April 30th, 2021
In This Issue:
From Paddi's Desk
CT Agency Corner
Municipal Roundup
From Inside The Golden Dome
Behind the Scenes
This Day in CT History
“Alright Chewie – get ready for lightspeed…PUNCH IT!” – Han Solo, Star Wars

To many, this expression indicates the desire to increase speed or possibly escape some situation and get out of town fast. For Star Wars lovers this is a familiar quote, and for all the Capitol insiders, we know where this is going!

It’s down to 25 working days ‘til adjournment on June 9th. And lightspeed is definitely needed in order to address all the various issues approved by the 21 committees of the General Assembly. This past week both the House and Senate were in action— though in the House it was only to do more judicial and executive nominations and the bills that the Republican and Democratic leaders collaborated on.

In the Senate, it was two days—yes two days of action— where they took on the controversial repeal of the religious exemptions for school vaccinations and then tackled dozens of “consentable” items (those items where both sides of the aisle can agree to move forward without a debate). Several items on Wednesday did need a bit of debate, but it wasn’t the full court press that often occurs in the Senate.
 
Late Wednesday the Governor signed into law the controversial repeal of religious exemptions for vaccines, a bill that took center stage for the past several weeks in the legislature. Amidst more than 4,000 folks that showed up at the Capitol on Monday, the Senate plowed through nine hours of debate on the exemption and then approved the bill almost on a party line vote, with two Democratic Senators joining the Republicans with “no” votes. The bill was fast forwarded (or in Star Wars terms they “punched it” ) down to the Governor’s Office where less than twelve hours later he signed it into law – thereby closing exemptions, except for medical reasons, for receiving school vaccinations in order to enter school in Connecticut. 

Let’s not get into the details of the issue, but what was fascinating was the galvanizing spirit that was seen between those who truly have religious beliefs that run counter to vaccinations and those who saw this as another step in taking away people’s personal freedom to raise their children as they see fit, to live their lives on their terms and to raise the emotional issue of, “Where is this state heading if the legislature can take on religious freedoms? What’s next?” A lot was packed into the efforts to defeat this bill, both within the state and from outside influence.

Next up is another controversial issue that’s brewing: reconciling the “innovative” legislative direction approved by the Finance and Appropriations Committees for the state’s two-year budget and the Governor’s chosen direction. Rumor has it that a leadership meeting is set for early next week, where they’ll meet with the Governor to start the process of understanding each side’s position and then agree to work on solutions through a collaborative effort, rather than charging ahead and having the Governor veto the package based on “who’s in control.”

Believing in a much different style than the previous administration, Governor Lamont listens, communicates firmly where the line in the sand is and then tries to get agreement on a way forward. With massive federal funding flowing into Connecticut, you’d think it would be easy. But many in the legislature want to take that federal funding and use it to punch up programs and services, as well as devote funds to address the inequity that many are concerned about, following national issues exposed this past year. The legislative plan is to then seek additional tax increases from residents at the higher income levels to pay for the operational costs of state government and ongoing program expenses.

It will be interesting to see how this will work after this week’s presidential announcement of increased funding for additional programs at the federal level, as well as increased tax assessment from those with higher incomes. DOUBLE whammy for some Connecticut residents.

This will be critical to resolve because if both the state and federal government jack up taxes for the same citizens in the same manner, it will certainly create huge incentives for folks who may be close to or at retirement age to look for a new place to call home. With a high number of state employee retirements coming, it’s interesting to recall that the Comptroller’s Office reported in the past that over 20% of our state employee retirees relocate out of Connecticut once retired. OLR reported in December 2020 that upwards of 13,000 state employees are eligible to retire in July 2022— a little over 13 months from now. Definitely a sticky situation.

So right now it’s the state budget, in addition to the hundreds of bills collecting on the House and Senate calendars, with 25 days to go. Time is on the side of those who oppose an issue. Opponents can take hours of time asking detailed questions of the chairs or even threaten to take more time in order to see a bill linger and die on the chamber calendar. For years the minority party has used this tactic for making “bad” bills go away. 

So in the words of Han Solo – the legislators just need to “punch it.”  
Department of Education Seeking Summer Enrichment Applications. Interested Applicants Should Call Me!

Governor Ned Lamont, in partnership with the State Department of Education (SDE), announced this week that the administration has dedicated up to $11 Million in federal funding Connecticut has received for COVID-19 recovery efforts toward the expansion of summer programs. 

This competitive grant application, which covers kids receiving education for up to five hours a day, will award expansion grants and innovation grants to eligible organizations to provide students and families with engaging summer enrichment and learning experiences. 

Grant application materials were created in collaboration with dozens of key stakeholders across the state – including leaders of summer programs – and will enable the state to identify and support high-quality programs that are able to expand capacity for summer 2021. 

Interested in participating and want to learn more?

Providers are encouraged to collaborate with local school districts in order to maximize funding and school districts are encouraged to leverage the state’s investment, as appropriate, to serve even more students.

