Rep. Themis Klarides Encourages Residents to Sign Up for Emergency Notifications

With hurricane Earl approaching the east coast, Representative Themis Klarides is encouraging residents to sign up for the CT Alert Emergency Notification System. CT Alert ENS allows state and local officials to help protect lives and property by providing critical information to residents during emergencies, including dangerous situations related to schools or an emergency weather alert like a tornado warning.

The system allows authorized users, such as state and local emergency personnel, to quickly send out an emergency alert to residents in any affected geographic area within the state. Depending on the emergency, the alert may be sent to an entire town, part of a town, a group of towns, or a large area of the state.

“In light of the recent news of hurricane Earl inching closer to the eastern seaboard, I wanted to encourage residents to take advantage of this service our state provides free of charge,” said Klarides. “The CT Alert ENS a great tool. It’s an easy way to add a level of protection and peace of mind.”

To sign-up for alerts or to learn more about the program you can visit www.ctalert.gov. In addition to a “land-line,” residents can also add mobile phones, e-mail, text messaging and other instant messaging as a means of receiving alerts.

“When faced with a possible emergency situation, your reaction time is precious. The more reaction time you can have, the better chance of escaping harm,” said Klarides. “Not everyone keeps a television or a radio on during the day, but we usually find ourselves within reach of a phone of some sort, whether it’s our home phone, office or cell phone. These notifications would then provide the earliest alert possible of a potential life-threatening situation,” she continued.

CT Alert ENS is managed by the State Departments of Public Safety and Emergency Management and Homeland Security and is available for use by state and local 911 Emergency Communications Centers, and some state agencies.

For information about hurricane preparedness, the State Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security web site is a great resource to prepare your family for a major storm event.
 
Visit www.ct.gov/hurricane to find, hurricane preparation information, a Citizen Guide to Emergency Preparedness, safety tips to keep in mind during a hurricane, and other resources and links.

Sales Tax Free Week

This week, from Aug. 15th through Aug. 21st, is Connecticut’s “Sales Tax Holiday” week.

Connecticut’s 6% sales tax will be eliminated for all clothing and footwear purchases under $300 per item through this Saturday. Since sales tax is calculated after the use of any coupons or discounts, if the final price is less than $300, the sale is exempt from taxes. However, purchases equaling more than $300 will have full sales tax calculated into the cost.
Clothing or footwear under $300 either rented or put on layaway is also tax-free.

For more information, visit the Department of Revenue Services website at www.ct.gov/drs or call my Hartford office at 1-800-842-1423.

Rep. Klarides with the group participating in the flag raising ceremony.

Rep. Klarides Participates in Flag Raising at Hallock’s Landing Senior Housing Center

Rep. Themis Klarides participated in a flag raising ceremony at Hallock’s Landing Senior Housing Center in Derby on Thursday morning, August 12th.

Flag raising

Immediately following the flag raising ceremony, residents of Hallock’s Landing had opportunity to ask Rep. Klarides about the state government and happenings of the legislature at an informal reception.

Rep. Klarides with a group of seniors from Hallock's Landing at an informal reception following the flag raising ceremony.

State Representative Themis Klarides continues her exemplary record of public service by registering a perfect voting record in the Connecticut General Assembly.

Klarides, who represents Derby, Orange and Woodbridge in the state House of Representatives, gave an up or down vote 100 percent of the time for the 271 votes of the regular 2010 legislative session. Only 41 of the 151 legislators in the state House of Representatives accomplished such a voting record.

“The people of Derby, Orange and Woodbrige expect me to be in Hartford as their voice for responsible governance, reigning in spending and borrowing, supporting our fragile job creators, standing up as a children’s advocate, and creating policies of prosperity for generations to come. I take this responsibility seriously and am honored to serve Derby, Orange and Woodbridge in the General Assembly,” said Klarides.

Klarides is the Deputy Minority Leader for the legislature.

Rep. Klarides reads to 2nd graders for the "Read Across America" literacy celebration.

State Representative Themis Klarides received the 2010 “Children’s Champion” Award given annually by the Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance at an awards breakfast Wednesday morning, May 26 at the State Capitol.

