College Savings Plan Participation Lags

The cost of going to college continues to increase, but a recent report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that relatively few families take advantage of state-sponsored college savings plans (known as 529 plans) or Coverdell Savings plans. According to a 2010 survey cited in the report, fewer than 3% of U.S. families had a 529 or Coverdell plan. Earnings from such plans are tax-exempt so long as they are used to pay qualified educational expenses.

The report also found that the savings plans are more likely to be used by wealthier families. It estimated that the median financial asset value for families with the plans was about $413,500, compared with a median value of $15,400 for families without the plans. Similarly, families with the plans had a higher median income than those without them, $142,400 compared with $45,100

Why Can’t HOME Deliver the Affordable Housing Goods?

In the late 1980s, a Connecticut legislator asked a deputy housing commissioner why his agency wasn’t building enough multifamily housing despite the bonds the legislature authorized for that purpose. The commissioner responded that the Housing Department (now, the Economic and Community Development Department) didn’t actually build housing, but channeled the funds to other organizations—mostly nonprofit organizations and public housing authorities. The ability of these intermediaries to build multifamily housing depended on several factors, including knowledge, expertise, and experience building such housing.

A recent Washington Post article hints there are similar issues with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME program. It describes how HOME dollars allocated for specific affordable housing projects either weren’t spent or failed to deliver the promised number of units.  The fallout: “Congress last month cut the HOME program’s budget by $600 million—nearly 38 percent—citing mismanagement.” Housing advocates countered that this was a bad move, “estimating that the program will produce 31,000 fewer homes this fiscal year.”

Was Congress wrong to cut a program that apparently isn’t delivering the goods?  Charlotte, North Carolina’s housing director Pamela Wideman thinks so, citing several successfully completed HOME-funded projects. But, she also provided a clue as to why other HOME-funded projects couldn’t put numbers on the housing boards. “In the past…local housing officials sometimes partnered with smaller nonprofit developers, a HUD requirement, and cut checks before construction started.” She even described a proposed 25-unit project that received $160,000 in HOME money in 2001 that today is an empty lot.

Wideman’s solution: more-aggressive HUD involvement in the projects. “In my mind,” she said, “it’s been reactive from HUD when pressure is coming. It should not be in this reactive or crisis mode.”

 

 

 

Protect Yourself Against Hackers

You would think that a tech reporter for the hi-tech magazine Wired would know how to best protect himself against hackers. But someone managed to gain access to, and destroy, much of Wired reporter Mat Honan's on-line information - and it all began with a simple call to Apple's customer service line.

The Connecticut New Junkie reports on the hi-tech attack, and suggests ways to help prevent it from happening to you.

 

Engineered Salmon Could be Coming to Your Dinner Plate

The New York Times reports that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has concluded that a genetically engineered, fast growing salmon is safe to eat and would have no significant impact on the environment.  The FDA's environmental assessment will be open to public comment for 60 days, but it appears likely that the agency will allow the salmon to enter the U.S. food supply.  AquaBounty Technologies, the company that developed the salmon, says the engineered fish grows to market weight in 18 months, rather than three years. 

Hot Report: Generators at Gas Stations

OLR Report 2012-R-0539 summarizes the legislative proposals in Connecticut and other states to require gas stations to have electric generators and (2) how the recent Connecticut legislation regarding microgrids and critical facilities relates to this issue.

A Connecticut legislator raised the idea of requiring generators at gas stations in 2011, but did not propose a bill.

Florida and Louisiana appear to be the only states that require motor fuel facilities, including certain gas stations, to be able to switch to an alternative energy source during a power outage. They do not actually require the stations to have generators on-site.

In New Jersey, one pending bill would require that generators be installed at gas stations, while another would impose requirements similar to the Florida and Louisiana laws. In New York, a bill similar to these laws has been recently proposed; it would also provide financial incentives for stations that voluntarily install generators. A 2011 California bill would have provided financial incentives for stations that installed generators, but it was not adopted.

PA 12-148 establishes a program to fund micro-grids to support onsite electricity generation for critical facilities. Gas stations are not specifically included in the list of critical facilities, but might qualify. The program does not fund generators themselves, but could be used to pay for engineering and related costs in connection with them.

