DIRTY MONEY IN OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM
 
In exchange for keeping multi-billion dollar federal oil subsidies, companies like Exxon and BP have given $25 million in campaign contributions in last year’s 111th congress alone. Since 1999, over $137 million has been given to re-elect legislators who protect these oil companies. Though the contributions are more heavily concentrated among Republicans, Democrats are not immune to Big Oil’s dirty money.

Campaign finance reform must be a priority on Capitol Hill. Taking away Big Oil’s ability to contribute to a legislator’s campaign will halt Big Oil’s ability to buy off our legislators votes.
 
CONSUMER PAIN AT THE PUMP
 
The prospective markets of oil have consistently driven up the price of oil. The law of supply and demand wouldn’t explain the large jumps in oil prices in 2008 and those expected for this summer.
Why?
 
Wall Street speculators will often trade a barrel of oil 20 times before it finally gets used. The price increases each time with the final markup being passed on to the consumer.

The legislative agenda is the master plan for this session’s lobbying, research and issue communications with members.

ENVIRONMENT:
 
Protecting the Public’s Health from Toxic Bisphenol-A (BPA) in Thermal Receipt Paper: SB 210
 
SB 210 does two things. It proposes to ban BPA from thermal paper receipts like those found in ATM machines, gas pumps and cash registers with a safer alternative. It also moves us toward a sustainable framework for listing chemicals of high concern such as carcinogens, developmental toxins and reproductive toxins.
 
Background: BPA, a known endocrine disruptor, is linked to several diseases including breast and prostate cancer, reproductive disorders, insulin resistance, diabetes and learning/behavioral disorders. Recent reports show that BPA is present in many thermal paper receipts. BPA in thermal paper is unbound and readily transmits to hands and money. Our exposure to BPA is much higher than previously imagined and is of particular concern for workers in check-out lines. This is one more example of why we need a framework to prioritize the most toxic chemicals and, with federal reform stalled, states like Connecticut are taking the lead.
 
Preventing Mercury Contamination from Old Thermostats: SB 205
 
There are over 1,700,000 mercury thermostats in Connecticut homes; each contains between three to five grams of mercury. That means that Connecticut mercury thermostats contain over 11,500 pounds of mercury. A single gram of mercury is enough to contaminate a 20 acre lake.
 
Mercury thermostats were built to last about 30 years. As they reach their end-of-use, only about 5% are properly recycled; the others end up in landfills where they are often burned, releasing mercury into the atmosphere.
 
SB 205 would require manufacturers to finance a collection and recycling program paying a $5 incentive for each mercury thermostat returned. Similar laws in Maine and Vermont increased recycling by a factor of 10. Connecticut needs to step up and require manufacturers to dramatically increase collection rates.
 
On March 22nd, substitute language was inserted into SB 205 rendering it ineffective. We are now fighting to reinstate the original language.
 
CONSUMER PROTECTION:
 
Fair Taxation
 
Bank of America - Profiting without pitching in:
It’s time for Bank of America and all of the big banks in CT to pay their fair share. When big banks profit without pitching in, it hurts every tax payer in Connecticut. Although it holds more than $1 of every $5 of deposits in Connecticut, Bank of America pays virtually no taxes to support our local economy, while their foreclosures drive down home values and cost our communities millions of dollars. Bank of America is stifling job creation by refusing to lend to small business. CCAG will continue to pressure the bank to ease up on foreclosures, increase lending to job-creating small businesses, and increase efforts to work with homeowners who need mortgage modifications.
 
DEMOCRACY
 
National Popular Vote: HB 6163
 
Equality is fundamental to representative democracy. Everyone's vote should be equal when electing the President. Our current Electoral College system, grounded in state law, leads presidential candidates to concentrate their resources on voters in a handful of swing states, relegating the majority of the country to spectator status. CCAG is advocating for direct election of the President. The National Popular Vote plan ensures that every vote for President is equally valued no matter where it is cast.
 
Last year, this bill passed the house but was never taken up by the Senate. CCAG is fighting to see that HB 6163 gets passed in both chambers and is signed by the Governor this year. Passing this legislation would add Connecticut's voice to the national dialogue and give every voter an equal chance to let their voices be heard.
 
