It's a New Year and New Laws are in effect in Connecticut. Here's what you need to know about Police Accountability, CT Paid Leave Tax, Pension Taxes, Diabetes/Insulin Prescriptions and Utility Company Accountability.
CT Paid Leave Tax
Many Connecticut workers will receive slightly smaller paychecks — a decrease of up to 0.5% — due to Connecticut’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Act. The PFMLA allows employees access to paid leave for life events covered under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), the Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act (CT FMLA) and the Connecticut Family Violence Leave Act, and provides employers with the tools and resources to comply with these laws and promote happy, healthy, vibrant, and inclusive workplaces.
While several provisions of the Act Concerning Police Accountability, which was passed the summer, have already gone into effect, more changes are coming.
There are several dozen provisions to this bill. Most took effect back in October. Now, several parts of the state’s police reform bill are taking effect Jan. 1, which include:
- Requiring departments that serve minority communities
- Reporting efforts to recruit diverse officers
- Changing the makeup of the Police Officer Standards and Training Council — some say is too heavily made up of small-town chiefs
- Requiring officers to wear a badge in a prominent place — with exceptions for undercover operations
- Requiring officers to undergo mental health screenings every five years, but not all at once. Departments will have time to roll out the effort over several years.
Read the full bill here.
Utility Accountability
Jan. 1, each electric utility must report to PURA and the legislature’s energy committee on how it prepares and responds to hurricanes, snowstorms and other emergencies. From there, PURA will set minimum staffing requirements for each event.
Diabetes/Insulin Prescriptions
Connecticut's new law effective January 1 allows for emergency diabetes-related prescriptions once a year, and it covers insulin as well as glucagon drugs and diabetes devices such as blood glucose test strips, lancets and insulin syringes.
The new law requires people to inform their pharmacist that they have less than a week’s supply of diabetes-related drugs or devices remaining, and pharmacists – using their professional judgment and first checking with the state’s electronic prescription drug monitoring program – can then issue the emergency drugs or supplies.
The law limits the patient's cost either to their insurance plan co-payment or, if they lack insurance, to "the usual customary charge to the public for these items."
A section of the bill capping out-of-pocket expenses at $100 per year takes effect in another year, on January 1, 2022.
Pension Taxes
Beginning Jan. 1, seniors will be able to claim 28% of pension and annuity income received in 2020 as a deduction on their Connecticut adjusted gross income. That is twice the amount they were able to deduct in 2019 (or 14%).
In 2022, the deduction leaps to 42%, with the eventual goal of 100% reached in 2025.
It’s all part of the state’s six-year plan to phase out taxes on pension and annuity income for individuals earning less than $75,000 a year or married couples earning under $100,000 a year.
Click here for more.