STATE REPRESENTATIVE
Patricia Dillon

Serving the 92nd Assembly District

New Haven

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Legislative Office Building, Room 4019
Hartford, CT 06106-1591
Capitol: 800-842-8267
Patricia.Dillon@cga.ct.gov


IN THE NEWS

  • Rep. Dillon agreed with a player at UConn who said he was ‘hungry’ and supported a union drive at Northwestern. This raised the profile of the conditions and pay of athletes under NCAA rules. Rep Dillon’s advocacy for athletes is longstanding: players risk crippling injuries, yet lack adequate insurance or pay.

  • Rep. Dillon addressed a conference on Nutrition and Health at CT Mental Health Center.

  • Rep. Dillon participated in a groundbreaking for a renovated Shubert, leveraged by $4 million in state bonding. This makes way for the Shubert’s 100th anniversary celebration.

  • Rep. Dillon spoke at the 100th Anniversary of the ‘Orchard Street Shul’ presenting President Lee Liberman with a citation from the General Assembly.

  • Rep Dillon testified before the Commerce Committee, with residents, on the importance of neighborhood restoration and historic preservation. She succeeded in rewriting compromise authorization language to target certain towns.

  • Rep Dillon, in response to outcry from residents, co-sponsored a new law demanding that utilities take far more care when they cut or remove trees to protect power lines from storm outages. Utilities must now work more closely with town residents and tree wardens to determine if, when, where and how much tree cutting can be done.

WEST RIVER A TREASURE WINDING THROUGH DIVERSE NEIGHBORHOODS

The West River defines the west side of New Haven from the Pond Lily to the harbor. Our policy goals for the river are increased access and improved water quality. Although the combined sewer overflow (CSO) into the river is greater than the overflow even into the harbor, it has historically gotten less attention from policy-makers.

CSO: local bodies of water - measured in millions of gallons (MG)


2013 Annual Volume = 95.2 MG
New Haven Harbor = 26.2 MG
West River = 35.8 MG
Mill River = 19.9 MG
Quinnipiac River = 13.3 MG

But the tide is changing. Progress on the tidal gates, habitat restoration, reducing sewer outflows, and the projected dam removal at Pond Lily was driven by the work of advocates such as Save the Sound and West River Watershed Coalition, and funded by federal and state action.


CONNECTICUT LEADS IN FOOD POLICY

Food policy affects our health, education outcomes, and our economy. It requires choosing to adopt voluntary federal programs, adding state dollars for Connecticut-specific programs, and the cooperation of policy-makers at the state, federal, and local level. Most urgently, it helps the most needy. This year, despite setbacks at the federal level, our state continued to lead.

When Congress axed 50,000 Connecticut people, many seniors and children, from eligibility for food stamps (SNAP), our budget redirected funds to maintain access to nutritional food. This is important in New Haven, because our region has demonstrated higher need.
Connecticut led the way in providing meals for after school programs, and a pilot program is now national policy.

Connecticut increased participation in summer meals last year to 4th best in the nation. Learn more at www.ctsummerfood.org


ECONOMIC SECURITY

Minimum wage: Raising the minimum wage to $10.10 by 2017 will help working families in our state.

Access to legal aid: Directed court fees to fund legal services for low income people.

Rent Rebate Program: Restored the program, which had been capped. In New Haven in fiscal year 2012-2013, 4,906 people were affected: 300 married, and 4,606 single, especially women.


PHYSICAL SAFETY

Vulnerable users of public ways: increases a motorist’s responsibilities and ensures they will be held directly accountable if they fail to exercise reasonable care.

Sexual assault: enacted pioneering legislation that establishes new protocols for sexual assault on campuses, new reporting, and partnerships with community-based services.


CHAPEL HAVEN

Chapel Haven is an asset to our community beyond its learning environment for adults with developmental disabilities. Students volunteer for Westville Village events and other forms of service. They were awarded some dollars from a program for nonprofits, and Rep. Dillon plans legislation for other improvements in the future.