THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF SOUTHEASTERN CT

 Landmark Health Care Legislation Vetoed by Governor

By Marilyn Mackay, Claire Sauer, Barbara Brockhurst and Rosanne Smyle

Special to The Times

          To the disappointment of many residents looking for reasonable health care insurance options, Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell waited until the last day of the regular legislative session to veto two health care bills, one that called for pooling and another that offered a universal health care plan known as SustiNet.

          The legislation easily passed the Connecticut House and Senate but, Rell said, the plan represented far too much spending, given the state’s looming $8.85 billion deficit. She characterized the bills as well-intentioned but said they “fail to resolve the central problems of access and affordability” and “raise serious fiscal concerns that – in a time of record budget deficits, record unemployment and record business closures – simply cannot be ignored.”

          She said the legislation would cost billions of dollars before the economy can recover from its current recession.

          The SustiNet plan represented landmark legislation that, if passed, would have offered universal health care in Connecticut by creating a public insurance pool open to anyone.   

          Supporters of the plan said the bill would have created a foundation on which to build over time an improved health care system with enrollment beginning in 2012.    

          The proposal garnered a range of endorsements from groups, including myriad denominations of clergy members who, when promoting the plan, often detailed the struggles endured by their parishioners with no health care coverage. The many other supporting groups include AARP, the American Cancer Society, the Connecticut Association for Human Services, the Connecticut Citizen Action Group, the Connecticut Public Health Association, Connecticut Voices for Children, the Connecticut State Medical Society, the New London County Medical Association and Small Businesses for Health Care Reform.    

          The plan would have brought a much-needed choice for those finding the cost of health insurance prohibitive and realizing that a health care crisis without insurance can mean financial ruin and could cost lives if people are unable to get timely and necessary care. It would have put Connecticut ahead of the curve in tackling three key healthcare challenges: Controlling costs, expanding access and improving health.

          It also would have positioned Connecticut to take advantage of any health care stimulus money available from the federal government.

          Rell also cited the ongoing national developments in Washington that could make fundamental changes in the delivery of health care coverage. Rather than signing the legislation, the governor created a new advisory board that she said would “develop policies ensuring Connecticut is ready to make the most of the developments at the federal level.”

          As of this writing, it was unclear whether the veto would be overridden.

          In other legislative action:

          Advocates of expanding Connecticut’s bottle bill gained a long- sought and significant victory this year. Beer and soda containers have long been subject to a nickel deposit, added as an incentive to recycle, and they are soon to be joined by bottled drinking water and most “sports drinks,” other than juice.

          Despite years of lobbying by environmental advocates, however, it does not appear that our legislature has experienced any sort of environmental epiphany. The name of the bill in question, originally scheduled to begin in April, makes no mention of recycling or litter reduction. The change was instead included in “an act concerning deficit mitigation measures. . .” and the impetus for its passage was likely the requirement that the state now get the revenue from those nickels that consumers don’t collect on. However, a victory is a victory, and starting Oct. 1, our recycling bill will at last be expanded.

          Legislation for Election Day Registration and the National Popular Vote movement was voted favorably out of the House of Representatives and not called in the state Senate due to a fight between Republicans and Democrats over ethics. The minority leader and the Senate president disagreed about how to address the recent behavior of two Senators.

          A coalition, including the League of Women Voters, Common Cause and the Registrar of Voters Association in Connecticut, all worked hard to help the Election Day Registration proposal go the distance in both chambers and share in the House victory. Others in the coalition were the Connecticut Citizens Action Group, Demos (a non-partisan public policy and research organization), Service Employees International Union and American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees.

          Gun control legislation passed both houses to make it illegal to transfer a machine gun or assault weapon to a minor. The bill was introduced as a result of an 8-year-old boy dying from the recoil of an assault weapon he was using under the supervision of adults. Governor Rell has signed the bill.

          A bill eliminating the death penalty and substituting life imprisonment without the possibility of parole passed both houses of the legislature, but was vetoed by Rell. 

          Legislation that would have made it an infraction instead of a crime to possess a small amount of marijuana was voted out of the Judiciary Committee with a favorable vote, but was sent to Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee, where it died.  This is ironic, because decriminalizing marijuana could be a money maker for the state, as it would remove a huge expense from the criminal justice system. There seems to be growing interest in the topic and it will probably be brought up again in the future.

          This summer, the League of Women Voters of Southeastern Connecticut is embarking on a regional study as to whether marijuana should be decriminalized.

          The 2008 election marked the first for state Senators and state Representatives using public financing under the Citizens Election Program. Each candidate had to raise money in amounts ranging from $5 to $100 to a threshold of $5,000 for Representatives and $15,000 for Senators. Representatives had to receive contributions from 150 people and Senators from 300. Once they reached that threshold the state provided funding for their election -- $25,000 to Representatives and $85,000 for Senators for a general election.

          Public financing enabled many candidates to run for office that would otherwise not have had the opportunity. Eighty-one percent of those elected to serve in the General Assembly ran under the Citizens Election program. The highest number of women candidates in 10 years, 102, ran for the General Assembly in 2008.  Ninety-three percent of the women participated in the Citizens Election Program.

          The reduction of the power of lobbyists during the session represented an additional measure of the success of public financing because lobbyists are not allowed to contribute to candidates. 

          As of this writing, no state budget has been adopted. Our constitution requires that a budget be balanced, but there seems to be little agreement as to how that is to be done. Emergency conditions have kicked in, as in 1991 when there was no budget, and some employees of state offices have had their hours cut.

          Marilyn Mackay of North Stonington, Claire Sauer of Lyme, Barbara Brockhurst of New London and Rosanne Smyle of Stonington are members of the League of Women Voters of Southeastern Connecticut. The league welcomes memberships from men and women who are at least 18 years old. Call Marilyn Mackay at 860-535-1192 to become a member of this non-partisan organization that encourages informed and active participation in government.