Category: State News

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory, a division within the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, has been awarded a $700,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to aid in the development of the Connecticut Crime Gun Intelligence Center. Connecticut is the first state in the nation to receive a federal grant for this purpose.

The center will be a unified, statewide, interagency collaboration focused on the immediate collection, management, and analysis of crime gun evidence, such as shell casings, in real time, in an effort to identify shooters, disrupt criminal activity, and to prevent future violence.

Its primary function will involve the creation of an interface between the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory’s information management system and law enforcement record management systems to share forensic data on firearms used in crimes. It will function as a collaboration between the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory, the Connecticut State Police, the Connecticut Gun Tracing Task Force, the FBI, the ATF, and local law enforcement agencies.

In particular, this interface will permit the participating law enforcement agencies with immediate access to pertinent information associated with leads that have been stored in the nationwide firearm casing database known as NIBIN (the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network). Currently, NIBIN leads are disseminated to all the agencies that are known to have been involved in a gun crime. The interface will communicate forensic results, incorporating information from CODIS (the national DNA database), AFIS (the national fingerprint database), drug, electronic evidence analysis, and other forensic evidence related to all cases that were established by the original NIBIN lead.

“The creation of this unified, statewide interface will make it easier for federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and the state forensic laboratory to easily share data on the forensics of gun crimes in real time, with the goal of identifying those involved in criminal activity and preventing future crimes from happening,” Governor Lamont said. “This center will be a collaborative effort and significantly improve the ability to share evidence-based data. I appreciate the state crime lab for taking the lead on its creation, and I applaud them on being the first in the country to receive this kind of grant.”

“I would like to congratulate Dr. Guy Vallaro and his incredible staff at the state crime lab on being the first forensic laboratory in the country to receive this grant,” Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner James C. Rovella said. “These funds will enhance forensic intelligence driven investigations to help detect, prevent, and prosecute gun-related crimes.”

“I appreciate the support of the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in establishing this innovative strategy to solve crimes more effectively by bridging science with investigations,” Dr. Guy Vallaro, director of the Division of Scientific Services at the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, said.

In addition to the federal grant announced today, the state budget that Governor Lamont signed into law earlier this year for the 2023 fiscal year provides $4.1 million in state and federal funding to the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory to help complete criminal investigations and clear accumulated court cases. These investments will provide swifter processing of crime lab cases involving DNA, computer crime, and firearms; deploy mobile lab services to crime scenes for rapid forensic analysis; and advance the state’s high-tech forensic technology to process cases with greater speed and precision.

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(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont announced that the Center for Digital Government has given Connecticut national recognition for its ongoing digital government efforts, awarding the state with a grade of A- and ranking it third in the nation for information technology leadership. The recognition was included as part of the organization’s 2022 Digital States Survey.

Governor Lamont has made it a priority during his administration to build an all-digital state government that provides Connecticut’s residents and businesses with the tools necessary to digitally connect with services administered by the state.

“I am proud of the work by our state employees and agencies as they modernize services for residents,” Governor Lamont said. “Connecticut is once again being nationally recognized for cross-agency collaborations and leadership as we continue our all-digital government efforts. Our Bureau of Information Technology Solutions team, as part of the Department of Administrative Services, works incredibly hard with state agencies to improve services for Connecticut residents. Being recognized on a national level continues to remind us of what we already know – Connecticut has the best state workforce in the country.”

The grade of A- reflects a state whose technology leaders are using “very strong innovation, high performing solutions, and have applied excellent practices in all aspects of operations, governance and administration,” according to Teri Takai, senior vice president of the Center for Digital Government. Since its inception 25 years ago, the biennial e-survey has helped benchmark state government use of digital technologies to improve service delivery, increase capacity, and reach policy goals.

In the Center for Digital Government’s 2022 Category Awards, Connecticut received third place for exemplary work in leadership, which recognizes Connecticut’s information technology optimization strategy and improvements to working relationships, planning, policies and collaborations with agencies.

“The optimization of the state’s IT infrastructure into one bureau – BITS – under the Department of Administrative Services has given state agencies access to deeply talented IT staff and resources,” Connecticut Department of Administrative Services Commissioner Michelle Gilman said. “The results of IT optimization have and will continue to enhance opportunities for our state employees and make government services more accessible to Connecticut residents. I’m incredibly proud of our BITS team for their national recognition and look forward to furthering our all-digital government journey.”