For more information, read the full report.

How is Violence Like the Common Cold?

It turns out that both are contagious, or at least that was the theme explored at a recent workshop hosted by the National Academies of Sciences' Institute of Medicine. Presenters noted that, as in the case of infectious diseases, violent acts have a tendency to cluster; spread from place-to-place; and mutate.  And like those who contract infectious diseases, people exposed to violence have varying levels of resilience and susceptibility, with environmental influences playing a major role in symptomatology and transmission.

One expert carried the analogy farther, contending that strategies proven effective in managing contagious diseases also work in reducing violence.  These include:

• detecting and interrupting ongoing and potentially new infectious events;

• identifying those in the protected population who are most likely to cause further infections and then reducing their likelihood of developing or transmitting the disease; and

• changing the underlying social and behavioral norms or environmental conditions that directly relate to the spread of the infection.

Reboot Civilization and Spur Innovation

Marcin Jakubowski told Bloomberg Businessweek he's "conducting a civilization reboot experiment" on his 30-acre compound near Maysville, Missouri, which he calls, Factor e Farm. He wants the farm to produce its own food, energy, and tools and raw materials for making those tools, a quest he started in 2007 when he "began working on a minimum set of machines to necessary to sustain modern civilization." In doing so, he wants to prove that people can live without corporations.

Okay, but when did this economic development-related entry morph into something from a survivalist blog? Oh, this posting's about economic development. Jakubowski expects people around the world to "use his tools, spurring an explosion of innovation as people take his tractors and drills and build even better ones." And will they know about his tools? They'll know about them thanks to Internet, which Jakubowski is using to "open-sourcing" his entire production system for all to see, copy, and improve.

Sounds crazy? Well Jakubowski's picked up a global following after 1 million people viewed his TED talk on YouTube. South African billionaire Mark Shuttleworth's foundation contributed $360,000 to farm and about 500 people who donate $10 a month to "subscribe" to the Jakubowski's farm.  The Businessweek article describes the farm's successes and failures, including a greenhouse that grows nothing but weeds and the farm's continued reliance on Wal-Mart for food.

But consider Jabukowski's method for spurring innovation: "open sourcing." The farm is "just one node in the network he envisions. The answers will not come from him or the farm. Other people will improve the designs, and, in time, "a distributed enterprise will arise--a society in which the people will have taken back control of technology and lowered the basic cost of existence by several orders of magnitude."  

Hot Report: Bans on Smoking in Vehicles Carrying Children

OLR Report 2012-R-0541 describes laws in other states banning smoking in vehicles when children are present and summarizes any data on the effects of such laws.

Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Maine, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico have each enacted such legislation. The maximum age of children covered varies from 13 to 18. Fines range from $25 in Arkansas to a maximum of $250 in Puerto Rico (for a first offender).

According to the advocacy group Global Advisors for Smokefree Policy, legislation banning smoking in cars with children has been proposed in 21 states, including Connecticut. In addition, the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (national center), a division of the national Centers for Disease Control (CDC), reports that six states and the District of Columbia restrict smoking in vehicles carrying children in the care of childcare facilities. We have attached the center's list of state restrictions on smoking in motor vehicles in effect as of June 30, 2012.

We were unable to find any studies that specifically address the effectiveness of banning smoking in vehicles. However, the Community Preventive Services Task Force, an independent board of experts appointed by the CDC director, strongly recommends smoking bans and restrictions “on the basis of strong scientific evidence that they reduce exposure” to second-hand smoke (http://www.thecommunityguide.org/tobacco/Tobacco.pdf). In addition, a number of studies have noted the dangers of second-hand smoke in general, and of second-hand smoke in vehicles in particular.

“Second-hand smoke exposure is associated with acute respiratory infections, middle ear disease, delayed lung growth, and more severe asthma,” a 2012 study noted. “Nonsmoking youth are…particularly vulnerable to second-hand smoke due to their limited ability to avoid smoke-permitted environments, higher breathing rates, and the developing nature of their respiratory, immune, and nervous systems.”

