<html><body><span style="font-family:Verdana; color:#000000; font-size:12pt;"><div> -------- Original Message --------<BR>Subject: Urgent - Senate Bill 1061 may hurt blind people - Public<BR>Hearing on March 11th<BR>From: "Norton, Andrew" <<a href="mailto:Andrew.Norton@ct.gov">Andrew.Norton@ct.gov</a>><BR>Date: Fri, March 06, 2015 12:16 pm<BR><BR>
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<div class=MsoNormal style="font-size:12pt;"><B><SPAN style='FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"'>Hello BESB Operators and Friends:<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></div>
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<div class=MsoNormal style="font-size:12pt;"><B><SPAN style='FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"'>A bill was just raised yesterday in the legislature’s Environment Committee called Senate Bill 106, An Act Concerning the Fiscal Sustainability of State Parks. Section 6 of the bill would take away BESB operators’ rights to have a facility in any state park. Our three existing operators would be out of work and any future operators would have no chance to be in a state park. While the drafters try to lessen the negative effect by giving our agency 10% of park concessions, they miss the point of our program. It is to give blind people a career and a job; the point of the program is <U>not</U> to earn money for the agency. I have included the relevant part of the bill at the very bottom of this e-mail after my signature. Paragraph (e) at the end is the crucial wording.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></div>
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<div class=MsoNormal style="font-size:12pt;"><B><SPAN style='FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"'>Here is a link to the legislative website where you can enter your address and find out who your Senator and your Representative are - <A href="http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/CGAFindLeg.asp" target=_blank>http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/CGAFindLeg.asp</A> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></div>
<div class=MsoNormal style="font-size:12pt;"><B><SPAN style='FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"'>If you choose, you can then contact them to ask for their opposition to SB 1061, Section 6. You can tell them that this will put three blind operators out of work. You can also say that the state’s Randolph-Sheppard law has not been limited like this since it was passed in the 1940’s. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></div>
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<div class=MsoNormal style="font-size:12pt;"><B><SPAN style='FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"'>There will be a Public Hearing on the bill in the Environment Committee on Wednesday, March 11<SUP>th</SUP> at 1:00 in Room 2B of the Legislative Office Building (LOB) in Hartford. You can go there that day to testify at the hearing. The address for the LOB is 300 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, Connecticut 06106. (You can also use this address if you want to send a letter to a legislator.) Sign-up for testifying starts at 9:30 am; you can sign up starting at that time and up until the end of the hearing. Earlier is better. You can also submit testimony electronically at <U><A href="mailto:envtestimony@cga.ct.gov" target=_blank>envtestimony@cga.ct.gov</A><o:p></o:p></U></SPAN></B></div>
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<div class=MsoNormal style="font-size:12pt;"><B><SPAN style='FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"'>If you want to call a legislator, here are the four (4) numbers for the four caucuses. For example, if you want to call a Democratic senator, call the Senate Democrats. If you want to call a Republican representative, call the House Republicans and so on. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></div>
<div class=MsoNormal style="font-size:12pt;"><B><SPAN style='FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"'>House Democrats - (860) 240-8500<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></div>
<div class=MsoNormal style="font-size:12pt;"><B><SPAN style='FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"'>Senate Democrats - (860) 240-8600<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></div>
<div class=MsoNormal style="font-size:12pt;"><B><SPAN style='FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"'>House Republicans - (860) 240-8700<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></div>
<div class=MsoNormal style="font-size:12pt;"><B><SPAN style='FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"'>Senate Republicans - (860) 240-8800<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></div>
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<div class=MsoNormal style="font-size:12pt;"><B><SPAN style='FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"'>Here is a link for the Environment Committee. <A href="http://www.cga.ct.gov/env/" target=_blank>http://www.cga.ct.gov/env/</A> The members of this committee are the most crucial legislators at this stage. You should feel free to call or e-mail anyone on the committee whether they are your particular legislator or not. If one of them is your legislator, better yet. When you hover over the link, you will be told to hit “control” and click your mouse. You will then notice a link to “Committee Membership”. Click that and a list of every member of the Environment Committee will be shown. If you click his or her name, it will set you up to send them an e-mail. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></div>
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<div class=MsoPlainText><B><SPAN style='FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"'>Andrew Norton<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></div>
<div class=MsoPlainText><B><SPAN style='FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"'>Legislative Liaison<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></div>
<div class=MsoPlainText><B><SPAN style='FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"'>Department of Rehabilitation Services (DORS)<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></div>
<div class=MsoPlainText><B><SPAN style='FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"'>(860) 602-4078<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></div>
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<div><B><SPAN style='FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"'>Sec. 6. Section 10-303 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (<I>Effective July 1, 2015</I>):<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></div>
<div><B><SPAN style='FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"'>(a) [<SPAN class=remove1>The</SPAN>] <U><SPAN style="COLOR: blue">Except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, the</SPAN></U> authority in charge of any building or property owned, operated or leased by the state or any municipality therein shall grant to the Department of Rehabilitation Services a permit to operate in such building or on such property a food service facility, a vending machine or a stand for the vending of newspapers, periodicals, confections, tobacco products, food and such other articles as such authority approves when, in the opinion of such authority, such facility, machine or stand is desirable in such location. Any person operating such a stand in any such location on October 1, 1945, shall be permitted to continue such operation, but upon such person's ceasing such operation such authority shall grant a permit for continued operation to the Department of Rehabilitation Services. The department may establish a training facility at any such location.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></div>
<div><B><SPAN style='FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"'>(b) Pursuant to the Randolph-Sheppard Vending Stand Act, 49 Stat. 1559 (1936), 20 USC 107, as amended from time to time, the Department of Rehabilitation Services is authorized to maintain a nonlapsing account and to accrue interest thereon for federal vending machine income which, in accordance with federal regulations, shall be used for the payment of fringe benefits to the vending facility operators by the Department of Rehabilitation Services.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></div>
<div><B><SPAN style='FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"'>(c) The Department of Rehabilitation Services may maintain a nonlapsing account and accrue interest thereon for state and local vending machine income which shall be used for the payment of fringe benefits, training and support to vending facilities operators, to provide entrepreneurial and independent-living training and equipment to children who are blind or visually impaired and adults who are blind and for other vocational rehabilitation programs and services for adults who are blind.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></div>
<div><B><SPAN style='FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"'>(d) The Department of Rehabilitation Services may disburse state and local vending machine income to student or client activity funds, as defined in section 4-52. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></div>
<div><B><U><SPAN style='FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"; COLOR: blue'>(e) In lieu of the requirements established in subsection (a) of this section, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall remit to the Department of Rehabilitation Services a payment that represents ten per cent of the revenue generated from any contract for the operation of food concessions at any state park.</SPAN></U></B><B><SPAN style='FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></div>
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