An independent review of LeBeau's submitted bills.

A JI article about a bill protecting the speech rights of students caused me to investigate the 28 bills 3rd district Senator Gary LeBeau has introduced so far this session. Here is my take on them:

The Good:

HB06229 AN ACT CONCERNING PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS FOR VETERANS.

This one made me think a bit. Ultimately almost any tax break is a good one. I can of three uses for this exemption with one being to cheat the system by renting the property exempted and not disclosing it. The others would be to provide the same exemption a permanent resident veteran would get to a veteran who resides in their CT home less than half the year or to provide an exemption for a second CT vacation property.

SB00370 AN ACT ENCOURAGING REGIONALIZATION OF MUNICIPALITIES.

It seems odd that towns wouldn’t already have the ability to participate in regionalization if they desired to do so leasing me to question whether this is a redundant bill. In any case if this bill is in fact necessary to permit towns to regionalize and because it does not force any town to do so I’d say yes.

SB00380 AN ACT CONCERNING A PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION ON MOTOR VEHICLES OWNED BY THE ELDERLY.

This is a good bill. It enables towns to eliminate the tax on motor vehicles for elderly persons. Again, almost any tax break is a good one.

SB00478 AN ACT CONCERNING THE ELECTRONIC CORRESPONDENCE OF STUDENTS.

This is a bill which should not in my opinion be necessary, but due to the developments of the Avery Doninger case it has become so. This bill keeps students from being punished for communications conducted on personal time which school officials deem offensive or disruptive. This bill became necessary because of the case of Avery Doninger in which she was punished for calling the superintendent of her district a douche bag on her blog while at home. The courts ruled in favor of the school administration effectively destroying the ability of enrolled students to speak their mind or otherwise express their opinions or beliefs on their own time for fear that they may be contrary to that of school officials and become punishable.

SB00484 AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEFINITION OF BULLYING.

While it is debatable whether or not state statutes should address the time honored tradition of bullying in schools which the majority of us have been on the receiving end of this bill gives a basic level of defense to a student who may be accused of bullying, potentially anonymously, by allowing them a hearing before having bully stamped on their permanent record.

SB00498 AN ACT ESTABLISHING A REDUCED STATE PARK FEE PROGRAM FOR SENIORS.

This is another tax break. This bill would reduce the user fees for senior citizens at state parks. Again, almost any tax break is a good one.

SB00717 AN ACT CONCERNING IN-KIND DONATIONS FOR PROPERTY OWNERS PROVIDING FREE RENT TO CERTAIN NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

This bill effectively provides a tax break for those who allow non-profits free use of rental space. Almost any tax break is a good one.

The Bad:

HB05104 AN ACT CONCERNING AN EXCEPTION TO THE EDUCATION COST SHARING FORMULA FOR THE TOWN OF EAST HARTFORD.

This was introduced by all 4 of East Hartford’s Representatives and gives East Hartford special consideration in keeping ECS funds the same as in the previous fiscal year. This may seem like a good thing but it’s important to realize that this sort of re-election campaign issue is the very reason that the state is billions of dollars upside down. We as East Hartford residents do not have the right to take tax dollars from our neighbors for our failing schools while at the same time telling them we are cutting their funding. We need to take this opportunity to prune the millions in growth the district budget has seen without corresponding improvement in education. This bill speaks to a lack of fiscal principle on the part of the submitters.

HB06249 AN ACT EXEMPTING CITIES AND TOWNS FROM STATE COURT FILING FEES.

This bill is a bad idea. The intention is good no doubt but it ignores the fact that when the city or town doesn’t pay the fee, also known as the income that pays for the courts, employees etc., everyone in CT must subsidize the fee. Local communities should pay for their local legal issues. It is impossible to justify East Hartford taxpayers paying for the court cases of Washington Depot out in Litchfield County or vice versa.

HB06318 AN ACT PROHIBITING SMOKING IN MOTOR VEHICLES WITH MINOR CHILDREN.

This bill is an intrusion into the private lives and property of private citizens. The next logical progression from this is for the state to tell you that you can’t smoke in your home and to tell you what other things you can’t do in or with your private property. This is a violation of the natural right to Property wrapped in a banner saying save the children.

SB00051 AN ACT AUTHORIZING BONDS OF THE STATE FOR CONSTRUCTION OF A YMCA IN ELLINGTON.

This is a bad bill. Local projects need to be funded with local dollars. Why should 100% of the taxpayers carry the load for a facility 1% of the taxpayers will benefit from? If the residents of Ellington feel they need this YMCA than they ought to be willing to bond it in their own local budget. This is another campaign issue which benefits Mr LeBeau come election time but hurts the rest of the state every day.

