Salty Molasses Can Keep Roads Clear

After a long and snowy winter, town and state officials are comparing notes regarding what worked to help keep roads clear of ice and snow.

New Canaan used a mixture of salt and molasses to help keep its roads clear. An article in the New Canaan Advertiser explains how the town used a product that is 80% magnesium chloride and 20% food-grade molasses, a combination that melts ice in temperatures down to -15°F and helps the salt adhere to the road while reducing vehicle corrosion.

As mentioned in OLR Report 2014-R-0001, the state Department of Transportation uses magnesium chloride to wet salt before applying it to roads so that it will stick to the road. It also has the advantage of lowering the freezing point of ice.

Study Finds Decline in Children’s Exposure to Violence

A study recently published in JAMA Pediatrics found that children’s exposure to violence, crime, and abuse declined from 2003 to 2011. The results were based on telephone surveys with children and caregivers during which researchers used a standard questionnaire to gather information on incidences of 50 types of child victimization in the following categories: assault, sexual victimization, maltreatment, property victimization, and witnessing or indirect victimization.

The researchers compared results from surveys conducted in 2003, 2008, and 2011 and observed that, from 2003 to 2011, there were (1) significant declines in 27 types of child victimization and (2) no significant increases. They also found that, during the period, rates of:

• assaults against children within the past year dropped 33%,
• sexual victimization dropped 25%,
• emotional abuse dropped 27%,
• property victimization dropped 34%, and
• indirect victimization (witnessing abuse, murder of someone close, etc.) dropped 28%.

The researchers were unable to attribute the decline to any specific factors, but speculated that it may partly be due to the growing use of computers, iPads, and other types of electronic technology and communication. The researchers opined, “as youth socialize and communicate electronically, they may be spending less time in face-to-face contact situations where assaults and violence can occur." 

Connecticut Ranks High in Hiring and Training, Low in Regulatory Environment in Small Business Friendliness Survey

The consumer service website Thumbtack.com, in partnership with the Kauffman Foundation, recently released the results of its third annual survey of its website users on the extent to which their states are friendly to small businesses. Thumbtack analyzed the survey responses from over 12,000 mostly independent small business professionals in 38 states and 82 metropolitan areas and ranked the states on such factors as ease of starting a business and overall regulations. (As Thumbtack noted, the survey is “under-representative of the agricultural, retail, and manufacturing sectors.”)

The survey’s findings are a mixed bag for Connecticut. Connecticut ranked relatively high on providing training and networking opportunities (16th) and making it easier for businesses to hire new employees (17th), but relatively low on the other measures, which included overall regulation (38th). Consequently, Thumbtack ranked 35th among the 38 states on overall small business friendliness.

The survey’s other significant findings included:

1. the friendliness of professional licensing requirements was the most important regulatory issue in determining a state’s overall friendliness;
2. tax rates were a less important factor than the ease of regulatory compliance in determining the overall friendliness score;
3. two-thirds of respondents say they paid their “fair share” of taxes; and
4. small business owners who were aware of training programs offered by the government were significantly more likely to say their government was friendly to small business than those who were not aware of the programs.

Automated Essay Scoring Not Yet Ready for Standardized Testing or the Classroom, but Getting Closer

The Chronicle of Higher Education recently profiled a writing instructor, Les Perelman, and his team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University students who have created their own electronic essay generator named “Babel.”  As a critic of automated grading software, Perelman and his team designed Babel to prove that grading software currently used by testing companies cannot “tell gibberish from lucid writing” by checking facts or reading for meaning. 

Babel generates original essays using as little as three key words, producing sentences that are grammatically correct yet meaningless.  They consistently earn high marks when graded by software such as “MY Access!,” the same program the Graduate Management Admission Test uses as a second reader.  Despite these alarming results, Perelman remains cautiously open-minded about the potential for new software. 

A nonprofit cofounder of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) known as edX has developed its own system with MIT called the Enhanced AI Scoring Engine (EASE).  EASE attempts to mimic professors’ grading styles when scoring essays.  A professor grades several essays using his or her own criteria and scans them into EASE.  The program then reviews the professor’s marks for patterns and assimilates them.

Some professors who instruct MOOCs have experimented with EASE and received satisfactory results.  At times, they found the software overly generous or stingy with grades, but many agreed that it could potentially be a useful grading tool for MOOCs as a supplement to peer grading.

OLR Blog Survey: We Want to Hear From You!

We’re asking you, our readers, to let us know what you think of the blog and how we can improve your reading experience. Here is a link to our (brief, we promise) reader survey.

Thanks in advance for your participation!

Pool Safety Tips

The Department of Consumer Protection’s (DCP) website provides some tips on how to prevent pool accidents, including children drowning.  Among other things, DCP recommends that:

1. a responsible adult (who knows CPR) watch young children at all times,
2. owners secure and lock the backyard pool area,
3. children always swim with someone else, and
4. parents provide the child with swimming lessons.

As DCP points out, these recommendations reflect research on the causes of pool accidents, which include (1) lack of swimming ability, (2) lack of barriers around the pool, (3) lack of supervision, and (4) failing to wear life jackets when boating.

New Tool Measures Economic Security for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

An article in the Summer 2014 issue of Communities and Banking identifies a new tool to measure the economic security of grandparents raising grandchildren.

According to the article, in 2011, over 3 million grandparents were primary caregivers for their grandchildren. Typically, grandparents over age 65 must support their grandchildren on a retirement income without financial help from the child’s parents. The resulting financial hardships often negatively affect both grandparents’ and grandchildren’s emotional, mental, and physical health.

Historically, federal poverty levels (FPL) have been used to set eligibility and benefits for public assistance programs. However, many studies have deemed the FPL as outdated and inaccurate. The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) was created to address issues with the FPL, but because SPM is based on a person’s current spending, it does not measure actual need.

To address these shortcomings, Wilder Opportunities for Women and the University of Massachusetts developed the “Elder Economic Security Standard Index.” The index measures the current actual cost of the basic needs of retirees age 65 and older who are not receiving public assistance. The authors cite the index as an accurate measure of economic security and the income grandparents need to meet unexpected basic living expenses.

California adapted the index, and now requires its Area Agencies on Aging to use it to plan and implement aging programs.

