State News – Page 21

State News

SENATOR GASTON VOTES TO INCREASE PROTECTIONS AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

May 17, 2023 Stephen Krauchick

State Senator Herron Keyon Gaston (D-Bridgeport) joined in the bipartisan and unanimous support of a 2023 Senate Democrats' public policy priority to increase protections for domestic violence victims by expanding GPS monitoring of violent offenders, increasing funding for victim services, and preventing people convicted of certain domestic violence crimes from ever collecting any alimony from their former spouse. Senate Bill 5, "AN ACT STRENGTHENING THE PROTECTIONS AGAINST AND RESPONSE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE," passed the state Senate today on a 36-0 unanimous vote and now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration. Previously, the bill had received a 37-0 unanimous vote in the Judiciary Committee and a 55-0 unanimous vote in the Appropriations Committee. “I am proud to support legislation…

State News

TARGETED STATE INVESTMENTS AND AGENCY COLLABORATION TO INCREASE SCHOOL STAFFING

May 16, 2023 Stephen Krauchick

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont, Education Commissioner Charlene M. Russell-Tucker, and Labor Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo today announced the launch of several new multi-agency state initiatives designed to address educator shortages in Connecticut. The initiatives will support the creation of a new teacher Registered Apprenticeship Program, provide more investment to create paraeducator fairs, and expand existing high school “grow-your-own” programs, which recruit and train teachers from within communities where they live and work. Recent survey data shows a high number of certified educator and paraeducator vacancies in the state, particularly in shortage areas such as special education, math, and science. As of March 2023, school districts reported about 1,300 teaching vacancies and another 1,300 paraeducator vacancies. More than 60% of…

State News

Social Media Data Privacy and Youth Usage Protection Legislation

May 14, 2023 Stephen Krauchick

Sen. Tony Hwang today applauded the Connecticut State Senate’s passage of online and social media data privacy legislation. The legislation, which now awaits a vote in the House, aims to strengthen Connecticut’s laws to better protect children and people of all ages by maintaining checks and balance against Controllers, a for-profit entity which determines the purpose and means of processing personal data. “Last year, Connecticut passed nationally recognized internet provider data privacy legislation (Public Act 22-15), and Connecticut must continue to lead the nation in the area of protecting people’s data and online privacy,” Sen. Hwang said. “This is especially crucial when it comes to controversial solutions to protecting our children on the internet and social media. Our children’s safety…

State News

Governor: Covid Over

May 11, 2023 Stephen Krauchick

Governor Ned Lamont today announced that the public health emergency declaration he initially signed on March 10, 2020, in response to the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic will terminate effective May 11, 2023 – the same date that President Joe Biden has directed the related federal public health emergency declaration to expire. Governor Lamont’s declaration has enabled Connecticut’s executive branch to utilize certain emergency powers to address the crisis and provide more flexibility in a number of health-related areas, while also ensuring that federal resources in response to the pandemic could be delivered to the state. With the expiration of this declaration, the remaining policies enacted under it will also expire, and COVID-19 will be managed by state public…

State News

BILL TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING FOR FUTURE TEACHERS

May 10, 2023 Stephen Krauchick

WASHINGTON–U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee,and John Kennedy (R-La.) introduced the Teacher, Principal and Leader Residency Access Act on Monday to improve access to training for college students who aspire to become teachers and leaders in America’s schools, and help build a diverse pipeline of experienced teachers and school leaders. More than half of all public schools in the U.S. reported being understaffed at the start of the 2022-23 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. This legislation would ensure students participating in teacher and school leader residency programs are eligible for the Federal Work Study (FWS) Program, a campus-based aid program that funds part-time employment opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in need…

State News

Romance Scams

May 10, 2023 Stephen Krauchick

A new study shows Americans lost a record $1.3 billion to romance scams in 2022, up 138% from $547 million in 2021. This marks the largest single-year hike over the past five years. Connecticut ranks No. 26 with 159 victims losing $7.1 million in 2022. Connecticut has the No. 8 highest average loss per victim at $44,851. The 10 states that lost the most money were highly populated led by California, Texas, Florida, and New York but it was smaller states that saw the biggest increases in money lost year-over-year led by Arkansas (398% increase), New Mexico (268%), and Maine (216%). Four new states entered the top 10 in 2022 for total money lost -- Arizona, Ohio, North Carolina, and…

State News

FALSE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT WITH HOSPITAL OWNER AND MEDICAL GROUP

May 9, 2023 Stephen Krauchick

Attorney General William Tong and United States Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery today announced that Northeast Medical Group (NEMG) and Yale New Haven Health Services Corp. (YNHH) have entered into a civil settlement agreement with the federal and state governments in which they will pay $560,718 to resolve allegations they overbilled the federal Medicare and Connecticut Medicaid programs. Northeast Medical Group is a physician and associated provider group affiliated with Yale-New Haven Health Services Corp., which owns several hospitals, including Bridgeport Hospital. A whistleblower filed a lawsuit alleging that NEMG and YNHH had submitted false claims to Medicaid and Medicare for services purportedly provided at Bridgeport Hospital by doctors and mid-level providers – advance practice registered nurses and physician’s assistants –…

State News

CALL FOR IMMEDIATE IMPROVEMENTS TO IMMIGRATION PROCESS

May 5, 2023 Stephen Krauchick

WASHINGTON–U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, and U.S. Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.) on Wednesday sent a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to request the agency expedite processing Notices to Appear (NTA). With a growing number of people coming to the U.S.-Mexico border and Title 42 set to expire next week, Murphy and Lankford are pushing the administration to take immediate steps to improve the immigration system. “We write to you today to request that you take appropriate steps to expedite the issuance of Notices to Appear (NTA) to noncitizens who are in US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody. Additionally, we request that you seriously…

State News

COLLEGE TRANSPARENCY ACT

May 4, 2023 Stephen Krauchick

WASHINGTON–U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, joined U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and his colleagues in introducing the College Transparency Act (CTA), bipartisan legislation which would ensure that students and families have better information as they consider higher education opportunities. The CTA modernizes the college reporting system for postsecondary data by providing accurate reporting on student outcomes such as enrollment, completion, and post-college earnings across colleges and majors, while ensuring the privacy of individual students is securely protected. This information will give students a better understanding of what to expect of the student experience and post-graduation prospects at colleges they are considering, helping them to make…

State News

Kids Online Safety Act,

May 2, 2023 Stephen Krauchick

Today, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced the Kids Online Safety Act, comprehensive bipartisan legislation to protect children online and hold Big Tech accountable. “Our bill provides specific tools to stop Big Tech companies from driving toxic content at kids and to hold them accountable for putting profits over safety,” said Blumenthal. “Record levels of hopelessness and despair—a national teen mental health crisis—have been fueled by black box algorithms featuring eating disorders, bullying, suicidal thoughts, and more. Kids and parents want to take back control over their online lives. They are demanding safeguards, means to disconnect, and a duty of care for social media. Our bill has strong bipartisan momentum. And it has growing support from…

SENATOR GASTON VOTES TO INCREASE PROTECTIONS AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

TARGETED STATE INVESTMENTS AND AGENCY COLLABORATION TO INCREASE SCHOOL STAFFING

Social Media Data Privacy and Youth Usage Protection Legislation

Governor: Covid Over

BILL TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING FOR FUTURE TEACHERS

Romance Scams

FALSE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT WITH HOSPITAL OWNER AND MEDICAL GROUP

CALL FOR IMMEDIATE IMPROVEMENTS TO IMMIGRATION PROCESS

COLLEGE TRANSPARENCY ACT

Kids Online Safety Act,

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