Researchers say that second-hand smoke can be particularly hazardous in the relatively confined space of a car. Opening car windows or vents can reduce, but not eliminate, the danger. A 2011 research paper that monitored car trips involving smokers found that the concentration of fine particulate matter in cars where smoking occurred greatly exceeded international indoor air quality standards and posed a health threat to children. Similarly, the national center states that smoking just one cigarette in a vehicle with the windows closed can generate more than 100 times the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 24-hour recommended exposure limit to fine particles. These particles, about 1/30th the width of an average human hair, contain cancer-causing chemicals, and can lodge deep in a person's lungs, irritating the respiratory system.

A Pediatrics study whose results were published online in February 2012, found that “despite a significant decrease in second-hand smoke exposure in cars among non-smoking U.S. middle and high school students between the years of 2000 and 2009, that in 2009, more than one-fifth of these students were still exposed to second-hand smoke in a car in the previous seven days.” http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/research/factsheets/pdf/0334.pdf.
For more information, read the full report.

Kansas City Bishop Convicted of Shielding Pedophile Priest

The New York Times has reported on what is believed to be the first conviction of a Roman Catholic bishop for failing to notify authorities about a pedophile priest.  The bishop had received reports from several reliable sources, including an elementary school teacher and the computer technician who had discovered a cache of pornographic pictures of children stored on the priest's hard drive.

When the priest admitted to having a "problem with pornography," the bishop ordered him to undergo a psychological evaluation, live in a convent, and stay away from children.  The priest continued to interact with children and take pornographic photos of young girls for five more months, until other church officials contacted the police, without the bishop's approval.

At the end of a one-hour, truncated bench trial, the bishop was found guilty of one count of misdemeanor failure to report child abuse and sentenced to two years of court-supervised probation.  The maximum penalty for this crime is imprisonment for one year, a $1,000 fine, or both.

Working-Age Adults Visiting Doctor Less Often

A recent report by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that working age adults are going to doctors or other medical professionals less often than a decade ago.  In 2010, people age 18 to 64 visited medical professionals, on average, 3.9 times per year, compared to 4.8 visits in 2001.  The findings were reported in the Census Bureau report, Health Status, Health Insurance, and Medical Services Utilization: 2010.

As reported in the New York Times, the reasons for the decline were not entirely clear.  Demographic change may account for part of the decline.  Also, the share of uninsured working-age people has increased over the last decade.

The report found that the uninsured were far less likely than the insured to have at least one medical visit in 2010 (24% compared to 72%).

Creating Fiscally Sound State Tax Incentives: Advice for Legislators

More and more states are establishing and expanding tax incentives to promote economic development. While incentives can help generate jobs and economic activity, they can also generate nasty revenue surprises for state budgets unless they are carefully designed. Louisiana's severance tax exemption for natural gas producers using horizontal drilling is one example. The cost of that exemption, a mere $285,000 in FY 07, jumped to $239 million in FY 10 after the 2008 discovery of a large new natural gas deposit in the state and changes in drilling industry technology.

A new report from the Pew Center for the States highlights these and other tax incentives that turned, unexpectedly, into “blank checks.” Because incentives often function as entitlements, it can be difficult for legislators to rein them in after enactment.  Even if the incentives are later eliminated or scaled back, the credits businesses have already accumulated can continue to create revenue losses over several more years. 

To help avoid such pitfalls, Pew recommends that legislators take the following steps before enacting new tax incentives:

• Insist on reliable cost estimates produced through a professional and transparent process. Estimates should project both annual revenue losses over several fiscal years and the expected timing of those losses.
• Because all estimates are uncertain, (1) set regular budgets for tax incentives with annual limits on the total amount of tax incentives and (2) reconsider existing incentives periodically to ensure they are still working as intended.

  

Connecticut Poised to Remain Insurance Capital

The Connecticut Insurance and Financial Services Cluster (IFS) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) released a November 2012 report on Connecticut's insurance market that shows Connecticut is well positioned to remain the U.S. insurance capital, according to the Insurance Journal. 

