Lawmakers back rebates for electricity customers
Lawmakers returned to the state Capitol in special session Wednesday and Thursday to pass a handful of bills before calling it quits until January 2021. The top priority was a bill to increase consumer protections for utility customers, but lawmakers also approved a handful of judicial nominees, reformed an existing law to make it easier to sell contaminated properties, streamlined absentee ballot counting and approved hundreds of millions in borrowing to pay for school construction projects.
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The big story
Rebates for energy customers approved in special session:
In a special session this past week, lawmakers overwhelmingly approved legislation that would provide rebates and bill credits to utility customers in the event of prolonged electricity outages following future storms. The so-called Take Back our Grid Act was drafted amid mounting criticism of Eversource, the state’s dominant electric utility, over a rate hike that took effect July 1 and the company’s response to Tropical Storm Isaias that left some customers in the dark for as long as nine days. Beginning July 1, residential customers will receive a $25 credit per day for each day their power is out longer than four days. Utilities will also be required to compensate customers up to $250 to pay for food or medicine that spoils due to an outage lasting longer than four days. The legislation makes numerous other changes, largely by offering direction to the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, including the concept of performance-based rate-making, which would tie future rate increases to how well utilities do restoring power after storms. “They can certainly do better than they’ve done,” Sen. Norm Needleman, an Essex Democrat who co-chairs the legislature’s energy committee, said of Eversource during the debate in the Senate. “I don’t think anybody believes we’re getting the best product we can get.”
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Independent report examines coronavirus response in nursing homes:
Connecticut’s nursing homes — where more than 3,000 died of COVID-19 — were “somewhat neglected” as state health officials focused on preparing hospitals for an inevitable surge of coronavirus patients in the first months of the pandemic, a report released Thursday concluded. The state paid $450,000 for the detailed report from New Jerseybased consulting firm Mathematica. The firm was tasked with examining what the state could have done better to protect vulnerable nursing home patients from the coronavirus as well as what should be done to prepare for a potential second wave this fall. Gov. Ned Lamont said the state did indeed devote resources toward helping hospitals “but I don’t think that was at the expense of the nursing homes.” Interim public health Commissioner Dr. Deidre Gifford said the report showed the rate of infections and deaths in nursing homes in Connecticut was in line with other Northeastern states that were hit hard and early by the virus.
Lamont presents required budget-cutting plan: State budget director Melissa McCaw on Thursday presented a plan, required by statute, that outlines how Lamont expects to close a projected $2 billion budget shortfall in the current fiscal year as the coronavirus pandemic takes a toll on Connecticut’s economy. The plan largely relies on closing the gap by dipping into the state’s record-setting rainy day fund that currently stands at more than $3 billion. “That allows us to avoid the drastic actions some states across the country have needed to take such as short-term borrowing or tax increases,” McCaw said. Lamont has identified $25 million in executive branch cuts and is asking the legislative and judicial branches to trim spending by $2.25 million and $5.5 million, respectively. State agencies have been asked to restrict hiring to all but critical positions for the remainder of the fiscal year and McCaw expects Connecticut to recoup about $100 million in coronavirus-related expenses through federal funds.
DPH cautions against door-todoor trick-or-treating: The state Department of Public Health Thursday issued recommendations on how to safely celebrate Halloween this year — and door-to-door trick-or-treating is not part of the plan. Instead of answering their doors to individual children, the public health department said homeowners should consider leaving goodie bags or a bowl of candy outside of their home “for families to grab and go while continuing to social distance.” Those who choose to hand out candy at their doors are urged to wear masks before answering the door and remain 6 feet from trick-or-treaters. Other risky Halloween events that should be avoided, according to DPH, include indoor haunted houses, trunkor-treat events and even hayrides, if they are with people who are not part of your household. Lower-risk events the health department recommended were virtual costume contests or a Halloween movie night at home. The guidelines are similar to ones issued recently by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Lamont signs bill to streamline absentee ballot counting: During a visit to Hartford City Hall Friday Lamont signed legislation that will make it easier for town and city clerks to process a record-setting number of absentee ballots for the November election. The bill, passed by the House and the Senate in the recent special session, lets clerks open absentee ballot outer envelopes and verify the voter signed the inner envelope beginning the Friday before Election Day. The ballots themselves cannot be counted until Nov. 3. An expansion of Connecticut’s restrictive absentee ballot laws due to the pandemic has already led to a record-setting number of absentee ballot applications being submitted. More than 2 million voters received the applications last month and as of Wednesday more than 426,000 had been returned and processed. The ballots themselves began arriving in voters’ mailboxes on Friday and as many as two-thirds of voters are expected to vote absentee this fall.
Departing lawmakers say farewell to colleagues: Three of the four caucus leaders in the General Assembly are not seeking reelection in November and used the recent special session to say goodbye to fellow lawmakers. Retiring House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz recorded a video tribute for House Republican leader Themis Klarides, who is also leaving, saying he “wanted to avoid crying” if he had to give a speech. “You were a great adversary, but more importantly, you’re a great friend,” the Berlin Democrat said. Klarides, in remarks on the House floor, said that “it has been the honor of my life” to serve in the General Assembly. “What we do here is something that most people never get to experience.” In the Senate, Republican leader Len Fasano offered brief remarks to his colleagues. “Today is a very sad day for me,” he said. “This chamber has done so much for me. I can never repay it — the experience it has given me.”
Odds and ends
Greenwich native Hope Hicks, a fixture in the West Wing since serving as press secretary for President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, contracted the coronavirus this past week, with Trump and his wife, Melania, getting infected as well. A former Ralph Lauren model whose father, Paul, served on the Greenwich Board of Selectman with Lamont, Hicks rejoined the White House staff as counselor to the president in March after resigning from her first West Wing stint in 2018. … House Majority Leader Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, recused himself as his colleagues in the House unanimously approved the nomination of Christine E. Keller to the Connecticut Supreme Court. Why didn’t Ritter vote? Keller just so happens to be Ritter’s mother. Ethics rules did not require his recusal, but he chose not to vote. An accomplished jurist, Keller served as a Superior Court and Appellate Court judge before being nominated to the state’s highest court by Lamont. … The U.S. Commerce Department reported Friday that Connecticut’s economy shrank by nearly one-third in the spring and early summer as businesses were forced to shut down in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic. The 31.1% contraction in the state’s economy in the April-June period ranked No. 23 among states and is in line with a 31.4% contraction nationally. Connecticut began its first phase of business reopenings in May, and a third phase is scheduled to commence on Thursday. … Thompson First Selectwoman Amy St. Onge and her husband, Jason, face a combined $1,000 fine after traveling to Oklahoma to visit their son — an active member of the U.S. Air Force who will soon be deployed overseas — and failing to quarantine upon their return to Connecticut. St. Onge, a Republican, said she plans to appeal the fine by the state health department for violating Connecticut’s travel restrictions regarding states with high coronavirus infection rates. … U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5th District, shared in a post on Twitter Wednesday morning that she believes she has turned a corner in her recovery from COVID19. The Democratic congresswoman began a 14-day quarantine on Sept. 20 after receiving a positive test result. She has posted handwritten journal entries to Twitter to update constituents on the progress of her recovery. Hayes said her most persistent symptom has been shortness of breath. “I wouldn’t wish this virus on anyone,” she tweeted Wednesday night after reports surfaced that Hicks had tested positive and Trump would be tested.