THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF SOUTHEASTERN CT

LWVCT Public Issues Team – 2007 Session Legislative Wrap-Up

So much action during the 2007 legislative session – with more to come in the months ahead! We won some, we lost some and we fought others to a draw but in every case your Public Issues Team worked tirelessly to advance good public policy in Hartford.

We would like to begin our update with our sincere thanks to each of you who responded to our numerous and wide-ranging action alerts. There is no substitute for the importance of hearing from local constituents in influencing legislators’ votes. Every call, email and conversation augments the work of the PI Team and increases our “persuasiveness”.  We also want to thank you for your financial support that enabled us to hire lobbyist Judy Blei and Associates. Their wise counsel and constant lobbying support bring a professional, insider know-how to all our advocacy efforts. 

Now to the updates on Election Laws and Transportation, the two LWVCT member-adopted priorities.

Election Laws: This session our most concentrated efforts were on Election Day Registration, Absentee Ballots and Voting Machine legislation.

We  did not achieve passage of EDR. The initial bill called for full EDR.  When it became apparent that there would be stiff resistance to passage of full EDR, we worked on several alternatives and settled upon a statewide demonstration project for the 2008 presidential preference primary.  The bill passed the Senate, but was never called in the House. 

On a positive note, the League was successful in defeating amendments that would have required voters to produce a photo ID at the polls in order to exercise the right to vote. When the bill died at the end of the session, it took with it any hope of passage of EDR over the next couple of years.  The League needs to look at other ways to “skin this cat” and to remain vigilant regarding any photo ID bills.

Absentee Ballot Reform unfortunately died in committee.  In 2005, Public Act 05-235 was passed which created “pre-registration” requirements for the distributors of absentee ballots applications.  The League testified in favor of the bill to remove the requirement, but felt that the changes to the law should go even further.  The bill died in the GAE Committee. The League believes that this law has a chilling effect on the distribution of absentee ballots and we plan to work on this again next year. 

Although we didn’t achieve passage of EDR or absentee ballot reform, we were successful in passing our “Must Pass” bill on voting machines. Manual, random audits after each election are key to ensuring the integrity of the machines—and, therefore, the elections—and instilling voter confidence in the new machines.  The League worked closely with the Secretary of the State’s office on the passage of the bill which requires mandatory random audits. 

Transportation: In coalition with the Citizens Transportation Lobby and other organizations, the League once again planned a Transportation Lobby Day in Hartford in January 2007.  The League testified on numerous bills proposing a study of user fees on CT’s highways, a bill to increase the hours of operation of the weigh stations, expansion of rail and bus service, new railroad cars for the various commuter rail lines, incentives for mass transit use and senior transportation.  All the bills were eventually combined into an omnibus bill that passed all committees but was never brought up for a vote in the House.  Some of the initiatives included in the bill were funded in the budget implementer and more funding may become available if the Bonding package is approved.  The Weigh Station bill died; the DOT applied for a federal grant for the study of user fees.  The grant did not materialize and the funding for the study was not included in the budget.  Despite the optimism that Transportation will be the great beneficiary of the 2007 session, there was little progress this year.   Transportation remains a legislative priority for the 2007-09 program year.

In addition to election laws and transportation advocacy, we took action on a broad array of legislative proposals on issues of concern to our members.

Air Quality Specialist Naomi Myers testified on a variety of bills that eventually were folded into a large Energy Bill. Two provisions that we supported that are included in the Energy bill are extending the sales tax exemptions on hybrid vehicles to all motor vehicles that achieve forty miles per gallon in either highway or city driving and adoption of incentives to encourage the use of energy efficiency technology.

Education Funding Specialist Kathy Wilson impressively testified on half a dozen complex education funding bills. The League supports the phase-in of an updated and fully funded Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grant that will ultimately raise the state’s overall share of education spending statewide to 50%.  The ECS legislation passed this year makes major improvements in the formula and includes an acceptable Minimum Expenditure Requirement (MER).  It does, however, contain a troublesome 4.4% minimum increase provision (i.e. hold harmless) and does not include the type of Foundation definition LWVCT advocated. Overall, the budget increased education aid by 11.4% ($237 million) for ’08 and by 4.4% ($102 million) for ’09.

