| Bottleneck |
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By the time you read this newsletter, there will only be
three days remaining in the 2007 legislative session -
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. However, at the
closing of both the House and Senate sessions late
Thursday evening (more like early Friday morning), we
were all told to keep Saturday open for a probable
working session day - a vital fourth day. The General
Assembly has been very consistent the past few years
with calling a session on Saturday and in dire times,
Sunday is also utilized.
Why work on Saturday? Just this past week, the
Senate and House passed dueling tax package
bills without any sight of a budget. The
Democrats had hoped to pass these measures with a
veto proof margin and to skirt around Governor Rell's
inevitable veto of the measure. On the contrary, the
bills consumed an afternoon in the House and one
very late night in the Senate - time that the General
Assembly does not have. Thursday night the Senate
adopted the House version of the tax package and
waited only an hour before the Governor vetoed that
package, which included a gas holiday along with a
progressive income tax. Still no two-year spending
plan in sight.
After a five hour House caucus that got heated at
times, late Thursday night, Senate and House leaders
pulled together a compromise on another major topic:
the revised energy plan. There's also talk about
spending time Friday and Saturday to hammer out a
health care plan. Like the energy plan, the House and
Senate work off two totally different models for health
care reform. The Senate prefers a plan that would
define the outcome as a single payer system while
the House takes a more moderate model of fixing the
current problems for the uninsured and working
toward repairing and enhancing the present health
care delivery system. In terms of time, health care
negotiations have the possibility of consuming two
days without blinking an eye.
The calendars of the House and Senate are
beginning to fill up and bills are put on either the foot
of the calendar in the Senate or on standby in the
House. Meanwhile, members of both chambers
spend the majority of their time in their respective
caucuses informally discussing various budget and
tax packages while the formal debates focus on what
are commonly referred to as "talker" bills.
As some say, chaos is your best friend toward the end
of the session. Reaching consensus can happen
faster when there a bottleneck and the clock is ticking
away. If you are trying to kill controversial bills, it's
really your best friend. Time can only permit so many
bills to get through the screening committee and onto
the floor. As soon as the major "talkers" have been
completed, the gates will open and bills will be called
with no delay until the bell rings at midnight on June
6.
Too little time and so much to do. Many are hoping
that a two-year budget and tax plan can come
together, thus avoiding a special session to resolve
the differences between the House, Senate, and
Governor's office.
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| Universal health care is heating up |
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With the veto of the Democratic tax package over and
done with and a deal on energy policy all but done, the
focus of leadership turns to what to do about CT's
uninsured and under-insured. Only three working
days left for the 2007 session and groups are still
adding their two-cents to the debate on health care.
This week, the Business Advisory Council
(BAC) announced a "roadmap" for the future of health
care. The BAC is made up of small business owners,
leaders of business associations, and individuals
who work within larger businesses. The BAC believes
that, "comprehensive reform of the health care
system will result in better health, better health care,
and ultimately, lower cost for society."
Representatives of the group said that some would
say that the status quo is the compromised
position on health care, but in their opinion, that's just
not going to work anymore.
BAC's priorities are broken up into four major
initiatives. The first initiative outlines the necessary
components for a supportive health care system and
includes financial incentives for healthy behavior,
transparency in the process, and fair compensation
for providers. In addition, the BAC proposes
shifting the basis of provider reimbursements
from rewarding volume to "measurable improvements
in community health."
The next initiative pulls from a common thread in most
health care plans this year: create a high quality
health plan that is available for all CT residents.
The BAC suggests pooling the uninsured, HUSKY
enrollees, and employees in the public and private
sectors. The members assert that pooling groups
would lead to maximizing Federal reimbursements
and stabilizing costs. They agree that once costs are
stable and quality care is available, private sector
purchasers will make the switch to the pool as well.
The President of the CT Association of Realtors
said that although his group has 19,000
members, they are all considered independent
contractors. As a result, they are not currently eligible
for a health care pool and must purchase coverage
individually. With health care costs being so high, he
urged that the group would be very interested in
having access to a plan with lower costs and
better coverage.
Strengthening the primary care infrastructure
is the third initiative on the list. Mirroring one of
Speaker James Amann's main goals on health care,
the BAC emphasized that relying on primary care
providers more often for preventive care would be a
step in the right direction. Further, the BAC thinks
educating the community on the benefits and cost-
effectiveness of primary care is a critical component to
success.
The final initiative outlines how paying for health
care for the uninsured should be funded. The
BAC is opposed to employer mandates
or "pay of play" requirements. Instead, the group
said that it's time that people who do not take
measures to lead healthier lives, such as smokers,
should be held financially accountable when paying
premiums. Also, employers already providing
coverage that want to switch to the new "pool" should
still have to pay for coverage. The group goes so far
as to propose examining the very link between
employment and health coverage.
Some think that many citizens are skeptical of
health care reform because of the various
interests involved and the profit motive for some. He
went on to say that the BAC understands that full
reform will take time, but that the group felt that it was
imperative to be part of the discussion and to offer
suggestions for this session and future sessions.
The BAC's recommendations reflect many of the
ideas that have been bouncing around the Capitol, but
as always, the devil is in the details. The concepts are
all good intentions, but the legislature only has
three more days to work the details out into a
workable health care package.
