connecticut

RTCTPowerPolitics06292024BBlock430pm_2024-06-29-18-54-33

I'm Eric Lanz. Go, welcome back to Power and Politics. Connecticut's new fiscal year is here. It doesn't sound too sexy, but with the new budget cycle, a bunch of new laws are taking effect. Joining me now with a rundown of what you need to know and how these new laws impact you. Is Ken Dixon government and politics reporter with Hearst Connecticut media. Ken. Good to see you. Thanks for joining us. Oh, yeah, sure. Listen. Let's start with uh with the new law. That's all about mail in ballots, election security. What does this new law require? Um video surveillance of uh the drop boxes that are around the state. Um It's one of the, one of the good things that has come out of the Bridgeport absentee ballot um scandal. Um And uh some video has led the state prosecutors to make several arrests. Um If you follow the news, you saw the video. Now, every town is gonna have to have video surveillance that should increase security. Um There, there is also an effort to protect uh campaign workers. Uh Republicans wanted to uh increase uh some penalties for people involved in election fraud. Um and that, that failed um with um by the Democratic majority uh not in favor of it. Ok, Ken. Uh there's also a new law that uh centers on affordable housing that's taking effect uh walk us through this one. What does that entail? You should really should have asked me something that I know something about. Um Yeah, it, it's, it, it allows uh developers to look at uh state properties um as um and making it easier to convert those into affordable dwellings. Um The, the basically uh it was the one thing that House Majority leader um Jason Rojas and Senate majority leader Bob Duff got out of the session. Um It's tough to get housing bills through mostly suburban and rural dominated um chamber cannabis and THC products. Uh also in focus with uh with some new laws here. Uh This has to do with where certain products can be sold. This is one that, that we've covered pretty extensively in the news. Yeah. Um those Seltzers you can get at package stores. Um I the more obscure thing is um that the two tribal nations who have the casinos are allowed to grow as much as 50 acres of cannabis outdoors. Uh That should be pretty interesting. Another one is that there's kind of some remorse uh within the uh Department of Consumer Protection and the Social Equity Council uh running the cannabis um operation. Some of these people are um and their partners have paid $3 million for licenses. Um, and they, um, they realize it's a, it's a big commitment and, uh, a section of this bill would allow them to downsize their efforts and just become micro cultivators and, uh, distributors. That way. Connecticut. Uh, let's move on to, to another one here. Connecticut already has, uh, among the strongest gun laws in the nation. Uh, they tout that all the time. There's a new law that's now focusing on background checks. What's new here. Yeah, it's, uh, it seems obscure to me. I don't think that many people under 21 the, um, get gun transfers. Um, but I think, um, if, you know your grandfather's, um, nice, nice video there. Yeah. If your grandfather's, if your late grandfather's magnum, um, it passes down to you, it would, um, make it a little easier to, um, make a background check. Um, um, especially juvenile records. Um, it's kind of esoteric but it, uh, it's arguably another step forward in a state known for, um, uh, gun safety safety. Uh, top of mind also with two new laws here, uh, involving, uh, both work zone and school bus safety. Talk about these a little. Yeah, I, I find it hard to believe. I mean, I see it once in a while people just going past stop school buses with the lights on. It's like it's just another, uh, you know, we've got a dead state trooper who is trying to help a motorist, uh, since the pandemic, everybody's driving too fast. Um, I just left a news conference with the, uh, the commissioner of emergency services and public protection who says that everybody's driving too fast. Everybody's distracted. Um, the, the work zone camera, uh, would be expanded. It was a pilot, um, and it, it's, um, found to be effective in stopping people from speeding during work zones. And, um, it's the bus, school, bus stop is a little esoteric. Um, that one has more to do with the swing arms. Right. Right. Very good. Why are you asking me? You know? Ok. Uh, let, let's move on now. Th th this is an interesting one. GPA replaces class rankings, uh, to whom does this apply? Uh, not me? Yeah, high, high, high schoolers who want to stay in state. Um, it's, uh, uh, it, it makes it a little easier for a kid. Um, uh, let's say from an underperform urban school district. Let's take Bridgeport for one. they can use the GPA. Um, and, um, as opposed to, um, uh, anything else, uh, the, the class rank but, um, that there's schools can still take, uh, sat scores into account too. I think that's, that's if the farther you get down into that bill, the, um, you find that, is there one new law we're running out of time but is there one new law that that's taking effect that, that you find more interesting or perhaps more attention grabbing than any of the others. I'm glad I re just reread my story because um I like the ban on selling um data um collected on social media uh without somebody's consent, Ken Dixon, we have to leave it right there. Thank you so much for joining us. It's fun talking to you as always. All right, keep your right here on power and politics will Connecticut expand absentee ballot voting. It's up to you. The story is next.

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RTCTPowerPolitics06292024CBlock430pm_2024-06-29-18-53-02

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Breaking down a busy week in Connecticut politics. 