“I am honored to receive the ‘Children’s Champion’ award. The Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance’s work tackles children’s issues with a whole-child approach including educational development, health and hygiene, safety and child poverty in hopes to make the world a better place for children. Through their work, they give a brighter future filled with hope to so many Connecticut kids, which ultimately makes the future a little brighter for all of us,” Rep. Klarides said.

The award honors community leaders and elected officials who show a strong commitment to early childhood issues. This year, Rep. Klarides also received the “Champion of Youth” award from the Connecticut Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs for members of the legislature or executive branch who consistently support and advocate for the expansion of youth services. 

Rep. Klarides serves on the Education Committee and dedicates much of her time to community involvement in youth programs and children’s issues.

This weekend, May 22nd and 23rd, entrance and parking fees for the 107 state parks and 32 state forests will be waived. This includes free admission to the Dinosaur State Park exhibit center in Rocky Hill.

If you enjoy letterboxing at the state forests, a commemorative anniversary stamp will be located in the letterboxes of all state forests. Letterboxes are plastic containers hidden in a specific natural location within the state forest. A set of clues is given to those visitors searching for the letterbox location. Once found, a stamp and stamp pad are located inside the plastic container for visitors to stamp into their personal record books. For more information about letterboxing or to received clues visit www.ct.gov/dep/forestry.

Historians attribute the founding of the state to 1635 because it marked the year that Windsor, Wethersfield and Hartford were settled and thus established Connecticut as a colony. For more information about the year long 375th Anniversary celebration or to find out more about other anniversary events, visit www.CT375.com.

Thursday, April 29th the Connecticut House of Representatives voted on legislation Rep. Klarides cosponsored that bans cadmium in children’s jewelry and includes a timeline of the ban of bisphenol-A  in infant formula and baby food receptacles.

Cadmium is known for being highly toxic even in small amounts.  A U.S. Product Safety Commission investigation confirmed many children’s jewelry products contained high levels of cadmium.

“I’m pleased to see the overwhelming support from my colleagues for this legislation. With cadmium being a toxin, it is irresponsible governance to continue to allow our children to be so directly exposed to this harmful chemical. I hope the dangers of cadmium exposure for children become common knowledge, much like lead or mercury poisoning is today,” said Rep. Klarides.

The legislation also contained a timeline for implementing the ban on bisphenol-A.

Bisphenol-A, commonly known as BPA, is often used in plastics. Some studies show BPA can mimic the body’s own hormones with early childhood development ages being the most susceptible to its affects.

The legislation passed overwhelmingly with no one voting against the bill. The final passage was 144 to 0 with 7 members absent or not voting.

Area legislators, at a recent meeting with State Education Commissioner Mark McQuillan, were pleased to learn that-for now- the Amity Regional School district will not have to divert 15% in federal special education funds to correct a problem of disproportionate identification of autistic students based on race. According to School Superintendent John Brady, this could have been as much as $100,000 during the next school year.

State Representative Paul Davis (D-117th District), State Representative Themis Klarides (R-114th District) and State Senator Joseph Crisco (D-17th District) have been working with state Department of Education, local and federal officials trying to help resolve a difficult issue that includes complex rules and regulations under the 2004 federal Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

The problem began last year when the Amity Superintendent of Schools John Brady was informed by the state Department of Education that the district had too many white students who were diagnosed as autistic compared to other racial groups. Because of that number, the district faced the problem of having to divert 15% of their federal funding, which would be a significant financial hit to the instructional and support services provided by the program.

The notification from the state Department of Education set into motion an effort by legislators to communicate and meet with officials and at all levels in order to protect the funding used to educate autistic students which is very expensive.

The funds are administered by the state Department of Education, under federal guidelines which made resolving the matter more difficult.

“I am very pleased that for now, this issue has been resolved,” Rep. Davis said. “I want to thank State board of Education Commissioner Mark McQuillan for following up. Our local legislators will continue to work with the School District, State Department of Education and federal officials to find a permanent solution.”

