Some key issues up for action next week
New DCP Commissioner vetted before Committee
Other news and notes from the State Capitol
News and notes from around the state
- Next week is expected to be a busy week for CRN at the State Capitol.
- The Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a public hearing on SB 3 AAC Online Privacy, Data and Safety Protections.
- This bill is very concerning to CRN. In many ways, it re-opens the debate around consumer privacy that CRN and others had previously worked so hard on. We will be very active on that bill as it moves thru the process.
- Also, the Labor Committee will meet sometime next week as they approach their deadline to take action on bills before them.
- We expect either Tuesday or Thursday of next week, Labor will vote on SB 152 Warehouse Workers and HB 6859 ACC Predictable Scheduling.
- Finally, next week we also expect that the Environment Committee will take on HB 6664, ACC EPR for packing.
- That issue picked up steam this week, after Governor Lamont and DEEP commissioner Katie Dykes, along with House Co-chair of the Environment Committee Joe Gresko (D-Stratford), visited a Berlin company to see first-hand how that business handles food waste.
- You can go here to read more about that visit.
- CRN will be at the Capitol all week working on these and other issues and will update you next week in our FF.
Congrats to New DCP Commissioner
- Governor Lamont made a somewhat surprising announcement when he named Bryan Cafferelli, Legal Counsel to the Senate Republicans, as his new DCP Commissioner succeeding Michelle Seagull, who stepped down at year’s end.
- Cafferelli was before the Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee this week, where he received an overwhelming, bi-partisan welcome, clearing the way for his full approval by the General Assembly.
- You can to here to see more about this week’s Cafferelli nomination and hearing.
- We look forward to working with Mr. Cafferelli in his new role.
Other news and notes from around the State Capitol
- Republican leaders of the Connecticut Senate unveiled a slew of policy proposals Thursday to increase transparency of municipal and state disbursements of taxpayer dollars and federal funding. The Hartford Courant reports on the proposal here.
- State Comptroller Sean Scanlon has announced the formation of a working group to find ways to help communities deal with surging costs of the Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement System, or CMERS. CT Mirror’s Keith Phaneuf has the details here.
- A legislative panel on election policy advanced three bills this week that are intended to implement an early voting system allowed by a constitutional amendment approved overwhelmingly by Connecticut voters last year. CTNewsJunkie has the highlights here.
- Connecticut’s requirement that a lawyer have a decade of “active practice” in the state to run for attorney general would be changed to six years under a bill promoted by State Rep. Matt Blumenthal (D-Stamford). CT Mirror’s Mark Pazniokas outlines the proposal here.
- A bill that would extend research and development tax credits to pass-through entities in Connecticut has gained momentum in the legislature, but the state says it’s not able to judge the economic impact. Hartford Business Journal reports on the issue here.
News and notes from around the state
- Connecticut’s private sector has regained almost 97% of the jobs the state lost in the pandemic shut down of 2020, according to officials at the state Department of Labor. WNPR has the numbers here.
- Recent data from the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors shows that the housing market is continuing to cool, following a series of aggressive interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Hartford Business Journal has the numbers here.
- Inc. Magazine this month released its list of the fastest-growing private companies in the Northeast region, which included nine Connecticut companies. New Haven BIZ has the highlights here.
- Stamford-based Webster Bank has established a network of community liaison officers across the state to provide support and financial education to low-to-moderate income and minority borrowers. New Haven BIZ has the details here.
- The University of Connecticut brought together researchers and industry leaders Thursday in Storrs for its first cannabis symposium — not far from where the university grows the plant to help the state learn more about its use. WTNH News8 reports on what’s happening, here.