BLUMENTHAL WANTS DECISION REVERSED

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and Consumer Counsel Mary Healey said today they will fight to reverse a draft Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) decision letting AT&T off the hook for failing since 2001 to meet minimum state requirements for phone repair. Communications Workers of America Local 1298 President Bill Henderson joined Blumenthal and Healey in condemning the decision and calling for its reversal.The DPUC requires AT&T to fix 90 percent of out-of-service phones within 24 hours, a standard that the company has failed since 2001 to meet. Blumenthal and Henderson, who both blames repeated layoffs for the company’s failure to meet the standard, called on the DPUC to enforce the standard and fine the company up to millions of dollars.

In a draft decision, the DPUC agreed that AT&T has failed to meet its requirements, but concluded that the standards are outmoded and declined to enforce them or impose a significant fine.

Blumenthal said, “This decision is a barely slap on the wrist to AT&T — more like a pat on the head — and a stinging whack at consumers. I will fight this deeply disappointing draft decision, which gives AT&T a pass on compliance with state service standards. I will file strong exceptions seeking reconsideration and reversal.

“The DPUC agreed with my office that AT&T has failed since 2001 to meet the most important service standard — requiring timely repair of nonworking phones — but then inexplicably and illogically let the company off the hook with barely a rebuke. Faced with massive failure to follow its rules, the DPUC’s reaction appears to be stunning indifference. The penalty is in name only.

“AT&T’s failure to follow the rules — requiring that 90 percent of phones of out-of-service phones be fixed within 24 hours — endangers the public, especially seniors and handicapped dependent on landlines for necessities and emergencies. Live phone lines are vital lifelines that AT&T is failing to fix, leaving our most vulnerable citizens isolated and endangered.

“This failure to meet state repair standards is directly attributable to AT&T’s repeated layoffs — 1,300 jobs over recent years — starving the company of workers needed to maintain its system. DPUC’s draft decision unjustly rewards AT&T’s pernicious policy of sacrificing service for profits.

“I will fight to undo this tentative decision and compel the company to meet its service obligations, as well as impose serious and significant fines for its years long flouting of DPUC rules,” Blumenthal added.

Healey said, “The combination of the Office of Consumer Counsel (OCC) representing ratepayers, the Attorney General representing all citizens of this state, and the CWA representing the heart and soul of AT&T should have had the desired effect: to prompt the DPUC to act pursuant to its statutory authority and obligation to force AT&T to comply with the express standards of performance that have been on the books for a decade or more. AT&T has failed to meet the most basic standard of customer service, keeping people’s phones operating, for over 8 years now. AT&T’s failure to meet that standard is completely unacceptable, and the DPUC’s failure to enforce that standard for 8 years is equally unacceptable. For the DPUC to now indicate that it is leaning toward accepting AT&T’s claim that it shouldn’t be penalized because that standard is too high is indefensible under law.

“The OCC petitioned the DPUC to open this docket nearly a year ago out of frustration and anger over the lack of attention to the failure of the largest utility in Connecticut, indeed one of the largest corporations in the world, to fix ratepayer’s phones with 24 hours. The draft decision just issued by the DPUC similarly fails the interests of ratepayers and public policy in general.

“The standard requiring customers’ phones to be fixed within 24 hours is not too high. AT&T’s performance is too poor. The DPUC has an obligation to the people of this state to assure ratepayers that their hard-earned dollars do not merely fill the coffers of AT&T, but that the service quality they expect is delivered, fairly and consistently,” Healey added.

Henderson said, “The DPUC’s recent decision borders on scandalous and absurd. AT&T has failed to meet the service requirements for the state of Connecticut for 90 consecutive months and at the same time has reduced its workforce by over 1,300 jobs. Connecticut jobs have been and are being shipped out of state to the Philippines, Canada, Ohio, Texas and Tennessee. You can’t provide good service from the Philippines to our customers in Connecticut. It’s time for the DPUC to step up and take charge and make AT&T provide good service to the people of Connecticut.”