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| Newly passed legislation |
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According to the joint rules of the legislature, after a
bill
is passed by both the House and Senate during
session, the Governor has 5 calendar days, exclusive
of Sundays and holidays, from when a bill is
presented to sign or veto the bill. After session has
adjourned, the bill becomes a law unless the
Governor vetoes the bill within 15 calendar days after
presentment. It takes at least 2/3 of the members of
each house to override the Governor's veto. The
Democrats currently have the numbers to do so in
both chambers.
As the House and Senate pass bills, S&L will
continue to post the bills that are of interest to our
clients that have been signed into law and become
public acts (PA) or special acts (SA), or vetoed, by
Governor Rell. For a list of bills passed, but not yet
acted upon by the Governor, please click the link
below.
PA 07-58 (SB 260) AN ACT CONCERNING HEALTH
ASSESSMENTS FOR ADOLESCENTS
PA 07-59 (SB 1079) AN ACT CONCERNING DOGS
THAT ATTACK DOMESTIC ANIMALS OR
LIVESTOCK
PA 07-60 (SB 1085) AN ACT CONCERNING ZONING
APPEALS
PA 07-61 (SB 1091) AN ACT CONCERNING DAM
SAFETY
PA 07-64 (1263) AN ACT CONCERNING THE
CONSOLIDATION OF ENERGY CONSERVATION
LOAN PROGRAM STATUTES
PA 07-65 (SB 1384) AN ACT CONCERNING THE
TOLLING OF THE STATUTE OF LIMITATION IN
WRONGFUL DEATH CASES
PA 07-66 (HB 7350) AN ACT CONCERNING IN-
SCHOOL SUSPENSIONS
PA 07-67 (SB 389) AN ACT CONCERNING
HOSPITALIZATION AT AN OUT-OF-NETWORK
FACILITY DURING TREATMENT IN CANCER
CLINICAL TRIALS
PA 07-68 (HB 5286) AN ACT CONCERNING
INSURANCE ON RESIDENTIAL CONDOMINIUMS
AND FLOOD INSURANCE FOR CONDOMINIUMS
LOCATED IN FLOOD HAZARD AREAS
PA 07-75 (HB 7055) AN ACT CONCERNING
MEDICAL NECESSITY AND EXTERNAL APPEALS
PA 07-77 (HB 7300) AN ACT ESTABLISHING
MEASURES TO MITIGATE CATASTROPHIC LOSSES
DUE TO HURRICANES AND SEVERE STORMS
PA 07-78 (SB 284) AN ACT CONCERNING THE
PROTECTION OF PETS IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
CASES
PA 07-79 (SB 1190) AN ACT CONCERNING VITAL
RECORDS
The following bill was vetoed by the Governor:
HB 7400 AN ACT CONCERNING MOTION PICTURE
TAX CREDITS
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State Representative Diana Urban |
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State Representative Diana Urban is not a newly
elected legislator this session, but she has had a new
political experience. Urban was elected as a
Republican to represent the 43rd assembly district of
North Stonington and Stonington back in 2001. After
being reelected last fall, Urban took a risk to follow her
political beliefs and switched her party affiliation to the
Democratic Party. "It's wonderful to be in a position
where people listen to you," Urban said.
As a result, Urban also secured a coveted leadership
position as the Vice Chair of the Government
Administration and Elections Committee. She also
serves on the Appropriations and Environment
Committees. Urban said that everyone knows of her
passion and commitment to environmental causes
and to children. She is especially invested in the
legislation banning pesticide use on school grounds
and diesel emissions in school bus cabins. She also
supports legislation to aid dairy farmers, thereby
supporting local farms and sustaining the quality of
life in CT. Further, Urban has worked on contract set-
asides and the pension revocations for state workers
who commit certain crimes.
However, Urban is most excited about her position as
Co-Chair of the Results-Based Accountability (RBA)
Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee. The
back of the budget contains language requiring that all
new projects to go through the RBA subcommittee.
Urban said she's looking forward to getting the RBA
off the ground. "Getting language on the back of the
budget is just HUGE!" Urban exclaimed, "All else
pales in comparison."
Urban is also happy that the Earned Income Tax
Credit is included in the Democratic budget. She
explained that she was one of the original people to
propose such language for the budget and she said
she's thrilled that it made it in with the progressive
income tax. "The gap between the rich and the poor
[in CT] is worrisome. We need to do more to mitigate
the gap. Government needs to help level the playing
field," stated Urban.
Urban continued to say that the EITC will help the
working poor. She told how her son helped
impoverished children through the AmeriCorp
program. After his experience, he told her that anyone
who says the poor should "pick themselves up by their
boot straps" should try to live in their shoes for awhile.
With regard to the progressive income tax, Urban was
emphatic that if she made $200,000+ a year that she
would be willing to pay more in taxes. "I'm serious!"
she exclaimed, "I want to help people around me."
The major issues, including the budget, are still
working themselves through the process. The
Democrats have already used their supermajority to
override the Governor's veto once so far this session
with the DSS Waiver bill. When asked if the power of
the supermajority would be used again before the end
of session, Urban laughed. "That would be my
guess," she said with a smile.
Urban
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