Posted on May 22, 2019 by admin
House Republicans: We know our vote on tolls, and it is “no”
HARTFORD – House Republican Lawmakers sent a formal letter to Governor Lamont Tuesday night to notify him that all members of the House Republican Caucus are fully unified against tolls.
The letter was sent after the governor declared that he will begin focusing on the budget and will table tolls for a special legislative session to give Republicans more time to support the proposal.
In the letter, House Republicans said that going into a special session would be an undue tax burden on the people of Connecticut and that the House Republican Caucus will be voting no on tolls.
Posted on May 21, 2019 by admin
HARTFORD – State Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria joined her fellow colleagues and concerned citizens and organizations at the State Capitol on Tuesday for a press conference to call on the Senate to pass a House bill to strengthen penalties on fentanyl.
“The Senate should be passing this bill immediately,” said Rep. Klarides-Ditria. “The selling and manufacturing of fentanyl is killing to many individuals and we shouldn’t be letting dealers of with a slap on the wrist. Let’s get this bill signed into law before the end of the session.”
Posted on May 16, 2019 by admin
HARTFORD – State Representative Nicole Klarides-Ditria called out legislative Democrats on Wednesday in the Finance Committee for passing a toll proposal that isn’t complete.
“Legislative Democrats and Governor Ned Lamont are asking residents to support tolls without providing a full detailed plan,” said Rep. Klarides-Ditria. “How many tolls will there be? What highways will they be on? How much will Connecticut residents pay? All these questions went unanswered yesterday in the Finance Committee. It’s a shame that the majority party is doing everything behind closed doors and not being open and transparent with the residents of Connecticut.”
Posted on May 15, 2019 by admin
HARTFORD – State Representative Nicole Klarides-Ditria praised the passage of legislation on Tuesday that will create tougher penalties for the illegal manufacturing, distributing or selling of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl.
“Fentanyl is a dangerous drug that is linked to killing thousands of individuals suffering from drug addiction,” said Rep. Klarides-Ditria, a co-sponsor of the bill. “Making the penalties for selling fentanyl harsh will hopefully deter individuals from selling or manufacturing this dangerous drug.”
The bill would change the definition of narcotic substance to include fentanyl the same category as heroin. As the law is currently written, fentanyl is listed as a synthetic drug, which is a lesser penalty.
Posted on May 10, 2019 by admin
HARTFORD – State Representative Nicole Klarides-Ditria joined colleagues in a nearly a fifteen-hour debate, from Wednesday to the early afternoon on Thursday, regarding the increase to the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
The House Republican caucus offered eight amendments to help rework the legislation so that it didn’t punish businesses, nonprofits, and municipalities. For example, House Amendment Schedule G was offered to exempt municipalities from having to pay employees $15 an hour.
“I am disappointed that legislative Democrats blocked amendments that would have made this legislation better for businesses, nonprofits, and municipalities,” said Rep. Klarides-Ditria. “Connecticut is one of the worst places to do business and its because of legislation like this. Increasing the minimum wage when our economy is still failing to bounce back will only push our job recovery backward.”
Posted on April 26, 2019 by admin
HARTFORD – State Representative Nicole Klarides-Ditria released the following statement regarding the recent jobs report from the Department of Labor.
“Connecticut losing over 3000 jobs since the start of the year should be deeply concerning to every Connecticut resident,” said Rep. Klarides-Ditria. “Our economy is headed in the same negative direction as it was under Governor Dan Malloy. I think Governor Ned Lamont and legislative Democrats should start to consider what the impact on businesses will be if they pass a minimum wage hike, tolls, and a forced Paid Family Leave.”
Posted on April 12, 2019 by admin
SHELTON – State Representative Nicole Klarides-Ditra joined Valley State Lawmakers on Thursday morning to have a conversation with Greater Valley Chamber members about current legislative proposals before the General Assembly.
Rep. Klarides-Ditria said, “Our state’s economy is not recovering and the answer to solving the problem is not taxing businesses more. The way we can restore our economy is by making our state business friendly and including business owners and business professionals at the table when we are making important policy decisions.”
Governor Ned Lamont has proposed expanding the sales tax to include a long list of new services such as legal and accounting services. In addition, Democrats have proposed a payroll tax to pay for paid family leave and a plan to implement tolls on every major highway in the state.
Posted on March 28, 2019 by admin
HARTFORD – State Representative Nicole Klarides-Ditria voted no on Wednesday on a union deal to increase the pay and to give out bonuses to unionized lawyers who work for the state Attorney General.
The two-year pay deal for lawyers working for Attorney General’s Office will cost taxpayers $5 million. This includes stipends for department heads in the amount of $6,000 in the first year and $12,000 in the second year.
Posted on March 22, 2019 by admin
HARTFORD – State Representatives Themis Klarides and Nicole Klarides-Ditria were invited to speak on the “Women Who Lead” Panel by the Commission on Equity and Opportunity and the Commission on Women, Children and Seniors on Friday. The topic of the panel was “The Multigenerational Impact of Women that”.
Reps. Klarides, Klarides-Ditria and the other panelist spoke to young women about their experiences and how they became leaders.
“The active role that these young women are taking in both their…
Posted on March 21, 2019 by admin
HARTFORD – House and Senate Republican ranking members of the Transportation Committee, State Rep. Laura Devlin and Senator Henri Martin, were invited to Derby on Wednesday night by their colleagues to present a transportation funding plan that doesn’t rely on tolls or tax increases.
Rep. Devlin and Martin explained that the Republican Prioritize Progress Plan works within current state resources and will provide $65 billion for transportation infrastructure projects over the next 30 years.
In addition,…