Healey thanked the craftspeople of the Communications Workers of America for standing with us in fighting back against the poor service quality provided by AT&T. The craftspeople clearly take pride in their work and are of course ready to provide customer satisfaction at the highest standard possible. Additionally, we want to thank the attorney general for lending his eloquence and authority to this battle from the start.

WOOD PLEASED THAT SAFE RIDES IS SAVED

State Rep. Terrie Wood (R-141) who represents Norwalk and Darien announced that legislation to save the Connecticut Safe Rides program cleared its last legislative hurdle and now heads to Governor M. Jodi Rell for her signature. The annual omnibus Department of Motor Vehicles bill SB-1081, included the Safe Rides exemption among many other DMV legislative proposals passed both the House of Representatives and the State Senate unanimously. The Designated Driver and Safe Ride Program promotes communities to provide a free, safe and confidential ride home to any driver who is not in a condition to drive home safely or to any person who wants to avoid being a passenger in an unsafe situation. The Designated Driver and Safe Ride Program also holds the potential for changing attitudes about driving while drinking; a person’s concern for another’s safety should lead to greater appreciation of both the risks and responsibilities associated with driving while impaired.

NEW LAW CHANGES SENATE SUCCESSION

Governor M. Jodi Rell has signed legislation that requires vacancies in the office of a United States Senator to be filled by direct elections rather than by an appointment by the Governor.

             The bill provides a direct election by the voters to fill a vacancy within a total of 160 days of the vacancy or at the next regular state or municipal election if such election would take place not less than 63 days or more than 125 days from the date of the Senate vacancy.

             “Although the current process for filling a Senate vacancy has worked well in our state for many decades, this bill gives directly to the people of Connecticut the decision on who would fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate,” Governor Rell said. “Since taking office as Governor, I have done everything in my power to make Connecticut a model for all states when it comes to openness, transparency and citizen participation in government.

             “We are fortunate to live in a participatory democracy, where our people do indeed have a voice in how they are governed,” the Governor said. “This law is consistent with my long-held belief that we should take every action possible to involve our citizens in their government.”

             The bill specifically provides that:

 Once a vacancy occurs, the Governor will issue a writ within 10 days and the special election will be held on the 150th day after the writ is issued.

• If the vacancy occurs between 63 and 125 days before the scheduled state election, then the election to fill the Senate vacancy will be held on Election Day.

• If the vacancy occurs in the last year of the Senate term, the Governor nominates a candidate to serve the remaining portion of the term and that candidate must be approved by two-thirds of the members in both chambers of the Legislature.

• If the office is on the ballot at the next state election and the vacancy occurs not more than 62 days before the election, no special election will be held. 

            The legislation – Substitute Bill 913, An Act Concerning United States Senate Vacancies – takes effect immediately.

HUD RELEASES $26 MILLION FOR CONNECTICUT PROJECTS

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, praised the release of $26 million for affordable housing projects and programs throughout Connecticut. The funding, which was announced today by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, is made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and will allow the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority to jumpstart affordable rental housing projects across the state while creating construction jobs. “Connecticut needs more affordable rental housing,” said Dodd.  “The funding announced by Secretary Donovan today will go a long way towards providing homes for families in our state and will also create jobs in Connecticut’s construction industry.”

CONGRESSMAN LARSON AND FEMA TO HOST PUBLIC MEETING

U.S. Congressman John B. Larson (CT-01) and officials from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) will host a public outreach meeting regarding the recent revisions to the 100 year flood plan boundary maps on Tuesday, July 14th from 5:30-7:30pm at the West Hartford Town Hall Auditorium. After hearing concerns from residents in towns throughout his district, Congressman Larson asked FEMA to participate in a public meeting explaining the recent flood mapping changes.

During the meeting, property owners will have the opportunity to hear from FEMA representatives on the remapping process. In addition, FEMA will provide attendees of the meeting information about the National Flood Insurance Program. 

