Opinion: Gentile says Dems 'want to work in a bipartisan manner' on budget

By Linda M. Gentile

State Representative

104th District   

HARTFORD - Last Thursday, State Reps. Themis Klarides and Nicole Klarides-Ditria made a statement in which they criticized the Democrats for not proposing a balanced budget. 

State Rep. Linda M. Gentile, D-Ansonia

However, that same day, the House Democrats presented a revised budget proposal that was honest, balanced, and had the support of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities.

Democratic leadership additionally welcomed Republicans, including Minority Leader Themis Klarides, to discuss this proposal. 

For myself and my fellow Democrats, it is important to have a budget that maintains our commitment to our public schools, helps businesses thrive, includes structural changes, and avoids taxing hospitals or increases in property taxes. 

This budget proposal also protects the critical services that thousands of residents rely on and invests in Connecticut’s future.

In fact, CCM, (Connecticut Conference of Municipalities) has called it the most honest of budgets that has been presented, as it includes level funding of municipal aid, a new additional revenue option for towns from a portion of the sales tax, and promotes vital economic growth and development.  

'Unrealistic numbers'

The Republican caucus has touted their three proposed budgets, but the truth is, those budgets did not have all of these critical components. 
Additionally, the Republican budget was using unrealistic numbers and therefore could not be achieved. 

It is important to note that the House Democrats' proposed budget includes ideas from all legislative caucuses, as well as input from municipalities, the business community, hospitals, and other constituencies. 

This is why this budget proposal is honest and fair. It combines the ideas of all parties so that everyone will benefit.

House Democrats have acknowledged that good ideas are not exclusive to a political party and therefore, we have made ourselves available to the Republicans to discuss this budget. We want to work in a bipartisan manner. We want to work collaboratively. Republicans need to come to the table.

The Democrats plan to call for a vote on our proposed budget on Tuesday, July 18. 

In the meantime, I urge Republicans, including Klarides and Klarides-Ditria, to meet with Democrats to discuss our budget proposal. 

I hope they are willing to collaborate with us to pass this balanced and honest budget.

This is a release from the House Democrats' office.

Crisco pens farewell column, thanks constituents

By Joseph J. Crisco, Jr. 

I would like to thank my constituents for the privilege of serving as your state Senator for the past 24 years.

As I write this, the start of the 2017 legislative session is just one week away. But for the first time, I will not be there.

I was first elected to the state Senate in 1992, a Wilbur Cross High School and UConn grad who spent most of my life commuting back and forth from the Valley to my day job as director of government affairs for the United Technologies Corp.

Joseph J. Crisco, Jr. 

There are all kinds of ways to serve your fellow man: for a long time I took a lot of pride in my athletic accomplishments on the football field at Wilbur Cross and UConn. 
Teamwork and dedication, win or lose, were the hallmarks of my youth, and they instilled in me a spirit of effort and compromise, of commitment and acceptance.

There really is no better place to spend your time than in the General Assembly. I really consider it my second home. 
The staff and the other legislators become your second family; you rely on them for advice, and for comfort, for support, and you come to trust their judgment. You have to, because there are so many important issues that we deal with.

I had been in the legislature just six years when I struck on the idea of creating a ‘Family Day’ in Connecticut to celebrate what I think is the most important teacher of individual responsibility and morality. As the father of six and the grandfather of 18, I honestly believe that.

I was happy to launch the Connecticut Hall of Fame in 2006 to recognize all the famous and productive people who have called Connecticut their home. Katherine Hepburn, Mark Twain, and Igor Sikorsky were the first three inductees.

Along the way I kept the annual 17^th District Senior fair going on at Warsaw Park in Ansonia. I was happy to sponsor the annual Young Women in Technology Expo to help introduce 7^th-grade girls to the types of careers you might find at UTC or any of the other high-tech companies now located throughout Connecticut. 

