Rep. Aresimowicz statement on new laws, policies needed to help older residents.. Enhancing the quality of life for Connecticut’s seniors will be a top priority for House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz (D-Berlin & Southington) and Democrats during the upcoming 2014 legislative session, which begins February 5. Rep. Aresimowicz joined with other legislative leaders at a State Capitol press conference, to outline their proposals including a new jobs re-employment program, an aging in place initiative, additional protections from door-to-door solicitors, and disclosure requirements for electricity suppliers. “Although the job market is improving, we must do more for older residents who are still out of work. These are folks who worked hard and played by the rules, but unfortunately fell out of work in this shifting economy,” said Rep. Aresimowicz. “We can remove some of the barriers standing in their way with retraining programs to help them acquire skills for 21st century jobs.” Rep. Aresimowicz explained that older workers have different needs and challenges and tend to be unemployed longer than younger workers. Skillset deficiencies, lack of job search skills and the persistence of age discrimination often stand in their way. The proposal outlined today would require the CT Employment and Training Commission to coordinate a web-based hiring campaign for older workers. It would also prohibit prospective employers from requiring current employment as qualification or state that unemployed candidates will not be considered. Existing job search, education and job training resources would also be combined into a new easily accessible database for older workers. Being able to continue to live at home can often require certain changes, so Rep. Aresimowicz and other lawmakers are proposing that more livable communities for seniors be developed by: • Establishing a grant program to promote home and service-based support systems, such as transportation, meals, and maintenance to allow individuals to stay in their homes; • Providing funding to retrofit and update homes to accommodate seniors’ changing lifestyles; • Creating Incentives for transit oriented development (TOD) projects targeting senior populations, which may include in-law apartments, home modifications and home share; • Offering towns the opportunity to be recognized as “Aging in Place Ready Communities” by meeting certain requirements. Understanding that seniors are particularly vulnerable to being taken advantage of by unscrupulous businesses and high pressure sales tactics, Rep. Aresimowicz is also supporting a series of common sense proposals that will provide transparency, protection and accountability by: • Requiring additional, prominently printed, information on electric bills, including notification of rate increases, date of auto-renewal, and any cancellation fees; • Printing the standard offer rate on every electric bill next to the applicable private supplier rate; • Directing the state’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) to establish an online marketplace where electric supplier offers can easily be compared and purchased; • Requiring all offers made by door-to-door salespeople be in writing; • Tightening up loopholes in the current Do Not Call law and increasing penalties for violators. ### Joe Aresimowicz is serving his fifth term representing the 30th Assembly District of Berlin and Southington in the Connecticut General Assembly, where he is House Majority Leader.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 04:55:25 +0000
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