aa 1 Senate May 16, 2019 CONNECTICUT GENERAL ASSEMBLY SENATE Thursday, May 16, 2019 The Senate was called to order at 5:12 o’clock p.m., the President in the Chair. THE CHAIR: The Senate will please come to order. The Senate will please come to order, and we then invite our chaplain, Rabbi Lazowski, to lead us in the opening prayer. RABBI LAZOWSKI: Our thought for today is from the book of Proverbs chapter 11 verse 2, "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." Let us pray: Eternal God, Source of all being, look favorably on this body of women and men, our dedicated Senators, as they strive to do the work of the people of the State of Connecticut. Keep them humble, but give them the wisdom, courage, and integrity to fulfill the noble tasks they have been elected to complete. Make them messengers of hope, advocates for justice, and makers of peace. Look favorably upon our nation, President, our state, and our leaders. Protect our defenders of freedom from all harm. aa 2 Senate May 16, 2019 Hear our prayer, O God, as we pray. And let us all say, Amen. THE CHAIR: Thank you very much, Rabbi. I would ask Senator Bergstein to come forward and lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. SENATOR BERGSTEIN (36TH): I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. THE CHAIR: Thank you, Rabbi -- thank you Senator. Our distinguished majority leader, Senator Duff. SENATOR DUFF (25TH): Thank you, Mr. President, and good evening, Mr. President. Good to see you up there today. Mr. President, does the clerk have any business on his desk? THE CHAIR: Mr. Clerk? CLERK: The clerk is in possession of Senate Agenda No. 1 and Senate Agenda No. 2, dated Thursday, May 16, 2019. aa 3 Senate May 16, 2019 THE CHAIR: Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Senator Duff. SENATOR DUFF (25TH): Thank you, Mr. President. And, I move all items on Senate Agenda No. 1 and 2, dated Thursday, May 16, 2019, to act upon as indicated and that the Agenda be incorporated by reference in the Senate Journal and Senate Transcript. THE CHAIR: Thank you, Senator. Without objections, so ordered. SENATOR DUFF (25TH): Thank you, Mr. President. Will the Senate stand at ease for a moment please? THE CHAIR: The Senate will please stand at ease. [Pause]. The Senate will please come back to order. Mr. Majority Leader. SENATOR DUFF (25TH): Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, for markings for our goal list, please? THE CHAIR: Please proceed, Senator. SENATOR DUFF (25TH): Thank you, Mr. President. On Calendar page 50, Calendar 288, Senate Bill 1078, go. Followed by Calendar page 20, Calendar 279, Senate Bill 1000, go. Followed by Calendar page 8, Calendar 135, aa 4 Senate May 16, 2019 Senate Bill 861, go. Followed by Calendar page 1, Calendar 38, Senate Bill 804, go. Followed by Calendar page 38, Calendar 435, Senate Bill 831, go. Followed by Calendar page 32, Calendar 400, Senate Bill 1114, go. Followed by Calendar page 2 -- I’m sorry. Calendar page 12, Calendar 182, Senate Bill 1026, go. Followed by Calendar page 52, Senate Bill 448 -- I’m sorry. Calendar 448, Senate Bill 3, go. I’d like to do that again. Calendar page 52, Calendar 448, Senate Bill 3, go. Followed by Calendar page 43, Calendar 475, Senate -- House Bill 5004, go. Followed by Calendar page 43, Calendar 478, House Bill 7364, go. Thank you, Mr. President. THE CHAIR: Thank you, Mr. Majority Leader. Mr. Clerk. CLERK: Page 50, Calendar No. 288, substitute for Senate Bill No. 1078, AN ACT CONCERNING DOULA CERTIFICATION AND MEDICAID REIMBURSEMENT FOR DOULA SERVICES. SENATOR DUFF (25TH): Thank you, Mr. Clerk. There are amendments. THE CHAIR: Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Senator Marilyn Moore, distinguished Chair of the Human Services Committee from the great city of Bridgeport. SENATOR MOORE (22ND): Thank you, sir. Good afternoon, Mr. President. THE CHAIR: aa 5 Senate May 16, 2019 Good afternoon. SENATOR MOORE (22ND): Mr. President, I move acceptance of the Joint Committee’s favorable report and passage of the bill. THE CHAIR: Thank you. The bill has been moved. Will you remark? Senator Moore. SENATOR MOORE (22ND): I would ask that the clerk please call the amendment, and I seek leave of the Chamber to summarize LCO 877? THE CHAIR: Yep, and Mr. Clerk. CLERK: LCO No. 877, Senate Schedule A. SENATOR MOORE (22ND): I move adoption of the amendment. THE CHAIR: Thank you, Senator Moore. Senate Amendment Schedule A has been moved. Senator Moore, will you remark? SENATOR MOORE (22ND): Yes. This amendment is actually a strike-all, which is now