January 2010 CT Legislative Update

Well, the holiday season has come and gone and Hartford is quickly preparing for what will be a challenging and exciting 2010 short legislative session.

The session kicks off on February 2 and goes through midnight on May 5.  Like last year, the state budget and economic troubles will remain the biggest priority and the biggest challenge.

State Budget

As of last week, the state budget that was passed only a couple of months ago is already approximately $337-650 million dollars in deficit.  This is a result of state income tax receipts coming in under prediction and sales tax receipts also foundering.  As a result, the legislature passed a deficit mitigation package late last month that attempted to cover the shortfall by delaying the new estate tax threshold, making minor cuts in spending and transferring existing funds to the general fund—including $5 million from the Tobacco and Health Trust Fund (THTF).

The Governor vetoed the entire mitigation package and as of this writing, the Legislature will now address the deficit during the regular session in February.

2010 American Cancer Society Connecticut Legislative Priorities

We opposed the THTF fund sweep and will continue to do so.  We have argued that a better use of the money would be to fund Medicaid coverage of smoking cessation programs and services—CT continues to be one of only five states that doesn’t fund cessation through Medicaid even though the smoking rates are twice as high in the Medicaid population.

As such, Medicaid cessation funding will remain a primary legislative goal in 2010.  Additionally, we will be advocating that the state smoking ban be expanded to include small businesses (defined as fewer than 5 employees.). The smoking ban in restaurants, bars and most businesses has been in place for 6 years now and there is no reason why small businesses should be excluded.

GRA continues to work with our grassroots advocates and other partner organizations to plan and strategize the upcoming session.  Our past successes are because of your continued involvement and I hope we can count on your help again this year!

Lobby Day

Save the date and mark your calendars!  April 7 from 8-2 will be our state Lobby Day!  As in years past, we will descend upon Hartford for meetings with our legislators urging support for our agenda and providing them with information on what we do and what we offer to cancer patients and their families!  Those of you that have attended in the past know what a fun and exciting day it can be so I hope to see you all at the capitol on April 7!

Maureen Leary, our new division Grassroots Advocacy Coordinator, will be assisting in the preparation of lobby day and distribution of action alerts throughout the year.  I’ll keep you posted for any opportunities to help out at lobby day by staffing informational tables or assisting volunteers!

As always, I will continue to keep you updated on all of our activities and issues in Hartford and once again, thank you for all of your support and friendship!

Bryte