Fairfield Legislators Hail Compromise State Budget Agreement

Protects Fairfield State Aid and Education

 HARTFORD – State Representatives Brenda Kupchick (R-132), Laura Devlin (R-134) along with Sen. Tony Hwang (R-28) joined their fellow House and Senate Republican and Democrat colleagues in supporting the compromised budget SB-543, brought forth Wednesday night.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle voted overwhelmingly 142-8 in favor of the compromise, which does not include tax increases, no tolls, or many of the other items proposed during the shortened session.

This budget proposal provides $16 million in additional funding for the Retired Teachers’ Health Care Fund, fully restores funding for the Medicare Savings Program to 211%, restores funding for programs that serve individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and provides $2 million to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. All municipal aid and ECS funding also remain whole in 2019.

“This is about creating much-needed stability and predictability – for taxpayers, for businesses, for towns, for seniors, for schools, and for our most vulnerable residents,” Sen. Hwang said. “This budget adjustment protects funding for our community while not raising taxes.  This budget is a thoughtful bipartisan product, but we must still work to address long-term structural budgetary issues such as pension, debt service and runaway benefit costs.  Challenging and difficult decisions are ahead and we must show courage, leadership and a commitment to common sense values.”

Rep. Kupchick said, “I’m encouraged after a difficult legislative session both sides of the aisle could come together and craft a bipartisan agreement that funds Connecticut’s transportation fund without the burden of tolls, funds education, restores the vital Medicare savings plan while stopping fare hikes on rail commuters while funding our fire training schools and protecting Connecticut’s most vulnerable citizens”.

“This budget agreement was a win for Fairfield taxpayers. I am proud that we were able to work together in assuring this budget protected our state education aid and did not bring to massive burden of tolls back to our state highways,” Rep. Devlin said. “It is nice to see Republicans and Democrats working alongside one another to move Connecticut forward in a positive way.”

In addition, Republicans were able to negotiate a hiring freeze on new state employees saving the state $7 million. Vo-Ag Students will receive an additional $12.5 million in support, set aside $5 million for emergency placement for Department of Developmental Services, and provides almost $30 million more to the Special Transportation Fund. It also prevents Governor Malloy’s increases to bus and train fairs that were expected to take place on July 1st and also includes language that would prevent his ability to cut funding for towns and cities as he did after last year’s bipartisan agreement.

This compromise prevents the governor from running the state via executive order and subjecting municipalities to severe cuts that would have come as a result.

Once adopted, the budget would take effect on July 1. This bill now heads off to the governor’s desk for his signature.

Good News: The governor today signed legislation requiring CT schools to incorporate Holocaust and genocide awareness into their social studies curricula.

My floor speech from last month:

Budget Summary FY 2019 Compromise Budget

May 9, 2018

Financial Polices and Taxes:

• Contains no new tax increases.
• Maintains new retiree tax breaks contained in last year’s bipartisan budget for pension & social security income.
• Rejects governor’s proposal to eliminate $200 property tax credit which supports elderly and working families.
• Reduces the tax on sales and storage of boats and marine dyed diesel to 2.99% to boost the boating industry in CT.
• Restores $10 million to the Energy Efficiency Fund.

• Maintains $7 million savings target for a hard hiring freeze.
• Provides $16 million to the Retired Teachers’ Healthcare Fund to provide a full statutory contribution of 33%.

  Funding for Core Services:

• Restores funding for the Medicare Savings Program in full to all 169,450 seniors. Cost of $130 million.
• Restores funding for HUSKY A coverage for 13,000 low income working parents who otherwise would lose coverage beginning August 1.
• Provides a 1% private provider COLA to all non-profit providers effective July 1, 2018 and incorporates I/DD wage contract changes passed by the legislature earlier this month.
• Increases funding for the Judicial Branch court support staff.
• Increases Vocational Agriculture per pupil grants by $1,000 per slot.
• Provides $5 million for Emergency Placements for those with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
• Restores $18.5 million to magnet schools.
• Provides $1 million for Connecticut Valley Hospital and Whiting Forensic Institute.

• Restores funding for Elderly Nutrition Program and makes a separate line item to better protect this funding in the future.
• Preserves grants for substance abuse treatment and mental health care.
• Funds the Connecticut Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) with $5 million needed in the fund.
• Fully funds aid to disabled adding in $1.4 million.
• Fully funds Old Age Assistance with an additional $1.8 million.
• Protects funding for fire training schools and eliminates governor’s cut.
• Restores funding for the Hispanic Programs in DSS providing funding to nonprofits.

• Provides funding for Puerto Rico evacuees in housing and provides municipalities with a significant influx of evacuees with increased Education Cost Sharing Grants.
• Continues tourism and cultural programs funding.

