Labor Committee and Environment Committee take action on bills impacting CRN
Focus turns to the big committees next
News and notes from around the State Capitol
News and notes from around the state
- Despite our efforts, yesterday the Labor Committee, as expected, reported out of its committee, HB 6859 AAC Predictable Scheduling.
- This bill would mandate that certain size retailers and franchises put in place scheduling requirements that, in our opinion, would be more restrictive for retailers and their employees.
- In addition to that, the bill comes at a time when all size retailers are struggling to FIND people to work in their stores.
- CRN submitted testimony in opposition to the bill when a public hearing was held, which you can visit by going here, and also released a press release about the actions of the Labor Committee, which you can see by going here.
- The Labor Committee is not friendly to business interests and showed that by not taking into consideration any of the factors that we outlined in our testimony.
- This is just one stop in the legislative process, and we will keep working hard to stop this bill and will keep you posted along the way.
- Meanwhile the Environment Committee also took action today on a bill that will have an impact on retailers.
- One bill, HB 6664, would in part put in place an Extended Producer Responsibility Program for packaging. The Committee amended the bill by adding a trigger provision that only allows for the EPR provision of the bill to go into place when neighboring states implement an EPR bill in their state.
- We will continue to watch this bill closely as we know that changes in consumer behavior is requiring that retailers ship products directly to homes, along with the number of packages retailers receive from manufacturers.
- It’s an important issue for retailers and we will stay on it.
Big Committees up next
- With both the Labor Committee and the Environment Committee finishing work for the session, the big three committees – Judiciary, Appropriations and the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committees – are next up for action.
- Of the three, CRN closely monitors activity in the Finance Committee, primarily for any activity on business and consumer taxes.
- This year the Judiciary Committee is considering an important bill that impacts retailers, SB 3 An Act Concerning Online Privacy, Data and Safety Protections…”
- This bill would make changes to last session’s consumer privacy bill. We oppose the bill as drafted and you can view our testimony by going here.
- The Judiciary Public committee deadline is March 31st.
- The Finance Committee should pick up its activity soon and we will again be keeping a very close eye on any activity in that Committee.
- The Finance Committee has a deadline of April 22nd and the Appropriations Committee has a deadline of April 23rd.
News and Notes from the State Capitol
- More Labor Committee news:
- Connecticut would set mandatory pay levels for drivers working for rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft under a bill advanced Thursday out of the legislature’s Labor and Public Employees Committee. CTNewsJunkie has the details here.
- The Labor Committee also advanced a proposal this week that would eliminate Connecticut’s tip credit, a long-standing policy allowing restaurants to pay a subminimum wage with the understanding that servers will make up the difference in tips. Details from CTNewsJunkie here.
- Connecticut’s Republican and Democratic state party chairs jointly testified this week in support of revising state party fundraising rules and moving the presidential primary from the last to the first Tuesday in April. CT Mirror’s Mark Pazniokas has the details here.
- Connecticut plans to spend $10 million of COVID-19 recovery funds to create a math tutoring program, for students in sixth through ninth grade, in hopes of bridging a rift in learning achievement caused by the pandemic. Details here reported by CT Mirror.
- Gov. Lamont has signed an executive order for the creation of a strategic plan for what his office calls “the next generation of childcare in Connecticut.” Fairfield County Business Journal reports here.
- The legislature is considering increasing the penalties government agencies face for violating public records regulations and requiring municipal and state agencies to post information online about their track record of releasing public records. CT Post reports on the proposal here.
News and notes from around the State
- Connecticut jobs gained 5,600 in February, a 0.3% uptick to 1.68 million, while the state’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 4%, according to new data from the Connecticut Department of Labor. Fairfield County Business Journal has the numbers here.
- When asked if cultural organizations contribute to their community’s economies, 81% percent of respondents said yes, and 88% agreed that the Connecticut legislature should work to support the state’s cultural organizations, according to a new statewide survey. The Hartford Courant has the details here.
- Statistics compiled by the Connecticut Department of Transportation show that vehicle driver and passenger deaths in Connecticut crashes are up 41.5% over the last five years. Over that same span, pedestrian deaths from impacts with vehicles climbed 31%. WNPR has details here.