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NORWALK, Conn. New Connecticut laws went into effect Jan. 1, including some aimed at encouraging job growth, providing sick pay for service workers and expanding health insurance coverage. Two Norwalk lawmakers who sit on opposite sides of the aisle agree: Connecticut's new mandatory sick leave is bad, but the overall impact of the legislative session is good.
State Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk and Darien, and state Rep. Gail Lavielle, R-Wilton and Norwalk, both voted against the mandatory sick pay bill. Lavielle is against more insurance mandates in Connecticut, which already has 70, "quite high for a state."
Duff cites these new laws as being positive:
Tax credits for new job creation. As part of the October special session on jobs and the economy, the legislature passed a comprehensive package of small-business assistance that includes tens of millions of dollars in state-funded small business grants, loans and tax credits. Beginning Jan. 1, Connecticut businesses can earn tax credits ranging from $500 to $900 for every new employee they hire. Businesses with 50 or fewer employees can earn a tax credit for each new hire; 50-100 employees earns a tax credit for at least five new hires; and more than 100 employees earns a tax credit for at least 10 new hires. The credits range from $500 for a new employee to $900 for hiring a veteran.
Expanded insurance coverage for breast MRIs, bone marrow tests, colorectal cancer screening and ostomy supplies. New laws effective Jan. 1 require insurance companies to: pay for a comprehensive ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, of a woman's breast or breasts if a mammogram shows she has "dense" breast tissue; cover the cost of an annual colorectal cancer screening with no coinsurance, copayment, deductible or other out-of-pocket expense; cover testing to determine compatibility for bone marrow transplants (limited to one free test in a lifetime); and increase the maximum annual coverage for ostomy appliances and supplies from $1,000 to $2,500.
Loan forgiveness for college graduates in "green" studies. One aspect of the Democratic Majority Leader's Roundtable jobs bill that was passed in 2010 took effect on New Year's Day. A total of $3 million is available in loan forgiveness grants to any Connecticut resident who graduated on or after May 1, 2010, from a state college or university with a bachelor's degree in a field related to the promotion of clean energy, renewable energy or energy efficiency; reducing greenhouse gases or carbon emissions; or inventing, designing and applying chemical products and processes to eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. The family contribution for the most recent full academic year cannot exceed $35,000, and students are eligible for a maximum loan of $2,500 per year for up to four years.
"I think each of these new laws contributes to an improved quality of life here in Connecticut," Duff said.
Lavielle agrees the legislature has made some pro-business moves but does not like the health insurance bills, saying the preventative tests are good but the overall effect of the mandates is bad. "In the abstract, 'Hey that's great,'" she said. "In the concrete, there's a couple of things. One is it makes insurance rates in Connecticut go up again. ... The other thing is insurance is in such flux right now between federal and what states are trying to do to comply, to continue to impose mandates until you know what the situation is going to be between the federal and the state seems to me to be a bit hasty."
Both dislike the new mandatory sick leave bill, the first of its type in the country. Most businesses with more than 50 employees must allow "service workers" to accrue one hour of sick time for every 40 hours worked with a maximum of 40 hours in a year.
"It's complicated and somewhat daunting for people who run businesses," Lavielle said. "When we're trying to make Connecticut friendly for business it seems a strange thing to do."
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