• Does not implement any cuts to Care 4 Kids.
• Continues enhanced reimbursement rate for primary care providers.
• Provides needed funding for dairy farmers
• Funds the Honor Guard
• Provides $16.2 million to the Board of Regents for fringe benefit support.
• Restores $2 million to fully staff the Connecticut state veterans hospital’s critical care unit.

Protects Municipal Aid:

• Restores full funding for Municipal Aid. $28.4 million more than appropriated in FY 2019 as originally enacted. $70.5 million more in municipal aid than FY 2018.
• Fully funds the FY 2019 enacted Education Cost Sharing grants.
• Fully funds Renters Rebate program, protecting 48,000 people. No longer shifts the expense onto municipalities.

Funds Transportation:

• Fully funds the Special Transportation Fund resulting in surpluses in the fund in each of the next 5 years (accelerates the diversion of sales tax from sale of automobiles at car dealerships into FY 2019 at 8%). This allows us to fully fund transportation infrastructure projects.
• Fully funds rail and bus operations.
• Enacts “Prioritize Progress” in part, a long-term plan to support infrastructure improvements without taxes or tolls.

Implements Recommendations from the Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Growth as follows:

• Study on pro-growth rebalancing of state taxes.  
• Study on revenue and expense optimization.
• Study on reforming of the Teachers’ Retirement System. 
• Implements municipal relief by allowing schools to have volunteers perform work such as buildings and grounds maintenance.  

Associate Justice Richard Robinson has unanimously been approved as the next chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.

Robinson becomes the first African-American to hold the judicial branch’s top job.

Please watch and share my remarks in the State Senate about Justice Robinson – thank you!

Please watch and share my latest State Capitol update and send me your comments at Tony.Hwang@cga.ct.gov – thank you!

Senator Tony Hwang applauded the State Senate’s May 1 passage of Senate Bill 466 – An Act Concerning Dual Arrests and the Training Required of Law Enforcement Personnel with Respect to Domestic Violence.

The bill would add a dominant aggressor provision to the law in an effort to reduce Connecticut’s intimate partner violence dual arrest rate, which currently stands at more than twice the national average.

Under the bill, a dominant aggressor is the person who poses the most serious ongoing threat in a situation involving a suspected family violence crime.

The bill calls for changing Connecticut’s family violence arrest law to clarify that when receiving complaints from two or more opposing parties, law enforcement must determine which part is the dominant aggressor – similar laws exists in 27 other states.

Debra Greenwood, CEO/ President of Bridgeport-based Center for Family Justice​, said, “As a Victim Advocacy and Family Justice Center, we understand how critical SB 466 is to clients in our state that are victims of domestic violence.  For someone to call for help and seek assistance can be life changing.  For a victim not to call for 911 support because they fear arrest can put themselves and their children in an extremely dangerous position.  On behalf of our clients at The Center for Family Justice and those in Eastern Fairfield County, we applaud Senator Tony Hwang’s leadership and commitment to pass this lifesaving bill.”

Sen. Hwang said, “I voted in favor of this measure and co-sponsored it because it will better protect domestic violence victims in our state.  As the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence has noted, imagine what it would be like to finally summon up the courage to reach out for help or to call the police during an incident when you feel your life is in danger, only to end up being arrested yourself.  What are the chances this victim will ever reach out for help again? Under this legislation, police would instead be called upon to practice more discretion whenever two people accuse each other of domestic violence. This change aims to prevent abusers from exploiting relationships when they know a partner is reluctant or unwilling to call police.  We want to create a system which makes victims feel safe.”

Angela C. Schlingheyde, director of Civil Legal & Court Advocacy Services for the Center for Family Justice, added,  “Connecticut has long been a leader in advancing policy and practice that protects victims of domestic violence and holds offenders accountable. However, for more than 30 years, Connecticut has struggled with one of the country’s highest dual arrest rates. In Connecticut, approximately 20% of the time, both the victim and the abuser are arrested at the scene of an intimate partner violence incident. This is more than twice the national average of 7%. This practice is detrimental to victims, their families, and Connecticut’s criminal justice system. We know that Connecticut can do better, and Senate Bill 466 will help us! We thank Sen. Hwang for his support and look forward to this bill becoming law.”

The bill also has the support of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the state Division of Criminal Justice.

Sen. Hwang represents Easton, Fairfield, Newtown, Weston and Westport. He can be reached at Tony.Hwang@cga.ct.gov and at 800-842-1421.

On the web:  SenatorHwang.com and www.centerforfamilyjustice.org

Please watch and share my latest State Capitol video update and send me your comments at Tony.Hwang@cga.ct.gov.

Please call your lawmakers today and tell them how you feel – thank you!