Across the country, FEMA is updating flood maps that display flood risk at a property-by-property level. As new maps are issued, property flood risk might change as well as property owners requirements to obtain flood insurance. If mapped into a high-risk area, property owners will be required to purchase flood insurance if the mortgage is through a federally regulated or insured lender.

In West Hartford, over 120 residents who contacted Congressman Larson’s office and West Hartford Mayor R. Scott Slika concerning the flood map revisions received an invitation letter to the public meeting. In addition, Congressman Larson also sent letters to residents who were newly designated in high-risk flood areas from Berlin, East Hartford, East Windsor, Portland, and Wethersfield.

The meeting is open to the public, and FEMA suggests attendees to bring documentation related to questions about flood insurance or flood zone designation. In addition, all non-residents of West Hartford attending the meeting should ask their town engineer’s office for a plot/tax map with structures including GEO Referencing of the flood layers for your property. The Town of West Hartford will have plot/tax maps on hand at the meeting for its residents.

Please contact Congressman Larson’s Office at 860-278-8888 if you have any questions concerning the meeting.

What: Public Meeting on FEMA Flood Plan Revisions

Where: West Hartford Town Hall Auditorium

              50 South Main Street, West Hartford, CT

When: July 14th 2009 5:30-7:30pm

ATTORNEY GENERAL CALLS ON INSURANCE COMMISSIONER TO REJECT ANTHEM REQUEST

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is calling on state Insurance Commissioner Thomas R. Sullivan to reject Anthem’s request to increase premiums 22 to 30 percent for health insurance policies sold to individuals.

Sullivan has until tomorrow to reject the premium increase request or it automatically goes into effect.

“I am writing to urge that you solidly and soundly reject by tomorrow the proposed Anthem individual health insurance rate increase of 22 to 30 percent, which is outrageous,” Blumenthal said in a letter to Sullivan. “Equally unconscionable is proposed effective date of October 1, giving consumers less than three months to find less expensive, viable alternatives.

“Publicly available information indicates that a rate increase of this humungous magnitude under these circumstances clearly violates the statutory standard because it is ‘excessive.’ The law certainly mandates rejection of such an egregiously excessive rate hike request, especially given the financial challenges faced by most Connecticut families.

“Many Connecticut consumers who depend on Anthem individual health insurance to pay for critical and vital medical services cannot afford a huge increase in health insurance costs while coping with declining real wages and job losses. Lacking insurance, these consumers soon must choose between paying for food and housing or a medical procedure. Often, these consumers will forego important medical treatment because they simply cannot afford it.

“Under state law, the Anthem proposal will be deemed approved if you do not disapprove the rate within 30 days of the June 9th filing. I urge your immediate rejection of this stratospheric rate increase.”

LEBEAU CRITICIZES GOVERNOR RELL

State Senator Gary D. LeBeau (D-East Hartford) said that he is frustrated and upset by Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s politically-motivated veto Tuesday of a bipartisan bill which would have transferred 4.84 acres of state land to South Windsor for developing Connecticut Studios, a massive film studio project that is expected to directly bring up to 1,700 jobs to the greater Hartford area.

Sen. LeBeau, who is Senate Chairman of the Commerce Committee and whose Senate District includes South Windsor, said House Bill 6695 saves local taxpayers money and creates numerous jobs by transferring that land — which has an estimated market value of $266,000 — to South Windsor. Instead, Gov. Rell vetoed this and several other land transfers in HB 6695.

“I find it very upsetting and frustrating that Governor Rell — in order to score political points — would jeopardize the creation of thousands of jobs and would burden local taxpayers with paying for state land,” Sen. LeBeau said. ‘The governor claims that she is standing up for taxpayers while Democrats are irresponsible. Yet at the same time her veto kills the single largest economic development project in the state, and she demands that struggling local taxpayers pay top dollar. It’s shocking.”

