Gale Mastrofrancesco

Connecticut Can Do Better, say Rep. Mastrofrancesco and Sen. Sampson

From the Desk of Rep. Mastrofrancesco and Sen. Sampson: Open your electric bill. Open your property tax bill. Look at what it costs to fill your tank or keep the lights on. Then ask a simple question: after nearly forty years of Democratic control in the state House and thirty in the Senate, are you better off? These costs did not arrive by accident. Spending and taxes have grown faster than paychecks. Mandates have multiplied. Fees have been layered on. Public-policy costs that should have competed to be included in the regular budget were tucked onto your utility bill and labeled “public benefits.” You pay them every month. The majority that put them there has treated every problem as an excuse for another program, another regulation, or another charge on the people who already pay the bills. Who pays when the majority expands driver’s licenses and government benefits to people who are in the country illegally? Estimates put the number of illegal aliens in Connecticut in the range of 150,000 to 200,000. The state issues drive-only licenses. It provides state-funded health coverage to children and postpartum women regardless of immigration status. That coverage is not paid by the federal government. Connecticut taxpayers cover the full cost. Enrollment has already run well beyond original projections. The majority has also adopted policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities and protect criminal aliens from detention and removal. Does that raise the cost of health insurance for everyone else? Does it increase demand for housing and push rents higher in towns that already cannot keep up? Does it add students to classrooms whose local property taxpayers and state aid must cover the expense? The answer is yes. Someone always pays. That someone is you. We have had a front-row seat to watch this damage being done to our state and its residents, and we have repeatedly offered alternatives: tax relief, spending restraint, protection of local control, and concrete proposals to take those hidden charges off electric bills and force them into the regular budget where they can be defended or rejected in public. The majority votes no. On the other hand, the two of us have never voted for a tax increase or a state spending increase. When we support something that costs money, we identify an offset. Passing bills is only part of the job. Sometimes the most important work is stopping government from doing something harmful before it becomes permanent. We helped stop highway tolls. We helped stop a new tax on real-estate transactions. We helped stop proposals that would ban gas-powered vehicles. Those fights matter. Outnumbered in the chamber, we have still forced debate, offered amendments, and brought the public into the argument. When people see what is actually being proposed, bad ideas become harder to pass. That is how a minority can still protect taxpayers. In 2022, when gas prices spiked, we pushed for relief and called for suspending the gas tax. Public pressure and that push produced a temporary suspension. It was a start, but not enough, and we said so at the time. We held rallies and kept pressing for more. Temporary relief is not the same as changing the policies that keep driving costs higher year after year. On electric rates we have fought the same fight for years. We have introduced legislation and offered amendments to move public-policy charges off your bill, separate the utility regulator from the agency that advances the state’s energy agenda, and stop the practice of locking ratepayers into long-term contracts priced far above available market power. The majority has had the votes to change course. It has repeatedly chosen not to. Your bill keeps arriving. This past year the majority created a $500 million fund under the label of an emergency response to federal actions. Once the stated emergency passed, the money remained available for the governor to spend with almost no oversight. Senator Sampson offered an amendment on the Senate floor to return that money directly to the taxpayers who paid it in the first place, roughly $300 to $400 per person. The amendment was defeated on a party-line vote. The fund stayed. That is what one-party control looks like when the priority is keeping the money in Hartford rather than sending it back to the people who earned it. Governor Lamont has lately begun talking about lowering the cost of living and addressing electric rates. He says he will “roll up his sleeves.” Of course, he says that now. It is election season. The same administration that has overseen the policies driving these costs is now presenting itself as the solution. Democrats often campaign as if they share the everyday concerns of working families. When they govern, the record has been more spending, more mandates, and higher costs. The gap between the campaign and the votes is not subtle. Their opponents are now desperate for you to blame Republicans for problems the majority created and controlled. They have held the levers of power for decades. The facts are on the record. Ignore the slogans and the name-calling. Look at who voted for the policies, who blocked the alternatives, and who is now asking for credit for fixing what they built. Do the research. One-party rule for decades produces a particular confidence. Public hearings are held, then cut short. Amendments that would add basic safeguards are rejected on party lines. Large bills appear late, with little time for review. When voters notice the results, the response is often to change the subject or promise to fix it “later.” You are already living in that “later.” Our view is that government belongs to the people who pay for it. A legislative majority is not permanent. No party is entitled to support simply because it has held power for a long time. If the last several decades have not produced the Connecticut you want, the remedy is the same as it has always been: look at the record, examine the proposals, and choose differently. We have done the job of standing up for you when the majority would not. We will keep doing it. Trust the people who have been willing to say no to higher costs and yes to accountability. Vote for the check against one-party control. Connecticut can do better. That begins when you hold those in power responsible for what they have actually delivered and choose the direction that puts you first. Senator Rob Sampson and Representative Gale Mastrofrancesco represent Wolcott and surrounding communities in the Connecticut General Assembly.

