Malloy Pitches Aggressive Ideas In State Of The State Address

HARTFORD, CT — Gov. Dannel Malloy outlined his legislative agenda in his final State of the State address on the opening day of the legislative session. He pitched several of his previous ideas along with some aggressive new ones regarding the criminal justice system, universal early voting and a ban on bump stocks.

Malloy’s biggest initiative pushes came before his State of the State address when he proposed electronic tolling on the state’s highways along with several ideas to balance the state’s budget. Tolling is sure to be a hot-button issue. Speaker of The House Joe Aresimowicz said the proposal would get a vote in the house during the session.

Healthcare
Malloy urged legislators to preserve the most vital elements of the Affordable Care Act in Connecticut, including the individual mandate. He also said that birth control for Connecticut women should remain cost free.
“...affordable healthcare is under assault in Washington. If we fail to act, premiums will rise, and lifesaving treatments will be put out of reach for more and more families,” he said.

Increased Minimum Wage
Malloy pitched another increase in Connecticut’s minimum wage. He also urged legislators to approve better wages and workers compensation for 8,000 in-home care aides.

Vote By Mail
Malloy also said he wants the legislature to allow for a constitutional amendment that would allow any Connecticut voter to vote early for any reason via a “vote by mail” system.
“But still, our modern lives and busy schedules don’t always align with a 14-hour block of time for voting,” he said. “People who work hard and follow the rules should be able to express their most fundamental democratic right.”

Ban Bump Stocks
Malloy pitched a ban on bump stocks in Connecticut. Bump stocks were used in an attack at a Las Vegas concert that left 58 dead and more than 800 injured by a single gunman.
“Surely, regardless of where each of us stands on the second amendment, we can all agree that no innocent person should know the terror of gunfire raining down on them at a rate of 90 bullets every 10 seconds,” he said.

Affordable Housing
The governor also pitched more affordable housing in the state. Over the past seven years the state has funded 20,000 new units.

“Unfortunately, there are still too many places in Connecticut where the supply of affordable housing is simply not keeping up with demand,” he said. “We need to take action this year to build more housing. We need to incentivize cities and towns to develop more inclusive options for their residents.”

He also highlighted that Connecticut was able to end chronic homelessness for veterans in the state. The achievement got a standing ovation from the legislature.

Raise The Age Pitched Again
The idea of raising the age again for adult court came up in Malloy’s address. He previously pitched the idea in other legislative sessions, but it wasn’t taken up.

“This year, it is time to take another measured, sensible step forward,” he said. “We can ensure that young adults who have not fully matured are not branded for the rest of their lives for mistakes they made when they were young.”

Last year he called on the legislature to keep people under the age of 21 in the juvenile court system for minor crimes.

Image via Jessica Hill/AP