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Regular
readers of this column may remember that I welcome suggestions
for legislation from my constituents. And, I’ve always
been pleased to introduce bills at their request. I would
like to tell you about a few of the proposals I am sponsoring
this year, which are now going through the legislative process.
Each of these ideas came from a constituent.
The Government
Administration and Elections Committee (GAE) of which I
am ranking member, on February 28th held public hearings
on two of my proposed bills – one that would give
non-citizen property owners lawfully in this country the
right to vote on municipal budget matters, and another that
would exclude voice mail messages from the definition of
public records or files for purposes of the state Freedom
of Information Act.
From my point
of view, passing the first bill is a matter of equity, while
passing the second bill is a matter of common sense.
According to
testimony submitted to the GAE Committee by Joyce Hamilton,
Associate Director of Democracy Works, Connecticut is home
to approximately 100,000 legal immigrants. These people
– our neighbors, co-workers and friends – reside
in our country legally, pay taxes and contribute to the
life of their communities. Permitting these individuals
who own homes and pay property taxes to vote on local budget
matters that directly affect them, and the communities of
which they are a part, is reasonable and just.
My proposal calling
for the exclusion of voice mail messages from the Freedom
of Information Act is intended to relieve small towns from
the burden of transcribing routine voice mails. I simply
ask each of you to think about the phone calls you get at
work on an average day. Your boss wants you to do something,
a colleague needs information, or someone from a different
department updates you about the status of a joint project.
On any given day, you might receive several calls like this,
accepting some and relying on voice mail to record the rest.
If you work for a public agency, the state Freedom of Information
Commission is working on a rule that might require you to
save your voice mail messages under certain circumstances
– either electronically or by transcribing them. If
the Freedom of Information Commission ultimately succeeds
in demanding compliance, this would impose a terrible practical
hardship on small towns and their employees. The bill I
introduced to prevent such a requirement came from a request
from several First Selectmen of the towns I represent.
Readers might
also be interested in hearing about another bill I am working
on to double the fines levied against persons who travel
at an excessive rate of speed in the vicinity of motor vehicle
accidents where firefighters and police are present. I proposed
this bill at the suggestion of the chief of the Lakeville
Hose Company who feels, rightly, that police officers, firefighters
and other rescue personnel ought not to be endangered by
passing speeding motorists while they are trying to help
other, often injured, people.
Some of the people
who testified before the Transportation Committee regarding
my bill, and a similar proposal, pointed out that speeding
through a construction zone carries more serious penalties
that the $50 fine imposed on those who violate traffic laws
near emergency scenes. It is time for the legislature to
send a clear message that endangering the lives of rescue
personnel will not be tolerated.
I am very interested
in learning your thoughts on these issues, and any others
that affect our part of the state. So, please, keep sending
me e-mails, calling my office, and writing me letters expressing
your ideas and asking questions. Always, I welcome your
input. I can be reached toll-free at my office in Hartford
at 1-800-842-1421, or by e-mail at Andrew.Roraback@cga.ct.gov.
Senator Andrew
Roraback represents the 30th Senatorial District, which
includes the communities of Brookfield, Canaan, Cornwall,
Goshen, Kent, Litchfield, Morris, New Milford, North Canaan,
Salisbury, Sharon, Warren, Washington, Winsted and part
of Torrington.
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