No Excuse Absentee Ballot/Early Voting: SB 941
 
In Connecticut, a registered voter seeking an absentee ballot must provide an excuse as to why they cannot vote at their polling station on Election Day. Connecticut should join the other 30 states that have eliminated this unnecessary barrier to voting. For any host of reasons (transportation, inclement weather, illness or work schedule) it may be difficult for voters to reach the polls on Election Day. This measure would help ensure a greater participation in our elections.

ENERGY REFORM: (SB 1)
 
CCAG supports a strong, progressive energy policy for Connecticut
 
Create an Energy Department and disband the DPUC. The current DPUC Commissioners have consistently sided with power producers and Wall Street speculators over consumers and small businesses. The current DPUC structure needs to be dissolved. We need a clear, coherent energy policy in Connecticut with an emphasis on conservation and renewables. Administration actions need to match its rhetoric. For instance, dedicated funds for conservation and renewables have been the first casualties during budget shortfalls. This raiding must stop.
 
Hire a Procurement Manager within the Energy Department or create a Public Power Authority to lower energy rates in Connecticut by 15% to 20%. A study in 2009 concluded that a Public Power Authority in Connecticut could lower electric rates by 15% to 20% over several years. Illinois lowered their rates by 9% in 2009, the first year of their Public Power Authority. We need to end the closed auction procurement system Connecticut currently has (the same one California had that Enron manipulated) and replace it with one that benefits consumers.
 
End so-called “Retail Competition”. The legislature had good intentions when it decided to spur competition among electric suppliers. The system has clearly failed. Connecticut ratepayers have subsidized fake competition to the tune of over $150 million dollars over the last 10 years. It’s time to end this deceptive charade and lower everybody’s electric rates, not prop up companies who couldn’t survive if we weren’t paying higher electric rates.
 
Reducing Energy Costs for Consumers: HB 5699 and HB 6026
CT needs to pass one of these two bills as we work to lower energy prices
 
HB 5699 Seeks to provide relief to electricity consumers. CCAG believes that the Federal pricing rules create an inequity for consumers. A windfall profits rebate would restore some balance as we work to lower energy prices in Connecticut. The windfall profits rebate would be assessed only on profits above a 20% rate of return-on-equity. Corporations would keep 100% of their profits under the 20% rate of return, and 50% of their profits over the 20% rate of return.
 
HB 6026 is another proposal that would reduce costs to consumers by implementing a straight tax on output. A one cent per kilowatt-hour tax on coal, and a 2 cent tax on nuclear generation would capture almost $330 million in revenue. There is way too much ratepayer money going to fatten corporations’ bottom lines at our expense. These generation facilities have been paid for many times over; we should not be paying for them over and over and over.
 
HEALTH CARE:
 
Implementation of the SustiNet Plan: HB 6305
 
SustiNet + Federal Health Care Reform = A Win-Win for Connecticut
 
Connecticut’s landmark 2009 health care law, SustiNet, uniquely prepares our state to benefit from the new federal Patient Protection Affordable Care Act. SustiNet put Connecticut at the front of the line for new federal dollars that will enhance state-based health care initiatives while helping to boost the economy. Connecticut and federal laws will work together to make good, affordable health care choices available to individuals, families and small businesses. You can track the Board’s progress at: www.ct.gov\sustinet
 
State Prescription Drug Purchasing: HB 6322
 
The state is the largest purchaser of prescription drugs in Connecticut. Through an initiative with the Department of Social Services, HB 6322 will allow the Office of the State Comptroller to procure prescription drugs for the Connecticut Medical Assistance Programs. This would strengthen the state's purchasing power, yielding at least $66.5 million in savings (according to State Comptroller Kevin Lembo), and would not change the way that patients and consumers access their medications.
 
The Establishment of the Connecticut Healthcare Partnership: HB 6308
 
CCAG is supporting HB 6308. This bill would allow cities and towns, non-profits and small businesses (50 employees or less) to tap into the State Employee healthcare system. This partnership would lower administrative costs and take advantage of the bargaining power of the State plan’s 200,000 members.

The Hartford Courant - February 13, 2011

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will propose sweeping changes Wednesday in the state's school construction program - reducing reimbursements for magnet schools and new public schools.

School construction is a key part of the budget as one of the state's most expensive programs, costing an average of $690 million per year in bonding over the past six years. The projects currently account for more than half of all bonding projects statewide.

Since it often takes years to design and build a school, there will be no immediate savings to the state in the two-year budget, state budget director Ben Barnes told The Courant. But the proposals would eventually save money in the long-term if the Democratic-controlled legislature approves the changes.