NCAA Trial Winds Down

Should college athletes be compensated for the use of their names, images, and likenesses? That question is at the heart of a five-year old antitrust lawsuit filed by a group of current and former collegiate athletes against the NCAA. The names, images, and likenesses are currently controlled by the NCAA and its member institutions, which the plaintiffs argue violates federal antitrust law. The NCAA counters that the practice is essential to amateurism and competitive balance, and the integration of athletics and academics.

After years of procedural maneuvering, the trial commenced on June 9 in federal district court in Oakland and is expected to conclude this week, with a decision expected in August. To date, the trial has featured testimony from former players, the NCAA president, conference commissioners, and economists, among others. The losing side will likely appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Hot Report: Special License Plates in Connecticut

OLR Report 2014-R-0140 answers several questions: What special interest license plates does Connecticut offer? How many have been sold in the past three years? How much revenue has been generated in that time?

Connecticut’s special interest license plates (those formatted differently than standard plates) generally fall into three categories: (1) those created by legislative mandate, with most of the fee revenue designated for a specified purpose (e.g., preserving Long Island Sound); (2) college, university, and organization logo plates, which use the standard format but include a logo or legend; and (3) special status plates (e.g., Prisoner of War plates).

The report does not consider such other non-standard license plates as (1) low number plates (those numbered 1 to 10000), (2) vanity plates, or (3) Early American (antique) plates.

For FY 2014 (through March 31) the top three revenue producing special interest license plates were:

• Long Island Sound ($87,025),
• UConn ($27,000), and
• United We Stand ($10,920).

For more information, including tables showing revenue collected and all of the available plates, read the full report.

Lower Level of Brain Chemical Might Contribute to PTSD

Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have lower levels of a chemical in their brains that helps the brain reset itself after a stressful incident, according to a new study. The study found those vets, as compared to vets not suffering from PTSD, have less neuropeptide Y (NPY), which helps regulate the brain’s reaction to stress and anxiety.

Dr. Renu Sah, a University of Cincinnati assistant professor, explained NPY’s function this way: “Imagine a lion is chasing you. While you're running, your body is in a hyper state of function. After you get away, though, you need your body to return to normal.”  That’s where NPY plays a role.

In an earlier study, Dr. Sah compared the NPY levels of vets suffering from PTSD to healthy civilians who were not suffering from PTSD. Because this most recent study used veterans who weren’t suffering from PTSD as a comparison, Dr. Sah believes that combat can be ruled out as the reason for lowering the levels of NPY.

Additionally, the study confirms earlier studies performed on Vietnam veterans with PTSD which showed reduced NPY levels.

Read more about the study at:
http://www.research.va.gov/currents/spring2014/spring2014-42.cfm

Exercise May Reduce Dementia Risk in Older Women

A new study on women between the ages of 70 and 80 suggests that physical exercise can reduce one of the risk factors for dementia. The study involved 86 women and focused on the size of each participant’s hippocampus (the part of the brain associated with memory). A decrease in the size of the hippocampus is associated with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. At the end of the six-month study, the women who engaged in active exercise had larger hippocampuses than those who did not.

The study, which appeared in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (a subscription may be required),  was just a start, and more research is needed according to the study's authors.

Yale Reseachers Report on New Tick-Borne Infection

According to the Yale News website, researchers have reported the first data on the frequency of a new tick-borne infection, caused by the bacterium Borrelia miyamotoi (also referred to as B. miyamotoi).  Using an antibody test, the researchers found that about 4% of 639 healthy people in southern New England showed evidence of previous B. miyamotoi infection.  This compares to about 10% showing evidence of previous Lyme infection.

B. miyamotoi, found in black-legged ticks, causes an infection with many similar symptoms to Lyme disease. The researchers concluded that the antibody test for the agent that causes Lyme disease is not effective for detecting the new infection.

The researchers were from the Yale Schools of Public Health and Medicine as well as New York Medical College and the University of California-Irvine.

Health Insurance as a Life Saver?

An article in Business Week summarizes a recent Harvard University study that found that expanding health insurance coverage in Massachusetts helped reduce deaths. The study found that:

1. Massachusetts had 3% fewer deaths per 100,000 residents when comparing the four years after the state mandated insurance coverage to the four previous years and
2. states without health reforms did not have similar death rate declines.

The researchers looked at mortality changes for adults ages 20 to 64.  They also compared counties in Massachusetts to similar ones in states without health care reforms.  The changes were larger in counties with lower household incomes and lower shares of the population insured before passage of the reforms.

The researchers note that Massachusetts’s experience may not be generalizable to other states.

Hot Report: Uber's On-Demand Car Service

OLR Report 2014-R-0173 answers several questions: How are states regulating Uber and similar companies? What is Uber’s liability coverage? What are Uber’s licensing requirements for its drivers? What are the background checks for Uber drivers?

Uber, a California-based company, is an on-demand car service whose free smartphone application (app) allows customers to obtain rides from drivers who sign up with Uber. The drivers, who use their personal vehicles to provide the rides, pay to be listed on the app. They are not Uber employees, but must have insurance and pass certain background checks Uber conducts.

Customers seeking a ride choose a vehicle type and mark their location on a map. The app notifies them of available drivers and estimated arrival times. Fares differ by location. Customers pay for the service by credit card through an Uber account.

Uber differs from many taxi services because its vehicles are personally owned and its drivers are not company employees. Taxi and livery companies view Uber and similar services as a threat to their operations because the on-demand firms don’t incur the same overhead, salary, and regulatory costs they do. Uber believes that the taxi companies are trying to stifle legitimate competition.

Several states have decided to regulate these new companies. Colorado became the first state to regulate these companies by statute in June 2014. California has addressed the issue through administrative regulation. Both states have created a new car service category of “transportation network company” to regulate Uber and its ilk. Virginia recently ordered Uber and Lyft to stop operating in that state. (In Connecticut, PA 14-199, § 19, requires the Department of Transportation (DOT), in consultation with the motor vehicle and consumer protection departments, to study on-demand car services and submit recommendations on their regulation to the Transportation Committee by February 1, 2015.)

According to Uber’s website as of March 14, 2014, it offers the following insurance for its “UberX” program (basic service).

1. Commercial insurance policy of $1 million of liability coverage per incident.
2. Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage of $1 million per incident.
3. Contingent comprehensive and collision insurance of $50,000.
4. Contingent coverage between trips of $50,000, $100,000, and $25,000.

Uber’s website states that, to drive with Uber, a driver must have his or her own car and proper insurance. The driver also must have a valid driver's license and “pass a DMV and background check.”