Connecticut is first in the nation in terms of insurance employment as a percentage of overall employment.  The Insurance Journal reports that the insurance industry represents approximately 3% of Connecticut’s workforce, 6% of the state’s payroll, and 9% of the gross state product.  According to the IFS and PwC report, close to 61,600 people in Connecticut were directly employed by the insurance industry in 2011.  Insurance industry employment is expected to grow about 10% over the next decade.  For each new job in the insurance industry, the state economy adds about 1.46 jobs.

Is Price Gouging Actually Bad?

According to a recent Time article, the majority of states, including Connecticut, have some sort of price gouging law.  These laws prevent businesses from charging unconscionably high prices, especially after natural disasters such as the recent hurricane.

However, some economists oppose price gouging laws and instead favor allowing the laws of supply and demand to work. Opponents assert that if retailers could raise prices, it would make consumers think harder about what they really needed.  Additionally, it would reward retailers who managed their inventories well.

Prison Projects for the Public Good

The New York Times (NYT) reported earlier this year about a Washington State program called the Sustainability in Prisons Project that provides prisoners with the opportunity to engage in habitat and wildlife restoration, among other activities. The program is a partnership between Washington's Department of Corrections and The Evergreen State College. According to the program's website, its mission is to bring science and nature into prisons by conducting ecological research and conserving biodiversity. It also provides financial and social benefits.

The program helps address a budget gap in habitat restoration by performing certain environmental conservation tasks at prison wages. Prisoners benefit by being introduced to a scientific process with a societal benefit. It also encourages good inmate behavior because those participating in the program must not commit violent infractions. Currently, three conservation projects are offered in Washington State's program: (1) raising Taylor's checkerspot butterflies and Oregon spotted frogs, two Washington endangered species, and (2) raising rare, threatened, or endangered native plants for transplant to restoration sites.

According to the NYT article, prisons in other states are seeking ways to operate more efficiently and provide additional benefits. For example, in 2008 Wisconsin began having inmates grow food for prison use. Federal prisons are aiming for zero-net energy use by 2030. And again in Washington State, inmate-operated recycling and composting has reduced the amount of offender-generated waste from 2.9 pounds per day in 2004 to 1.4 pounds per day.

Locally, a program operated jointly by Connecticut's departments of corrections and agriculture cares for and rehabilitates abused large animals with the help of inmate labor. The "Second Chance" Large Animal Rehabilitation Facility is located at the York Correctional Facility in Niantic and, according to the facility's website, over 200 horses have been cared for at the facility.

The U.S. as an Oil Exporter?

The December 18th edition of Bloomberg Businessweek reports that the U.S. expanded its oil production this year by the most since the first commercial well was drilled in 1859. Domestic output grew by a record 766,000 barrels a day, to the highest level in 15 years, government data show, putting the nation on pace to surpass Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest producer by 2020. Net petroleum imports have fallen by more than 38% since the 2005 peak and account for 41% of demand, down from 60% seven years ago, moving the U.S. closer to energy independence than it has been in decades.

This oil rush was spurred by new technology that has made drilling faster, cheaper, and more effective at recovering oil from rock formations. At the same time, it has raised alarms among environmentalists about the potential danger to drinking-water supplies and intensifying greenhouse-gas emissions.

The surge in oil output, coupled with record natural gas production, allowed the U.S. to meet 83% of its own energy needs in the first eight months of 2012, on track to be the highest since 1991, Energy Department data show.

Potentially, the U.S. could become an oil exporter, although exports are limited by rules imposed by Congress following the 1973 Arab oil embargo.

What's a Good Economic Development Strategy?

In a nutshell, one that results from hard thinking and hard choosing.  "Strategy involves focus and, therefore, choice," wrote UCLA Anderson School of Management professor and business consultant Richard P. Rumelt in Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why it Matters (2011), which focuses mainly on business and military strategy. Unfortunately, bad strategy is the norm. "Bad strategy tends to skip over pesky details such as problems. It ignores the power of choice and focus, trying instead to accommodate a multitude of conflicting demands and interests."

Based on Rumelt's work, a good economic development strategy should look like a kernel containing a diagnosis, guiding policy, and coherent actions.  The diagnosis defines the problem or challenge, "linking facts into patterns and suggesting more attention be paid to some issues and less to others."  It represents a choice between competing theories and allows one to determine how the parts of the strategy align.