Connecticut Studios LLC has proposed building eight movie sound studios on 61 acres of land in South Windsor and create 114 permanent studio jobs, more than 500 construction jobs, and up to 1,500 studio production jobs. The entire project is valued at $65 million.

The South Windsor property transfer that Gov. Rell vetoed is located under some high-power lines near the intersection of Interstate I-291 and Route 5. Sen. LeBeau said an oversight prevented this 4.84-acre parcel from being included in a late 1990s transfer of other, nearby state land to South Windsor for economic development purposes

“Governor Rell had plenty of time during the legislative session to communicate her feelings about this land transfer to me or any other member of the General Assembly. Instead, she did nothing,” Sen. LeBeau said. “And now, when people are poised to make tens of millions of dollars in business investments, she pulls the rug our from under them. For all her talk about jobs and the economy, the governor is sending a mixed message at best to businesses that want to invest in Connecticut.”

South Windsor Town Manager Matt Galligan said he, too, is surprised and upset with the veto. He described the contested parcel as a mere “easement” that has been appraised at approximately $10,000.

“I hope the legislature and the governor will see their way clear to making this transfer occur so that we can secure jobs not only for the South Windsor area, but for all of Connecticut. We need to get this done,” Galligan said. “This parcel is an important part of the movie studios project.”

HARRIS DISAPPOINTED IN GOVERNOR’S VETO

State Senator Jonathan A. Harris (D-West Hartford), the Senate Chairman of the Public Health Committee, said that he is disappointed by Governor M. Jodi Rell’s veto of pro-consumer, pro-health menu labeling legislation, and that he is surprised by the flawed explanations she offered for her veto.

Sen. Harris was one of the major proponents of Senate Bill 1080, An Act Concerning Access to Health and Nutritional Information in Restaurants, colloquially known as the ‘menu labeling’ bill. The bill would have required, by July 1, 2010, that each chain restaurant in Connecticut with 15 or more national locations to make available to consumers the total number of calories for each standard menu item as that item is usually prepared and offered for sale by the restaurant.

Passage of the law would have helped address some shocking new statistics unveiled this week by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: 60 percent of Connecticut adults and 25 percent of youths ages 10 to 17 are overweight or obese. The cost of treated obesity-related diseases in America was $75 billion in 2003 alone, and 20 percent of America’s health care costs over the past two decades are attributable to treating obesity-related diseases.

“I agree with the governor that personal responsibility plays a role in healthy eating choices,” Sen. Harris said. “But the key to personal responsibility is to have the information you need to make the right decisions. The bill that she vetoed today would have provided that information.”

Sen. Harris criticized the governor for simplistically noting in her veto message that “common sense” dictates that “a vegetable salad is healthier and more nutritious than a bacon cheeseburger,” and so there is no need for legislation that would identify the total calorie counts in each meal.

“The governor repeats this false argument despite recent and well-documented research which shows that fast-food consumers and even professional dieticians consistently underestimate the number of calories in various fast-food menu items,” he said. “Rarely is the consumer’s choice as clear as a salad versus a bacon cheeseburger. More likely it’s between a donut and a muffin, or fried chicken and barbecued ribs, and then the answer to the question ‘what’s healthiest?’ is not so obvious. For instance, the Southwestern Cobb salad at Chili’s has 1,080 calories, while the half-rack of honey barbecue ribs only has 600 calories. Many people think just because it’s a ‘salad’ that it’s healthier, but that’s not true.”

Sen. Harris also dismissed the governor’s arguments that the bill would have burdened local fast-food outlets, or been unenforceable.

“When drafting this bill we worked very closely with national fast food chains and The Restaurant Association to put businesses’ suggestions into the bill and model Connecticut’s menu labeling law on existing laws in other states in order to minimize, if not outright eliminate, any costs to local businesses. These national chains have already counted the calories in their meals, and because menu labeling is already in effect in New York City and California, these companies have already been printing updated menus. So there’s no cost there. That’s why this bill had bipartisan Republican and Democratic support in the Senate,” he said. “And for the governor to criticize this bill because we asked the Public Health Department to enforce its provisions within existing budgetary appropriations is confounding, since Governor Rell herself has repeatedly demanded that state government must do more with less.”