Uber’s blog states that Uber drivers “must go through a rigorous background check … which includes county, federal and multi-state checks. These checks go back seven years, the maximum allowable by California law.” Uber says it also regularly checks driver histories.
For more information, read the full report.

State Experiments Aimed At Reaching SNAP-Eligible Elderly

According to a recent Governing article, in 2009, approximately one-third of eligible elderly individuals participated in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps.)  The article notes that states and the federal government are seeking to close the gap between the number of elderly who are eligible for the program and those who actually participate.

A report sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture discusses pilot projects in Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania to increase the percentage of elderly people enrolled in SNAP. According to the report, the Michigan and Pennsylvania pilots were successful, while the Ohio project did not have a significant effect on participation rates.

The Michigan and Pennsylvania programs (1) simplified their SNAP application processes and (2) worked with state agencies to get lists of potentially SNAP eligible seniors (i.e., seniors who were already receiving Medicaid or other state assistance.) Ohio, by comparison, focused its efforts on community outreach, but struggled to find sites where they could reach significant numbers of eligible seniors.

 

The report cited several factors that inhibit elderly individuals from enrolling in SNAP, including:

1. lack of information (or misinformation) about program applications and eligibility;
2. application burdens, either real or perceived, and low benefits relative to the burden of applying;
3. low benefits relative to the time and effort needed to apply for benefits; and
4. stigma associated with receiving government assistance.

Credit Card Reform – Five Years Later

The federal Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act (CARD act) was signed into law in 2009 (15 USCA § 1601).  Often called the Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights, it has two main requirements - fairness and transparency. 

On the fifth anniversary of the passage of the CARD act, the Center for American Progress released a report assessing the progress that has since been made. According to the report, the act’s provisions resulted in improvement in a number of areas, including:

1. stopping arbitrary interest rate increases;
2. prohibiting abusive practices (e.g., fees can no longer exceed ¼ of the card’s credit limit);
3. giving consumers new transparency to better manage their accounts (e.g., consumers are now notified on each statement how long it would take to pay off the card if only the minimum payments are made);
4. providing consistency to store gift cards (e.g., cards cannot expire in less than five years); and 
5. restricting credit card eligibility for those under age 21 and removing excessive promotional credit card marketing on college campuses.

The report points to the following areas in which the authors believe regulators and policymakers can take steps to further protect consumers:

1. mandating greater transparency and regulation of prepaid cards,
2. addressing fees associated with the use of college debit cards,
3. ensuring that online and mobile tools have the same disclosures required on printed statements,
4. providing free access to credit scores on credit reports, and
5. limiting the use of credit checks for employment purposes.

Hot Report: 2014 Veto Package

OLR Report 2014-R-0179 briefly summarizes the eight vetoed public acts and the governor’s veto messages.

The vetoed public acts are:

• PA 14-58, An Act Implementing the Recommendations of the Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee Concerning the Reporting of Certain Data by Managed Care Organizations and Health Insurance Companies to the Insurance Department
• PA 14-96,  An Act Concerning the Consideration of Property Values when Determining Eligibility for a Certain Property Tax Relief Program
• PA 14-125,  An Act Concerning a Property Owner’s Liability for the Expenses of Removing a Fallen Tree or Limb
• PA 14-171,  An Act Increasing the Cap on the Neighborhood Assistance Act Tax Credit Program
• PA 14-190,  An Act Establishing a Season for the Taking of Glass Eels
• PA 14-209,  An Act Concerning Administrative Hearings Conducted by the Department of Social Services
• PA 14-218,  An Act Concerning Payment of the Costs of Certification for a Police Officer
• PA 14-230,  An Act Concerning Minor Revisions to the Education Statutes

The Costs and Benefits of Renewable Portfolio Standards

Connecticut’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) requires electric companies and competitive suppliers to procure part of their power from renewable and other clean energy resources. The companies and suppliers can meet the RPS by buying renewable energy credits on the regional wholesale market.

Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have attempted to quantify the costs and benefits of such policies in 29 states, including Connecticut, where RPS policies have been in place for more than five years.

Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

The above graph shows some of their findings on RPS cost. The red circles represent RPS targets, and are measured as a percentage of retail sales on the right side of the graph. The green bars represent estimated incremental RPS costs as a percentage of retail rates. For example, in Connecticut, RPS costs are estimated to be just over 2% of the average retail rate, with a recent RPS target of just under 10% of retail sales and a final RPS target of 20% of retail sales.

The researchers note that comparing across states is difficult, as states take different approaches to implementing each RPS and utilities and regulators use different techniques for measurement. And, if costs are complicated, benefits are even more so, since the benefits of RPS policies include factors that are traditionally difficult to calculate monetarily, such as public health benefits and decreased carbon emissions.

Norwalk Police Use New Technology on Motorcycles

The Norwalk police recently installed two mobile data terminals (MDT) and E-printers on two of the department’s motorcycles used to enforce traffic.

These MDTs are the same equipment found in other police vehicles.  During traffic stops, the devices allow officers to quickly access information instead of relying on dispatchers.  Additionally, officers no longer need to write out tickets and can type and print them instead.

An anonymous city resident provided the nearly $15,000 needed to purchase and install the equipment. 

Hot Report: Municipal Boards of Finance

OLR Report 2014-R-0158 answer the questions Which municipalities have a board of finance and what is their form of government?  How do municipalities with boards of finance elect members and fill vacancies?

Of Connecticut’s 169 municipalities, 120 (71%) have a board of finance.  These municipalities vary according to their form of government, but generally follow the same distribution as Connecticut municipalities as a whole: 95 (80%) have a selectmen-town meeting, six (5%) have a representative town meeting, 11 (9%) have a mayor-council, and eight (7%) have a manager-council form of government. 

The methods for selecting and filling vacancies on boards of finance depend on whether a town operates under the state statutes (i.e., statutory town) or under a charter (i.e., charter town). For statutory towns, state law establishes the selection and vacancy-filling methods. For charter towns, the charter establishes the methods. Regardless of whether a municipality operates under the statutes or a charter, it must comply with state law’s minority representation requirements, which prohibit members from the same political party from comprising more than a specified percentage (generally two-thirds) of a board’s membership.

For more information, read the full report.

