STATE REPRESENTATIVE
Patricia Dillon
Serving the 92nd Assembly District
Legislative Office Building, Room 4019
Hartford, CT 06106-1591
Capitol: 800-842-8267
Patricia.Dillon@cga.ct.gov
Quality of Life, the Arts, & Our Economy
Free concerts at Davis School: Access to the arts should not depend on income. Arts in the community enrich our lives, provide jobs, and build audiences. I secured funds for the New Haven Symphony to continue free family-friendly concerts at Davis School.
In addition, we restored cuts to Westville Village Renaissance, Neighborhood Music School, Festival of Arts and Ideas, Long Wharf Theater, the Arts Council, and the Shubert Theater.
Teamwork on Safe Streets
Making our streets safe is a team effort in planning, priority setting, and funding.
Local roads: The city improves local roads through its own funds and dollars from LoCip, a state program for local capital improvements. This year’s budget allocates $1,648,668 to New Haven for improvement of local roads at its discretion.
State roads: Legislators can request targeted bond funds for state roads in our community, which requires state and local design approval. I secured Westville Village traffic calming funding, approved by the state in June of 2013, and by the Board of Alders in September 2015.
Better Housing, Less Blight
Through the state’s Department of Housing’s Affordable Homeownership program, three New Haven entities received funding to rehab homes and help first time home owners.
- Neighborhood Housing Services - $1.75 million
- Habitat for Humanity $525,000
- Neighborhood Renewal, city of New Haven: $2.5 million.
Affordable Food for Seniors
The rising cost of transportation and housing squeezes food budgets for seniors. This year I tried, in HB 5734, to raise support for food vouchers. Instead we will explore alternate funding for senior nutrition. I will continue to press for affordable food for seniors.
Criminal Justice Reforms Modify Laws, Respond to Events
Many proposals this year were long sought changes to earlier laws that, though well intentioned, had dramatic and disparate effects. Others were responses to controversies in other states.
Youth
Sexual Assault: I authored legislation to prevent sexual assault in juvenile facilities. Such violation of young people can cause long lasting trauma.
Out of school suspensions and expulsions: will be prohibited for students enrolled in preschool or grades kindergarten to two unless there is evidence of conduct on school grounds of a violent or sexual nature that endangers others. Under prior law, kindergarten through grade two students could receive out-of-school suspension for ‘disruption.’ I co-sponsored this.
Criminal Justice
Excessive Force: The investigation of a death involving a peace officer will now include cases involving any use of physical force, not just deadly force; state funds are available for body cameras for one year.
Second Chance: Changes criminal law and aids re-entry by eliminating some minimum mandatory sentences and changing current ‘justice by zip code’ drug zones that treated offenders in urban areas more harshly. In addition School-Based Diversion, job training, and the Connecticut Collaboration on Reentry are funded.