Month: June 2020

HARTFORD, CT – Governor Ned Lamont of Connecticut, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, and Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey today announced a joint incoming travel advisory that all individuals traveling from states with significant community spread of COVID-19 self-quarantine for a 14-day period from the time of last contact within the identified state.

 

This self-quarantine – effective 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24, 2020 – applies to any person arriving from a state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents or a state with a 10 percent or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.

 

Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey will continually update and publish on their respective websites a list of states to which the new advisory applies. This information will be updated regularly.

 

The tri-state measure will use uniform parameters and messaging on highways, airports, websites and social media across the three states. The three states will also ask hotels to communicate the 14-day quarantine to guests who have traveled from one of the impacted states.

 

“Working together as a region has proven to be immensely successful as our respective states are leading the country when it comes to our response with low infection and positivity rates relative to increased testing capacity,” Governor Lamont said. “We have made difficult decisions throughout this pandemic, but we have proven to make many of the right decisions. This step to inform travelers form states with hot spots to self-isolate is meant to protect our residents and maintain our incredible public health progress.”

 

“In New York, we went from the highest number of cases to some of the lowest rates in the country – no one else had to bend the curve as much as we did and now we have to make sure that the rate continues to drop in our entire region,” Governor Cuomo said. “We’ve been working with our neighbors in New Jersey and Connecticut throughout this entire pandemic, and we’re announcing a joint travel advisory that says people coming in from states with a high infection rate must quarantine for 14 days. We’ve worked very hard to get the viral transmission rate down and we don’t want to see it go up again because people are traveling into the state and bringing it with them.”

 

“Over the course of the past few months, our states have taken aggressive action to flatten the curve and beat back the coronavirus,” Governor Murphy said. “As a result of our collective efforts, we have low infection rates, falling hospitalizations, and have steadily been reopening our economies. Unfortunately, many states continue to have high transmission rates. We are proud to work with our partners in New York and Connecticut on a joint incoming travel advisory to ensure continued progress against this virus and to keep residents of the tri-state area safe.”

 

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WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) urged Senate appropriators to include at least an additional $25 million for the Department of Justice to hire additional National Instant Criminal Background Checks (NICS) staff. In a letter

to U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Chairman Jerry Moran and Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen, the senators noted the increase in guns and ammunition sales since the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the urgency to hire additional NICS examiners so background checks can be completed accurately and in a timely manner.

 

“The NICS system is the cornerstone of our legal transfer firearms process in the United States, helps to protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens, and helps to ensure that prohibited individuals cannot purchase a firearm from a licensed dealer,” the senators wrote.

 

The senators continued: “Even before COVID-19, the number of background checks run through the NICS system was increasing, resulting in backlogs. Then, as Americans began to grapple with COVID-19 at the beginning of this year, gun and ammunition sales skyrocketed throughout the country. In March, FBI conducted over 3.7 million background checks, a new record. Five of its 10 busiest weeks ever have occurred in early 2020 during this pandemic.”

 

“Given that sales have increased substantially compared to March, April, and May 2019, additional NICS examiners are critical in ensuring the timely and accurate completion of background checks. I therefore request that any future COVID-19 package include at least an additional $25 million to hire additional NICS staff,” the senators concluded.

 

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WETHERSFIELD, CT – The Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles will reopen select offices on June 23, 2020. Services will be offered by appointment only. Details are below:

Road Tests (Non-CDL)

 Road testing will resume June 23, 2020. Approximately 1,000 road tests have been rescheduled
through June 30th
.

 Customers are being called by DMV staff to schedule previously canceled appointments.

Services Offered by Appointment at the DMV

 Appointments are now available for new licenses and IDs, license and ID renewals, out of state license and registration transfers, and CDL upgrades.

 Locations for Learner’s Permit Knowledge Tests: Wethersfield, Cheshire, Willimantic, Old Saybrook, Norwalk, and Danbury.

 Registration Services (new registrations) will begin on June 30, 2020 at these locations:
Wethersfield, Willimantic, and Danbury
o Appointments can be made by visiting: https://portal.ct.gov/dmv/
o Link located within the “yellow alert box” to the appointment page.

 

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HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced his support for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program and its statewide expansion. The program provides free help for Connecticut’s low-income and ALICE families to file tax returns, allowing them to receive tax credits and Coronavirus economic impact checks and to file for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits. All residents making up to $56,000 in income are eligible for the services. Administered by the Connecticut Association for Human Services (CAHS), the virtual VITA program is the first IRS-approved end-to-end digital portal to carry out these services, allowing it to rapidly scale operations statewide.

 

Residents can access the full Virtual VITA services online at www.cahs.org/covid_relief. Residents can also dial 2-1-1 to find the nearest in-person VITA service site or the nearest virtual VITA portal, which offers computers for residents to log on and submit their claims. VITA works with municipalities and local community groups to provide service and accommodate residents across the state.

 

Economic impact payments available through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of up to $1,200 for individuals or $2,400 for married couples, and up to $500 for each qualifying child are only available to those who have filed a 2018 or 2019 tax return, so virtual VITA opens the door for residents who don’t normally file a tax return to receive sorely needed financial support.

 

Since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, beneficiaries of VITA’s tax filing service have received an average of approximately $3,000 from stimulus checks and tax credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit from filing their tax returns. Those whom VITA has also helped file for unemployment benefits will receive average additional benefits of approximately $20,000 during the year. In total, VITA has delivered approximately $30 million this past year in funds received for its beneficiaries in Connecticut.

 

“Many Connecticut families deeply affected by the COVID-19 crisis are unfortunately not receiving the financial support they are entitled to by the CARES stimulus, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or other government programs,” Governor Lamont said. “I applaud the work that VITA is doing to get our citizens the financial help they need and deserve, and our state is are committed to supporting the efforts of this important organization to connect with and assist eligible Connecticut residents.”

 

CAHS has been supported in its expansion by the philanthropic organization 4-CT, which was created with the express purpose of providing emergency assistance to the state’s residents during the current pandemic.

 

“VITA and CAHS have proven to be an incredibly dynamic partner in pandemic support efforts,” Ted Yang, CEO of 4-CT, said. “Few solutions empower individuals more in accelerating the pace of the government’s response to layoffs and loss of income that we’ve been seeing across the country. 4-CT will continue to work helping the state get through the COVID-19 crisis as securely as possible.”

 

“We appreciate the support that Governor Lamont’s administration and 4-CT have provided and are proud to offer this critical service to families in our community at a time when they need our support the most,” John Merz, CEO of CAHS, said. “We look forward to continuing to serve the population of Connecticut and getting financial resources to those that need it the most as quickly as possible.”

 

Connecticut residents who have not filed a 2019 tax return or who have become unemployed but have not yet filed for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance should visit the CAHS website to learn if they are eligible and register for VITA’s free assistance. VITA also recently announced a Referral Incentive Program, whereby philanthropic organizations within Connecticut can receive cash bonuses for referring eligible VITA beneficiaries who successfully complete the program.

 

VITA estimates that as many as 140,000 people across the State of Connecticut may be eligible for some type of cash benefit from the government. The deadline for filing tax returns has been extended to July 15, 2020, and the deadline for applying for CARES stimulus funds is October 15, 2020.

 

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