Rep. Mastrofrancesco Joins Republican Colleagues to Unveil Plan to Address Affordability

HARTFORD - Rep. Gale Mastrofrancesco, R-Wolcott, recently joined her Republican colleagues in Hartford for a press conference focused on making Connecticut more affordable. House and Senate Republicans are answering the calls from families and businesses who paying far too much for just about everything, and they presented their plan on how to address it at the state level. The Senators and Representatives are pushing for wide-ranging financial relief that they believe residents will benefit from, including: Eliminating the public benefits charge on electric bills Reducing the income tax Lowering health insurance premiums Eliminating the Highway Use Tax to lower costs of everyday products Providing relief at the gas pump by halting gas taxes for a year People work very hard for their money, and shouldn't have to watch more and more of it disappear into taxes, fees and rising costs, according to Mastrofrancesco. It's time to make affordability a priority for Connecticut families, and Rep. Mastrofrancesco pledged to keep fighting for that in Hartford.

Southington Lawmakers to Host Informational Forum on Protecting Yourself from Scammers

HARTFORD - State Representatives Gale Mastrofrancesco (R-Wolcott), Donna Veach (R-Berlin), and State Senator Rob Sampson (R-Wolcott) are inviting area constituents to join them for Financial Fraud Bingo, an interactive way to highlight the dangers scammers pose. When: Thursday, August 27 th from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Where: Southington Calendar House, 388 Pleasant Street. The event is being held in partnership with The Connecticut Department of Banking and will review important ways seniors can go about protecting their personal information and money from scammers.

Rep. Mastrofrancesco Op-Ed: Speed Cameras May Be Coming to Wolcott - Residents Should be Paying Attention

