State News

GOV. MALLOY ANNOUNCES STATE BEGINS ZIKA AWARENESS CAMPAIGN AT BRADLEY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

#WINDSOR LOCKS, CT – With the summer travel season kicking into high gear over the next several weeks, Governor Dannel P. Malloy, Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman, and other state officials today announced that a Zika education and warning campaign will soon be underway at Bradley International Airport.   The campaign, a joint effort between the state Department of Public Health (DPH), Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA), federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and JetBlue, will focus on passengers traveling to and from San Juan, Puerto Rico on JetBlue’s two daily flights, but will also be seen by other travelers who may be connecting through other airports on their way to areas in the Caribbean, or Central/South America currently affected by Zika virus.  …

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GOV. MALLOY ANNOUNCES $200,000 FEDERAL GRANT TO EXPAND STATE’S APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING PROGRAM

#HARTFORD, CT– Governor Dannel P. Malloy and the members of Connecticut’s Congressional delegation today announced that the Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL) is receiving a $200,000 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) to increase and expand participation in the state’s apprenticeship training program.   The award, part of the ApprenticeshipUSA State Accelerator Grant, will help integrate the apprenticeship model into Connecticut’s education and workforce system by working with industry and related partners to bring apprenticeship to new industries and populations.   “We’re continuing to align workforce training with the needs of our employers.  This grant helps us to continue and expand a vital workforce program that has helped thousands of our residents earn while they learn,” Governor…

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GOV. MALLOY SIGNS LAW UPDATING ANTI-DISCRIMINATION POLICIES AT THE CONN. MILITARY DEPARTMENT

#HARTFORD, CT – Governor Dannel P. Malloy  announced that he has signed into law legislation that he introduced earlier this year updating the anti-discrimination statutes for the Connecticut Military Department to align them with recent policy changes in the United States military.   “These are straightforward changes – and they are the right thing to do.  That’s why they received near unanimous support in the General Assembly,” Governor Malloy said.  “Those who protect and serve our nation shouldn’t face discrimination, and these changes are overdue.  I applaud the federal government for taking this step toward equality, and am proud to sign this law on behalf of our state to bring them into alignment.”   Unlike other state agencies, anti-discrimination laws…

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Senator Murphy Calls For End To Raids

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) joined their colleagues Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and 22 Senate Democrats in calling for an end to deportation raids targeting families and unaccompanied minors who have fled the rampant violence in Central America’s Northern Triangle. In a letter to President Obama, the senators also urged the Administration to designate Guatemala and re-designate El Salvador and Honduras for temporary protected status, allowing individuals from those countries to legally remain in the United States. “The solution to this regional humanitarian crisis is to address its root causes. Deploying immigration raids upon this vulnerable population for the purpose of deterrence is an ineffective and unacceptable strategy,” the…

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Himes Introduces Bill, Amendment To Clarify Military Rules On Cyber Attacks

#WASHINGTON, DC –Congressman Jim Himes (CT-04) introduced the bipartisan Cyber Act of War Act, a bill that would require the Administration and the Department of Defense to develop a policy for determining when an action carried out in cyberspace constitutes a use of force against the United States and to update the Law of War Manual accordingly. Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) has introduced a companion bill in the Senate.   Himes also proposed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would require the Secretary of Defense to create a report to Congress within 180 days comprehensively outlining military procedures in response to a malicious cyber activity carried out against the United States.   “From my seat on…

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Employers Cannot Ask Of Criminal Prosections

HARTFORD, CT – Yesterday,  80 year old Senator Ed Gomes (D-Bridgeport) brought a bill to the floor of the Senate that aims to create fair chance employment. House Bill 5237, An Act Concerning Fair Chance Employment, is a set of hiring policies for private employers, designed to ensure that applicants with criminal records are evaluated on the merits of their qualifications, not on their criminal records. The bill received approval in the Senate and now moves to the desk of Governor Dannel P. Malloy to await his signature. “We have too many hard-working people trying to find jobs that are being disqualified,” said Sen. Gomes. “We need to give everyone that is looking for a job a fair shot. I…

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Senate Passes ATV Law

Today, the state Senate passed An Act Concerning the Penalty for Violations of a Municipal Ordinance Concerning the Operation of a Dirt Bike, All-Terrain Vehicle or Mini-Motorcycle (SB 463<https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&bill_num=SB00463&which_year=2016 Under the bill, municipalities may regulate the operation and use of mini-motorcycles on public property and impose penalties on them up to the same limits applicable to dirt bike, all-terrain vehicle (ATV), and snowmobile ordinance violations. In addition, municipal officers and employees may issue citations without first providing a written warning to individuals who violate a mini-motorcycle ordinance. By law, the same is true for citations concerning a dirt bike or ATV ordinance. The bill also authorizes municipalities with a population of 30,000 or more to enforce ordinances concerning mini-motorcycle, dirt…

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Malloy Receives Award For Welcoming Syrian Refugees

Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy was named the 2016 recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award™ for courageously defending the U.S. resettlement of Syrian refugees amid security concerns following the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris and personally welcoming a family of Syrian refugees to New Haven after they had been turned away by another state. The award for political courage was presented by Jack Schlossberg, President Kennedy’s grandson, at a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston today. Governor Malloy released a statement: “I’m deeply honored and moved. I believe that when you see wrong happening, you must stand up to do what’s right — that’s what guides us each and every…

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Will This Chase More Jobs From Connecticut?

#HARTFORD, CT – On Thursday, April 28th, advocates for fair wages in Connecticut presented an invoice for $486 million to a local Walmart on Flatbush Avenue. The invoice represented the annual cost of low-wage jobs to Connecticut taxpayers, who foot the bill when large corporations like Walmart pay wages so low that their employees must rely on public assistance to support their families. The advocates called for these companies either to pay fair wages to their workers or to contribute to the state's costs for public assistance to working families.   Paul Filson, Director of SEIU State Council, stated, “Every year, Connecticut taxpayers are stuck paying for the poverty-level wages of big corporations. It's time that the state recognized that…

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CT Congressional delegation thanks state leaders for LGBT stance

Cites moral, economic reasons   $WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Representative Jim Himes (CT-4), joined by Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy and Representatives Rosa DeLauro (CT-3), John Larson (CT-1), Joe Courtney (CT-2) and Elizabeth Esty (CT-5), sent a letter to Governor Dan Malloy, Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff and Speaker of the House Brendan Sharkey thanking them for their actions in support of the LGBT community in Connecticut.   After North Carolina and Mississippi recently passed laws allowing for legal discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals, the sharp divide between states that are welcoming and inclusive toward LGBT individuals and those that are codifying discrimination has never been clearer.   “By enacting laws that openly discriminate against…

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