Applications and more information can be accessed here: 
CT School Districts Will Not be Required to Provide Remote Learning Next Year

Since the pandemic disrupted last year's school year, school districts have been required to provide remote learning to their students. In guidance sent to superintendents Tuesday, the Department of Education said that since there is no existing mandate under Connecticut or federal law that says all districts must offer remote learning options beyond this current school year, officials “do not anticipate the need to mandate” remote learning as an option. Peter Yazbak, the Department of Education's spokesman, emphasized that benefits of in-person learning, and stated that granting access to in-person learning for all students was a high priority for the department.

More schools throughout the state have been offering in-person education over the past school year. As of last week, 75% of school districts offered in-person learning. Although districts will no longer be required to provide remote learning, the guidance does not prevent officials from offering it. Going forward, the department is looking to incorporate remote learning in more narrow areas. For example, school districts may use remote services to provide access to advanced placement classes for students who live in a district where that class is not physically provided. Districts may also decide to use remote learning on snow days. As schools continue to reopen, it will be interesting to see how districts balance in-person and remote learning.
Governor Lamont releases proposal for American Rescue Plan Dollars

This week, the Governor and members of his cabinet submitted their plan to the legislature’s Appropriations committee on how they intend to spend down $2.6B in direct state relief federal funding that Connecticut received under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The plan includes a number of new policy proposals and provides an additional level of funding to other existing priorities of his. It largely focuses on economic recovery and funding for early childhood education and k-12 education. Approximately $1.7B, or two thirds of this funding, is included in both the Governor's and the legislature's budget proposals.

Last month, the legislature passed a bill, PA 21-1, that requires the Governor to include them in the process of allocating federal funding, and required him to submit this plan to them by April 26, 2021.

As a next step, the Appropriations committee will review and comment on this before sending it to the full House and Senate for final passage. The initial reactions by legislative leaders on both sides of the aisle to the Governor’s ARPA plan were very positive. You can read the Governor's full submission here.
Freshman Legislator Profile: Paul Cicarella (R-North Haven)

Paul Cicarella was elected last fall by residents of North Haven, East Haven, Durham and Wallingford following the retirement of former Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano. He’s been involved in his community and in local politics for many years, but didn’t plan to run for the state Senate until he was approached about it by Senator Fasano who thought he would be the right fit. Sen. Cicarella brings to the role a diverse background and skill set that he taps into when making critical decisions on how to vote on policies under consideration by the Senate. He is a retired Corrections Officer and the owner of the security company National Bug Sweep and Advanced Installations.

Senator Cicarella grew up in this district and currently lives in North Haven with his wife, children, and bulldogs. He mentioned that he is grateful for opportunities he’s had to give back to his community. For example, he shared that when he was a student in high school, he was on the wrestling team and his wrestling coach acted as a mentor for him and his teammates. For several years now, he's served as the high school wrestling coach and has that same opportunity to mentor students. He also feels lucky to have great partners in the mayors and first selectman of the towns he represents in Hartford.

On the topic of the virtual session, Senator Cicarella mentioned that it’s been tough to distinguish the different phases of a normal session process, since every step of the way is on zoom. We talked about how typically, there is a natural rhythm to the session where you start early on spending a lot of time in the committee rooms of the LOB and may spend some late nights in those same rooms for public hearings. But then as the committees reach their deadlines, all of the action moves across to the Capitol building, and members spend much of their time in their caucus rooms or in the chambers. That lack of the change in scenery is definitely a critically missing component when everything is virtual and is a missing signal to many that the session will quickly come to an end.
April 30th: New England Patriots' Trick Play: Pass Before the First Kickoff

In 1998, Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots pro football team, was seeking a new home for his franchise, which had outgrown their small and outdated stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

After failing to secure stadium deals in South Boston and then Rhode Island, Kraft set his sights on Connecticut. His quest for a new stadium coincided with Governor John Rowland’s dream to revitalize “Adriaen’s Landing,” the Hartford riverfront area south of the intersection of interstates 84 and 91. Rowland negotiated a ‘sweetheart deal’ with Kraft worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the Patriot organization. Among other generous incentives, the development plans for Adriaen’s Landing were rearranged to focus on a new state-of-the-art Patriots stadium on the banks of the Connecticut River.

An excited state legislature overwhelmingly approved the plan in late 1998. Connecticut was especially eager to regain a major national sports franchise following the departure of the NHL’s Hartford Whalers the year before. But on April 30, 1999, Kraft suddenly announced that he was pulling out of the deal to bring the Patriots to Hartford. Though he cited concern over construction delays as the official reason for breaking the deal, only four days later he announced that he had accepted a counteroffer from Massachusetts to build a brand new stadium for the Patriots in Foxborough.

The news came as a shock to Connecticans, many of whom suddenly saw Kraft as dealing in bad faith – conducting a cynical, underhanded manipulation of Connecticut’s politicians and sports fans to leverage a better stadium deal in Massachusetts. Although the broken deal didn’t hinder the ultimate development of Hartford’s riverfront, the New England Patriots stadium that never was remains one of the largest “what ifs” in Connecticut sports history.

Here is a link to the full article - Provided by CT Humanities Council.
Sullivan & LeShane, Inc.
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