to monitor a companies performing repairs with emphasis on setting ‘a deadline and complying with it. At this time, approximately 5,000 people wait up to six months for repair.
Anderson followed Seminara with an update on his work to address better Department of Environment and Engineering supervision of the flow of the West branch of Salmon Brook, the most significant tributary to the Lower Farmington River, which is the largest tributary to the o the Connecticut River. Flow information has been inconsistent.
A new sick leave law increases coverage to almost all private sector employers with at least 25 employees in 2025, 11 in 2026 and just one in 2027. It also increases the rate at which employees accrue leave from one hour for every 40 hours worked to one hour for every 30 hours worked. The presenters all agreed that another part of the law was upsetting because it prohibits employers from requiring employees to provide documentation supporting their reasons for taking leave. This undocumented leave-taking means a worker can simply not show up for a day or more and report it as sick leave when they return to work.
Election security is enhanced by a new law requiring municipalities to make video recordings of absentee ballot drop boxes during elections and to make these recordings available to the public. In addition, it requires town clerks to track how they receive absentee ballots—by mail, drop box or in person and to report this information to the Secretary of State. The law also imposes a one-year mandatory sentence for voter fraud.
In order to ease the teacher and nurse shortages, changes in certification protocols in both fields have been simplified. For the details of these changes, as well as information on all the laws passed in this legislative session, visit cga.ct.gov/oir