2019 Year In Review

Posted on January 15, 2020

Facebooktwittermail

Fought Against the Merger or Closure of QVCC

I am proud to have fought against this proposal because it helped prevent Quinebaug Valley Community College and other local institutions around the state from becoming another program run by individuals in Hartford. Unfortunately all too often these types of decisions are made in a vacuum and without much familiarity with how these schools operate and their uniqueness to the area residents in which they serve.

Continued Fight against Tolls
I will not support any plan put forth by the governor or Democrat party that seeks to take more of your hard earned money, especially when hundreds of millions of dollars in designed to improve our roads and bridges gets diverted.

Eliminated the Grocery Tax
Included within the biennium budget passed last year was a tax on many single serve items prepared and purchased at grocery stores. This would have included sandwiches; salads from salad bars; bagels, donuts, muffins, rolls, and pastries sold in quantities of five or fewer. After House Republicans petitioned to come in for special session to fix this issue and significant pressure from the general public, the governor reached out to the Department of Revenue Services to fix what he called a misinterpretation by the department of the legislatures true intent.

Fought to Preserve Parental Rights
This session featured several bill proposals that sought to remove a parents rights to make decisions for their children. I fully support parents being able to make religious, medical and treatment related decisions that are in the best interest of their families.

Fought Against School Regionalization
If this proposal would have passed, our boards of education would have lost their local control to Hartford politicians.

Increased Property Tax Exemptions for Veterans
This legislation increases the base property tax exemptions for disabled service members and veterans by $500.

Increase Job Opportunities for Veterans
This legislation requires the State Department of Education (SDE) to reserve 10% of seats available in the existing alternate route to certification program for veterans.

Protecting seniors and Individuals with Disabilities  
I was proud to support this bipartisan legislation that expands the list of disqualifying offenses that prohibit someone from being hired as a direct care employee or volunteer at a long-term care facility.

 

Other Items I’m Proud of:

  • Received a 100% voting score (for the third straight year) for votes taken on the floor of the House of Representatives during the 2019 legislative session.
  • Received a 100% voting score from CBIA.
    • Scores are based on their votes in committee or the House floor on a series of ‘key bills’ that supported the business community’s position on Connecticut’s economic competitiveness and business climate.
  • Honored to have been recognized by Arc Quinebaug Valley and Arc New London County for my commitment and support of programs and services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
  • In May, State Representative Rick Hays and I held a successful ‘Stuff a Humvee’ event with local veterans to benefit the Friends of Assisi Food Pantry in Danielson.
  • In September, I co-hosted a second ‘Stuff a Humvee’ event with the help of the Danielson Veterans Coffee House and members from the Connecticut Army National Guard.  We were able to collect dozens of boxes full of donation items and more than $600 in cash to help to benefit Project Pin (The Project Pin food pantry serves individuals and families living in the Central Village, Moosup, Oneco, Plainfield, Sterling and Wauregan communities).
X