From the Desk of Rep. Mastrofrancesco: More than 114,000 warnings in just 18 days. You read that number right, and it is not a typo. That is how many drivers were flagged by Fairfield's new school-zone speed camera program in less than three weeks. If that statistic does not raise red flags, I do not know what will. Supporters of these cameras want you to believe this is all about safety. But when a program is "catching" more than 100,000 drivers in a matter of days, and local officials are already talking about the millions of dollars it could generate, it is fair to ask whether this is really a public safety program or just another way for government to reach into your wallet. Now this same type of program is being considered for our town. There will be a public meeting in Wolcott on July 21 on this system, and I strongly encourage residents to attend and ask questions. Once these cameras go up, they will not just disappear. Like every other government program, they tend to grow. I understand why some people support them. Everyone wants safer roads, especially around schools, and keeping children safe is something we all agree on. But there is a difference between enforcing traffic laws and creating an automated ticket machine that also is a money grab. Before Wolcott installs even one camera, residents deserve straight answers. Where exactly would the cameras be located? What speed would trigger a warning or fine? Would the cameras operate only during school arrival and dismissal times, or would they be active all day? Who reviews each violation before it is mailed? How much of the money collected would stay with the town, and how much would go to a private vendor? Will the town have to hire more staff? Who will be hearing and deciding the appeals process? Those questions go to the heart of whether this is truly about safety or simply another source of revenue. The Fairfield numbers are astonishing. Are we really supposed to believe that more than 114,000 drivers suddenly became speed demons in just 18 days? Or is the system designed to maximize violations? Those are questions residents deserve answers to before a single camera is installed. The installation of these cameras was authorized by the "Vision Zero" transportation legislation that was proposed by majority Democrats in 2023 as part of an "aircraft carrier" bill that was packed with multiple bills. As you can imagine, I voted NO. Government has a long history of introducing fees, fines, and new enforcement programs under the banner of public safety, only to become dependent on the money they bring in. That is why so many taxpayers and drivers are skeptical when they hear officials discussing projected revenue alongside safety benefits. If the purpose is truly safety, then the town should be able to show the safety data that justifies each proposed location. How many accidents have occurred there? How many involved children, pedestrians, or school traffic? What other safety options were considered first? Better signage? Flashing school-zone lights? Improved road design? Public awareness? More police patrols? Hiring another officer who can issue real tickets and use real judgment? Those options cost money. Cameras generate money. That distinction matters. A driver caught by a camera faces a $50 fine plus a $15 processing fee for a first offense and $75 plus the same fee for every violation after that. Miss the payment deadline and another $25 late fee is added. If the fine remains unpaid, it can be sent to collections and even result in a lien that prevents renewal of your vehicle registration. That sounds less like a safety reminder and more like another tax on residents. The state is already unaffordable because of the taxes and policies put in place by the Democrat majority. Families are being squeezed by electric bills, insurance costs, grocery prices, property taxes, and endless fees. Now government wants another way to squeeze drivers by mail. If a town can issue more than 100,000 warnings in less than three weeks, it suggests the problem may not be reckless driving. It may suggest the program is casting far too wide a net. Of course we want people to be safe on the roads. That is important. But that sheer number of warnings is an indicator that the technology may be calibrated to make everyone, even folks just trying to get to work or traveling at normal speeds on roads with artificially low posted limits, into a criminal. And let's be honest about another argument we hear from supporters. They often say residents will simply learn where the cameras are and slow down when they approach them. Others suggest that local people will know where the cameras are, while out-of-town drivers will be the ones getting caught. Does that sound like a serious public safety strategy? If safety is the goal, we should want safer roads everywhere, not just drivers slowing down where they know a camera is waiting. We should focus on sensible speed limits, clear signs, and visible enforcement, not a system that depends on people making mistakes to generate revenue. While these violations do not appear on your driving record, at least not yet, they still create a growing system of automated enforcement that allows governments to issue fines by mail rather than having law enforcement officers interact directly with drivers. I also worry about where this leads. Today it is school zones. Tomorrow it will be busy intersections. Next year it is another location deemed worthy of automated enforcement. Step by step, decisions that once involved a police officer's judgment are handed over to cameras and computers. That is the Big Brother concern, and it is real. Once government becomes comfortable using cameras to monitor and fine citizens automatically, it rarely stops there. The real question is how much surveillance and automated enforcement residents are willing to accept in the name of safety. There are better ways to improve safety. Increased police patrols, improved signage, flashing school-zone lights, road design improvements, public awareness campaigns, and sensible speed limits can all help slow traffic without creating a system that automatically generates violations by the tens of thousands. The meeting later this month is an opportunity for Wolcott residents to hear the details and make their voices heard. Whether you support the cameras or oppose them, this decision deserves serious public discussion. Residents should ask: What is the projected annual revenue? What happens to the money collected? Will there be a sunset provision or mandatory review after one year? And if the program does not reduce accidents or improve safety, will the town shut it down? As for me, I remain unconvinced. When a program issues more than 114,000 warnings in 18 days, my first thought is not that government found the perfect solution. My first thought is that government found a new source of revenue. That is why I will continue asking questions. I can be reached by email at Gale.Mastrofrancesco@housegop.ct.gov or by phone at (800) 842-1423. You can also follow my legislative activity by visiting my website at www.repmastrofrancesco.com or my Facebook page.

Rep. Mastrofrancesco to Host Legislative Updates and Bingo Event with Sen. Rob Sampson in Wolcott and Southington

WOLCOTT / SOUTHINGTON - Throughout June, Rep. Gale Mastrofrancesco is inviting residents to join Sen. Rob Sampson and her for upcoming legislative updates and events in Southington and Wolcott as they discuss the 2026 legislative session and other issues related to state government. In Southington, the delegation will be joined by Rep. Donna Veach. These meetings are a chance to hear about what is happening in Hartford, ask questions, and share your thoughts on legislation, or other concerns that are important to you. And if you like bingo, please join them on June 24 for Financial Fraud Bingo where you can learn about financial scams, identity theft and how to protect yourself. Representatives from the Connecticut Department of Banking will join for this informative and fun event. 📍 Wolcott ( Wolcott Town Hall, 10 Kenea Avenue ) 🗓 Monday, June 22 ⏰ 6:30 – 8 p.m. 📍 Wolcott ( Charles Rietdyke Senior Center ) 🗓 Wednesday, June 24 ⏰ 10 – 11 a.m. 📍 Southington ( John Weichsel Municipal Center, 200 North Main Street ) 🗓 Thursday, June 25 ⏰ 6:30 – 8 p.m.