The guiding policy lays out the approach or method chosen to "cope with or overcome the obstacles identified in the diagnosis."  It "channels action in certain directions without defining exactly what shall be done."

The coherent actions are the coordinated steps chosen to implement the guiding policy. "To have punch, actions should coordinate and build upon one another, focusing organizational energy." 

Making hard choices is a central theme running through Rumelt's work.  Choosing is hard because the resources needed to address competing needs are scarce. "To have a strategy, rather than vague aspirations, is to choose one path and eschew others. There is difficult psychological, political, and organizational work in saying 'no' to the whole worlds of hopes, dreams, and aspirations."

Here's a brief video of Rumelt explaining the essence of strategy.

Hartford's Preschooler Obesity Rate Alarming

The UConn Center for Public Health and Health Policy (CPHHP) recently reported that 20% of Hartford preschoolers are obese and 17% are overweight. "The prevalence of overweight and obesity was twice as high as [federal] guidelines for age and gender," the report said.

The findings were the result of a study involving 1,120 Hartford preschoolers at 35 randomly selected child-care sites across the city. The results also indicated that:

• Boys were as likely to be overweight as girls;
• Latino children were significantly more likely to be overweight or obese than African-American children; and
• Four- to five-year olds were significantly more likely to be overweight or obese than younger children.

According to the Hartford Courant, Ann Ferris, director of CPHHP, attributes the high obesity rate, at least in part, to poverty. Highly processed foods are less expensive than more nutritious alternatives and children in unsafe neighborhoods are less likely to play outside.

Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra characterized the findings as "extremely alarming."

On a more positive note, Ferris and city officials noted that the Hartford's high preschool enrollment rate (73%) may make a system-wide intervention a plausible option.

Court Grants Preliminary Injunction Against DSS for Its Failure To Process SNAP Applications On Time

In another blow to an agency that has been the object of considerable scrutiny for the way it runs its programs, a U.S. District Court judge granted a preliminary injunction against the Department of Social Services (DSS) for its "ongoing, persistent systemic failure" to process Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, a/k/a Food Stamps) applications in a timely manner. SNAP is a federal program that DSS administers.

By law, DSS has 30 days to grant most requests for SNAP, but it must process applications sooner in an emergency. While the judge acknowledged that the department has faced a burgeoning caseload since the recent economic downturn began (over 210,000 households were receiving benefits in November), DSS reduced its staffing by 19% between 2002 and 2009, and by another 8% in September and October 2011.

The judge cited figures in the complaint, including that (1) in November 2011, 40% of SNAP applications were pending and (2) between January 2010 and February 2012, at least 20% of applications were acted upon a month late.

The next step is a hearing to determine the appropriate injunctive relief and to define who will be included in the plaintiff class, according to Greater Hartford Legal Aid's litigation director.

Limited Dispute Resolution Options for Checking Account Holders

According to a recent Pew Charitable Trusts report, 90% of Americans have checking accounts, but "often are unaware of the terms of their checking account agreements." The report revealed the prevalence of dispute resolution clauses in such agreements.

Researchers examined checking account agreements from 85 banks and seven credit unions. They found that larger financial institutions were more likely to require checking account holders to agree to mandatory binding arbitration in the event of a dispute. The report defines such arbitration as "a private dispute resolution in which a third-party decision maker resolves disputes between opposing parties…the arbitration decision is binding with narrow opportunity to appeal." Out of the 50 largest financial institutions examined, 56% included mandatory arbitration clauses in their checking account agreements. Of the next 50 largest institutions, only 30% included such clauses.

The researchers also surveyed 603 consumers about their attitudes towards mandatory binding arbitration clauses. Approximately 90% of the consumers expressed concern about the mandatory binding arbitration process and more than two-thirds felt that, in the event of a dispute, they should be able to choose between arbitration and taking the matter to court.

