Rep. Martin Foncello Unveils Legislative Priorities For 2025 Session

HARTFORD – State Rep. Martin Foncello (R-107) has proposed several pieces of legislation to benefit constituents in Brookfield, Newtown, and Bethel. These bills are currently under consideration by various legislative committees.

“Some of my proposals were based off requests from people in my district, others from municipal leaders, and some I think will have a districtwide impact,” said Rep. Foncello. “Making Connecticut more affordable for residents and businesses is my top priority. That’s why I’ve proposed a bill about the public benefits charge on electric bills.”

Foncello’s bill would repeal any component of the Combined Public Benefits Charge not approved by the General Assembly and require future charges be approved by the General Assembly.

One of the largest expenses for schools is the cost of special education. Foncello proposed a bill to ensure full funding of the special education excess cost grants for all towns.

Foncello also advocated for revisions to a bill passed last year about property tax breaks for Permanent & Total (P&Tt) disabled veterans. The legislation, which took effect in October 2024, only took into account the veteran’s dwelling. This proposal is to also include the land on which the dwelling sits.

One proposal would provide local representation on the Connecticut Siting Council.

“This is important to residents of Brookfield, where a number of cell towers have been proposed over the years. The concept was raised by the Environment Committee as SB 78 and reserved for a public hearing,” said Foncello.

Also in Brookfield, a bridge by the police station was renamed for Jason D. Lewis under legislation passed years ago.

“The Department of Transportation never ended up making the change, so I requested a bill this session to officially name that stretch of Silvermine Road after the decorated Navy SEAL,” said Foncello. Petty Officer 1st Class Lewis was killed in action in 2007, in Iraq at 30 years old and is a recipient of a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.

A Newtown farmer relayed a story to Foncello during a listening forum about the delays in processing farmer-owned and USDA inspected livestock. This is not a problem unique to Newtown, so he proposed a bill on this front. Foncello is also standing with the Newtown delegation in proposing that the frequency of crisis response drills in schools are not reduced.

During a legislative town hall session, a Bethel resident told Foncello that cameras on school buses meant to capture safety violations of other drivers sharing the road can’t always catch violators because they don’t have both license plates on the vehicle. He’s proposed a bill to increase the penalty for the failure to display required plates.

You can check out all of Rep. Foncello’s bill proposals by clicking here.