[Ct-nfb] FW: 2015 Legislative Session update

Elizabeth Rival erival at comcast.net
Thu Jun 18 18:08:04 UTC 2015


 

 

From: Norton, Andrew [mailto:Andrew.Norton at ct.gov] 
Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2015 5:44 PM
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Subject: 2015 Legislative Session update

 

Hello all:

I am writing to tell you of the final disposition of some bills of interest
to us this legislative session.  

          

House Bill 6268 - An Act Concerning Pediatric Vison Screening.

This bill was raised for a public hearing and passed by the Public Health
Committee.  It reached the House Floor but was not voted on and died in the
House. It would have required primary care providers to perform a vison test
every year for all patients from the age of one until kindergarten.

 

House Bill 5526 - An Act Expanding Healthy Food Choices on State Property
and in State-Supported Institutions. 

This bill was raised in the Public Health Committee and had a public
hearing. It was not passed by the Committee and went no further. The bill
would have required that food served or sold at state agencies, including in
vending machines, meet nutritional standards and meet health and
sustainability guidelines.  This bill would have affected BESB's food
service facilities and vending machines. The bill did not proceed but the
issue will likely arise again in future legislative sessions. 

 

Senate Bill 1061 - An Act Concerning the Fiscal Sustainability of State
Parks.

This bill was raised and had a public hearing in the Environment Committee.
It passed that Committee as well as the Transportation and Appropriations
Committees.  It was passed in the Senate and the House and awaits the
Governor's signature. When signed, it will be known as Public Act 15-106. 

In its original form, this bill would have stripped the agency's vendors who
are blind of their concession businesses in state parks. The motivation for
the sponsors was to divert revenue from these concessions to park
maintenance.

There are blind operators currently at Gillette Castle, Hammonasset Beach
and Rocky Neck Beach State Parks. If the original bill succeeded, they would
have been out of business.  A number of people who are blind and advocates
for them testified in opposition at the public hearing and contacted and met
with legislators to oppose the bill. To the credit of these advocates, the
bill was weakened as a result of these efforts and it no longer removes the
rights of blind vendors at state parks. The bill as it now reads, however,
may still pose a threat to these three businesses and any operators who may
take their place in the future. The bill requires the DEEP, which oversees
state parks, to conduct a Request for Information (RFI) to solicit any
potential businesses to submit proposals to run concessions at state parks.
The legislature will review these proposals and, presumably, assess whether
the state would benefit from taking these concessions away from blind
vendors and putting them out to general bid.  Based on the results of the
Request for Information proposals, the legislature may take up another bill
to remove the rights of blind vendors at state parks again next session.
Again, the stated aim of the legislators is to maximize potential revenue
for the benefit of park maintenance.

The bill also requires BESB vendors to report their revenue to DORS and for
DORS to share that information with the DEEP. 

 

Senate Bill 234 - An Act Requiring Health Insurance Coverage for the
Purchase of Assistance Dogs.

This bill did not pass. It was passed by the Insurance Committee. It was
then referred to the Senate which in turn referred it to the Appropriations
Committee.  However, that Committee did not take up the bill and it died
there. 

This bill would have required health insurance to cover the purchase of an
assistance dog for persons with any disability, including blindness, which
would require the use of an assistance dog.  The bill arose from the case of
a teenager who suffers from a severe muscular disease and needs the help of
an assistance dog. Some members of the blind community were concerned that
an adopting an insurance-payment model for assistance dogs might disrupt the
current charitable model and opposed the bill.

 

Please call or write me if you have any questions.

          

 

Andrew Norton

Legislative Liaison

Department of Rehabilitation Services (DORS)

(860) 602-4078

DORS logo  

 

 

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