This Week's News:

Legislators pledge to tackle health care costs in upcoming session...

Borer named Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives...

The election is over, the voters have decided and now we're all in limbo as the retiring legislators wrap up their public service careers. On Monday, most in the Capitol were focused on the special session since it was called by the governor to extend the gas tax relief, provide additional financial recognition for the front line essential workers, who were there when CT needed them the most, and a few other hot topics. But what the public might not know, is that there were also plenty of standing ovations, cheers, funny stories and even some tears as the CT legislature bid farewell to the 35 outgoing state legislators. As we’ve discussed in earlier columns, an unusual amount of sitting legislators chose not to run for reelection – some to focus on family and personal matters, some to seek higher or different elected offices, some to pursue their careers, and some just felt like they had served their time and now was the time to retire.

As the Senate and House separately celebrated the contributions and antics of many of the legislators, I was reminded that it takes a lot to serve in the general assembly. Established as a part time legislature that meets for three and a half months in a short session and five and a half months in a long session, many are challenged to juggle small children, changing lifestyles, and more importantly fulltime employment. The compensation for serving as a legislator varies depending on your role and responsibilities but its less than what you would compensate the next door neighbor teen to baby sit your children. Luckily, in 2022 the legislature raised the annual salary compensation by 78% to $40,000 for the average legislator. Additionally, they depoliticized the question of future raises, with automatic raises pegged to the Employment Cost Index to keep it in the ball park with other professions.

Many thought this would incentivize more people to seek a spot in the legislature but indeed it wasn’t that successful as there were still 42 races that were uncontested in the 2022 election. Many believe that the old adage - you can’t pay me enough to do that job - was a factor in folks deciding if they wanted to turn in their community advocate role, or local elected seat for a chance to work at the state level. It’s heartwarming to know that there still are several hundred CT residents who have a passion to serve their towns and communities for a two year commitment.

As the legislature begins its work, there's hope that the sense of community and civility that evolved at the end of the last session will continue. Each caucus has elected it’s top leaders in their caucuses with only the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and House Speaker role to be elected by both sides of the aisle on opening day. With the continuity of leaders, the relationships that were established during the pandemic - driven 2020-2021 session will help bring some sense of family back to the Capitol. With so many freshmen arriving on January 4th there will be plenty of opportunities to bond and assimilate both sides of the aisle into a collaborative community focused on what’s best for CT. As many of you know, the real politics and political differences come in the last two weeks of session as the back and forth debate on the budget and the big controversial issues come to the surface.

Even the governor’s staff have been rethinking opening day. It sounds like in the spirit of community, the traditional inaugural ball is under way with the hopes of making it more inclusive and festive. We also anticipate the parade into the Capitol will continue on opening day complete with the festive governor’s foot guard leading the way!

So as the countdown begins to opening day (January 4th) folks are looking at issues of the day and what’s important to tackle. Each legislator can submit any proposal they like, usually in the month of January, and the committee process starts for real by the end of January/beginning of February where they will start to sort through the individually proposed bills as well as start to frame out their agendas for the session. Before we know it, the last day of the session, June 7th, will be here. 

Questions of Dedicated Revenue Loom for Special Transportation Fund

State regulators extended policies this week that temporarily ease the burden at the pump for consumers, but leaves the reserve fund for roads and bridges with an unresolved future.

The state legislature and governor adopted an extension of the holiday on the $.25 per gallon tax used to fund the Special Transportation Fund (STF) to assist with increasing fuel prices in addition to adding more relief funds for low income families who need heat assistance this winter. 

These measures are bipartisan and overwhelmingly supported by the public but come with a hefty price tag: $1m a day in foregone gas tax revenue and a $30M fiscal note for increasing the heating assistance program. The extension will last until May 1st with the hopes of fuel prices stabilizing by then but it leaves the STF with a murky future for funding.

The current balance of the STF as of June 2022 was approximately $142M according to audited financial statements by the Department of Transportation which is a large improvement from January 2021 which calculated the account to be less than $100M. That said, the state's strong economic times are forecasted to end soon after federal funds expire in 2024 which will leave the STF in a precarious state of not having enough dedicated sources of revenue. The newly nominated Commissioner of the DOT has already stated that there is no intention for any toll proposals in the upcoming session which would almost certainly mean the proposal next year as well.

Savings at the pump will be helpful for residents for now, but future planning for the STF will need to be considered in the future.