“Continuing to be recognized as a national leader in modernizing government services is a testament to our dedicated employees and collaborations across agencies,” Connecticut Chief Information Officer Mark Raymond said. “Whether it’s making it easier to do business in the state, renewing a driver’s license online, or other accessibility improvements, digital services ease government interactions, put people first, and provide experiences Connecticut residents come to expect in their online transactions.”

A listing of all 50 states and their grades are published on the Center for Digital Government’s website at www.centerdigitalgov.com.

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(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont and the governors of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont today sent the following letter to Congressional leaders thanking them for their longstanding support of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and expressing their support for President Joe Biden’s request for an emergency supplemental aid package that will provide additional federal funding for home heating assistance this winter:

September 26, 2022 Dear Chairwoman DeLauro, Ranking Member Granger, Chairman Leahy, and Vice Chairman Shelby: As Congress prepares a continuing resolution (CR) for the start of the 2023 fiscal year, we write to thank you for Congress’s commitment to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and to urge you to include emergency supplemental funding of the program on top of the annual appropriation to address increasing home energy bills that likely will be exacerbated this winter as a result of volatile global energy markets. We note that President Biden has requested $500 million in emergency funds and we ask that the committee allocate at least that amount in the forthcoming CR. The LIHEAP program is vitally important to our states. In New England and across the nation, LIHEAP assistance is targeted to households with the lowest income and highest energy burden. The majority of LIHEAP recipients have incomes far below our respective state eligibility criteria. These low-income households, particularly low-income senior households, spend a disproportionate amount of their income on home energy, often three times more than the median energy burden. Keeping warm and safe is particularly challenging for low-income households in New England, which has some of the country’s oldest homes and a particularly cold winter climate. More than any other region of the country, New England households are dependent upon expensive delivered fuels. For many low-income households, there are few and limited near-term options and while we are all working diligently on assisting these families with energy efficiency programs for the longer term, the immediate needs this winter are likely to be acute. New England governors deeply appreciate your longstanding support of LIHEAP, and we recognize the difficult fiscal decisions confronting Congress this year.  However, with the dramatic rise in energy prices and the additional increase anticipated this winter, we ask that you supplement the annual appropriation to mitigate the effect on our vulnerable populations.

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(Hartford, CT) — Attorney General William Tong led a multistate coalition of 51 attorneys general calling on the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to expand anti-robocall protections.

Specifically, the attorneys general urge the FCC to require all telephone providers that route calls across the U.S. telephone network to implement more rigorous measures to prevent illegal and fraudulent robocalls from bombarding Americans.

“Anti-robocall technology works, but only if everyone uses it. Last month, our Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force issued 20 civil investigative demands to 20 of these providers that we believe are responsible for routing a majority of foreign robocall traffic into our country. It is specifically these types of gateway and intermediate providers that must take stronger action to filter out and stop fraudulent calls. If these providers are unwilling to adopt these rigorous measures on their own, the FCC must mandate it,” said Attorney General Tong.

Illegal robocalls cost consumers, law enforcement, and the telecom industry approximately $13.5 billion every year. Often, these calls originate from overseas scam actors who spoof U.S.-based phone numbers, and the FCC recently required the phone companies that let these calls onto the U.S. telephone network to do more to keep them out.  The FCC is now proposing expanding many of these rules to those few phone companies that, although largely invisible to the public, are exclusively responsible for routing these fraudulent and illegal calls across the U.S. phone network, regardless of where the calls originate.

In their letter, Attorney General Tong and a coalition of 50 other attorneys general support the FCC’s proposal to extend the implementation of STIR/SHAKEN, a caller ID authentication technology that helps prevent spoofed calls, to all “intermediate” phone providers in the United States. Right now, only providers that originate call traffic are required to implement STIR/SHAKEN. The coalition also urges the FCC to require providers to adopt these protections and additional measures to cut down on illegal and fraudulent robocalls, including responding to law enforcement traceback requests within 24 hours and blocking illegal traffic, as soon as possible. If all telecom companies have the same robocall mitigation practices, bad actors will not be able to exploit inconsistencies among providers and law enforcement will be better able to identify and prosecute the bad actors who try profit from illegal robocalls.