the bill. It’s regarding the certification of Doulas and creating a workgroup. aa 6 Senate May 16, 2019 Thank you. THE CHAIR: Thank you, Senator. Will you remark on the amendment? Will you remark on Senate Amendment Schedule A? Senator Logan. SENATOR LOGAN (17TH): Thank you, Mr. President. And, I rise in support of the amendment. I urge my colleagues to do the same. Thank you. THE CHAIR: Thank you, Senator Logan. Would you remark further on the amendment? Would you remark further on Senate A? Remark, if not, I will try your minds on Senate A. All in favor please indicate by saying aye. (All) Aye. Opposed, nay. You guys have it. Senate Amendment Schedule A is adopted. Senator Moore. SENATOR MOORE (22ND): Thank you. Mr. President, this bill is about Doulas, and for those of you who have not -- are not familiar with a Doula, they are people who are trained in the community to help women during their pregnancy. There is a high incidence of mortality among minority women, and you will find Doulas in most communities of color. They are trained, and there are some places where they do certification. Over the course of the last three or four months many of the Doulas have met throughout the state, and they would like to be certified, and we are going to start a workgroup to understand what other aa 7 Senate May 16, 2019 certifications that we need under DSS to complete this, and the workgroup will report by -- I believe it will begin on -- on September 1, 2019, and will come back and give a report to the Committee of Cognizant regarding the outcome. I would hope that my colleague would support this bill and have a huge impact on all the communities, but it is a women’s health bill. Thank you. THE CHAIR: Thank you, Senator Moore. Will you remark further on the bill as amended by Senate Amendment Schedule A? Senator Logan. SENATOR LOGAN (17TH): Thank you, Mr. President. I rise in support of this bill, and I’d just like to say that in terms of the Doulas, they’re providing a great service to our community, particularly women in our community, and I think that it is time that we come up to speed in terms of what is actually provided in our community, and I think taking a look at this and having this report come back will guide us to properly move forward in the future session. Thank you. THE CHAIR: Thank you, Senator Logan. Will you remark further on the bill as amended? Will you remark further? If not, Senator Moore. SENATOR MOORE (22ND): aa 8 Senate May 16, 2019 Thank you, Mr. President. If there’s no objection, I ask that this be put on the consent Calendar. THE CHAIR: Thank you, Senator Moore. The bill has been moved to the consent Calendar. Is there objection to placing the bill as amended on the consent Calendar? I’m seeing none. It is so ordered. Senator Logan. SENATOR LOGAN (17TH): Nope. I’m good. Thank you. THE CHAIR: Okay. Thank you. The bill will be placed on the consent Calendar. Mr. Majority Leader. SENATOR DUFF (25TH): Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, if we can on the next bill, Calendar page 20, Calendar 279, Senate Bill 1000 -- if we could just PT that for the moment and move on to the next bill please? THE CHAIR: Thank you, Mr. Majority Leader. Mr. Clerk. CLERK: Page 8, Calendar No. 135, Senate Bill No. 861, AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEFINITION OF “SERVICE IN TIME OF WAR” AND STATE RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN VETERANS’ SERVICES. THE CHAIR: Thank you. Senator Maroney, the distinguished Chair of our Veterans’ Committee. aa 9 Senate May 16, 2019 SENATOR MARONEY (14TH): Good evening, Mr. President. THE CHAIR: Good evening, Senator. SENATOR MARONEY (14TH): I move acceptance of the Joint Committee’s favorable report and passage of the bill. THE CHAIR: Thank you, Senator Maroney. The bill has been moved. Will you remark, Senator Maroney? SENATOR MARONEY (14TH): Thank you, Mr. President. This bill cleans up the definition of service in the time of war. It removes some redundant text from the definition, and it clarifies that service in the time of war would be -- it could be less than 90 days during a conflict if you were separated because of an injury during that conflict. In addition, it moves the residency requirements for the Veterans’ home at Rocky Hill in line with current practice. It states in there two years, but the practices that they have been actually allowing for that upon residency in the state, so it just brings us in line with existing practice of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. THE CHAIR: Thank you, Senator.