Connecticut’s Recidivism Rate Falls

Connecticut’s three-year recidivism rate fell 3.9%, from 43.9% for those released in 2007 to 40.0% for those released in 2010, according to a report issued by the Council of State Governments’ Justice Center and the National Re-entry Resource Center.  For Connecticut, this report measures recidivism as the percentage of inmates released from prison who return to custody because of a new conviction or violating a supervision condition (such as a probation violation) within three years.

The study’s authors examined the recidivism rates in Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. Recidivism rates dropped in all eight states while crime rates and overall incarceration rates also dropped in all but one state. Connecticut experienced a 8.9% drop in the recidivism rate when comparing inmates released in 2007 and 2010, a 12.6% decline in crime rate from 2007 to 2012, and a 19.4% decline in incarceration rate from 2007 to 2012.

The study’s authors attribute Connecticut’s success to legislation passed in 2004 and 2008 that:

• focused on reentry planning for inmates leaving prison and intensive supervision in the community;
• improved the response to people who violate probation, which reduced the number of people returning to prison for probation violations;
• provided continuity of care to people with mental health needs released from prison; and
• improved data collection and performance measurement.

Sustainable Sidewalks

Although the ubiquitous concrete sidewalk is strong and cheap, some organizations are exploring alternative pavement materials that double as sustainable energy producers.  For example, Pavegen's recycled rubber paving tiles convert the pressure of footsteps (i.e., kinetic energy) into electricity.  The electricity can be used to power, among other things, pedestrian lighting and USB-charging stations.

Pavegen tiles installed in France
Source: http://www.pavegen.com/saint-omer-train-station-northern-france

And last spring, George Washington’s Ashburn campus installed the world’s first walkable solar panel sidewalk.  The nonslip, 100-square foot array generates enough power for 450 LED pathway lights.

“Solar Walk” at Ashburn campus
 Source: http://www.thevoltreport.com/sidewalk-solar-panels-you-can-walk-on/

CityLab from The Atlantic has more on the future sidewalk technology.

One in Four Teens Aren’t Buckling Up

One in four teens say they don’t always buckle their seatbelt when in a car without an adult, according to a survey of teenagers age 13 to 19 conducted by the General Motors Foundation and Safe Kids Worldwide.

Teens surveyed gave a variety of reasons for not wearing a seatbelt, include forgetting to use it, stating that the seatbelt is uncomfortable, and saying they didn’t buckle up for a short trip.
The report accompanying the survey results compiles a number of statistics related to teens.  Motor vehicle accidents are the top killer of teenagers in the country — 2,439 died in crashes in 2012. In half of those crashes, the teenager had not buckled his or her seatbelt.  That statistic hasn’t changed much in the last decade, according to the report. But the report cites some good news:  the number of teenage fatalities has fallen 56% since its peak in 2002.

The report includes strategies for parents to encourage their teenagers to wear a seatbelt every time they get in a car including making sure parents themselves always buckle up.

The report contains a helpful inforgraphic.

School Paraprofessionals Begin Accruing Time for Family and Medical Leave

With the state Department of Labor’s (DOL) recently adopted regulations, many school paraprofessionals will be newly eligible for family and medical leave.  By law, these paraprofessionals are not eligible under the state’s Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) because it does not cover municipal employees.  They also usually do not qualify under the federal FMLA because they do not work the required 1,250 hours per year. 

However, PA 12-43 required boards of education to provide paraprofessionals with benefits equal to the federal FMLA’s if they have (1) been employed by the board for at least 12 months and (2) worked at least 950 hours during the 12 months prior to taking the benefit.  Under the act, the paraprofessionals could not begin accruing the required time until the labor commissioner adopted implementing regulations, which became effective May 12, 2014.  The first paraprofessionals will likely be able to take the leave sometime during the next school year.

Hot Report: Behavioral Health and School Safety Legislation, 2013 and 2014

OLR Report 2014-R-0163 answers the question: What legislation was enacted this year and last year concerning behavioral health and school safety?

The legislature passed several bills during the 2013 and 2014 sessions affecting behavioral health and school safety. Below we briefly summarize relevant provisions of several such acts. Please note that budgetary or bonding provisions are not included. Also, for behavioral health, there were many acts that at least indirectly affect behavioral health issues. The report is not exhaustive, and focuses on provisions most affecting access to services.

The discussion of behavioral health is divided into two sections, one on child- or school-specific provisions and the other on more general provisions. The discussion of school safety is divided into sections on K-12 and higher education. Within each section, the topics are arranged alphabetically.

Complete summaries of 2013 Public Acts are available on OLR’s webpage. Complete summaries of 2014 acts are or will soon be available.
For more information, read the full report.

Average House Size Increasing

CNN Money reports that newly built houses are bigger than ever: the average new home was 2,598 square feet in 2013.  CNN cites several factors for this trend, including the fact that first-time homebuyer numbers are still low, suppressing the market for smaller homes.  At the same time, there is increased demand for “mega homes” with 4,000-10,000 square feet.  In 2005, just 6.6% of newly built houses were in that size range.  In 2013, this number was 9%.  (Last year, 44% of newly built houses had at least four bedrooms, 33% had at least three bathrooms, and 20% had garages that could hold at least three cars, according to the Chicago Tribune.)

The Chicago Tribune also notes that low mortgage rates contribute to the trend toward larger homes, as low rates allow buyers to “size up to bigger homes sooner rather than later.”



Source: http://money.cnn.com/2014/06/04/real_estate/american-home-size/index.html

Aquatic Invasive Species in Connecticut

Zebra mussels. Eurasian water milfoil. Curly-leaf pondweed. Phragmites. These and other aquatic invasive species are not uncommon in Connecticut. “About 60% of Connecticut lakes are home to at least one invasive species,” according to newstimes.com.

The General Assembly recently passed a provision in PA 14-217 (§ 248) establishing an aquatic invasive species management grant and prevention and education program, effective July 1, 2014. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) will administer the program, under which DEEP may provide grants to municipalities for their aquatic invasive species management efforts. The grants can be for up to:

1. 75% of the cost of conducting an aquatic invasive species diagnostic feasibility study related to reducing an aquatic invasive species population in an inland water body or
2. 50% of the cost of conducting a restoration project in an inland water body by controlling and managing an aquatic invasive species population that exists there as of July 1, 2014.

According to newstimes.com, the legislature allocated $200,000 in its recently approved budget for the program. Under PA 14-217, at least 30% of the funds must be used for municipal grants. DEEP can use the remaining funds for (1) educating boaters on how to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species, (2) conducting rapid responses to newly identified populations of aquatic invasive species, and (3) administering the program (but only up to 10% of the funds can be used for administration).

