Two of Representative Lanoue’s Bills Win Committee Support

HARTFORD- Last Thursday, during a busy day with multiple committee meetings on the schedule for the state legislature, State Representative Brian Lanoue (R-45), saw some of his hard work rewarded, as two key pieces of his legislative agenda passed through committee and will head to the House chamber later this session.

During the Committee on Children’s meeting, H.B. 6417: An Act Requiring Background Checks For Certain Employees of Youth Camps, was passed out of committee. This is a bill that aims to help protect children from sexual predators while attending camps, legislation that Rep. Lanoue was surprised was not already law. Rep. Lanoue’s determination to get this legislation passed goes back three years to his freshman year in the legislature, in 2019, when he first introduced H.B. 5165. Last year, the bill passed through the committee process, but a vote was never taken on the House floor due to the COVID-19 shutdown.

“I am very proud to share with you that on Thursday, during the Committee on Children’s meeting, we passed House bill 6417. This bill got passed out of committee with overwhelming bipartisan support and is now heading to the House floor,” Rep Lanoue said. “Since first taking office, I have worked very hard to get this written into law. Thursday, we became one step closer to finally making that happen! It’s imperative that we know who has unfettered access and are staying with our children at camp. Although this legislation is not bullet proof, it does create another layer of protection for our children that is currently not a requirement. I will continue to advocate for Connecticut’s children and urge all my colleagues to support this bill as it makes its way to the House floor.”

Also on Thursday, during the legislature’s Energy and Technology Committee meeting, H.B. 6525, An Act Establishing A Task Force To Study Electric Distribution Companies, passed unanimously through the committee. The bill, which was first drafted as an amendment by Rep. Lanoue and State Representative Doug Dubitsky (R-47) during the September 30th special session, would establish a task force to study utility companies in Connecticut. The bill would also examine the costs and benefits of bringing alternative energy sources into the market.

“This is an extremely important bill for the hard-working people of our District. Since last March, our residents have been faced with unthinkable challenges in their daily lives, COVID-19 has made life difficult for everyone with shutdowns, job losses and small businesses being directly impacted,” said Rep. Lanoue. “During this extremely burdensome time, Eversource irresponsibly increased delivery charges on the backs of hard working-people over the summer. In addition to these increased charges, Eversource left many in our District without power for up to two weeks in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Isaias. Clearly, something is very wrong with the way electricity is distributed in Connecticut. This bill would also include looking at the possibility of municipal public utilities expanding their service area, specifically the costs of acquiring the electrical distribution infrastructure such as poles and wires. With municipal electrical companies like Jewett City and Norwich Public Utilities performing well with their storm response, the right thing to do is look for additional options for the people of this state.”

State Representative Brian Lanoue is in his second term in the General Assembly and serves the 45th District, including the towns of Griswold, Lisbon, Plainfield, Sterling and Voluntown.

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The Day Editorial Board wrote a story endorsing this legislation which appeared in Tuesday’s paper, to read the story click here.