Connecticut Citizen Action Group marks forty years of putting people before corporate profits with an anniversary celebration to be held November 18th in Meriden. The event will include the awarding of the annual Nancy Benedict Social Justice Award and a silent auction. To find out more or to RSVP online, click here.
Just got off the phone with Tom Swan, head of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group.
We spoke a bit about the state of public sector unions in Connecticut post-ratification revote for a Labor Day piece I’m writing.
Swan said he hopes citizens appreciate the effort of municipal and state workers to prepare for and get things cleaned-up in the aftermath of Hurricane-turned-Tropical Storm Irene.
“I think moments like we’ve just experienced from Irene remind us all of the importance of a strong and vibrant public sector for those times we all need to pull together in the broader community,” Swan said. “I think most felt whether cleaning up the roads or helping to move debris, shelters opening up in schools, for the most part the public sector responded in a swift and effective manner.”
In exchange for keeping multi-billion dollar federal oil subsidies, companies like Exxon and BP have given $25 million in campaign contributions in last year’s 111th congress alone. Since 1999, over $137 million has been given to re-elect legislators who protect these oil companies. Though the contributions are more heavily concentrated among Republicans, Democrats are not immune to Big Oil’s dirty money.
Campaign finance reform must be a priority on Capitol Hill. Taking away Big Oil’s ability to contribute to a legislator’s campaign will halt Big Oil’s ability to buy off our legislators votes.
CONSUMER PAIN AT THE PUMP
The prospective markets of oil have consistently driven up the price of oil. The law of supply and demand wouldn’t explain the large jumps in oil prices in 2008 and those expected for this summer.
Why?
Wall Street speculators will often trade a barrel of oil 20 times before it finally gets used. The price increases each time with the final markup being passed on to the consumer.
Protecting the Public’s Health from Toxic Bisphenol-A (BPA) in Thermal Receipt Paper: SB 210
SB 210 does two things. It proposes to ban BPA from thermal paper receipts like those found in ATM machines, gas pumps and cash registers with a safer alternative. It also moves us toward a sustainable framework for listing chemicals of high concern such as carcinogens, developmental toxins and reproductive toxins.
Background: BPA, a known endocrine disruptor, is linked to several diseases including breast and prostate cancer, reproductive disorders, insulin resistance, diabetes and learning/behavioral disorders. Recent reports show that BPA is present in many thermal paper receipts. BPA in thermal paper is unbound and readily transmits to hands and money. Our exposure to BPA is much higher than previously imagined and is of particular concern for workers in check-out lines. This is one more example of why we need a framework to prioritize the most toxic chemicals and, with federal reform stalled, states like Connecticut are taking the lead.
Preventing Mercury Contamination from Old Thermostats: SB 205
There are over 1,700,000 mercury thermostats in Connecticut homes; each contains between three to five grams of mercury. That means that Connecticut mercury thermostats contain over 11,500 pounds of mercury. A single gram of mercury is enough to contaminate a 20 acre lake.
Mercury thermostats were built to last about 30 years. As they reach their end-of-use, only about 5% are properly recycled; the others end up in landfills where they are often burned, releasing mercury into the atmosphere.
SB 205 would require manufacturers to finance a collection and recycling program paying a $5 incentive for each mercury thermostat returned. Similar laws in Maine and Vermont increased recycling by a factor of 10. Connecticut needs to step up and require manufacturers to dramatically increase collection rates.
On March 22nd, substitute language was inserted into SB 205 rendering it ineffective. We are now fighting to reinstate the original language.
Bank of America - Profiting without pitching in:
It’s time for Bank of America and all of the big banks in CT to pay their fair share. When big banks profit without pitching in, it hurts every tax payer in Connecticut. Although it holds more than $1 of every $5 of deposits in Connecticut, Bank of America pays virtually no taxes to support our local economy, while their foreclosures drive down home values and cost our communities millions of dollars. Bank of America is stifling job creation by refusing to lend to small business. CCAG will continue to pressure the bank to ease up on foreclosures, increase lending to job-creating small businesses, and increase efforts to work with homeowners who need mortgage modifications.
