Rep. Klarides-Ditria Renews Call to Pass School Safety Bill

HARTFORD – State Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria submitted testimony last week in support of legislation that seeks to enhance classroom safety and school climate.

Under the bill, H.B. 7110, boards of education would be required to revise their safe school climate plans to include provisions relating to disruptive or injurious incidents that occur in classrooms, to develop and implement a state-wide school climate survey, and to require the Department of Education to provide assistance to school districts relating to school climate.

Rep. Klarides-Ditria said, “It is crucial that we highly prioritize the safety of students and teachers. Giving teachers the ability to remove dangerous students for a short time with the requirement that they follow designated protocols will protect the rights and safety of the child in question, the teacher, and fellow students.

A similar bill was passed by the House and Senate last session but was vetoed by Governor Dan Malloy. For more information about the people or to track legislation visit, cga.ct.gov.

(This is a press release from CT House Republicans)

Valley Lawmakers Appalud Passage of Opioid Bill

State Representatives Linda Gentile (D-104), Themis Klarides (R-114) and Nicole Klarides-Ditria (R-105), are pleased to announce passage in the House of HB7052, a far-ranging bill which continues efforts to address opioid addiction.

“This comprehensive bill is so desperately needed to address the ever growing opioid crisis that we have been experiencing over the last several years,” said Rep. Gentile. “This crisis has impacted virtually every state in our country, including Connecticut. It has affected families of every socio-economic class and we have seen a number of deaths right here in our Valley communities. No family should ever have to face such senseless, tragic loss. It is my hope that this bill will reduce these untimely deaths and reverse this heartbreaking trend of opioid addiction.”

“Opioid abuse and overdose has overwhelmed society and demands that we take action to combat this scourge. Every week we read and hear about overdose deaths. Everyone knows someone who has been lost to this epidemic, and we need to wake up and take steps so that makes sense and will result in positive results,’’ House Republican Leader Rep. Klarides said.

“The opioid crisis has hit our communities and the state of Connecticut extremely hard,” said Rep. Klarides-Ditria. “This legislation takes proactive steps to educate the public and children about the dangers of opioid abuse and will help us halt the spread of the opioid crisis. All of us in Hartford, Republicans and Democrats, are working together to find solutions to curb this disease once and for all.”

Three of the more integral parts of the bill, AAC Preventing Prescription Opioid Diversion and Abuse are:

· Require that prescriptions be transcribed electronically to safeguard against over prescribing
· Reduce the maximum number of days for a prescription from seven to five for minors
· Allow patients to request drugs other than opioids to be prescribed.

Klarides said that these are common sense ideas that will address the explosion of opioid abuse and overdose that has affected every segment of society in recent years.

The bill passed 146-0 and now heads to the Senate for consideration.

Klarides to Testify on State Spending Cap

Spending Cap Public Hearing- April 3rd   In 1992, Connecticut voters overwhelmingly approved an amendment to add a spending cap to the State Constitution. Yet, the spending cap that is currently in place has loopholes which allow lawmakers to legally exceed the cap if they agree and take special steps.   The original intent of the spending cap was to keep spending in line with inflation and actual increases in personal income. Since 1992, Connecticut’s population only grew by 9%, inflation rose 67%, and state spending has increased by 201%. Yes, you read that correctly, state spending has increased by 201% since Connecticut voters asked their lawmakers to enforce a state spending cap.   The legislature can no longer let our state spending go unchecked. I am asking you to join me in supporting legislation that will enforce the state spending cap. On Monday, April 3rd, at 12:00 p.m. the Appropriations Committee will be holding a public hearing on a number of proposals that aim to strengthen the spending cap, including House Bill 6511.   Here are instructions on how to submit testimony:   1) Send testimony to apptestimony@cga.ct.gov (the email may be as brief as you like) 2) Copy me on the email Nicole.Klarides-Ditria@housegop.ct.gov (include your name and town) 3) Put “Support Spending Cap- Pass H.B. 6511” in the subject line.   You can also testify in person. Click here for a guide for testifying at hearings.   As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me at Nicole.Klarides-Ditria@housegop.ct.gov or (860) 240-8700.     Sincerely,       State Representative Nicole Klarides-Ditria

State Rep. Gentile Pushes Bill that Targets "Dark Money"

HARTFORD - State Rep. Linda Gentile, D-Ansonia, Derby, joined her colleagues in a press conference today to discuss legislation designed to shed light on and reduce the amount of special interest “dark money” in state election campaigns.
 

“Voters deserve to know who is financing a campaign,” Gentile said. “This bill not only increases transparency and trust between the public and the government, but it will also ensure that candidates are elected to office by their constituents and not by third party special interest groups.” 

 

The bill, HB5589, An Act Concerning Campaign Financing Reform, would:

• Require corporate political expenditures to be approved by their board of directors and disclosed to shareholders
• Limit contributions to organizations making independent expenditures to an aggregate of $70,000 in a calendar year
• Ban foreign influenced entities from making independent expenditures or contributing to an organization that does

(This is a press release from Gentile's office)