Sen. Harris said while it is possible that federal menu labeling legislation may be enacted at some point in the future, “who knows if and when that federal legislation will pass, and in the meantime, how many lives right here in Connecticut would have been improved with the passage of our own menu labeling bill?”

GAFFEY HAILS ENACTMENT OF NEW LAW

State Senator Thomas P. Gaffey (D-Meriden), Senate Chair of the legislature’s Education Committee welcomed the governor’s signature indicating formal enactment of the new law to restrict on-campus solicitation of college students by credit card companies. Senator Gaffey said he has long considered high-pressure sales tactics on college campuses a form of predatory lending with little regard on the part of issuers for the long-term consequences for overextended students.

The new law, co-sponsored by Senator Gaffey, was passed — unanimously — by two legislative committees, received a rare unanimous vote of approval in the House, and was passed — again, unanimously — by the Senate.

“Several factors prompt an urgent need for such restrictions, including the relative inexperience of first-time credit card users and their unfamiliarity with the consequences of bad credit, Senator Gaffey said. “In addition, many credit card companies offer enticing incentives to lure first-time borrowers but then immediately turn around and charge high interest rates, citing a lack of credit history among young people.”

“More disturbing is increasing evidence that credit lines are automatically extended when the minimum amount due each month is paid when college students usually have only a modest income, if any at all, and very rarely any increased earnings to justify higher credit limits,” Senator Gaffey added. “We must help prevent students from accruing charges based upon how much they’re allowed to borrow, rather than how much they can afford, to keep them from wondering how they ‘suddenly’ wound up in so much debt.”

New policies regulating credit card solicitation on public college campuses include registration with the administration before marketing on-campus and distribution of credit card education material along with certain restrictions regarding access to students. The new law also prevents credit card companies from pursuing a student’s parents or guardians for uncollected student debt unless the credit agreement specifically allows for it.

“The intention of this new law is to protect students from jeopardizing their personal finances for the long-term by restricting access in the early years of their financial independence by overeager and sometimes unscrupulous lenders,” Senator Gaffey concluded.

LARSON PRAISES FUNDS FOR CT AIR NATIONAL GUARD

The House of Representatives passed H.R. 3082, the Fiscal Year 2010 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill, which includes $9.1 million in new federal funding for the Connecticut Air National Guard at Bradley Airport requested jointly by the five members of the Connecticut Congressional delegation in the House. The annual appropriations bill passed the House of Representatives by a final vote of 415-3.

Congressman John B. Larson, Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said, “Connecticut’s Air National Guard serves a vital role in our national defense. This critical funding will provide our brave men and women in uniform with a state-of-the-art 24-hour command and control center to support their new mission, meeting security requirements and protecting our classified missions. I am proud to support this program that will give our National Guard the support they deserve and improve infrastructure at Bradley Airport.”

 

The joint request by Connecticut’s House delegation resulted in an additional $9.1 million to upgrade the Connecticut Air National Guard’s TFI -cNAF BEDDOWN facilities. The funding, if approved by the Senate, will be used to build facilities needed to support the 103rd Airlift Wing’s Component Numbered Air Force (cNAF) Air Operations Command Center.

This mission, assigned to the 103AW following the removal of their A-10s through the 2005 BRAC process, will engage the CT Air National Guard in high tech, highly-skilled work that will support the planning operations, intelligence, logistics, combat service support, and communications-electronics needs of air combat operations around the globe.

While this project is currently planned for 2011, acceleration to 2010 is needed to adequately support the training of personnel to meet the needs of their new mission – and without acceleration, there will be a gap in the 103AW’s ability to adequately accomplish this important mission.

This legislation must now be considered by the Senate and signed into law by President Obama.