Readers to state legislators: Here are the important issues

This week Connecticut’s parttime Legislature went back to work . It’s a short session, just 13 weeks, for the 151 representatives and 36 senators we elected to carry out our wishes.

There’s a bunch of big issues leftover from last year’s long (fivemonth) session and a brief window for any new legislation to make it out of committees for votes.

Tolls are perhaps the most contentious issue before the General Assembly. But there’s others, too. How about legalized recreational marijuana? In his State of the State address Wednesday at the start of the new session, Gov. Ned Lamont came out in favor of a regional approach.

“Right now, what you can buy legally in Massachusetts could land you in prison for up to a year in Connecticut,” he said.

How about legal sports betting? Another casino?

And how do we afford everything, in a responsible budget, needed to keep the state humming?

Given that we voters sent the politicians up to Hartford to represent us, let’s tell them what’s on our minds. Time for another round of what I call the “think tank” — readers speaking out on issues of importance. The way it works: I email selected readers who have interacted with me over my columns — some supportive, some challenging — and pose a question.

“What is the most important issue you would like to see the General Assembly address this session?” I asked. “You don’t necessarily need to follow state politics to have an opinion — after all, everything elected leaders do in Hartford ends up affecting us one way or another.”

Turns out, many found it difficult to narrow concerns down to just one.

“With all the important issues the state faces, it’s hard to believe

legalizing marijuana is near the top of the list,” wrote Thomas A.

Petrone of Greenwich.

He wants to see legislators address: A “Long term solution to the unfunded pension liability problem” and “2) Identify and address the core issues as to why CT is one of 10 states with declining population.”

Sue Addiss of Branford has three top issues: tolls, vaccinations, and climate change. “As I watch the sea level rising, soon to be over the road leading to my house at high tide, I feel that CT needs to plan better for the coming inundation of its coastline.

“As for vaccines, public health believes that one’s rights end where they impact others, i.e., your unvaccinated child can put my child with leukemia at risk of illness or death. The concept is the greatest good for one (my child, supposedly), or the greatest good for all.

“As for tolls, why wouldn’t everyone want non-CT residents who use our roads — especially trucks, for whose damage we pay with our taxes — to contribute to our cost of maintaining those roads?”

Patricia A. Garcia of New Haven also sees tolls as an important issue, and she’s for them.

“Yes, we should reinstate them,” she wrote. “The Republicans are so proud of having kept them at bay, but they would be happy to borrow the state into more debt, while all the time blaming Dems for any problem that comes up.”

But also important to her is the removal of the religious exemption for childhood vaccines.

“It is simply wrong that people can choose to not inoculate their children, and endanger everyone else’s children,” she wrote. “When I was a child, the only vax available was for smallpox, and I guarantee that no one passed it up. Polio was the greatest fear for my parents when I was growing up, but I’ll bet none of these anti-vaxers ever saw the wheelchairs, iron lungs, etc., or felt the losses, and long term disabilities piled up by that disease.”

She shared that she has lived in several states — California, Missouri, Montana and Colorado, as well as four years in Germany — and always the family had to show proof that all five children were up-to-date on vaccines before they could be registered for public school.

“It must be mandatory in all states,” Patricia wrote. “We don’t need a modern-day Black Plague!”

This became an issue again after the outbreak of measles — a serious childhood illness — in New York last year. Connecticut allows parents to claim a religious exemption to the vaccine otherwise required for admission to public schools. But statistics from the state Department of Health show several pockets around the state where vaccination rates are so low as to negate the “herd immunity” of protection.

As the governor delivered his speech before the combined House and Senate, a group outside protested against removing the exemption. This is an emotional topic, but one the Legislature should address this session. No major religion prohibits vaccinations; the exemption should be removed for the sake of protecting vulnerable children.

Back to taxes.

“We need tax relief,” wrote

Mike Caserta of Fairfield. “I realize state coffers can’t really survive much of a revenue hit, but if we don’t make an effort to reduce the tax burden more residents will relocate and the fiscal death spiral will be irreversible. NY, IL, CT are among the leaders in loss of residents and it’s not because of weather.”

Walt Saddig of North Haven wants to see state expenses reduced. “My question is simple, what measures are the State of Connecticut doing to lower expense? All we see in the news are new ways to increase taxes and we never see a list of what actions the state has taken to lower taxes.

“I would like to see the expense budget and overtime for the State Police. Can we save money if we reduce them having a police car 24 hours for their personal use?”

To Randy Weaver of Stratford job creation “should be the state’s number one goal.”

“Recreational marijuana and sports gaming will add revenue but won’t stem the rising taxes,” he wrote. “Jobs will bring people back to Connecticut. Creative tax credit to business would help bring jobs back to our state.

“Also low tuition for technical training at our community colleges will supply a trained work force to attract manufacturing to the state.”

And speaking of jobs — how about a third casino in Connecticut?

“I think a casino in Bridgeport would help the state along with our largest city,” Randy wrote. “It would bring jobs and tourism to the area and would help continue the revitalization of the Park City!”

Like tolls, the issue of casino expansion has been around a while and is a thorny thicket. It’s not just allowing a third (which gained urgency with the opening of a large casino over the state border in

Springfield, Mass., in 2018). It’s also about who would build it? MGM wants open bidding; but the state has a pact with the two tribes that operate Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in eastern Connecticut in return for giving the state a share of the slot machine profits.

I would be surprised if this gets resolved anytime soon.

Marion Drexler of Stamford brought up an issue that I also consider vitally important — gun violence prevention.

“Unfortunately, I think that gun control still remains the most important issue, but I doubt that further progress can be made,” Marion wrote. “With the NRA and the US President against further restrictions, the shootings continue. At Jewish gatherings there is a police car with lights flashing outside. What a world!”

Connecticut has some of the strictest gun legislation in the country, but more needs to be done and it is disappointing that Lamont did not raise this in his speech Wednesday.

But I’ll leave you on this happy note: The governor is proposing something that will make life better for us all — “smart technology stoplights.” How cool is that?

“These new lights will automatically turn green when there’s no oncoming traffic,” he said, “stay green a little longer to make your commute a little shorter, speeding up highways, exit ramps and bus service.”

That just might be enough to keep people from leaving Connecticut.