Posted on May 20, 2019 by admin
HARTFORD — State Representative Mike France (R-42) will be at the Preston Transfer Station on Saturday, June 8th to make himself available to constituents to answer your questions concerning major issues of the 2019 Legislative Session, which ends on June 5th.
WHEN: Saturday, June 8th from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
WHERE: Preston Transfer Station, 108 Ross Road, Preston, CT
“There were a number of bills making significant policy changes that were debated and passed this year,” said Rep. France. “Please…
Posted on May 10, 2019 by admin
HARTFORD – As Ranking Member of the Government Administration & Elections (GAE) Committee, State Representative Mike France (R-42) was stunned that a bill making substantial changes to the voter registration process was brought before the House of Representatives on Tuesday without first being approved by the GAE Committee, which has sole cognizance over all election statutes.
House Bill (H.B.) 5844, An Act Requiring Housing Authorities to Provide Voter Registration Applications to Prospective Tenants, received a public hearing in the Housing Committee on February 7th, was voted out of committee on March 7th and then was tabled for the House Calendar by the Legislative Commissioners’ Office on March 28th; but it did not receive further legislative consideration before coming to the House for a vote.
“Not to take anything away from the fine work done by the Housing Committee, but election law is not something that is within their area of expertise,” said Rep. France. “I have great concern that this bill did not come before the GAE Committee, which has cognizance over all voter registration matters. In addition, colleagues stated that there was discussion during the committee meeting during which the Housing Committee Chair made a commitment that the bill would be referred to GAE, but unfortunately this was not done.”
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Posted on April 26, 2019 by admin
A new digital application released by the Connecticut Department of Public Health called NORA, which is a Naloxone and Overdose Response Application to help combat the ongoing opioid epidemic.
The NORA app is designed to help save lives when confronted with an opioid overdose by educating residents on how to administer naloxone and using GPS data to find nearby locations to obtain the medication. The app, which is free for all users, functions through the web browser of most smartphones.
The Department…
Posted on April 26, 2019 by admin
The Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced that there will be lane closures on Southbound and Northbound sides of I-95 in New London and Waterford starting this coming Monday, April 29th to allow for nighttime bridge maintenance.
Work on the Vauxhall Street Extension Overpass is scheduled to occur between 7:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. from Monday, April 29th through Friday, May 24, 2019. The lane closures will take place between Exit 84 and Exit 82 on I-95 Southbound and Exit 82…
Posted on April 25, 2019 by admin
Once again, Connecticut’s tax burden is among the highest of any state in the nation. Residents in our state need to work longer than residents in 45 other states to pay their state, local and federal tax bills.
Tax Freedom Day is the day each year when the average citizen has earned enough to pay their combined local, state and federal tax bills. National Tax Freedom Day is on April 16!
This year, according to The Tax Foundation, Connecticut’s Tax Freedom Day is April 25, which means we’re tied…
Posted on April 22, 2019 by admin
Letter to the Editor from Senators Paul Formica and Heather Somers and Representatives Devin Carney, Holly Cheeseman, Mike France, Kathleen McCarty, and Jesse MacLachlan.
Connecticut needs to take bold action to fix our transportation system. Better transportation is a key to economic development, job growth and better quality of life.
At the same time, residents are struggling. They have been asked to pay increasingly more in taxes while services have been cut. The state keeps taking more, and providing less.
Connecticut has to change. Creating a new way to tax people through tolls is not the answer. Connecticut needs to prioritize.
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Posted on April 8, 2019 by admin
HARTFORD – As bills to provide paid Family and Medical Leave advance through the committee process, the legislature’s Conservative Caucus proposed an alternative that would provide coverage for families without burdening individual taxpayers with a mandatory and onerous new payroll tax.
Current paid family and medical leave proposals would mandate employers offer up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave to their employees. To fund the program, virtually all employees would be compelled to pay one-half of one per cent of their earnings into a new FMLA fund, whether they take the leave or not.
As a more affordable alternative, the Conservative Caucus model would have the Insurance Department develop a voluntary free-market plan which it would make available to both employees and employers. This alternative would allow workers to qualify for paid family and medical leave while treating such leave as an employment benefit, not a state mandate. Instead of a mandate, employers would be empowered to offer the benefit to employees as they do other types of insurance. It would further empower employees to purchase such coverage if they found it beneficial to their family circumstances.
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Posted on April 8, 2019 by admin
HARTFORD – State Representative Mike France (R-42) attended his third Epilepsy Advocacy Day at the Capitol earlier this week to hear from individuals living with the condition, and their families, about the challenges they face and how state government can help.
Advocacy Day participants came from all over the state on Tuesday to meet with one another in Hartford and share stories about their connection to Epilepsy. They also engaged in a thorough training session about 2019 legislative priorities and how to effectively engage with their legislators. They urged legislators to support policies that ensure timely access to Epilepsy medications and specialists, and end all forms of discrimination for individuals with Epilepsy. They particularly advocated for the passage of the following bills proposed this session:
- House Bill (H.B.) 7092, which expands eligibility for the Katie Beckett Waiver Program. This program allows the Connecticut Department of Social Services to provide home and community-based Medicaid services to individuals who have a physical disability, and may or may not have a co-occurring developmental disability, and would normally not qualify financially for Medicaid due to family income.
- B. 7093, which establishes a task force to study and develop recommendations to increase employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.
- B. 7166, which establishes a statutory right to timely and appropriate non-emergency medical transportation for Medicaid beneficiaries and provides a more timely avenue for such beneficiaries to appeal coverage lapses.
“I am happy to support the Epilepsy Foundation of Connecticut and the legislation they are advocating for,” said Rep. France. “Over the past several years that I have been in office, I have personally witnessed how epilepsy impacts my constituents and I want to continue to support programs that lead to improvements in their quality of life.”
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Posted on April 3, 2019 by admin
State Representative Mike France (R-42) invites constituents to meet with him on Thursday, April 18th at the Preston Public Library or Saturday, April 20th at the Ledyard Town Hall Annex to discuss the status of the state budget and important legislation being proposed during the 2019 legislative session.
WHAT: Mid-Session Town Hall
WHEN: Thursday, April 18, 2019 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Preston Public Library meeting room, 389 Route 2, Preston
WHAT: Mid-Session Town Hall
WHEN: Saturday,…
Posted on March 28, 2019 by admin
HARTFORD – The Connecticut General Assembly Conservative Caucus today proudly announced the addition of its newest member, State Representative Brian Lanoue (R-45), who represents the towns of Griswold, Lisbon, Sterling, Plainfield and Voluntown.
“In the first two months of session, Representative Lanoue has already demonstrated his conservative principles in both the legislation he has proposed as well as the strong advocacy while providing testimony during public hearings,” Caucus Chairman Rep. Mike France (R-42) said. “As a small business owner, he brings invaluable experience to the caucus and we’re excited that he will provide his input and perspective on the important issues facing our state this session and into the future.”
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