Equality is fundamental to representative democracy. Everyone's vote should be equal when electing the President. Our current Electoral College system, grounded in state law, leads presidential candidates to concentrate their resources on voters in a handful of swing states, relegating the majority of the country to spectator status. CCAG is advocating for direct election of the President. The National Popular Vote plan ensures that every vote for President is equally valued no matter where it is cast.
Last year, this bill passed the house but was never taken up by the Senate. CCAG is fighting to see that HB 6163 gets passed in both chambers and is signed by the Governor this year. Passing this legislation would add Connecticut's voice to the national dialogue and give every voter an equal chance to let their voices be heard.
No Excuse Absentee Ballot/Early Voting: SB 941
In Connecticut, a registered voter seeking an absentee ballot must provide an excuse as to why they cannot vote at their polling station on Election Day. Connecticut should join the other 30 states that have eliminated this unnecessary barrier to voting. For any host of reasons (transportation, inclement weather, illness or work schedule) it may be difficult for voters to reach the polls on Election Day. This measure would help ensure a greater participation in our elections.
CCAG supports a strong, progressive energy policy for Connecticut
Create an Energy Department and disband the DPUC. The current DPUC Commissioners have consistently sided with power producers and Wall Street speculators over consumers and small businesses. The current DPUC structure needs to be dissolved. We need a clear, coherent energy policy in Connecticut with an emphasis on conservation and renewables. Administration actions need to match its rhetoric. For instance, dedicated funds for conservation and renewables have been the first casualties during budget shortfalls. This raiding must stop.
Hire a Procurement Manager within the Energy Department or create a Public Power Authority to lower energy rates in Connecticut by 15% to 20%. A study in 2009 concluded that a Public Power Authority in Connecticut could lower electric rates by 15% to 20% over several years. Illinois lowered their rates by 9% in 2009, the first year of their Public Power Authority. We need to end the closed auction procurement system Connecticut currently has (the same one California had that Enron manipulated) and replace it with one that benefits consumers.
End so-called “Retail Competition”. The legislature had good intentions when it decided to spur competition among electric suppliers. The system has clearly failed. Connecticut ratepayers have subsidized fake competition to the tune of over $150 million dollars over the last 10 years. It’s time to end this deceptive charade and lower everybody’s electric rates, not prop up companies who couldn’t survive if we weren’t paying higher electric rates.
Reducing Energy Costs for Consumers: HB 5699 and HB 6026
CT needs to pass one of these two bills as we work to lower energy prices
HB 5699 Seeks to provide relief to electricity consumers. CCAG believes that the Federal pricing rules create an inequity for consumers. A windfall profits rebate would restore some balance as we work to lower energy prices in Connecticut. The windfall profits rebate would be assessed only on profits above a 20% rate of return-on-equity. Corporations would keep 100% of their profits under the 20% rate of return, and 50% of their profits over the 20% rate of return.
HB 6026 is another proposal that would reduce costs to consumers by implementing a straight tax on output. A one cent per kilowatt-hour tax on coal, and a 2 cent tax on nuclear generation would capture almost $330 million in revenue. There is way too much ratepayer money going to fatten corporations’ bottom lines at our expense. These generation facilities have been paid for many times over; we should not be paying for them over and over and over.
SustiNet + Federal Health Care Reform = A Win-Win for Connecticut
Connecticut’s landmark 2009 health care law, SustiNet, uniquely prepares our state to benefit from the new federal Patient Protection Affordable Care Act. SustiNet put Connecticut at the front of the line for new federal dollars that will enhance state-based health care initiatives while helping to boost the economy. Connecticut and federal laws will work together to make good, affordable health care choices available to individuals, families and small businesses. You can track the Board’s progress at: www.ct.gov\sustinet
State Prescription Drug Purchasing: HB 6322
The state is the largest purchaser of prescription drugs in Connecticut. Through an initiative with the Department of Social Services, HB 6322 will allow the Office of the State Comptroller to procure prescription drugs for the Connecticut Medical Assistance Programs. This would strengthen the state's purchasing power, yielding at least $66.5 million in savings (according to State Comptroller Kevin Lembo), and would not change the way that patients and consumers access their medications.
The Establishment of the Connecticut Healthcare Partnership: HB 6308
CCAG is supporting HB 6308. This bill would allow cities and towns, non-profits and small businesses (50 employees or less) to tap into the State Employee healthcare system. This partnership would lower administrative costs and take advantage of the bargaining power of the State plan’s 200,000 members.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will propose sweeping changes Wednesday in the state's school construction program - reducing reimbursements for magnet schools and new public schools.
School construction is a key part of the budget as one of the state's most expensive programs, costing an average of $690 million per year in bonding over the past six years. The projects currently account for more than half of all bonding projects statewide.
Since it often takes years to design and build a school, there will be no immediate savings to the state in the two-year budget, state budget director Ben Barnes told The Courant. But the proposals would eventually save money in the long-term if the Democratic-controlled legislature approves the changes.
The sweeping changes will be only one aspect of a state budget that is expected to include tax increases and spending cuts to close a projected deficit of $3.7 billion in the fiscal year that starts in July. Malloy has so far avoided providing details about the expected tax increases, including hikes in the state income tax.
In a high-stakes, big-money battle, Republican gubernatorial front runner Tom Foley filed court papers Friday to block the payment of more than $2 million in public money to the campaign of Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele and his running mate, Mark Boughton.
A judge did not grant an injunction in the case, and a hearing has been set for 2 p.m. Monday in civil court on Washington Street in Hartford.
The court filing prompted an angry response from the Fedele campaign, saying that Foley was trying to change the subject because he has been in the news lately for two arrests years ago.
"I think Mr. Foley's action today is baseless. It's a political ploy,'' Fedele spokesman Christopher Cooper told Capitol Watch. "He's looking to change the subject. If he can't win by campaigning, he'll try to win by suing. ... It's an instance in which Tom Foley shows he thinks he's above the law. It's nothing more than a delay tactic and a political tactic.''
By EDMUND H. MAHONY | The Hartford Courant | 5:22 PM EDT, August 28, 2009
Connecticut elections officials reacted with sharp criticism and promised an all-out legal fight Friday after a federal judge threw out the state's landmark campaign finance law, saying it puts minor-party office seekers at an unconstitutional disadvantage when they challenge traditionally better-financed major-party candidates.
Federal Judge Strikes Down Connecticut Campaign Finance Law
By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN
Associated Press Writer
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) _ A federal judge says Connecticut's public campaign finance law, seen by some as a possible national model, is unconstitutional because it discriminates against minor party political candidates.
Judge Stefan Underhill ruled late Thursday that a part of the law that provides a voluntary public financing scheme for candidates for statewide offices and state lawmakers puts an unconstitutional burden on minor party candidates' First Amendment right to political opportunity.
He says the program, known as the Citizens Election Program, enhances major party candidates' strength beyond their past ability to raise contributions.
The Green and Libertarian parties and others sued the state, arguing the law makes it difficult for minor party candidates to meet the criteria for getting public funds for their campaigns.
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said the state will appeal the ruling to the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals and will seek a stay of the ruling so that the program can continue operating.
The Fair Elections Now Act, introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman John Larson, aims to reform campaign financing for elections at the federal level.
A letter from Congressman Larson and three of his colleagues in the House describes the significance of the bill:
"There is no question that public confidence in Congress is being eroded by the perception that big contributions from Washington insiders have come to dominate our campaigns.
[...]
"...we must look for ways, together, to restore public trust. That is why we have come together in a bi-partisan manner to introduce HR 1826, the Fair Elections Now Act (FENA), to provide voluntary public financing for Congressional campaigns.
[...]
"The Fair Elections model is similar to the system already in place in Connecticut...it is voluntary and is designed to leverage small donor contributions by providing a 4 to 1 federal match of contributions below $100 from residents of a candidates's state.
Connecticut's public financing program -- The Citizens' Election Program -- enables our representatives in state government to spend more time listening to constituents and less time raising money. It also opens the door of possibility for concerned citizens to run for state office if they meet the fundraising threshold.
Public financing of elections is working for state government in Connecticut, and it looks as though Congressman Larson's Fair Elections Now Act could work as well at the federal level.
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