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LEGISLATIVE INFORMATIONAL BULLETIN #2
MAY 13, 2010
The General Assembly has just completed its 2010 legislative session. Listed below is a summary of legislative activities related to several areas of interest to the Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference.
LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY FOR 2010 SESSION
STATE BUDGET – DEFICIT RESOLVED FOR UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR. $3.4 billion dollar deficit looms for the 2011- 2012 fiscal year. Deep cuts and tax hikes very likely in 2011- after the November, 2010, elections.
The Democratic controlled legislature passed Senate Bill 494, which has been signed by Governor Rell, to address the projected budget deficit for the upcoming 2010-2011 fiscal year. The new budget totals $19.01 billion, which includes a $73 million increase in spending over the previous year. No Republican legislators supported the new budget. To avoid any significant cuts in state spending and the imposition of any significant new taxes during an election year, the Governor and Democratic leaders addressed a projected $726 million deficit for the upcoming fiscal year by adopting a budget which contained the following:
> Deferring $100 million dollar payment to the state pension
Fund
> Using $366 million in “anticipated” federal stimulus funds (a
“onetime” payment)
> Borrowed almost $1 billion dollars (covered by a surcharge on electrical bills)
When a new General Assembly convenes in January, 2011, they will be confronted with a projected budget deficit of $3.4 billion for 2011-2012 and $3.7 billion for 2012-2013.
House Vote on S.B. 494 Senate Vote on S.B. 494
LEGISLATION TO ELIMINATE THE STATUTE OF LIMITATION FOR SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN WITHDRAWN.
House Bill 5473 had been proposed by several legislators to completely eliminate the time period an individual can sue in civil court if they may have been sexually abused as a child. Currently, a person can file a claim up to 30 years after their eighteenth birthday. This standard was adopted by the legislature in 2002. The statute of limitations enables an accused person to maintain a reasonable defense. It is difficult, even at thirty years, for someone to defend themselves against false claims due to the lack of available witnesses, physical evidence, clear memories, or the age and health of the accused. Our legal system is open to abuse if one is denied the right to adequately defend themselves. Other states that have eliminated statute of limitations made the changes prospective, from the effective date of the bill. The proponents of the legislation wanted to make it retrospective so victims could sue in cases that may be well over 40 plus years old. The legislation was primarily designed to allow victims of Dr. Reardon to sue St. Francis Medical Center and the Archdiocese of Hartford for his past abuses.
The proposed legislation was withdrawn by its proponents after encountering severe opposition from the Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference, St. Francis Hospital and several other organizations. The proponents failed to secure enough votes in both the House and Senate to pass the legislation.
You can read more on this issue by visiting www.ctcatholic.org/Statute-of-limitation.php
GRASSROOTS LOBBYING BILL WAS NOT RAISED BY COMMITTEE. BILL THREATENED THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND ASSEMBLY. STUDY GROUP TO BE FORMED TO ADDRESS CONCERNS REGARDING THIS ISSUE.
The Government Administration and Elections Committee (GAE) raised Senate Bill 474, which would have defined grassroots lobbying activities (rallies at the Capitol, neighborhood organizing to oppose state legislation, church organizing to speak out on state issues) and would require citizens leading such activities to register with the Office of State Ethics. This proposal was the outcome of the rally held last year by the parishioners of our churches against Senate Bill 1098, which would have restructured the corporate parish structure of the Catholic Church in Connecticut. The Office of State Ethics was the promoter of this legislation, which followed their failed attempt to investigate the Diocese of Bridgeport concerning the 1098 rally.
The Catholic Bishops of Connecticut were determined to fight any such legislation on the grounds that it attempts to regulate activities protected by the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This legislation would not only impact churches, but any citizens who may want to organize in support of or - in opposition to - any future legislative proposals.
After discussions with the Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference and other concerned groups, the Chairs of the GAE Committee decided to implement an informal study group to address this topic. Details of the study group still remain to be worked out. Senate Bill 474 died in committee.
PLANNED PARENTHOOD PURSUIT OF COMPREHENSIVE SEX EDUCATION AGENDA FAILS
The Program Review and Investigation Committee proposed and was considering House Bill 5165, which would increase the graduation requirements in our state's high schools. The purpose of the bill was to increase the quality and academic proficiency of our high school graduates, so they would be better prepared to enter college.
Planned Parenthood, and the coalition group it has created known as Healthy Teens Connecticut, was seeking to have the legislation modified so that every high school would have a mandatory 1 credit health requirement. The goal of this effort was to expand mandatory comprehensive sex education within our schools. The vast majority, if not all, of our high schools already offer a mixture of abstinence and comprehensive sex education, without such a mandate. The bill also would have encouraged the teaching of comprehensive sex education in middle schools by allowing at least one-half credit to be applied to the high school graduation requirement. This is a clear example of a special interest group trying to interject an issue into an unrelated legislative proposal. The Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference lobbied against this change. The committee rejected the efforts of Planned Parenthood to modify this bill. The entire bill was eventually voted down due to concerns over the potential budget impact that these new graduation requirements would have on local school budgets.
The Education Committee then held a public hearing on a very similar bill, House Bill 5489, dealing with graduation requirements. The language in this legislation concerning mandatory health education was opposed by the Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference, and strongly supported by various groups in support of mandatory comprehensive sex education. The Conference proposed compromise language that more clearly defined, based on existing state law, what the new mandatory credit in health education was to include. This language was adopted by the Education Committee.
House Bill 5489 was eventually incorporated into Senate Bill 438, which was a major public school reform bill. The final bill contained only a mandatory one-half credit in health education (not the full credit sought by Planned Parenthood), and there was no reference to the any middle school health credit being used toward high school graduation. Additionally, the Conference’s compromise language which more clearly defined health education was included in the final legislation.
OTHER ISSUES
SUPERIOR COURT HEARS CASE ON LEGALIZING PHYSICIAN ASSISTED SUICIDE – AWAITING RULING
A ruling by the Hartford Superior Court is still pending in the case of Blick, et al vs. Office of the Division of Criminal Justice, et al, filed in October,2009, by two Connecticut doctors. The court heard arguments on March 8, 2010. The case is seeking a declaratory ruling from the court that "aiding a person" to die is not a current violation of Connecticut's second degree manslaughter statutes. The Attorney General's office is attempting to have the case dismissed on the grounds that it is a legislative, not a judicial, matter. The Connecticut Catholic Conference, along with a Connecticut doctor, has submitted a request for permissive intervenor status in the case. Read more about the court hearing in the news article below.
ISSUE OF PARENTAL NOTIFICATION PRIOR TO A MINOR HAVING AN ABORTION RAISED ON THE FLOOR OF THE HOUSE
During a debate on a bill requiring parental permission to excuse a student from performing a dissection during science class, Representative T.R. Rowe (R- Trumbull) raised the issue of the lack of a parental notification law in Connecticut. Representative Rowe is to be commended for his courage and determination in raising this issue on the floor of the House. The Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference fully supports Representative Rowe is his viewpoint on this issue. It is definitely time for a public hearing and debate on this issue in the General Assembly. Urge your legislators who are running for office this November to support parental notification and a debate on the issue in the 2011 Session of the General Assembly. Over 1,000 minors have an abortion in Connecticut every year.
Watch his speech at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHYnyRMSjPY
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