For more information on aquatic invasive species, see DEEP’s website.

Gas Prices Explained

With gas prices ever fluctuating, especially in the summer months, many wonder how the price of gas is determined. For those interested, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) explains gas prices on its website.

According to the EIA, the biggest factor affecting gasoline prices is the cost of the crude oil from which the gas is refined. The increase in the cost of crude oil over the past decade can be attributed to both supply and demand factors. On the demand side, a growing world economy has increased demand for crude oil. On the supply side, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), whose members produce over 40% of the world’s crude oil and possess about two thirds of the world’s crude oil reserves, can sometimes significantly influence prices by setting an upper production limit for members. Crude oil prices also spike due to conflicts and disruptions in the international and domestic oil supply.

In addition to the price of crude oil, refining costs and profits, taxes, and distribution costs also affect gas prices. The chart below explains the breakdown of the price consumers pay at the pump.

The EIA also explains the factors affecting regional gas price differences, which include:

1. distance from supply;
2. supply disruptions;
3. retail competition and operating costs; and
4. environmental programs that add to costs of production, storage, and distribution.

For more information on regional differences, visit EIA’s website.

Connecticut Medicaid Enrollment Reaches New High

According to the Department of Social Services, as reported in a recent Connecticut Mirror article, Medicaid enrollment in Connecticut has increased significantly in the past year.

From October 2013 to April 2014, enrollment by:

1. low-income children and their parents (HUSKY A) increased by 7%, to 460,103 members;
2. the elderly, blind, and disabled (HUSKY C) remained relatively stable (98,644 members at the end of April); and
3. adults without minor children (HUSKY D) increased by 46%, to 137,620 members. 

HUSKY D enrollment spiked 12% in one month alone (from late December to late January), most likely because of the higher income limit that went into effect on January 1st as part of the federal Affordable Care Act.  The income limit for HUSKY D eligibility rose from 56% to 138% of the federal poverty level.

The article also noted that, from October to April, enrollment in the Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP or HUSKY B) dropped by 10%, to 11,824 children. HUSKY B is separate from Medicaid and provides health coverage for children whose parents’ income exceeds the Medicaid eligibility limits.

According to DSS statistics, nearly one in five state residents are currently enrolled in Medicaid.

Let Chaos Reign! (…and Watch Your Business Thrive)

Photo:

http://leadingsmart.com/leadingsmart/2010/03/making-decisions-in-the-midst-of-chaos.html

The United States Army is one of the biggest enterprises in the world, operating, like General Motors, on such classical organizational principles as hierarchical structure, chain of command, and division of labor. So it seems a little odd that General Martin Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reached out to author and organization development expert Ori Brafman about how to change the Army.

It was no small wonder to Brafman too. General Dempsey told him that the Army was too rigid, too concerned with bureaucracy, too mired in paperwork, and too closed to new ideas. “How do we become more adaptive?” the General asked Brafman, as Brafman recounted in his book, The Chaos Imperative. Brafman’s answer: “You need to create a little chaos.” The answer surprised Dempsey. After all, isn’t chaos the enemy of organization?

It is, according to Brafman. Chaos does erode order and efficiency. But, in doing so, it loosens things up, opening doors for people with new and different ideas. Organizational structures and bureaucratic routines frustrate innovation. “When we take time to reflect, we often see that our organizations have grown so big, so regimented, that we’ve become mired in procedure, endless meetings, and top-down memos and directives. Meanwhile, the knowledge that could end up saving millions of dollars might very well reside in the least expected of places,” Brafman wrote. 

Brafman recounts the stories of many individuals and businesses that eased up on structure and process to stimulate creative thinking. But note: they eased up on structure and process, but didn’t eliminate them. According to Brafman, organizations must create, contain, and harness the energy chaos unleashes, in much the same way a nuclear reactor creates, contains, and harnesses nuclear reactions. That’s what Cisco Systems’ Ron Ricci does by encouraging “employees to move around the company, to try out different jobs in different departments with different responsibilities. This lateral flow of employees invites in unusual suspects” (emphasis added).

Brafman’s ideas about how organizations stifle innovation mirror those of MacroCognition LLC senior scientist and author Gary Klein, who studies how we gain new insights into issues and problems and come up with new solutions. In Seeing What Others Don’t, Klein noted that “people working in organizations face pressure for predictability and perfection (reducing errors and deviations), which motivates managers to specify tasks and timetables as precisely as possible and to view insights as disruptive.” Maybe this explains why Kodak and Encyclopedia Britannica failed. According to Klein:

Two companies, two giants, each dominating its market, each fated to collapse very quickly. Neither lacked insight. What they lacked was willpower. Kodak invented the first digital camera. Encyclopedia Britannica produced one of the first multimedia encyclopedias on a CD-ROM. Both companies became trapped in business models that had previously worked so well. Kodak’s photographic print division resisted any shift to the lower-profit digital cameras, and EB’s sales force refused to put its product on a disk. Each company needed to make changes while its original business model was still profitable, before the collapse began, but they were unable to throw away what looked like a winning.

Hot Reports: Acts Affecting ...

The Office of Legislative Research is in the process of completing reports that summarize acts passed this session that affect various issue areas. The following reports are complete and available:

• Business and Jobs
• Children 
• Environment
• Insurance
• Real Estate
• Seniors
• Taxes
• Transportation

Look for more coming soon.

New DOJ Policy on Recording Statements

In late May, Attorney General Eric Holder announced a new Department of Justice policy regarding the recording of statements of people in federal custody, after arrest but before the first court appearance.  Under the new policy, there is a presumption that their statements will be recorded.

According to the press release, the new policy takes effect July 11, 2014.  It applies to the FBI; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and United States Marshals Service.  It applies to places of detention with suitable recording equipment. It requires the use of video recording when possible. When suitable video recording equipment is not available, audio equipment can be used instead.   In either case, the recording must include the entire interview.

There are certain exceptions, including when (1) the interviewee does not want to be recorded or (2) recording is not practicable.

The attorney general has directed federal prosecutors to perform training for agents and prosecutors regarding the policy. 

Supreme Court Reaffirms Constitutionality of Legislative Prayers

A New York town did not violate the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause by opening its town board meetings with prayers that were often Christian-themed, the Supreme Court recently ruled in a 5-4 decision (Town of Greece v. Galloway, 572 U.S. ____ (2014)).