There were state grants, too, for the Ansonia Nature and Recreation Center and the Sterling Opera House in Derby, for athletic fields and libraries, animal shelters and affordable housing and recreational trails. I worked with area legislators to help keep the Troop I Barracks in Bethany.

I used my position as chairman of the Insurance Committee to fight for better patient care, especially when it came to women’s breast cancer. 
I was so happy to be introduced to Dr. Nancy Cappello, because we had a years-long partnership working to improve health insurance coverage for women’s breast exams, which led to the legislature’s passage of the ‘dense breast tissue’ and breast MRI bills which have undoubtedly saved many lives here in Connecticut, throughout the nation and the world. 
This has become even more of a personal issue for me now that my wife is undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

My concern for the health and welfare of Connecticut’s residents is also reflected in my creation of the Biomedical Research Fund, which has awarded millions of dollars over the years to Connecticut-based researchers doing work in heart disease, cancer, smoking-related illnesses, Alzheimer’s, stroke, and diabetes. 
Just two months ago I was at Griffin Hospital in Derby to celebrate $1.3 million to be used for research at Griffin’s Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Center.

Everything I’ve done in my life has been in that spirit of teamwork and dedication, win or lose, showing effort and commitment whether it be in a practice or the big game. 
I’m so happy to have fought and won for you, and to have had your support and your trust for so many years. 

It is my sincerest hope that the work I have done will live on for years to come, doing good, and that you and your families have a wonderful New Year, this year and for our future to come.  


Crisco, a Democrat, is a Woodbridge resident.

Column: Conroy calls for bill to fight opioid abuse epidemic

By Theresa Conroy
State Representative
105th District

Our state and our nation are in the midst of a public health crisis...an epidemic.

Opioid abuse is tearing apart families and tearing at the fabric of our communities.

Theresa Conroy

Heroin and opioid abuse does not discriminate. It knows no political affiliation, does not care what sex, age, religion, race, socio-economic class or any other status that historically have been discriminated against.

A year ago, I was, like many in the community, unaware of the epidemic. It was brought to my attention by the untimely death of a young college student.
Over the past year many people have come to me to tell me their stories.

There is always a variation, but the one theme that remains constant is that not one of them sought out to be a heroin addict. Too often, the use of prescription opioids, such as Percocet, lead to illegal street purchasing. When prescription drugs become too cost prohibitive, heroin is the cheap alternative.

Between 2009-2013, there were over 1,900 accidental and unintentional opioid involved deaths that occurred in 150 of Connecticut’s 169 cities and towns.

One of several bills (HB 5782) that I submitted will aid in the battle against opioid overdose.

This legislation will allow pharmacists to dispense certain opioid antagonist drugs without a prescription, which could be done through a state-approved protocol or collaborative practice agreements; such is what currently allows pharmacist’s to administer certain vaccines.
Our neighboring states, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, have successfully implemented this type of program.

Naloxone, or Narcan, is an opioid antagonist that works to reverse the effects of opioids. Nalaxone is not addictive and has little side effects, as compared to other self-administered drugs such as an epi pen – it simply saves the lives of people who have overdosed on an opioid.

A recent evaluation of a Naloxone program in Massachusetts, which trained over 2,900 potential overdose bystanders, reported that opioid overdose death rates were significantly reduced in communities in which the program was implemented compared to those in which it was not available.

I am also proud to see Gov. Malloy out front on this issue. He has a proposal (HB 6856) to provide new tools to battle to opioid crisis.

His proposal, among other things, would streamline the reporting process by alerting practitioners if patients seeking certain prescriptions have recently received these medications from multiple other prescribers or pharmacists.

The proposal requires all pharmacies in Connecticut to report the dispensing of prescriptions for all controlled substances immediately-rather than weekly. Gov. Malloy is taking a strong stance with his leadership on this issue.

These are tools we need to protect our loved ones and our communities from the ravages of opioid abuse.

We can save lives by meeting this crisis head on with strong policy initiatives.


Conroy represents Seymour, Beacon Falls, and Derby. She is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse.