March 4, 2022

In This Issue: From Paddi's Desk CT Agency Corner Municipal Roundup Inside Scoop This Day in CT History

This Week's News: Next Saturday, March 12th, Sullivan & LeShane will be hosting a St. Patrick's Day party at our office at 287 Capitol Ave in Hartford from 9 A.M. to 12 P.M. Join us for some good food, drinks and laughs! RSVP to mjankowics@ctlobby.com.

2 months - 9.5 weeks - 45 working days till adjournment...WOW We told you the session would be fast and while each day seems to meander through the zoom culture of public hearings, they rush by faster than last session. Now that the Capitol hosted its first in person session since March 13, 2020, and there are rumors that the Capitol and LOB might start to host an in person portion of public hearings and committee meetings in a couple weeks, we're all focused on the first final deadlines (JF day) for several committees beginning on March 17th. A few committees have set final committee debates on several of the big issues of the session- the “aid in dying” bill is to be acted upon by the public health committee today while we’re hearing that many of the Democratic Caucus' top items are coming up for a final committee vote in the next week such as - changes to CT’s absentee voting laws and potentially the multiple labor union contracts. A tentative session for house action for these issues is in the works for March if all goes as planned. The governor has hit the road pushing many of his 2022 initiatives with visits across the state to drum out “real people” support as well as seeking the deeper engagement of key stakeholders. The dual action on tax cuts is based on a HUGE (and I mean HUGE) budget surplus driven by the last two years of enormous federal aid flowing into CT’s coffers to augment a somewhat healthy stability in CT’s revenues, while expenses were either lower than predicted due to the pandemic, or because they were reimbursed and paid out of the federal dollars that flowed into CT’s coffers.  Wednesday was a great day with the energy back inside the Capitol as the public (well okay only about a dozen “real people” were there) were buttonholing legislators while the lobbying corps was there enjoying every minute of engaging in small talk, catching up on family life, and yes, working with legislators in person to fine tune bill language and take their temperature on some pieces of legislation. It was interesting to see how two years can change someone's appearances! A few showed up with a bit more gray hair, some slimmed down based on a healthier life style, some with glasses adorning their faces and of course the mandatory face mask. We also saw lots of new faces (covered by masks) in the caucus staff, and we missed some friendly veteran staffers who have left for greener pastures. All in all, I think the CT General Assembly is about to take that final corner in the race, and legislators are discussing the need for increased in person attendance at future committee meetings where the final outcome of a bill will be in the hands of the vote tally. We’re all hoping to see increased LOB attendance at these meeting where we can return to last minute catch up on substitute language, last minute committee agenda switches and the ability to observe the unspoken actions of committee members as they work through the agenda items in front of them. That’s the part of the art of lobbying that was most missed these past two years and we’re hoping that the rumors we hear will come to fruition.

List of Legislators not Seeking Re-Election We would like to give a huge thanks to the following legislators that will not be seeking re-election this year for all they have done for Connecticut, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors! Rep. Cathy Abercrombie (D) Rep. Whit Betts (R) Sen. Dan Champagne (R) Rep. Tony D'Amelio (R) Rep. Joe De La Cruz (R) Sen. Paul Formica (R) Sen. Will Haskell (D) Rep. Brandon McGee (D) Sen. Craig Miner (R) Rep. Rosa Rebimbas (R) Rep. Brian Smith (D) Rep. Dave Wilson (R) Sen. Kevin Witkos (R)

MIRA Facility Will Continue to Operate Past July 1 In an unprecedented move on the waste to energy side, it was reported by CT Public that that state's largest waste plant will be permitted to operate for at least one more year. Tom Kirk, president and CEO of MIRA, said the budget authorization “doesn’t mean we’ll run it a full 12 months. But it does mean we would continue to run it for some period of time.” How long, exactly, remains unclear. “A July 1 date where we, essentially, turn the lights off … was probably never an absolute,” Kirk said. “I, personally, always expected we’d be a few weeks, maybe even a couple months past that date in the best of possible worlds.” But for MIRA right now, the best of possible worlds is a long way off. The quasi-public’s Hartford site, which annually burns hundreds of thousands of tons of garbage from nearly 50 towns, has been plagued with staffing shortages and mechanical failures in recent years. Given this information the question remains what the future after July 2023 holds with capacity. Part of the major concerns is that if the plant shuts down that there will not be enough in-state plants which will force out-of-state shipment of trash. This issue will likely be decided on in the next session but the decision will certainly not be easy.

Municipalities Await Funds from Opioid Settlements There are millions of dollars coming down the pipe for CT's municipalities following the recent $6 billion opioid settlement with Purdue Pharma. CT will receive $95 million from a settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family, which is a 40% larger settlement than the one previously rejected by the state. The final payments are spread out over 18 years, with larger payments to be made in the first stages of distribution, and gradually being reduced over time. As part of the settlement, the Sackler family must apologize for its role in the opioid crisis, and dissolve or sell Purdue Pharma by 2024. A portion of the funds will be used to establish an opioid survivors trust to directly aid survivors and victims of the opioid crisis. Norwich and New London filed individual lawsuits, and will receive a portion of the $95 million. However, municipalities that joined the separate $26 billion national opioid settlement in January will start receiving money after April. This settlement is between the nation's three major pharmaceutical distributors - Cardinal, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen - and pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson. Connecticut's full allocation from this settlement could be as high as $300 million. Of the state's funding, 70% will go directly to the state, another 15% will serve as direct payments to cities and towns and the last 15% will be managed by the state to benefit victims of the crisis and communities and to cover related legal fees.

Surplus! Connecticut has had its fiscal challenges in recent years. But with the huge influx of federal stimulus and strong tax receipts, things appear to be looking (all the way) up. Our financial future as a state appears to be optimistic and exciting. Given this rosy overview of our immediate fiscal future, the Governor’s proposed budget includes a large projected surplus. While it is unclear just how long some programs will last from the Federal side, let’s take a more celebratory look at the numbers: The state’s position at the end of the FY2021 was much better than anyone would have thought. Even the people most down on the state can clink their glasses to a General Fund surplus of $475.9 million, which was the third consecutive year-end surplus. Picture yourself in the Nutmeg state in 2008 and you would be surprised to think we’d be in this spot. In addition, the state was able to maintain budgetary reserves at the 15% level while making an additional $1.6 billion contribution to paying down the state’s unfunded liabilities. Where should we go with this good fortune? Many in the legislature want to fund the 41.5% Earned Income Tax Credit and make it permanent, with legislative leadership on the Democratic side declaring Wednesday that when the federal government can’t extend programs like these, they will. Senator Looney citing the “186,000 EITC recipients in Connecticut.” There is also demand for a car tax reduction, cutting the tax for any towns with a mill rate above 29 or even capping the car tax as a whole. Republican leadership wants to use our good fortune for other purposes, cutting the sales tax from the current 6.35 percent, down to 5.99 percent. Moreover, the Labor Committee has their ideas as well, expanding paid sick leave, prioritizing pandemic pay for front-line employees and enabling striking workers to be eligible for unemployment benefits. As the Governor has said, Connecticut has had a successful few years but the continuation of our financial future is dependent on remaining disciplined. That may sound boring but for the time being, it’s cause to celebrate where we are, happy Friday!

March 4th: America's First and Oldest Crossword Puzzle Tournament Begins Today in 1978, the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, the first competition of its kind ever held in the United States, kicked off a weekend of fierce competition at the Marriott Hotel in Stamford, Connecticut. Founded by New York Times puzzle editor Will Shortz, the only person in the country known to hold a college degree (Indiana University) in enigmatology – the study of puzzles –the tournament attracted over 100 enthusiasts. They battled two days over a set of five increasingly difficult crossword puzzles for points judges awarded based on accuracy and speed. In that initial competition, contestants were judged on the number of letters they got correct, not the number of words, a scoring detail that kept the judges grading entries all night. In that initial national crossing of wits, the first and second place tournament winners were both women: Nancy Shuster of Queens, New York, and Eleanor Cassidy of Fairfield, Connecticut. They took home bragging rights and cash prizes of $125 and $50, respectively. What began as a convention of hobbyists on March 4, 1978 quickly grew into a serious international competition so popular tournament organizers had to limit the number of in-person participants to “only” several hundred people. During its first thirty years, the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament was held at the same hotel in Stamford, Connecticut. But after a 2006 PBS documentary about the tournament titled “Wordplay” caused a huge spike in national interest, the tournament was moved to Brooklyn, New York — but returned to Stamford eight years later. In 2012, the competition received it’s first non-human competitor, the computer program Dr. Fill, developed by software engineer and Oxford Ph. D. M. L. Ginsberg. With a score of just over 10,000 points, Dr. Fill finished 141st among the tournament’s 650 entrants. The next year, Dr. Fill’s score increased to 10,550 points (92nd place), and continued to improve annually until, in 2021 – ironically, a virtual competition due to COVID -19, the program achieved the tournament’s highest score ,12, 825 points. It bested the human winner of the tournament Tyler Hinman’s score by 65 points. Following the victory, both Dr. Fill and programmer Ginsberg announced their retirement from crossword competitions. Now in its fifth decade, the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament has expanded to include live play-by-play commentary, streaming video, game-show style events for attendees, and a grand prize numbering in the thousands of dollars. The oldest and largest crossword tournament in the United States First matched wits in Stamford, today in Connecticut history. The original article from the CT Humanities Council can be found here.

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