Connecticut

CT | Weather

CTWeather4pm_2024-07-01-19-01-18

Good weather all the way into the fourth. Right. Uh, this week. Yeah, it looks pretty good. So, if this is your vacation week, you're looking out until the end of the week and this is where things get sticky and uncomfortable again, temperatures are going to rise and humidity levels are going to come up and the two combined will help produce more showers and thunderstorms. So, we've seen our fair share recently. This is a nice break over the next few days, but Thursday it feels muggy Friday, it's gonna feel uncomfortable and then by the time the weekend rolls around it's going to feel tropical. So, looking ahead in terms of rain, we're not looking at very much high pressures around right now. That's keeping us slightly cooler and more comfortable. There will be a chance of showers and storms Thursday and then more bubbling up towards the end of the week and into the weekend, it's not gonna be raining the entire time. They do look very scattered. But with that increase in humidity and heat, of course, it'll be much easier to get those storms to pop, very comfortable weather through the middle of the week and then things will start to change a little by Wednesday night and Thursday, you may feel the humidity levels come up, but temperatures aren't that low eighties. This is very seasonable for us. Heading into Thursday though Thursday morning, it starts to feel warmer temperatures near Orange. Bridgeport will be in the seventies for the morning. By the afternoon, highs are going to climb well into the eighties talking some middle eighties here, but feeling like the upper eighties and maybe close to 90 degrees on the holiday itself. So if you are going to be out the pool, that will be nice and comfortable, the beach will be a comfortable spot as well. But keep in mind, there could be some thunderstorms popping up and then the same thing on Friday to temperatures will be warmer and it's the feels like temps that start to climb at that point. Looking back on today, the high temperatures weren't bad at all with highs in the seventies and eighties. This was super comfortable stuff and great weather after the storms that we had yesterday. So as we take a look at future casts hour by hour tonight, it's nice and quiet. The sky is mainly clear. Waking up tomorrow morning, we have temperatures in the sixties and then we go up from there. So highs are back into the eighties the next couple of days. It's going to be pretty quiet and calm around here. But then things do start to heat up. Mother Nature tries to bring her own fireworks in for the holiday and I'll be right back with much more on that forecast.

