Logan applauds passage of opioid legislation

HARTFORD - State Sen. George S. Logan, R-Ansonia, today stood in strong support of HB 7052, An Act Preventing Prescription Opioid Diversion and Abuse.

“I am thrilled to report that this legislation was unanimously adopted by the Senate this afternoon in concurrence with the House,”

State Sen. George S. Logan

Logan said. 
“Communities and families across the state have been increasingly impacted by opioid addiction and prescription drug abuse, this bill works to address this crisis by taking proactive steps to educate and bring awareness to opioid drug abuse.”

The bill makes several changes to prevent and treat opioid drug abuse, including:

• Requiring individual and group health insurers to cover medically necessary detox treatments
• Requiring a treatment facility to use admissions criteria developed by the American Society of Addiction Medicine, which urges admission regardless of health status or addiction levels
• Limiting access to controlled substances by allowing certain registered nurses employed by home health care agencies to destroy or dispose of them
• Requiring practitioners, when prescribing opioids, to discuss with all patients, rather than only minors, the risks associated with opioid drug use
• The bill reduces, from a seven day supply to a five day supply, the maximum amount of an opioid drug a practitioner may prescribe to a minor
• The bill requires prescriptions for controlled substances to be electronically transmitted – with a few exceptions including if the prescriber demonstrates that they do not have the technological capacity
• The bill also creates a standing order – a non-patient specific prescription to licensed pharmacists to prescribe Naloxone

“I want to applaud the hard-work that was put into this bill,” said Logan. “This common-sense legislation encourages prescribers to increase awareness of opioid addiction, it takes steps to help those in need and fosters the proper disposal of unused opioids. The passage of this legislation should be seen as a positive step forward in addressing an epidemic that does not have one solution and in the end I think it will help save lives.”

HB 7052 now heads to the governor’s desk and awaits his signature.

Logan (www.SenatorGeorgeLogan.com) represents Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bethany, and Derby; and parts of Hamden, Naugatuck, and Woodbridge.  

He can be reached at George.Logan@cga.ct.gov and at 800-842-1421.


This is a press release from Logan's office.

Logan hails Senate passage of hate crime bill he co-sponsored

State Sen. George S. Logan 

HARTFORD - State Sen. George S. Logan, R-Ansonia, applauded the state Senate’s unanimous passage Tuesday of a comprehensive bill aimed at strengthening Connecticut’s hate crime laws, making them the strongest in the nation. 

Logan is a co-sponsor of the legislation, which now heads to the governor for his signature.

“As Republicans and Democrats, we stand united in the face of hate,” Logan said.  

“This legislation sends a strong message that Connecticut has zero tolerance for hate crimes. Our laws will soon be a model for the rest of the country.”

Over the last year, the United States has endured incidents of hate including murders, assaults, bomb threats and vandalism that have been directed against African-Americans, Hindu-Americans, Hispanics, Jews, Muslims, Sikh-Americans, transgender women, and others.

  

House Bill 5743, An Act Concerning Hate Crimes:

• Strengthens hate crime laws by increasing penalties, making it a felony (instead of a misdemeanor) for committing a hate crime against a group of persons (instead of a specific individual.)
• Strengthens and modernizes Connecticut’s hate crime laws to include hate crimes based on gender (sex). Current law protects only “gender identity or expression,” not gender.
• Strengthens hate crime laws by increasing the penalty to a Class C felony (from a Class D felony) for making a bomb threat or other threat of violence against a house of worship, religious community center or other religious institution—or any daycare facility—if the threat is made with the intent to terrorize another person or to cause the evacuation of the building or grounds. This puts the penalty for such bomb threats on par with threats made against schools.
• Strengthens hate crime laws by increasing the penalty for desecrating any house of worship or any religious cemetery from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class C felony if there is more than $10,000 in damage, or a Class D felony if there is less than $10,000 in damage.
• Strengthens hate crime laws by expanding the threshold for a 1st-degree hate crime from its current requirement of causing “serious physical injury” to instead causing “physical injury.”
• Establishes a court’s power to order extensive, relevant community service and/or restitution, in addition to any other penalties imposed for hate crime convictions.
• Establishes a mandatory minimum fine of $1,000 for individuals convicted of hate crimes.

Logan (www.SenatorGeorgeLogan.com) represents Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bethany, and Derby; and parts of Hamden, Naugatuck and Woodbridge. He can be reached at George.Logan@cga.ct.gov and at 800-842-1421.

This is a press release from Logan's office.

Update: Logan's coffee hour in Hamden cancelled

Due to Legislative business, Senator Logan’s Monthly Coffee Hour at Three Brothers Diner in Hamden has been cancelled for tomorrow, June 2nd at 8am. 
If you would like to make arrangements to meet with Senator Logan in the district, please contact us at 800-842-1421 or 860-240-8800 to request a meeting.

Gentile to host small business forum in Ansonia

ANSONIA - In honor of National Small Business week, state Rep. Linda Gentile, D-Ansonia, Derby, will host a small business forum from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday at Emmett O'Brien Technical High School.

State Rep. Linda M. Gentile

Representatives from the Department of Economic Development and the Department of Labor will speak about the various programs and resources available that support small businesses. 

“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and we must continue to provide them with the necessary tools they need to thrive,” Gentile said. “I am excited to meet with small business owners and will continue to support them in the legislature.”

She will be joined by state Sen. George S. Logan, House Republican Leader state Rep. Themis Klarides, and state Rep. Klarides-Ditria.

The school is at 141 Prindle Ave.

This is a press release from House Democrats' office.