Hot Report: DEEP Comprehensive Energy Strategy

OLR Report 2012-R-0484 summarizes the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's draft 2012 Comprehensive Energy Strategy, which presents a series of policy proposals to expand energy choices, lower utility bills, improve environmental conditions, and create clean energy jobs. It focuses on five, sometimes overlapping, energy strategy sectors: natural gas, energy efficiency, electricity, industry, and transportation. Although the strategy contains significant research findings, this report focuses mainly on the recommendations proposed as a result of those findings within each sector.

In discussing the natural gas sector, the strategy concludes that natural gas is a cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable fuel for heating, power generation, and possibly transportation. It recommends a variety of proposals intended to encourage (1) people to convert their homes and businesses to natural gas and (2) gas utilities to expand their infrastructure.

For energy efficiency, which the strategy identifies as the most cost effective way to reduce energy bills, the strategy recommends improving funding for efficiency programs and expanding the programs to include more potential customers. The recommendations for the electricity sector similarly stress the importance of efficiency measures, but also propose measures to reduce electricity use, promote and expand renewable energy systems, and increase system reliability. Recommendations for the industry sector generally focus on adapting the gas, efficiency, and electricity proposals to the specifics of industrial needs, but also include suggestions to encourage water conservation and create an Advanced Energy Innovation Hub.

The strategy's recommendations for the transportation sector focus on reducing the amount of gasoline and diesel fuel consumed in the state while encouraging the availability of a diverse refueling infrastructure.

For more information, read the full report.

The Department of Consumer Protection's (DCP) Holiday Shopping Tips

DCP offers several tips for consumers to consider before completing their holiday shopping, including (1) carefully reading sale flyers, (2) shopping around, (3) asking about sale adjustments, (4) knowing store refund and return policies, and (5) comparing online and store prices.

DCP also advises consumers to not buy expensive service agreements or extended warranties, because research shows that products seldom break within the extended-warranty period, and when they do break, repairs often cost about the same as the warranty.

Technology Use by Jurors Presents New Challenges to Courts

Judges traditionally instruct jurors to listen to the evidence and arguments at trial and not use outside sources to conduct their own research.  They also tell jurors not to talk about the case with others during the trial.  The widespread use of devices that provide easy access to Internet research and social media sites present new challenges to the court system.

A new pilot study of 15 trials by the National Center for State Courts looks at jurors' use of technology.  Among other things, the study found that:

1. most participating judges admonished prospective jurors not to use the Internet for research or communications during the jury selection process and when impaneling the jury;
 
2. 86% of prospective jurors said they could refrain from using the Internet during the trial but 14% said they could not, even if instructed by the judge;
 
3. despite the judge's instructions, 44% of prospective jurors would have liked to use the Internet to obtain information about legal terms, 26% about the case, 23% about the parties, 20% about the lawyers, 19% about the judge, 18% about witnesses, and 7% about fellow jurors; and
 
4. despite the instructions, 8% of prospective jurors said they would like to use the Internet to contact family and friends about the trial and lesser numbers would use it to connect with another juror or a trial participant or tweet, blog, or post information on social networking sites.

While acknowledging that the study used a very small sample and noting the need for further research, the authors recognized some "tentative insights."

1. Few jurors reported committing misconduct.


2. A substantial number of jurors could not recall that the judge told them not to use these technologies or thought they could do so for searches.


3. A sizeable number wanted to use the Internet to obtain trial-related information.


4. A significant number said they would be unable to refrain from using the Internet during the trial.

Home Sharing Making a Comeback as an "Aging in Place" Housing Model for Seniors

According to a recent Senior Housing News article, an increasing number of seniors are looking to share their homes, enabling them to "age in place" and avoid or delay entering long-term care facilities. Each co-housing agreement is different, but generally these contracts outline both financial and chore responsibilities for its habitants. There are currently 65 home sharing programs registered as National Shared Housing Resource Center members; these programs make approximately 3,000-5,000 co-housing matches per year.

Although a formal home sharing model was established in the 1970s, its popularity has experienced dramatic shifts over the years. According to California's Affordable Living for the Aging, renewed interest in home sharing is "motivated by the need to meet surging demand for affordable housing in a time of shrinking subsidies and economic distress."

