Dear Friends and Neighbors,

On Monday, July 1st, many new laws that may affect you and our community went into effect.

I have highlighted some noteworthy new laws below and encourage you to take a look at the full list, which can be accessed by clicking here. You can also find a copy of the 2019 Major Public Acts by clicking here.

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CLINTON – State Representative Jesse MacLachlan attended the groundbreaking for the new and improved Clinton Train Station on Tuesday, June 18th.

Rep. MacLachlan spoke at the groundbreaking said he is excited to see this project that has been years in the works moving forward.

“The residents of Clinton have waited years for updates to the Clinton Train Station and to see this project with shovels in the ground means a lot to the residents and businesses in our community,” said Rep. MacLachlan. “It’s not just a bridge that is connecting two sides of a train station, it’s a bridge to downtown Clinton that will attract more people to our small businesses and beautiful downtown.”

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Nighttime Bridge Maintenance, Route 153 in Westbrook starting Monday, June 17th

The Connecticut Department of Transportation is announcing that a nighttime bridge repair project will be performed on Route 153 in Westbrook, beginning Monday, June 17, 2019.

The project consists of structural steel Repairs on Route 153, Bridge #00232 (I-95 SB overpass) in Westbrook. This project is scheduled to begin on the night of Monday, June 17, 2019, with a rain date of Tuesday, June 18, 2019.

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HARTFORD – State Representative Jesse MacLachlan voted against a two-year state budget that will increase taxes by nearly $2 billion dollars and spending by a $1 billion dollars.

“I understand that no budget is perfect, but this one misses the mark with more taxes and more spending,” said Rep. MacLachlan.

Rep. MacLachlan continued, “This budget is bad for small businesses, grows state government, and makes little effort to reign in spending the way every Connecticut family does when budgets are tight. I was hopeful that the new Administration would make bold changes, but this is more of the same.”

The budget expands the sales tax to include new services and fee on things like dry cleaners and digital downloads. In addition, the budget creates a new tax on restaurants, plastic bags, and will force LLC’s to pay more in income taxes.

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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…

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HARTFORD – State Representative Jesse MacLachlan 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.

“Treating the sale, distribution, and manufacturing of Fentanyl the same as Heroin is a step in the right direction to help us combat the opioid epidemic,” said Rep. MacLachlan. “With our state’s push against the manufacturers of opioids and now increasing the penalties of those dealing fentanyl, Connecticut is doing every we can to stop the opioid epidemic.”

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HARTFORD – The House of Representatives passed a bipartisan offshore wind industry bill on Tuesday that will an offshore wind energy hub in New London in an effort to generate much needed renewable resources and create jobs through a public-private partnership that will revitalize the city’s vital port and state pier.

Rep. MacLachlan said this legislation will help diversify Connecticut’s energy sources and create more jobs.

“Connecticut is unleashing the opportunity to produce an untapped energy source,” said Rep. MacLachlan. “We are perfectly located to use offshore wind energy to our advantage and to generate enough energy to help reduce the high energy cost the residents of Connecticut pay.”

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HARTFORD – Earlier this month, State Rep. Jesse MacLachlan voted in support of House Bill 552 a bill that looks to further protect residents with preexisting conditions.

The bill redefines the “preexisting condition provision” to encompass preexisting conditions that may not have been recognized or treated by medical professionals prior to the effective date of the plan and the bill requires short-term, or bridge, policies to also cover preexisting
conditions. These additions complete the coverage intended by the provision. The bill also removes a redundant section concerning breast cancer survivors.

“I heard from a lot of people on the campaign trail about their concerns over healthcare and losing coverage due to a preexisting condition,” said Rep. MacLachlan. “No one should be denied healthcare because of a preexisting condition and I am proud to support this bill that will protect healthcare for Connecticut residents.”

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HARTFORD – State Representatives Noreen Kokoruda and Jesse MacLachlan hosted a “Tolls Informational Forum” on Tuesday night at Madison Town Hall.
The forum, which was presented by House and Senate Republican ranking members of the Transportation Committee, State Rep. Laura Devlin and Senator Henri Martin, was the 18th forum held since the start of the legislative session.

Panelists and hosts presented the history of the Special Transportation Fun, recent results of toll studies and plans, as well as the GOP alternative to tolling called “Prioritize Progress,” which secures $65 billion dollars for transportation projects over the next 30 years without relying on tolls or tax increases. The plan re-prioritizes funding from pet projects and other quasi-wants to fund infrastructure improvements. Lawmakers noted that the plan operates within Connecticut’s new bond cap, borrowing no more than allowed under the cap. Last year, the bipartisan budget lawmakers placed a cap on state bonding.

The full plan can be viewed at www.cthousegop.com/prioritize.

There were about 90 individuals in attendance, the majority of which expressed opposition to tolls.

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WESTBROOK – State Representatives Jesse MacLachlan, Devin Carney and state Senator Norm Needleman hosted a ‘Community Conversation’ on Wednesday night in Westbrook.

Over eighty residents attended the event to hear from the lawmakers about the legislative session and to ask questions about bills related to tolls, regionalization of schools, and the state budget.

“I want to thank all the residents who showed up to speak to us about issues they are concerned about,” said Rep. MacLachlan. “I have received hundreds of emails this session about tolls and the forced regionalization of schools. I am against both of these proposals. We can’t ask taxpayers to pay more and more.”

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