Two residents of Greece, New York sued the town because of the prayers, arguing that Greece sponsored sectarian prayers and preferred Christians over other prayer givers. The residents sought an injunction to limit the town to “inclusive and ecumenical” prayers that did not associate the government with any one faith or belief.

The Supreme Court had previously upheld prayers before legislative sessions in a 1983 case (Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.S. 783 (1983)). In upholding Greece’s practice, the Court noted that Marsh was not limited to inclusive and ecumenical prayers. According to the Court’s opinion, “Absent a pattern of prayers that over time denigrate, proselytize, or betray an impermissible government purpose, a challenge based solely on the content of a prayer will not likely establish a constitutional violation,” (Town of Greece, supra at 17). The Court stated that allowing only nonsectarian prayers would actually increase the likelihood of an unconstitutional practice, as it would require governments to judge the appropriateness of religious content.

The Court also noted that the prevalence of Christian references was due to nearly all of the town’s congregations being Christian, rather than an endorsement of Christianity by the town.

Welcome to the ‘Real World’: Protect Your Identity

The state’s Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) focused on identity theft concerns in its May edition of Consumer Watch. And with many families in the midst of ‘graduation season,’ the newsletter highlighted the identity theft issues young adults encounter as they enter the job market or college. According to the newsletter, approximately a quarter of identity theft complaints filed with the Federal Trade Commission in 2013 involved victims under 30 years of age.

The newsletter provides the following eight tips for young people to protect themselves against identity theft:

1. keeping Social Security cards in a locked place at home;
2. requesting an assigned number, instead of a Social Security Number, for student identification;
3. shredding pre-approved credit card offers and unnecessary parts of bills;
4. placing outgoing mail directly in U.S. Postal Service mailboxes;
5. using unique passwords and changing them periodically;
6. paying bills and purchasing items only from secure computer lines;
7. installing and maintaining virus and malware protection; and
8. obtaining credit reports each year.

Hot Report: 2014 Regular Session Bill Tracking Report

OLR Report 2014-R-0161 lists the bills considered during the General Assembly's 2014 session whose provisions were enacted under another bill number.

The provisions of many bills that die in committee or on the calendar become law after the (1) original committee incorporates them in another bill that receives a favorable report or (2) concept is adopted as an amendment and incorporated in another bill. This report includes bills whose language may have changed in the final enactment from that of the original committee bill or file, but that represent the legislature's final action on the matter taken during the session.

During the session, the content or concept of 115 bills that started as separate legislation was later incorporated in other legislation that passed and became law. Table 1 lists the original bills in numeric order and shows the public act that included their provisions. Table 2 lists the bills by the committee of origin.
For more information, read the full report.

The Quirks of Taxing Doughnuts

In honor of National Doughnut Day (June 6), Kelly Phillips Erb at Forbes.com reminds us that doughnuts are one of those “quirky foods” that create confusion for taxpayers and retailers.  Most sales tax jurisdictions tax foods that are designed to be consumed at the seller’s location, while many exempt foods that are meant to be taken away.  But a few have nuanced rules that complicate the tax treatment of doughnuts.

As Erb points out, North Carolina specifically includes doughnuts in its exemption for “bakery items sold without eating utensils by an artisan bakery.”   In Richmond, Virginia, sales tax on doughnuts depends on how many you order.  New York, on the other hand, exempts doughnuts, unless they are heated, sold for consumption on the premises, or prepared by the seller and ready to consumed.

But what about Connecticut?  According to this 2002 Department of Revenue Services Policy Statement, although “food” is generally exempt from sales tax, “meals” sold by eating establishments, including coffee and donut shops, are taxable.  But special rules apply to certain food items, including doughnuts, purchased under the right circumstances.  A sale of five or fewer doughnuts is considered a meal and is therefore taxable, while a sale of six or more doughnuts is a non-taxable bulk sale.

The rules are a bit more complicated if you purchase the doughnut in a supermarket.  Doughnuts sold in any quantity are not taxable when sold in a supermarket, unless they are sold in an area of the store where food is intended to be consumed (i.e., a snack bar or food court).  Doughnuts sold in these designated eating areas are taxable even if you take them out of the supermarket to eat them.

Measles Outbreak in U.S.

Measles is making a minor comeback in the United States, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) experts are pointing to people not getting vaccinated as the reason. After being virtually eliminated in the U.S., there have been 397 confirmed cases from January 1, 2014 to June 6, 2014, CDC reports. That’s a 20-year high from 2000, when measles were reported to be eliminated (see table). 

Source: CDC

Analyzing the CDC data, the New York Times observed that the reported cases came from 20 states, including Connecticut, but were mostly concentrated in three areas. Half of the cases are in an Amish community in Ohio where missionaries returned from the Philippines with the virus. The Amish are unvaccinated for religious reasons.

Orange County and the San Francisco Bay Area reported 60 cases, where large numbers of wealthy parents refused to vaccinate their children.

The New York City area reported 26 cases, mostly concentrated in upper Manhattan, where measles are “believed to have spread in hospital waiting rooms because doctors and nurses did not promptly recognize the symptoms.”

Measles most often causes a fever and a rash, but, in some cases, can cause pneumonia, brain damage, deafness, and death (in about 0.1% of cases), the Times reported. The vaccine for measles went into widespread use in the United States in the 1960s.

Hot Report: Citizens United and Amending the U.S. Constitution

OLR Report 2014-R-0157 answers the questions: How is the U.S. Constitution amended and what is an Article V convention? In which states have both houses of the legislature passed resolutions calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010)?

Article V of the U.S. Constitution establishes two amendment procedures. The first is for both houses of Congress to pass a proposed amendment by a two-thirds vote. The second is for legislatures in two-thirds of the states (a total of 34) to petition Congress to call a constitutional convention (i.e., an Article V convention) at which amendments may be proposed and approved. In both cases, a proposed amendment must subsequently be ratified by three-quarters of the states (a total of 38). State ratification is by either the legislature or a state convention; Congress determines the ratification method.

Several questions exist about how an Article V convention would be triggered and operate, partly because (1) the U.S. has never held an Article V convention and (2) the Constitution does not specify a process for holding one. These questions include whether (1) state applications for an Article V convention are valid indefinitely or only for a specified period, (2) a state can rescind its application, (3) the call of the convention would cover the entire Constitution or be limited to a specific issue, and (4) a convention called for a limited purpose could consider issues outside its mandate (i.e., become a “runaway” convention). During the 20th Century, issues that came closest to triggering an Article V convention included (1) direct election of U.S. senators, (2) state legislative apportionment, and (3) a federal balanced budget requirement.