The sweeping changes will be only one aspect of a state budget that is expected to include tax increases and spending cuts to close a projected deficit of $3.7 billion in the fiscal year that starts in July. Malloy has so far avoided providing details about the expected tax increases, including hikes in the state income tax.

The Hartford Courant - February 8, 2011

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy late Tuesday afternoon proposed the first of what his administration promises will be a number of government agency consolidations: combining the departments of Environmental Protection and Public Utility Control into a new agency called the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, or DEEP.

The proposal — which could have sweeping effects on environmental quality and the cost of energy to consumers — was released in a manner often reserved for mundane announcements: a one-page press release, e-mailed after the close of the business day about 5:20 p.m. and lacking the most basic nuts-and-bolts details, such as projected cost savings.

Public Release to State Officials Planned for January 2011

Hartford, CT—The SustiNet Health Partnership Board of Directors – co-chaired by Nancy Wyman, State Comptroller and Lieutenant Governor-elect, and Kevin Lembo, State Healthcare Advocate and State Comptroller-elect – met this morning via conference call to review and vote on the final draft of recommendations to implement SustiNet, the unique state strategy to slow health care cost growth and expand access to quality health care coverage for Connecticut residents. The call was broadcast in a hearing room at the State Capitol, to ensure that members of the media and the public could continue to be informed about the Board’s actions.

Frequently Asked Questions about SustiNet and Health Care Reform in Connecticut

Q: What is SustiNet?
A: SustiNet is a unique state strategy to expand access to quality healthcare coverage for Connecticut residents.

Q: Who will it benefit?
A: SustiNet will benefit many Connecticut residents by expanding access to those who have otherwise been unable to secure affordable, high-quality care.

Q: How does it work?
A: By opening up the current model that serves Connecticut public employees and retirees, as well as low-income children and families, SustiNet will expand to provide access to other adults who need affordable, quality health care.

CCAG supported energy legislation in 2010 that would have reorganized the Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) to include a procurement manger, responsible for purchasing electricity at the lowest cost and least risk to consumers and small businesses. The bill also set statutory goals to:

• Reduce electric rates by 15% for every residential consumer.
• Create a discount electric and gas rate for low-income families and seniors.
• Provide low-interest financing for energy efficient furnaces and boilers.
• Establish strong consumer protections for residents who choose to buy electricity from a competitive, retail supplier.
• Increase investment in renewable, especially solar technologies and installations.

The current DPUC commissioners and Governor Rell worked hard to defeat the bill, and Rell ultimately vetoed the energy legislation. It’s time to clean house and raise the bar for energy policy.

September 23, 2010

HARTFORD – Residents from around the state gathered at the Capitol today to celebrate the six-month anniversary of the signing of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act by President Obama.

Today marked the start of the roll-out of consumer protections under the law, including the elimination of lifetime caps on insurance coverage, the prohibition of excluding children with pre-existing conditions from coverage and the end of the practice of dropping people from coverage when they become sick.

“Starting today, six major provisions of the Affordable Care Act kick in, including consumer protections that end insurance industry practices designed to prevent people from getting the care they need when they need it,” said John Olsen, president of the AFL-CIO and a member of Health Care for America NOW. “And which will make health care more accessible to everyone.”

Meriden resident Betty Berger told the story of how her son was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease while his family was between insurance coverage.

Toxic Chemical Reform

Chemical Innovations Institute Gets Green Light

Promising to help Connecticut move beyond the one-chemical-at-a-time approach to toxic chemical regulation, House Bill 5126 establishes the mission and the Board of Directors of a Chemical Innovations Institute (CII) for research and education in green technologies. The program will be housed at UConn Health Center but will operate largely on outside funding. It will protect the environment and the citizens of CT while also constituting an economic development opportunity for the state.

Today we mourn the passing of beloved CCAG leader and longtime health care for all activist Nancy Benedict who died in the early morning hours today June 3, 2010. Nancy had been active with CCAG since the early 1990s, first serving on the steering committee of the Health Care For All Coalition, then later on the Connecticut Citizen Action Group Board of Directors. In recent years she held the position of Co-Chairperson. She is survived by her husband John Murphy who is CCAG's Political Director.

Nancy and husband John on the picket line, June 1 at Park Place Health Care, in solidarity with nursing home workers who are headed into the third month of an Unfair Labor Practices Strike.