Ken Dixon's Blog-O-Rama

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Archive for April 23rd, 2012

It’s (Rep. and Soundkeeper) Terry Backer Day in Connecticut

Monday, April 23, 2012 by:Ken Dixon
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State Representative Terry Backer, D-Stratford, was honored Monday for 25 years heading the non-profit Long Island Soundkeeper Fund. During a ceremony before about 100 people at the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection offices in Hartford. Stte officials said that as Soundkeeper, Backer has inspired over 200 other autonomous water keepers across 20 countries.  
     “I want to thank everyone for this honor, it was quite a surprise,” Backer said in a statement. “It is unfathomable to me that this day would happen when I began advocating for the Sound 30 years ago.” Governor Dannel Malloy issued a proclamation declaring Monday, April 23, 2012 as “Terry Backer Day” in the state of Connecticut.

     “Terry Backer has successfully brought to light pollution issues associated with damage to Long Island Sound’s water quality and aquatic resources through advocacy and direct legal actions that have resulted in the creation of significant habitat restoration and water quality improvements, reduction of pollution from storm water and energy security,” Malloy in his proclamation.

     According to the DEEP, Backer has helped:

    • Establishing no-discharge areas in Long Island Sound
    • Providing free pumpouts for recreational vessels in the western portion of Long Island Sound from May through October.
    • Suing to reduce the hazardous waste escaping from sewage treatment facilities in Norwalk, Bridgeport, Stratford, and Greenwich.
    • Stopping irresponsible sandblasting of lead paint from watershed bridges forcing adoption of containment procedures.
    • Restoring the state’s public shellfish beds.   In the past six years over 3,000 acres have been restored.

     Backer’s event came after the featured guest speaker at the day’s event was Terry Tamminen, who served as the Santa Monica BayKeeper, which was modeled after Backer’s SoundKeeper model.

     “Terry Backer is the reason I took my passion for the environment and made a difference in California,” Tamminen said.  “He was and still is an inspiration to all of us.”

 Daniel Esty, commissioner of DEEP, said “Terry is very knowledgeable on a myriad of subjects and his passion resonates.  He inspires others and his results speak for themselves.   Connecticut has forever benefitted from Terry’s years of service and his commitment to the preservation of Long Island Sound.”

    

GAE Committee today has bill that would force towns and cities to have agents for the elderly

Monday, April 23, 2012 by:Ken Dixon
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The Government Administration & Elections Committee has a noon meeting today to take up a bill on social services. According to the legislation, it:

“. establishes the Community Choices program to assist the elderly, people with disabilities, and their caregivers in gathering information and making long-term care decisions;

2. changes eligibility requirements, funding, and participation levels for the Department of Social Services (DSS)-administered home care program for people with severe disabilities (the so-called “Katie Beckett” waiver);

3. requires all municipalities to appoint a municipal agent for the elderly and gives the agents discretion regarding their duties;

4. adds to the information health insurance-related entities must provide DSS to assist the department in locating people enrolled in Medicaid who also have other insurance;

5. directs to DSS certain third party beneficiary payments that would otherwise have been disbursed to policy holders when the insured is indebted to the department; and

6. permits certain Bureau of Rehabilitative Services employees to purchase state pension credits.

It also repeals (1) a provision allowing the Department of Administrative Services to deposit Riverview Hospital Medicaid payments in a nonlapsing General Fund account for DSS to pay Medicaid claims and (2) a DSS personal care assistance home-care pilot program for the elderly made unnecessary by the department’s implementation of a statewide waiver.

Current law requires municipalities to have an appointed municipal agent for the elderly if a local ordinance requires it. Under the bill, one must be appointed even if the town has no such ordinance. Agents perform functions to assist elders in learning about community resources and filing for benefits; they are also required to submit annual reports to state and local government officials. DSS generally oversees their performance and, in conjunction with area agencies on aging, provides basic training about such things as simple bookkeeping and available housing resources.

The bill removes an elected state official from the list of those who can be appointed town agents, leaving as eligible a (1) member of a municipal agency for the elderly or (2) municipal resident with a demonstrated interest in the elderly or programs for the aged. It makes agents’ functions discretionary and replaces their annual written reports with a requirement that they report to the town’s chief elected official or executive officer and DSS on consumers’ needs and problems along with recommendations for improving elderly services.”