We identified 11 states in which both houses of the legislature have passed resolutions calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn the Citizens United decision. In some states, both chambers passed a joint resolution; in others, each chamber separately passed companion resolutions. Each state called on Congress itself to propose an amendment. In 2014, Vermont also called for an Article V convention; thus far it is the only state to do so.

In Citizens United, the U.S. Supreme Court held that corporations and unions have the same political speech rights as individuals under the First Amendment. It found no compelling government interest for prohibiting corporations and unions from using their general treasury funds to make election-related independent expenditures. Thus, it struck down a federal law banning this practice and also overruled two of its prior decisions. For more information about Citizens United, please see OLR Report 2010-R-0124.
For more information, read the full report.

Giving Veterans with PTSD Their Choice of Therapy can be Cost-Effective

Giving people who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) a choice in their treatment reduces costs according to a new study, co-written by University of Washington’s Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress psychologist Dr. Lori Zoellner. The finding has “tremendous implications for how large health care systems such as the U.S. Department of Veterans proceed with treating PTSD,” Zoellner told University of Washington Today.

The study, which was done in 2004-2009, split 200 patients age 18 to 65 years old, into two groups, one allowed its members to choose their treatment and the other, while the other randomly its members Zoloft or therapy. “When the participants were given a choice, their treatment cost each year averaged about $6,156 compared with $7,778 for those assigned a treatment—a difference of approximately $1,622,” University of Washington Today reported.

In summarizing the study’s implications for KPLU 88.5 (Seattle), Dr. Zoellner stated that, "you're probably more likely to take your medication regularly, to attend your psychiatrist visits more regularly. And in psychotherapy, you may also be more likely to do the homework."

Presidential Compensation at Public Colleges and Universities

The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription required) recently published a database of presidential compensation at public colleges and universities in fiscal year 2013. The Chronicle analyzed the compensation of 227 chief executives and found that nine of them earned more than $1 million in total compensation, led by former Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee at $6.06 million. Gee also had the highest base salary ($851,303). In addition to the base salary, a president’s compensation includes bonuses, deferred compensation, severance pay, and retirement pay.

Study Focuses on Children Killed as Passengers of Alcohol-Impaired Drivers

In recent decades, according to a recent study published in Pediatrics, one in five child passenger deaths in the U.S. involved a drinking driver. The study found that nearly two-thirds of the children killed in those crashes were riding with the impaired driver.

Researchers found that 2,344 children younger than 15 were killed in crashes involving at least one impaired driver. Of these, 1,515 (65%) were riding with the impaired driver.

The study found that 71% of impaired drivers survived the crash in which a child passenger died.
And, while the annual number of children killed in such crashes dropped by 41% between 2001 and 2010, the proportion of child passengers killed while riding in the same car as an alcohol-impaired driver remained relatively stable, because the total number of child passenger deaths declined at about the same rate. The actual number of total child passenger deaths declined by 44%, from 1,504 in 2001 to 837 in 2010.

Texas was the state with the most children killed while riding with an impaired driver (272); South Dakota had the highest rate of child passenger deaths (.98%). Connecticut was one of 13 states in which fewer than 10 children died while riding with an impaired driver in the decade the researchers studied.

Connecticut Open Data Portal

The Connecticut Open Data Portal is now online at data.ct.gov. The site gives the public access to state government data that might otherwise be difficult to find.

Currently, the site offers data sets in the following eight categories: business, government, education, environment, health, housing and development, public safety, and transportation. 



Source: CT Open Data Portal

Data is available in spreadsheet form for download. Some of the data is also available in a graphic format, such as this map showing which businesses have received state tax credits.

Google Admits to Data-Mining Students’ Email Messages, Revises Policy

“Data-mining,” the practice of scanning the contents of online postings and correspondence for commercial purposes, has increasingly come under fire from student privacy watchdog groups.  In March, Google admitted to data-mining millions of email messages sent and received by students who use Google’s Apps for Education tool suite for schools.  This admission comes in the wake of a federal lawsuit against Google that alleges that its data-mining of its Gmail service violates federal and state wiretap and privacy laws.

Google admitted to Education Week in March that it “scans and indexes” the emails of all Apps for Education users for many reasons, including advertising, even if users choose not to receive ads.  Google declined to say whether these scans are used to build profiles of student users.  Privacy advocates worry that Google could use email data to create a digital-user profile that might follow a student indefinitely, such as if a teacher using Apps for Education emails parents about their child’s disability status or mental health.

Google revised this practice in May by removing the user option to receive advertisements in Apps for Education and ending the email scanning practice for advertising purposes.  However, privacy advocates have lingering concerns about Google’s:

• ability to change this new policy at any time;
• limiting the scanning disclaimer to advertising purposes only, which still permits it to sell scanned student information to textbook publishers or test-preparation services; and
• intentions for student data use once schools decide to leave Apps for Education, specifically whether the data would be deleted or remain in Google’s storage cloud.

Across the Country, Wide Variety in State Legislator Salaries

A new interactive data graphic from the Pew Charitable Trust’s Stateline News Service shows a huge variance in how much state legislators earn across the country. In one stark comparison, California state lawmakers earn 910 times that of New Hampshire lawmakers. California pays its full-time legislators nearly $91,000 a year and New Hampshire pays its part-time members $100 a year, according to Stateline, which credits National Conference of State Legislators as its source for the salary data.

As a general rule, legislators who are considered full time earn more than those who are part time. And some are only paid on a per diem so they really don’t have a set annual salary, according to the data.

A Stateline article that accompanies the data graphic notes a few states have had significant political pushback when legislators vote to raise their pay. But it also states that in the last year nine states have increased pay for legislators via automatic increases (such as connecting raises to inflation) or actions from independent commissions authorized to consider raises. States vary greatly in whether they also pay a per diem for days when the legislature is in session (Connecticut does not pay a per diem) and how they handle various expenses.

In Connecticut, legislators receive a base salary of $28,000 a year (plus senators and representatives get $5,500 and $4,500 a year, respectively, in unvouchered expenses) and have not had a raise since 2001 (CGS § 2-8). They can also get reimbursement for certain vouchered expenses.