Last week we shared news in Bridgeport of the first large CT city to have an announced candidate for Mayor. This week, Eric Coleman announced that he’ll be running for Hartford’s top spot. Earlier this week, current Mayor Luke Bronin announced that he will not be seeking re-election for his 3rd term, which will undoubtedly result in several well-known Hartfordites placing their hats in the ring. Eric Coleman is a current Superior Court Judge and State Senator from Hartford among several other accomplishments. His announcement came a day after he submitted his resignation as a judge in order for him to focus on running for Mayor.

Congratulations to the Office of the Registrars in Voters in Greenwich this week. They were recently recognized nationally for being “a leader in safe, secure and inclusive elections that put voters first” by the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence. Greenwich Registrars are one of 10 groups to earn this designation and the only one in New England. Democrat Mary Hegarty and Republican Fred DeCaro III are the two elected officials that make up the bi-partisan office. 

The Calm Before the Storm

If you are watching from outside the golden dome, looking into what it is like to be an elected official, you might think the summer months of campaign season are overwhelming. You might also think the fall parts of election season are the busiest of the year. But for elected officials, their staff and those that are considered the “cooks in the kitchen,” December could very well be considered the busiest month of the year. Articles like this, outlining some of the decision making around selecting committee leadership in the Connecticut General Assembly, are exactly why. Let’s dig into why the cold days of December bring not only a busy personal schedule of selecting the right presents for Christmas, but also selecting the right committee membership across the street.

December is request season for new legislators and their staff. They not only make their own committee requests to their party’s leadership that runs the show at the Capitol, but they get a million requests for meetings, zoom discussions, internal staff positions, etc. This is a very busy time for legislators. Just next week the newly elected officials will have their orientation and with that, an influx of information they hope to take in before the holiday season heats up. Committee membership and thus committee co-chairs, vice chairs, and ranking members will all be announced this month. At least seven committees at the State Legislature will get new co-chairs this coming session. We have already seen some of those chairmanships be awarded. For our team at Sullivan & LeShane, this is an exciting time as these new faces come into the Capitol and committee membership shifts around.

During these next few weeks as you handle your own shopping for the right presents for your family and friends while sifting through all of the requests you have to deal with during the holiday season, legislators are making moves as well. The filling up of committees, the shifts of committee leadership, and most importantly for our clients and our team here at S&L, the requests made to the new leaders and their staff bring an excitement to what proves to be a very eventful December. As usual we will be right there to track and engage with legislators and their staff this month as they take on these new roles

December 2nd:The First Successful Permanent Artificial Heart

Born in 1946, renowned medical scientist Robert Jarvik grew up in Stamford, Connecticut. He. developed an affinity for the medical field at an early age, having frequently accompanied his father, an accomplished physician, to work. As a young man, he became fascinated with the intricate tools his father used during surgeries, and invented a number of medical tools, including a surgical stapler, while still a teenager.

As an undergraduate, Jarvik’s interests led him to study architecture and design along with zoology and biology. Instead of becoming a licensed and practicing physician after receiving his M.D. from the University of Utah, Jarvik promptly went to work alongside his mentor, Dr. Willem Kolff, at Utah’s prestigious artificial organs program. Driven in part by the memory of his own father’s open-heart surgery, Jarvik sought to improve the longevity of patients who required heart transplants, and at the age of 36, invented the Jarvik-7 artificial heart. Unlike extant artificial heart designs, the Jarvik-7 was designed to be a permanent implant; previously, artificial hearts were highly risky and only used to keep patients alive while waiting for a replacement heart to become available.



On December 2, 1982, on a seven-and-a-half hour procedure, surgeons at the University of Utah Medical Center carefully implanted the Jarvik-7 device into Barney Clark, a dentist from Seattle with heart failure who was unable to undergo a traditional heart transplant. Clark, whose prognosis was grim before the surgery, lived for an additional 112 days after receiving the Jarvik-7, making the procedure the first successful permanent artificial heart operation in history. Over the next several years, more than 70 Jarvik-7 artificial hearts were successfully used in patients, while researchers, including Jarvik himself, continued working on newer, more updated models. Today, the quest for a complete, long-term replacement for the human heart continues apace in the global medical field — a quest that took a giant leap forward thanks to Dr. Robert Jarvik, today in Connecticut history.

To view the full story on the CT Historian's website, click here.