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Weather

Connecticut Capitol

Power & Politics: Recapping special legislative session in Hartford

RTCTPowerPolitics06292024ABlock430pm_2024-06-29-18-56-11

The nation's highest court rejects an opioid settlement that would have shielded. Purdue farmers Sackler family from lawsuits stemming from their drug oxycontin, a special two day session in Harford. What was and wasn't on the agenda and how at least one of the votes could have a major impact on the wall. And from mail in ballot security to weed. The new month brings nearly 100 new laws. As a new fiscal year begins, we run down some of the most noteworthy additions. This is Connecticut, power and politics. We thank you for joining us on power and politics. I'm Eric Lands in this week for Mark Sudal and we begin with a major decision by the US Supreme Court that hits close to home both here in Connecticut and for victims of the opioid epidemic across the country. In a razor thin 5 to 4. The court rejected a nationwide opioid settlement with the Sackler family and Stanford based Purdue Pharma, the makers of oxycontin, our Frank Recchia spoke with Connecticut families who lost loved ones to the epidemic. And Attorney General William Tong who said the court got it right. There's no words to express the pain and anguish. Liz Fitzgerald of Rocky Hill who lost two sons to the epidemic says the ruling was a major victory. I was kind of elated today when I heard that the Supreme Court ruled against the bankruptcy because I think they were using that to shield any civil liability. Um And that actually would hurt a lot of families that are victims of the opioid crisis. The ruling struck down an agreement that would have shielded the Sackler family from liability after their company, Purdue Pharma fueled the epidemic through its flagship painkiller oxycontin. We have a bit more just and accountability today than we did yesterday. Attorney General William Tong who led the charge to hold the Sackler accountable says they helped to kill millions of people by downplaying the deadly risks of their products. And they're the ones that took Purdue Pharma into bankruptcy and they're the ones that have tried to use the bankruptcy law and abuse the bankruptcy law to shield themselves and their blood money. I heard the news. It's exactly what we wanted. Christine Gagnon who also lost a son to the epidemic. Applauding Tong's efforts while Senator Richard Blumenthal said the US Justice Department might have a role to play in holding the Sackler accountable. I long maintained that prosecutors should be considering criminal accountability. Tong meantime said the billions of dollars that would have gone to states under the settlement to help treat and prevent addiction will be offset by billions more from other sources that's already in the pipeline in Stamford, Frank Recchia News 12 Connecticut. The question now is what's next? The Sackler had long insisted on immunity from all current and future opioid lawsuits in exchange for paying out up to $6 billion to plaintiffs. Uh Some fear that prolonging the process and going back to the negotiating table is just gonna eat away at any eventual settlement amount. All eyes on Hartford as lawmakers converged on the State Capitol for a two day special legislative session. News host, John Craven joins us right now. Uh John, one of the topics and one of the bills that they discussed here had to do with the sale of aquarian water. Right? Eversource is looking to sell Aquarian and if they are sold to the regional Water Authority in New Haven, rate increases would no longer be subject to state regulation. This was a very controversial topic at the Capitol. Now that this vote has happened rw A can bid on buying Aquarian, but that's not the done deal just yet. It would still need state regulatory approval that purchase would be and of course, there would be hearings after that. So a long way to go but a controversial topic. Yeah, another big one was the dreaded car tax. It's, it's a topic. Everybody loves to complain about. The goal here was to fix a so called glitch. What's this about? Right. So businesses were about to get hit with a pretty big tax increase. A new law would have required, uh, vehicles, commercial vehicles to be taxed as personal property. Then they wouldn't fall under the state car tax cap. That would have been a big increase for businesses. So lawmakers went and fixed that. But one of the other things they did was change how cars are assessed and the depreciation schedule on cars that could potentially cause more personal car owners to pay more in car tax could be less for some people too. It's really hard to tell exactly how that's gonna shake out, but Republicans called it tantamount to a tax hike. All right, John Craven, thanks a lot. John, notably absent from the session. Much to the chagrin of environmentalists was a climate change bill that passed the House in the final days of the session, but didn't come up for a vote in the Senate. Charles Rothenberger with Save The Sound joins us right now. Uh Charles, thanks for being here. Appreciate your time. Thanks for the invitation. Happy to be here, Charles. Uh uh How disappointed were you that the bill wasn't included? And, and were you surprised that it wasn't? Um So very disappointed and, and yes, um you know, interestingly, it was uh the leadership of the Connecticut General Assembly that initially raised the possibility uh including uh the climate bill in the special session. So, uh uh it was not advocates. Um although uh we certainly supported the inclusion of that bill um, in, in the special session. And, uh, you know, once that was expressed, certainly worked hard to, uh, to make it happen. Although, as you point out, um, unfortunately, um, unsuccessfully, um, and it was a big surprise, um, considering, uh, number one, the broad base of support that that bill had, um, within the legislature itself. Um, it garnered more than 70 cos sponsors in the House and the Senate. And even on the last day of uh the regular session, uh Senate President Martin Looney um indicated that that was one of uh two must pass bills um on that last day of the session. Um But of course, that that did not happen. So, uh we thought it made sense and there was a real possibility of including it in special session, um, obviously did not happen. Uh But uh we are not letting our disappointment with this outcome, um, o overtake our interests and our work to make sure that the bill and the provisions of the bill um move forward. So do me a favor. So, so, so talk about the provisions of the bill, talk about what this bill calls for. Sure. Um So, uh there are a lot of pieces in the bill. Um Really, I think the, the foundational elements of the bill um are one bringing the state's landmark climate law, the Global Warming Solutions Act really in line and up to date. With where our neighbors are. Um And that includes um updating the targets that really uh tell us uh where we need to be heading um in the future. Um Right now, uh we have a uh 80% reduction in our emissions overall by 2050. Um Best available science is telling us that uh while that 80% emissions in uh reduction in emissions is important, we really need to take a broader look. Um And uh the architecture really needs to be based upon um net zero by 2050. And that includes, yes, II, I apologize, forgive me. Um You, you just mentioned putting Connecticut where our neighbors are. So listen, what what happens if this bill or one like it just continues to get kicked down the road? So does it put the state at an economic and, and maybe a competitive disadvantage when it comes to our neighbors? Um Absolutely. Um You know, as our neighbors continue to make investments in clean renewable energy um driven by their climate targets, um We may find ourselves in a position where uh those clean energy jobs are moving to uh Massachusetts uh are moving to New York. Um You know, we, we saw an early indication of this, I think um with the legislature's failure to adopt updates to uh the California Motor vehicle emission standards, um which would essentially mean that uh consumers would have access to more electric vehicles and plug in hybrid electric vehicles, an option that is becoming increasingly popular among consumers. Uh But without the requirement for manufacturers to deliver them, uh those vehicles will likely be redirected did to um to those other states. So um we are losing, um we are, you know, have the potential to lose um jobs, we have the potential to lose economic development. Um And we have the potential to lose access to the technologies that uh consumers are looking for. Glad you mentioned the technologies. Uh what do you say to critics such as uh Representative Pat Callahan, who said on the floor quote that this bill is full of ideas and suggestions that are putting the cart before the technological horse. Uh Well, I mean, that's just uh not really true. Um I think uh the technology is advancing a pace. Um We see consumers uh embracing this technology and, you know, every technology improves over time. Um You know, we are still seeing improvements in the internal combustion. Um a very old technology as we ratchet down emissions from those vehicles. So uh the the technologies are proven um They are ready for prime time, they're already being deployed. Um The question really is, are we going to take advantage of the ability to uh to adopt those technologies at scale? Charles Rothenberger from Save the Sound. Thanks so much for being here. I really appreciate your time. Thank you. Thank you a mail in ballot security. What you need to know about that and other new laws taking effect next on power and politics.

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Power & Politics: Recapping special legislative session in Hartford

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