“I was shocked to learn how random factors affecting the Amity Regional School District, well beyond the control or jurisdiction of local officials, were going to put at risk close to $100,000 in federal special education funding for the district, particularly in these most difficult economic times,” Senator Crisco said. “I’m pleased we found a solution to keep a well-intentioned, but obviously flawed federal law from unjustly penalizing special education students, the district in which they study, and the taxpayers of that district. I’m grateful to Congresswoman DeLauro, who was able to intervene on our behalf at the federal level to the benefit of all those involved with the Amity Regional Schools.”

“I’m glad federal funding for our Amity Regional School District will remain in tact. It’s unfortunate these well meaning guideline could have so negatively impacted our children at a time when schools and municipalities are already struggling with funds,” Rep. Klarides said. “Thankfully, thus unfortunate unintended situation affecting some of our neediest students in Amity was quickly resolved without ever compromising the quality of our children’s education.”

Rep. Themis Klarides Supports Job Creation Legislation

Republicans in the General Assembly during a debate on establishing a new budgetary commission, proposed an add-on amendment to immediately stimulate Connecticut’s long-suffering job market by repealing the business entity tax, creating a small business revolving loan fund, providing a job creation tax credit for hiring off the unemployment roles, requiring a jobs impact statement to all future legislation, and streamlining DECD permitting process. The amendment, known as the “Jobs Amendment,” was attached to HB 5534, “An Act Establishing a Revenue Accountability Commission.”

“This session was supposed to be the ‘jobs’ and ‘budget’ session. It’s disappointing that here we are, months later, with only a few session days remaining and still no ‘jobs’ or ‘budget’ legislation proposals from the super-majority party,” said Representative Themis Klarides just prior to the vote. “Connecticut needs to be more business friendly. We need more jobs and I believe job growth is the key to our economic recovery,” she said.

House Republican caucus added their amendment to the proposed legislation as a way to act immediately to solve the budget crisis, rather than create a group to study it for awhile. The original bill without the amendment language would create a commission to study the state budget revenue streams and after an unspecified amount of time, make “appropriate recommendations.” Rep. Klarides joined House Republicans, saying she voted in support of the amendment as a way for the legislators to act immediately, rather than delaying hard budgetary decisions or shirking responsibility by handing them off to a commission.

“We know the projected revenue shortfalls. Those numbers are clear. State revenue comes from taxes and I’m afraid that a commission created to study revenue streams really is a commission to designed to find more ways to tax people. On April 15th Republicans proposed a budget solution closing the deficit and containing these very same job creation measures without raising taxes. We don’t need more studying or more delays and we certainly don’t need more taxes. What we need is action and leadership. That’s why I supported this amendment,” said Rep. Klarides after the vote.

Though many Democrats spoke in favor of the amendment, vote fell largely along partisan lines. Three Democrats voted for the amendment. The job proposal was rejected 105-38.
“I’m disappointed that many of my colleagues in the majority spoke highly of the amendment and its ideas, but then encouraged fellow legislators to wait and ignore this proposal,” said Rep. Klarides.

Highlights of the jobs-creation amendment proposal include:

• Repeal of the Business Entity Tax on all businesses
o Each year all businesses, whether a restaurant, public relations firm, hair salon, a family farm, etc, must register with the state and pay a fee called the “Business Entity Tax” just for existing and doing business in the state. The tax, when first proposed, was originally supposed to be a temporary tax, but has since become a staple annual tax on businesses.  Small businesses suffer the most from the flat fee.

• Creates a small business revolving loan fund
o With credit sparse, many small businesses are having trouble receiving credit to stock inventories or pay employee salaries. This fund would provide that needed credit.

• Job Creation Tax Credit Program
o This creates a tax credit for employers who employ 100 employees or less.  Employers may receive a $4,800/per employee for every hire off of unemployment.

• Requires that Jobs Impact Statements accompany bills and amendments
o Connecticut is often rated as one of the most difficult states to do business in. This is a move to address the business community’s complaint that the legislature habitually passes bills without considering how they affect employers and Connecticut jobs.

• Create DECD ombudsman to streamline the permitting process for employers
o The state permitting process is often seen as a maze of red tape. This measure would expedite and simplify the permitting process for employers.