Gun Control Specialist Claire Sauer lobbied for An Act Concerning Lost or Stolen Firearms. Last year, it  lost in the House by 7 votes. The NRA did its best to derail the legislation again this year. However the bill (SB 938) requiring the reporting of lost or stolen firearms passed both houses of the legislature late at night in the closing days of the session and was signed into law by the Governor.

Housing and Land Use Coordination between the LWVCT Land Use Specialist Margaret Wirtenberg and Affordable Housing Specialist Barbara Brockhurst  took place in this Long Session. The League supported the Governor’s initiative for “Responsible Growth.” The League also supported a bill which passed in Special Session providing a Massachusetts-style proposal for overlay zones in areas with infrastructure, suitable for transit-oriented development that included affordably priced housing at specified densities. 

Reproductive Rights Specialist Birgitta Longnecker saw successful passage of the Compassionate Care For Victims Of Sexual Assault bill (SB 1343). Due to strenuous opposition by the Catholic Church, the bill failed to pass in 2006. In 2007, the bill was re-introduced with intense negotiations occurring between proponents and opponents in an effort to find a solution which would set a standard of care for the provision of emergency contraception to be delivered by  hospital staff  OR a third party independent provider (nurse, doctor, physician assistant, advanced practice nurse). The compromise bill was overwhelmingly approved by both the House and the Senate and signed into law by the Governor. This law assures that women who have been raped will be offered emergency contraception at the medical facility where they are being treated, including all catholic hospitals.  

Universal Health Care Specialist Charlotte Shapiro represented the League in the “HealthCare4Every1” campaign and submitted testimony in support of several bills to provide health care to uninsured residents. Legislators in both parties were hung up on how to finance a universal health care system and failed to initiate universal health care.  Instead, it established a commission to make recommendations for 2008 and passed an extension of the Husky health care program for youth and a raise in the re-imbursement rate for doctors and service providers for the poor

Water Supply In 2007, Drinking Water Specialist Cheryl Dunson, in partnership with the Endangered Lands Coalition, advocated on two proposals. The League supported a provision in a bill to  restore incentives for the conservation of surplus water company lands.  Unfortunately, a law passed in 2005 created unintended consequences by jeopardizing our State’s proven incentives law for the preservation of water company lands. This “technical fix” provision passed as part of a larger bill and was signed into law.  Alternatively, the League vehemently opposed an amendment attached to a bill in the final 2 days of the session thwarting due process which would allow mining on New Britain Water Company Class I and Class II lands. Current law forbids such a use for water supply watershed lands. The League believes that allowing mining to occur on critical water supply lands sets a regulatory-busting precedent for the most critical of our resources.  The legislature passed the bill and the Governor, despite much opposition, signed the bill into law. The League currently is working with coalition partners to assess strategies to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

Waste Management For the third year in a row, a bill to add bottled water and non-carbonated beverages (excluding dairy), e.g., sport drinks and iced teas,  to the beverage container redemption-recycling program failed to pass due to intense industry lobbying. As in prior years, the bill passed the Senate. The House Screening committee did not send “the bottle bill” to the House despite all the overwhelmingly positive Environment and Finance, Revenue and Bonding committee votes. Instead, the bill was sent it to General Law where it was voted down 13-4.  Despite all advocate efforts, the bill was not resurrected.

If you have particular issues that you’re passionate about, please join the League’s grassroots lobby corps. It’s an opportunity to turn your passion into action. Sign up is easy via the League’s website: www.lwvct.org, go to the Action Page and then click on “Be a grassroots lobbyist.” During the legislative session, we encourage you to visit often the Action Page of the League’s website to view testimony, updates and action alerts.