By James Maroney
State Sen., D-14
James Maroney
2019 was a year where great progress was made in several crucial areas. The advancements made in the previous year set a solid foundation for the road ahead. In this edition, I’d like to touch on some of the positive legislative moves made in 2019.
Something I am incredibly interested in and excited about are opportunity zones, or OZs. A recently established federal designation created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 incentivizes long-term investment, typically in lower-income areas, through certain advantages such as payment deferment. OZs are “challenged but promising” areas. Our state has 72 OZs spread across 27 municipalities.
Legislation I authored that we passed will layer state incentives on top of the federal incentives, strengthening the prospects of investing in our state’s OZs, making them more attractive and drawing investments from out of Connecticut as well.
This legislation is already in motion. In October, a new website was unveiled which will enable investors and developers to search available projects with information updated by cities, towns and property owners. The site, www.ctopportunityzones.com, will include shovel-ready projects, transit-oriented development and pertinent facts about local geography in our state. Municipalities with OZs will also be able to post and promote projects as they become available. This legislation presents our state with the potential to unlock an estimated $6 trillion in unrealized capital gains.
Health, wellness and security are important parts of a thriving community as well. Last year I am proud to have led passage of legislation that established an elder abuse registry.
Connecticut has one of the oldest populations in the country, making this legislation necessary to protect many state residents. According to the National Council on Aging, elders who have been victims of abuse have a 300 percent higher risk of death compared to elders who have not been abused. Additionally, in the last seven years in Connecticut, the number of elder abuse investigations has doubled.
The registry is a public, easy-to-find database that will be compiled from six other registries of offenders who have been convicted of assault or other forms of abuse. This user-friendly online tool will be maintained by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection; the Department of Health will also publish it on its website. The Commission on Women, Children and Seniors will also provide a portal to the database on its website. You can view the repository at https://wp.cga.ct.gov/cwcseo/registry-repository. The registry will give families peace of mind and a useful tool to ensure the safety of their loved ones.
I also authored legislation to assist our state’s veterans in finding good jobs in the advanced manufacturing field via the Military to Machinist program. I worked with high school students from Jonathan Law High School to ban the usage of harmful polystyrene containers in our schools, I led passage of a bill which will add dementia training to the continuing education component for doctors and nurses, and many more important legislative moves.
I am also proud to be part of a caucus that passed the Time’s Up bill. This will increase certain sexual harassment penalties, extend the time limits people have to file lawsuits for sexual assault, allow more time for criminal prosecution of sexual assault and require more employer-sponsored sexual harassment training.
These successes made 2019 a productive year which will improve the lives of Connecticut residents and working families. I am optimistic about what is to come in 2020 and as always, remain open to ideas and input from the community I am so proud to serve.