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Hartford, CT– Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) led a group of Senators in sending a letter to M&T Bank urging the company to financially compensate customers who were affected by conversion failures during the transition of People’s United Bank accounts to M&T accounts.

“We write to request that M&T Bank commit to financially compensate all customers who incurred fees as a result of missed credit card, utility, or other payments, due to M&T Bank’s mishandling of the acquisition of People’s United Bank,” the Senators wrote. “Additionally, all customers who were unable to access their funds during the conversion should receive some appropriate financial remuneration for the inconvenience, as well as an apology.”

Since the conversion at the beginning of September, new M&T customers have complained that they are not able to access their accounts, have endured long wait times and delays in payment processing, and did not receive adequate customer support. The Senators’ express deep concern about these issues and urge M&T to quickly resolve the complications.

“It is imperative that M&T act swiftly to comply with all laws, regulations, and regulatory expectations relied on during the acquisition approval process and that all customers be fairly compensated if they were negatively impacted as a result of M&T’s mishandling of the merger with People’s United Bank,” the Senators write.

The Federal Reserve approved M&T Bank’s acquisition of Bridgeport-based People’s United Financial, Inc. and People’s United Bank in May of 2022. Under the terms of the acquisition, M&T committed to having 1,000 employees in Bridgeport. Last week, the failed management of the conversion and lack of access to customer support for individuals and businesses has led Blumenthal to call on the Federal Reserve and CFBP to investigate this issue.

Last week The Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security conducted a preparedness and response field day at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport. This was a show and tell of their equipment and how they share their resources from Greenwich to Bridgeport. Here is Stamford’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal also known as the Bomb Squad.

WASHINGTON–On National Voter Registration Day, U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) joined 15 of their colleagues to introduce two pieces of legislation to make it easier for Americans to register to vote and to know their registration status.

The Same Day Voter Registration Act would require states to offer same day registration at polling locations on Election Day and during early voting. The Stop Automatically Voiding Eligible Voters Off Their Enlisted Rolls in States (SAVE VOTERS) Act would prohibit states from removing people from their voting rolls unless the state has obtained objective, reliable evidence that a voter is ineligible to vote and establishes notification requirements once a voter is removed. These bills were included as part of the Freedom to Vote Act.

“Democracy only works when every citizen has the power to make their voice heard. Offering same-day registration at polling locations just like Connecticut does and preventing the unjust purge of voters from the rolls are two commonsense ways to make it easier – not harder – for more Americans to participate in the democratic process,” said Murphy.

“No freedom is more important than the right to vote. We must protect the sanctity of this fundamental American freedom, which is why I am proud to co-sponsor this legislation with many of my Senate colleagues. Connecticut already offers same day voter registration but more than half of states do not — an unnecessary and unacceptable barrier that keeps people from voting. Guaranteeing that voters can register on election day and preventing states from purging their voter rolls without concrete evidence that the person in question is ineligible to vote, will make it easier for Americans to cast their ballots and participate in our great Democracy,” said Blumenthal.

The Same Day Voter Registration Act would:
Require states to offer same day registration at polling locations on Election Day and during any early voting period; Require states to offer same day registration at all polling places by the 2026 general election, but create a waiver process to give states until the 2028 general election to comply if earlier compliance would be impracticable.Mandate that states have at least one location per 15,000 registered voters with same day registration by the 2024 general election; andEnsure that centralized same day registration locations are reasonably located to serve the voting population equitably.
The Same Day Voter Registration Act is cosponsored by Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Angus King (I-Maine), and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)

The SAVE VOTERS Act would:
Amend the National Voter Registration Act to prohibit states from removing people from voting rolls unless the state has obtained objective and reliable evidence that a person is ineligible to vote. The legislation would clarify that failure to vote or respond to election mail would not constitute objective and reliable evidence of a voter’s ineligibility to vote;Allow election officials to use state records to remove voters who have died or permanently moved out of the state;Require election officials to send a notice explaining the grounds for removal within 48 hours of removing voters from the rolls and provide public notice within 48 hours after any general program to remove voters; andRevise the voting procedure for a voter who failed to report a change of address by allowing a voter who moved within a state to vote at the polling place of the voter’s current address or at a central location in the jurisdiction of the local voter registration office.
The Save Voters Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Sanders (I-Vt.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Menendez (D-N.J.), and Angus King (I-Maine).

