State News

Senators Want Background Checks For Checks

Jun 25, 2020 Stephen Krauchick

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…

State News

DMV Slowly Reopening

Jun 24, 2020 Stephen Krauchick

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…

State News

ree Assistance to Low-Income Families with CARES Act Funds and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance

Jun 24, 2020 Stephen Krauchick

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…

State News

Special Session For Police Accountability

Jun 22, 2020 Stephen Krauchick

HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont released the following statement regarding the package of legislative proposals announced today by the Senate Democratic caucus: “I plan on calling the General Assembly into special session during the month of July to address the issues of police accountability and expanding access to absentee ballots. There’s still more that we need to do in addition to those issues to address the complex and difficult problems of racial and economic inequality. I look forward to working with legislators and other stakeholders on those issues during the next regular session.” This news report is made possible by: [caption id="attachment_66365" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Visit Interstate's website at: https://ctbattery.com/[/caption]

State News

BIPARTISAN RESOLUTION CONDEMNS DISCRIMINATION AGAINST IRANIAN AMERICANS

Jun 18, 2020 Stephen Krauchick

WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and U.S. Representatives Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA) and Francis Rooney (R-FL) led the introduction of a resolution denouncing discriminatory treatment of Iranian Americans. This bicameral, bipartisan resolution comes after earlier this year, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office on the U.S.-Canada border was found to have directed its agents to detain and question Americans of Iranian origin about their faith and military service following the U.S. killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. The resolution calls on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to launch a civil rights probe into the incident and directs government officials to ensure that civil rights and liberties of all Americans – including Iranian Americans –…

State News

THE GREAT AMERICAN OUTDOORS ACT

Jun 18, 2020 Stephen Krauchick

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Wednesday applauded Senate passage of the Great American Outdoors Act. The bipartisan legislation, which passed by a vote of 73-25, fully and permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at $900 million per year. The LWCF is the main federal program to ensure protection of and access to our public lands. The Great American Outdoors Act will also address our nearly $12 billion repair backlog in National Parks and on other public lands by directing up to $9.5 billion over five years to address maintenance needs within the National Park System. The legislation now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives, and President Trump has signaled he would sign this bill into law. “Today is big win for our public lands. The Great American Outdoors Act fully…

State News

Aircraft Safety and Certification Reform Act

Jun 17, 2020 Stephen Krauchick

#WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), author of the Restoring Aviation Accountability Act and a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, released the following statement on the Aircraft Safety and Certification Reform Act, introduced earlier today by U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-MI) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the Chair and Ranking Member of the Commerce Committee. “I’m glad to see this bipartisan reform proposal include several provisions I’ve championed, including stronger protections for whistleblowers, minimum qualifications for those preforming work on behalf of the FAA, targeted audits of ODA units, and addressing concerns about compensation and bonuses for meeting performance goals,” Blumenthal said. “Left to its own devices, the aviation certification system puts corporate profits before…

State News

Chiefs Association Moratorium On Military Equipment

Jun 17, 2020 Stephen Krauchick

The Connecticut Police Chiefs Association, which represents over 100 Municipal and University Police Chiefs that lead 0ver 8500 municipal police officers in our state, have agreed to a 90-day moratorium on the acquisition of surplus military equipment. This press release was made possible by:

State News

AG Leads Coalition On Price Fixing

Jun 15, 2020 Stephen Krauchick

Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong led a coalition of 51 states and territories today in filing the third lawsuit stemming from the ongoing antitrust investigation into a widespread conspiracy by generic drug manufacturers to artificially inflate and manipulate prices, reduce competition, and unreasonably restrain trade for generic drugs sold across the United States. This new Complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, focuses on 80 topical generic drugs that account for billions of dollars of sales in the United States. The Complaint names 26 corporate Defendants and 10 individual Defendants. The lawsuit seeks damages, civil penalties, and actions by the court to restore competition to the generic drug market. The topical drugs at…

State News

State Parks Closed Due To Filled Lots

Jun 13, 2020 Stephen Krauchick

#CTStateParks-- Here is a brief list of parks closed today due to parking lots filled to capacity. Here is a list from CTState Parks Twitter page. Was the prepaid parking through DMV such a great idea?

Senators Want Background Checks For Checks

DMV Slowly Reopening

ree Assistance to Low-Income Families with CARES Act Funds and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance

Special Session For Police Accountability

BIPARTISAN RESOLUTION CONDEMNS DISCRIMINATION AGAINST IRANIAN AMERICANS

THE GREAT AMERICAN OUTDOORS ACT

Aircraft Safety and Certification Reform Act

Chiefs Association Moratorium On Military Equipment

AG Leads Coalition On Price Fixing

State Parks Closed Due To Filled Lots

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