For more information on other aging in place housing models, see OLR Reports 2012-R-0447 on ECHO Housing for Seniors and 2012-R-0081 on Modular Medical Homes for Seniors.

Court Limits FMLA to Employers with 75 or More In-State Employees

Connecticut’s Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires employers with 75 or more employees to provide FMLA benefits to their employees. However, it took a recent state Supreme Court decision to determine if those 75 employees needed to be in the state.  In Velez v. Commissioner of Labor, the court upheld the Department of Labor’s interpretation that the act applies only to employers with 75 or more employees in the state, and not in aggregate.  While the court based its decision on a general deference to agency interpretations of statutes and regulations, it also noted that interpreting the act to cover employers with 75 or more employees anywhere in the world could create a “logistical nightmare” for employers with one in-state employee and 74 employees spread around the world, and for the labor commissioner, who would have to conduct investigations into the employment records of employers far outside her jurisdiction.

Know Before You Enroll

In 2008, Congress passed the Post-9/11 GI bill (Veterans Educational Assistance Act, Title V of P.L. 110-252) to increase veterans' opportunity to return to college. But some colleges are targeting veterans to gain GI bill benefits while providing expensive and substandard education. A new website provides veterans with college selection tips and information to make informed decisions about colleges.

Hot Report: Summary of State Gun Laws

OLR Report 2007-R-0369 summary of Connecticut gun laws.

The Connecticut Constitution (Article First, § 15) gives every citizen the right to bear arms in defense of himself and the state. But state law regulates firearm sales, use, and possession.
For regulatory purposes, the law classifies “firearms” into four groups: handguns (pistols and revolvers), long guns (rifles and shotguns), assault weapons, and machine guns. The degree of regulation depends on the type of firearm and, in some cases, the type of transaction (i.e., dealer sales as opposed to secondary or nondealer sales).

With minor exceptions, (1) anyone buying or otherwise acquiring a handgun in Connecticut, whether from a licensed gun dealer or an unlicensed person, must have an eligibility certificate or a permit to sell or carry handguns, and (2) anyone carrying a handgun (except in one's home or business) must have a permit to carry handguns. The credentials allow unlimited gun purchases. No permit or certificate is required to possess handguns in one's home or business.

Permit and certificate applicants must pass state and national criminal history record checks and meet other criteria in law, including, in the case of a carry permit, being deemed suitable to get a permit. Ineligible applicants include convicted felons, illegal aliens, and anyone (1) under age 21; (2) under a court protective or restraining order for using, attempting, or threatening to use force against someone; or (3) discharged into the community in the preceding 20 years after having been found not guilty of a crime by reason of mental disease or defect.

No permit or certificate is required to buy, possess, or carry long guns. But people cannot possess them, if they (1) were ever convicted of a felony or serious juvenile offense, (2) cannot legally possess firearms under federal law because they have been adjudicated as “mental defectives” or have been committed to a mental institution, or (3) know they are under a firearms seizure or restraining or protective order for using or threatening to use violence against someone else. State law sets no minimum age for possessing long guns.

Assault weapons are illegal. People cannot legally buy them or (with one minor exception) bring them into Connecticut. But people who owned assault weapons before October 1, 1993 and registered them with the Department of Public Safety (DPS) before October 1, 1994 can keep them, and dispose of them, under prescribed circumstances.

Machine guns must be registered with DPS within 24 hours after a person acquires them and annually thereafter.

The law regulates (1) handgun sales and transfers by dealers and nondealers and (2) long gun sales and transfers by dealers. It does not regulate secondary sales or transfers of long guns (i.e, nondealer transactions) except to a limited extent at gun shows. Among other things, the law prohibits regulated persons from selling or transferring a covered firearm unless they get a firearm transfer authorization number from DPS, which must conduct a national instant criminal history record check on the buyer to determine if he or she can legally possess firearms.

The law, with exceptions, prohibits carrying (1) firearms on school property, (2) firearms on Connecticut General Assembly property, (3) loaded handguns in a vehicle, and (4) handguns where barred by law or a property owner.

The law imposes criminal penalties on people who (1) store loaded firearms in a way that gives a minor under age 16 unauthorized access to them and (2) transfer handguns to minors under age 21, except as authorized at firing or shooting ranges.