Both bills are endorsed by Democracy 21, Transparency International U.S., End Citizens United/Let America Vote Action Fund, Common Cause, Public Citizen, People for the American Way, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, 20/20 Vision DC, Voices for Progress, and League of Women Voters.This press release was made possible by:

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Automobile issues regularly top consumer complaints for AG offices

(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 18 attorneys general calling on the Federal Trade Commission to adopt and strengthen guidance on automobile sales.

The comment letter supports the FTC’s proposed updates to the Motor Vehicle Dealers Trade Regulation Rule related to the sale, financing, and leasing of motor vehicles by motor vehicle dealers, while proposing several suggestions to further strengthen the rule.

The proposed Rule, published in the Federal Register on July 13, would provide a critical tool to address misrepresentations and prevent consumer harm.

“No one likes surprise fees and unexpected add-ons when purchasing a car. Last year alone, our office received more than 500 car-related complaints. The FTC’s proposed changes are an important step to ensuring transparency and combatting unfair and deceptive car sale tactics, but even more can and should be done. I look forward to working alongside the FTC to support these important efforts,” said Attorney General Tong.

Attorneys general frequently hear from consumers with complaints over vehicle sales. In 2021, the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office received 564 auto-related complaints.

The FTC’s proposed rule is a necessary step in combatting unfair and deceptive acts in the vehicle marketplace. It aligns with existing guidance from industry trade groups, as well as state laws and regulations.

The proposed rule would:

• Prohibit motor vehicle dealers from making certain misrepresentations in the course of selling, leasing, or arranging financing for motor vehicles.
• Require accurate pricing disclosures in dealers’ advertising and sales discussions.
• Require dealers to obtain consumers’ express, informed consent for certain charges.
• Require transparency about add-on products and their pricing.
• Prohibit the sale of any add-on product or service that confers no benefit to the consumer.
• Require dealers to keep records of advertisements and customer transactions.

While we believe these updates will enhance the ability to protect consumers from unfair and deceptive practices, we offer the following suggestions to further strengthen the rule:

• Require price disclosures in writing regardless of the form of the inquiry
• Require that price disclosures provide complete information on the cost to purchase or finance the sale of a vehicle
• Require written disclosures and obtain written consumer consent before the purchase of any optional add-ons
• Require auto dealers to retain records on all contracts for the duration of the contract.
• Set a time limit for dealers to pay off the lien on any traded-in vehicle to protect consumers and ensure a fair marketplace
• Regulate the use of starter-interrupt devices to encourage safety and transparency

In their letter, the attorneys general thank the FTC for addressing a lack of transparency in the current Motor Vehicle Dealers Trade Regulation Rule. The coalition hopes the final rule will enhance protections for consumers and ensure a more competitive and equitable marketplace.

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(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong issued a letter to M&T Bank expressing concern and seeking information regarding numerous complaints from consumers and employees following the conversion from People’s United Bank.

In his letter, Attorney General Tong seeks information regarding commitments made by M&T Bank to its Connecticut workforce, as well as identification of a high-level representative to expedite complaints filed with the Office of the Attorney General.

“I share your customers’ outrage at the serious lack of preparation for this conversion. M&T’s poor planning cost Connecticut customers timely access to their banking records, their bill pay systems, and their money. Connecticut customers wasted hours of time on hold and in branches trying to sort out problems that should have been addressed prior to the conversion. Should Connecticut consumers continue to experience extended gaps in customer service, my office will not hesitate to use the full extent of our authority to protect families and businesses,” Attorney General Tong states in the letter.

In response to a letter from Attorney General Tong, M&T Bank in August 2021 made a series of commitments to Connecticut jobs and to Bridgeport as its New England regional headquarters. In his letter today to M&T, Attorney General Tong sought detailed employment information to determine the extent to which M&T is now honoring those promises.

“At that time, I noted that this was an important step forward after a series of mixed messages and confusion. While I appreciated those commitments, I also noted at that time that I would be watching closely to ensure that your actions matched your written commitments to local jobs and Connecticut communities,” said Attorney General Tong in his letter.

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