Hot Report: Private School Athletic Coach Concussion Training

OLR Report 2014-R-0142 answers the questions: Does the recent concussion legislation (PA 14-66) impose additional liability on private school athletic coaches? Do the act and the underlying law’s requirements extend to private school coaches?

(The Office of Legislative Research is not authorized to provide legal opinions and neither this blog post nor the linked report should not be construed as such.)

The public act and the underlying law do not create a cause of action for school athletes who sustain a concussion.

It appears that the public act and the law apply only to public school coaches.  However, the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) requires all coaches under its authority to comply with the law’s concussion training requirements and protocols and may impose sanctions for noncompliance. The private, nonprofit CIAC has governing authority over interscholastic sports at its member schools, which currently include all private parochial and public high schools in the state. According to CIAC, no private independent high schools are members and thus, it does not have authority over such schools. It does not appear that the law requires coaches at such schools to comply with its requirements.

We were unable to find any precedential case law that specifically addressed if the statutes apply to private school coaches. In one unreported 2013 federal district court case, the court dismissed certain negligence claims a student athlete brought against a private school coach after she sustained a concussion during a basketball game (Mercier v. Greenwich Academy, Inc., 2013 WL 3874511(D.Conn.)). The athlete alleged, among other things, that the coach had a statutory duty to remove

her from the game as a result of her concussion symptoms. The court issued its opinion without taking a position on the statute’s applicability to private school coaches. 
For more information, read the full report.

20-Somethings Aren’t Buying Homes

NPR recently reported that while the housing market is strengthening, young buyers are still having trouble entering the market, even though they would like to.  A decade ago, 43.6% of young adults under 35 owned homes.  Today, that number is just over 36%.  The article cites four trends among young would-be buyers that limit their ability to buy a home:

1. trouble finding a job, especially one that pays enough to save for a down payment;
2. low credit scores, as a result of missed credit card, car, and student loan payments;
3. too much existing debt, often resulting from student loans; and
4. delaying marriage and starting a family, events that often trigger a home purchase.

Health Insurers Struggle to Predict 2015 Rates

The Washington Post reports that health insurers will have difficulty developing premium rates for 2015 because of limited data for the health insurance plans effective in 2014. The federal Affordable Care Act changed a lot of things in the industry beginning in 2014.  And in many states, insurers need to file proposed 2015 rates with their state insurance commissioners already.  A close look at two insurers in Washington state shows wide variation in projected rates. One insurer is requesting a 6.8% rate decrease, while another is requesting a 26% increase.  What do both rate filings have in common, though?  The proposed rates are “pure projections” because neither company has enough 2014 data to consider.

Connecticut Gets a New Area Code

Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) recently announced that, starting August 30, 2014, part of Connecticut will soon have a new area code. The new code, 959, will be available in the area currently served by the 860 area code, which covers roughly three-fourths of the state, including Hartford. The new code is an overlay, meaning it will be added to the same geographic region as the existing area code and no territory is split or divided. PURA oversees the implementation of area codes and has assured customers that the new area code will have minimal impact. Existing telephone numbers will not change, but customers requesting new service, an additional line, or in some cases, moving their service may be assigned a number in the new 959 area code.

Source: PURA

Bad Faith Patent Claims

An increasing number of states have passed new laws intended to address the rise in baseless patent infringement claims that target companies who often choose to pay a settlement given the high cost of litigating a patent.  A recent Columbia (Missouri) Daily Tribune article, citing the American Intellectual Property Law Association survey, indicates that patent litigation costs can range from $650,000 to $5 million, depending on the amount of money at risk.

According to the article, Missouri is the latest state to pass legislation aimed at bad faith claims or assertions of patent infringement.  Under the Missouri bill, the factors that a court may consider in determining whether a person made a bad faith claim include whether a demand letter lacks (1) a patent number, (2) the patent owner’s name and address, or (3) allegations about how the target infringes the patent. The article, citing the National Conference of State Legislatures, states that nine states have already enacted similar laws. 

Congress is also considering patent legislation. The article indicates that 42 state attorneys general (1) support congressional action and (2) seek to ensure that states have authority to act. The U.S. Constitution authorizes Congress to grant patents that give inventors the exclusive right to their discoveries (Art. I § 8, cl. 8).

Hot Report: Busing Public and Private School Students

OLR Report 2014-R-0144 answers the question: What are the state laws and policies governing a municipality’s responsibility to bus public and private school children to school?

In general, state law requires each local or regional board of education to provide transportation to school-aged children wherever reasonable and desirable (CGS § 10-220(a)). It also identifies transportation as a type of “school accommodation” that boards of education must provide so that children aged five to 20 years may attend public school (CGS § 10-186). A parent, guardian, surrogate parent, emancipated minor, or student aged 18 or older is entitled to a hearing before the board of education when a school accommodation, such as transportation, is denied.

Additional state laws address busing public school students to (1) technical high schools, (2) agricultural science and technology education centers, (3) charter schools, (4) interdistrict magnet schools, and (5) Open Choice schools. They also govern boards’ obligation to transport students to nonprofit, private schools within the school district and their option to transport students to such schools outside the district.

Boards of education have the authority to create their own transportation policies within the confines of the law. The State Department of Education (SDE) issues guidelines for policies, but they are not mandatory.
For more information, read the full report.

First America’s PrepareAthon

America’s PrepareAthon, which began April 30 and runs throughout the spring, is offering activities and training to help people and organizations prepare for natural disasters. According to its website, America’s PrepareAthon is “a nationwide, community-based campaign for action to increase emergency preparedness and resilience through hazard-specific drills, group discussions and exercises conducted at the national level every fall and spring.” Specifically, this spring’s activities aim to help people be safe and secure during and after tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and wildfires.
Anyone interested in participating can, among other things:

1. register at www.ready.gov/prepare;
2. download guides from the site on how to prepare;
3. plan activities and host activities;
4. practice a drill or discuss preparedness; and
5. promote the activities, events, and best practices with national preparedness community members.

Consumer Watch Monthly Newsletter

The Department of Consumer Protection publishes a monthly newsletter that is designed to help inform consumers on how they can make smart decisions in the market place.

The May issue has information on, among other things:

• what teens and college students need to know about identity theft;
• what documents should be shredded to prevent identity theft; and
• how to keep records safe. 

These newsletters also provide helpful links and contact information.