Under limited circumstances and following specified procedures, law enforcement officials may get warrants and seize firearms from anyone posing an imminent risk of harming himself or someone else and a court may order the firearms held for up to one year.

For more information, read the full report.

Should Mandatory Evacuations be Mandatory?

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, questions have arisen about whether states should coerce residents into leaving their homes during mandatory evacuations. Across the country, states have tried (1) stern warnings about the dangers of staying, (2) moral appeals of not endangering would-be rescuers, and (3) enacting laws to punish residents who fail to obey evacuation orders.

According to a recent Hartford Courant article, Governor Malloy and several town leaders stated that a punitive law was needed.  But many across the nation feel that it would be in the resident's best interests to heed the evacuation orders.

Paying for Parking Decreases Solo Driving

Research conducted by a UCLA urban planning professor has found that free parking contributes to the high percentage of workers driving solo. As reported in the San Francisco Gate, U.S. Census data from 2009 to 2011 show that about 73% of Californians drove to work alone. The professor, Donald Shoup, explained that most employees who drive to work have free parking and free parking is an invitation to drive solo to work.

But the article explains that California has a state law that requires employers to offer employees cash instead of a parking space. It explains that this "cash-out" program allows workers to obtain cash for their subsidized parking spots and walk, bike, carpool, or take public transport instead, resulting in fewer cars on the road. But the program is not well known. Professor Shoup explains in the article that by offering the parking cash-out program, it attaches an opportunity cost to parking. By choosing to drive and park, a worker loses the opportunity to obtain cash.

One barrier cited in the article to increasing the use of driving alternatives is the time that it takes to get to work when not driving. According to the article, workers who do not drive to work alone tend to have longer commutes.

Medicare, Fraud: Providers Most Commonly Caught

In October 2012, the General Accountability Office (GAO ) reported to Congress on its study of the most common sources of fraudulent activities (both criminal and civil) among Medicare program participants.  According to the GAO, medical facilities such as medical centers, clinics, and practices, and durable medical equipment suppliers were the most frequent subjects of criminal fraud cases in 2010.  More than a quarter of the criminal prosecutions involved health centers; durable medical suppliers made up another 16%.  These groups were the subjects in 20% and 18% of the civil actions, respectively.  A very small percentage of fraud cases were brought against individual Medicare recipients.

Common health care fraud schemes include providers or suppliers (1) billing for services or supplies not provided or not medically necessary, (2) purposely billing for a higher level of service than that provided, (3) misreporting data to increase payments, (4) paying kickbacks to providers for referring beneficiaries for specific services or to certain entities, or (5) stealing providers' or beneficiaries' identities. 

Hot Report: Health Insurance Options for Small Employers, Including Self-Employed Individuals

OLR Report 2012-R-0522 explains what group health insurance options exist for small employers, including self-employed individuals. You also asked if Connecticut will open an online marketplace (called an “exchange”) where small employers can shop for health insurance pursuant to the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

 

In Connecticut, a small employer is a business that employs no more than 50 employees and includes a self-employed individual. A small employer wanting to purchase health insurance for its employees has several options, including:

1. purchasing a commercial insurance policy underwritten by a licensed insurer or health maintenance organization (HMO);
2. obtaining coverage under a plan arranged by the state comptroller, called the Municipal Employees Health Insurance Program (MEHIP) for commercial small groups; and
3. obtaining coverage under a plan issued to an association, such as the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA) Health Connections program.

The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148) became law in March 2010. It requires most Americans to have insurance beginning in January 1, 2014 or pay a penalty. It also requires states to create an online marketplace, called an “exchange,” where individuals and small employers can shop for health insurance.

 

Public Act 11-53 established the Connecticut Health Insurance Exchange (HIX) as a quasi-public agency overseen by a 14-member board of directors. The board is planning and implementing Connecticut's exchange. It plans to begin marketing health insurance policies in October 2013 for coverage beginning January 1, 2014.

  

For more information on the HIX and to follow its development, see http://www.ct.gov/hix.

  

For more information, read the full report.