State News – Page 30

State News

Good Jobs Challenge Grant

Aug 16, 2022 Stephen Krauchick

The Connecticut Office of Workforce Strategy is being awarded a $23.9 million American Rescue Plan Good Jobs Challenge grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce to support the creation of the Strengthening Sectoral Partnerships Initiative.The initiative will provide resources to support ten Regional Sector Partnerships (RSPs) across Connecticut to train and place more than 2,000 people – particularly from historically-underserved communities – in high-demand jobs in four priority sector areas, including manufacturing, and healthcare, information technology, bioscience.The RSPs are a coordinated and collaborative team of public partners in education, workforce development, and economic development, led by businesses to collaboratively advance the industries’ competitiveness by providing the resources necessary to develop innovative programs to address the talent shortage. Programs include building…

State News

Another view On Inflation Reduction Act

Aug 15, 2022 Stephen Krauchick

Jayme Stevenson, Connecticut’s Republican candidate for Congress, issued a statement after review of the approved “Inflation Reduction Act.”“Rather than constructing a comprehensive bipartisan plan, this bill was rushed through the legislative process with little to no time for careful review, and without advice from economists and stakeholders. Non-partisan economists and stakeholders say policies in the bill will further raise taxes on struggling businesses and make energy and daily needs even more expensive for families. Overall, this bill is riddled with vague promises and processes that have not been fully vetted. Bad process is as damaging as bad policy.“This bill is a reiteration of the failed Build Back Better initiative. It is an inaccurate representation of “relief” that is effectively a…

State News

FTC RULEMAKING ON CONSUMER PRIVACY

Aug 15, 2022 Stephen Krauchick

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security, released the following statement applauding new rulemaking issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to strengthen consumer privacy, bolster civil rights, and establish guardrails on the collection and use of consumers’ personal data:“This announced rulemaking is a tremendous win for consumers, promising strong protections for privacy rights and personal data, and accountability for violating them. Big Tech’s exploitation of Americans’ private information, anti-competitive behavior, and data breaches have created a crisis that demands action. I’ve long urged the FTC to use this essential tool to implement strong and enforceable consumer safeguards and rights. This rule…

State News

RULEMAKING ON CONSUMER PRIVACY

Aug 12, 2022 Stephen Krauchick

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security, released the following statement applauding new rulemaking issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to strengthen consumer privacy, bolster civil rights, and establish guardrails on the collection and use of consumers’ personal data: “This announced rulemaking is a tremendous win for consumers, promising strong protections for privacy rights and personal data, and accountability for violating them. Big Tech’s exploitation of Americans’ private information, anti-competitive behavior, and data breaches have created a crisis that demands action. I’ve long urged the FTC to use this essential tool to implement strong and enforceable consumer safeguards and rights. This rule is…

State News

SUV Safety

Aug 9, 2022 Stephen Krauchick

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, called for National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) action to address child deaths due to frontovers. Recent demonstrations by investigative reporters have shown blind zones in front of some cars to be as big as 16 feet, obstructing children from view and putting them at risk of being run over. “I am extremely troubled that large blind zones in front of SUVs are reportedly causing senseless deaths of children. In such instances, called ‘frontovers,’ tragedy strikes because a child in front of the car is not visible above the car’s hood and no warning occurs,” wrote Blumenthal to NHTSA Administrator Dr. Stephen Cliff. “I am sure you agree that…

State News

Inflation Reduction Act

Aug 8, 2022 Stephen Krauchick

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) released the following statement after the Senate approved the Inflation Reduction Act, a measure to cut costs for consumers, lower drug prices, and make historic investments in clean energy: “The Inflation Reduction Act is history-making and record-setting. This bill will save money, it will save lives, and it will help save the planet.” “Our bill will cut costs for consumers. It will help families better afford groceries, gas, and utilities while billionaire tax cheats will finally have to pay their fair share. Democrats have fought for years to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices which will result in huge savings for seniors. This bill is the largest investment and most important action to fight climate…

State News

LEGISLATION SIGNED STRENGTHENING CHILDHOOD LEAD POISONING STANDARDS

Aug 8, 2022 Stephen Krauchick

(WATERBURY, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he has signed into law Public Act 22-49, which will align Connecticut’s standards on childhood lead poisoning with federal standards and help alleviate the risks associated with it. The governor proposed the legislation earlier this year as part of his package of priorities for the legislative session, explaining that the state needs to proactively do a better job of protecting children from lead poisoning.The governor discussed the importance of the new law today during an event on the topic in Waterbury, a city where 72% of its housing units were built before 1978, making the presence of lead likely now or in the past. Waterbury has embraced the issue of addressing…

State News

Attorney General Tong Urges the Biden Administration to Provide More Time and Opportunity for Borrowers to Achieve Loan Forgiveness

Aug 5, 2022 Stephen Krauchick

(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 20 states in urging the Biden Administration to extend and expand temporary changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program to provide borrowers with more opportunities to get closer to loan forgiveness faster. Under the PSLF Program, remaining balances on federal Direct Loans are forgiven after borrowers – dedicated public servants such as teachers, firefighters, nurses, police officers – make 120 qualifying payments while working full-time for a qualifying employer. However, due to the PSLF Program’s complexity and poor management, millions of public service workers have been unable to access forgiveness, and the program’s denial rates have been as high as 99 percent. To restore the promise of…

State News

ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG STATEMENT ON UNITED ILLUMINATING RATE REQUEST

Aug 2, 2022 Stephen Krauchick

(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong released the following statement regarding a United Illuminating notice with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority filed today seeking to raise rates as much as 8 percent over three years. New rates would take effect after September 2023. “Connecticut families pay far too much for their energy, and a rate increase at this time will only make that worse. My office will intervene on behalf of consumers, and we intend to aggressively scrutinize every charge and assumption in search of savings,” said Attorney General Tong. This press release was made possible by:

State News

CTDOT Submits National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan

Aug 2, 2022 Stephen Krauchick

The Connecticut Department of Transportation today announced its submission of Connecticut's Charging Ahead Plan: A Strategy to Expand Public Electric Vehicle Charging to the U.S. Department of Transportation, establishing the state’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program. The NEVI program aims to build out a national system of electric vehicle (EV) chargers to enhance EV driver confidence while traveling long distances, including across state lines. Established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the NEVI formula program will provide $5 billion over five years for states to deploy direct current (DC) fast EV chargers along highway corridors. The funds can be used within one mile of federally approved designated corridors, with less than a 50-mile gap between chargers. “Connecticut’s NEVI plan will provide our state with…

Good Jobs Challenge Grant

Another view On Inflation Reduction Act

FTC RULEMAKING ON CONSUMER PRIVACY

RULEMAKING ON CONSUMER PRIVACY

SUV Safety

Inflation Reduction Act

LEGISLATION SIGNED STRENGTHENING CHILDHOOD LEAD POISONING STANDARDS

Attorney General Tong Urges the Biden Administration to Provide More Time and Opportunity for Borrowers to Achieve Loan Forgiveness

ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG STATEMENT ON UNITED ILLUMINATING RATE REQUEST

CTDOT Submits National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan

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