SB00249 AN ACT CONCERNING THE FILM PRODUCTION TAX CREDIT.

This bill is bad. It reduces the availability of tax credits for certain film production activity. In other words it raises the tax burden on some types of film production. In other words it’s a tax increase.

SB00254 AN ACT AUTHORIZING BONDS OF THE STATE FOR CONSTRUCTION OF A BMX AND SKATE PARK IN EAST WINDSOR.

This is a bad bill. Here is another election issue for Mr. Lebeau. Again this should be funded at the local level. With the amount in question, $25,000, it should be no problem for a local fund raising initiative to raise the funds for this project. Bills like this should never be introduced, they compromise the principles of good government.

SB00260 AN ACT CONCERNING MUNICIPAL FEES FOR TELECOMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANIES.

This is a bad bill. This bill would impose a tax on companies which would become a tax on all users of their service as the costs are passed through to the rate payers. In other words this is a tax increase.

SB00399 AN ACT ESTABLISHING THAT WOOD SMOKE SHALL BE CONSIDERED A PUBLIC NUISANCE UNDER THE PUBLIC HEALTH CODE.

This is a bad bill in that it callously and without thought harms the original, cheapest and most abundant heating resource in New England. The state already has laws in place which prevent most noxious wood smoke issues in dense residential areas and this extra step would have significant economic effects on many CT households which are not appropriate in this or any economic time.

SB00415 AN ACT CONCERNING RETURN AND REUSE OF MEDICATIONS BY HEALTH CARE INSTITUTIONS.

This bill seems like a bad bill because in it’s brief descriptive text it appears to interfere with property rights, pose potential safety hazards and impose undue burdens on businesses without explanation of how it contends to reduce medication costs.

SB00418 AN ACT AUTHORIZING BONDS OF THE STATE FOR A FIRE TRUCK.

This is a bad bill which once again gives Mr. LeBeau a campaign issue at the expense of all other CT residents. It would provide funds for a fire truck which benefits one town and sends the bill to the residents of all 169 towns in the state. The truck if needed should be purchased with local funds and bonding.

SB00496 AN ACT AUTHORIZING BONDS OF THE STATE FOR RAYMOND LIBRARY IN THE TOWN OF EAST HARTFORD.

Yet another bad election issue bill. East Hartford needs to pay for this on our own. The cost for this without bonding would be just $100 per household in a single tax year.

SB00570 AN ACT CONCERNING THE ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, MOTOR BUS IDLING AND BENEFICIAL USE OF SOLID WASTE.

This bill has too many individual and unrelated issues in it. The implications of this bill as written are numerous and the issues should be addressed separately.

SB00611 AN ACT ESTABLISHING A FULL-TIME UNICAMERAL LEGISLATURE.

Wow, just wow. All in one bill here. Raise legislator salaries, reduce representation in the state, extend terms of election, remove the check of dual chambers. This bill is awful and Senator LeBeau ought to be embarrassed for introducing it. One thing is certain, this bill would make the legislature more efficient, just not at the things citizens appreciate.

SB00665 AN ACT CONCERNING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A FUND FOR THE BENEFIT OF SUPPORTED LIVING IN GROUPS HOMES.

This is government intrusion into private charity. This exists in the private market and does not need to be destroyed by the hands of legislators.

SB00666 AN ACT CONCERNING FUNDING FOR BROWNFIELDS DEVELOPMENT.

This bill raids funds set aside for land protection, affordable housing and historical preservation to provide an election issue for Mr. LeBeau by financing the remediation of brownfields in his district.

SB00726 AN ACT CONCERNING SURCHARGE CLAUSES IN RESIDENTIAL LEASES FOR HEAT AND UTILITIES

This is a bad bill. It would allow a landlord to include a clause to unilaterally spring rent increases labeled as heat or utility surcharges on a renter violating the basic principle of contracts. The clause this bill attempts to authorize was specifically banned to remove the ability of landlords to impose abusive unilateral increases.

SB00735 AN ACT REQUIRING THE USE OF TRANSPORTATION FUNDING FOR NONMOTORIZED TRANSPORTATION.

This bill is unnecessary and harmful to efficient use of transportation funds. Earmarking of fund in this manner ensures that funds will be spent needlessly and yet more funds will be needed to replace the hole created by this earmarking.

SB00736 AN ACT IMPROVING STATUTORY AND REGULATORY PROVISIONS CONCERNING PARKING FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES.

This bill smacks of bureaucracy and administrative costs for government and private business. To my knowledge the law already limits the use of handicapped permits and spaces to the handicapped. Abuse of the system could already be enforced where problems exist.

The Neutral:

HB05622 AN ACT CONCERNING THE INCLUSION OF GLUTENS ON THE LABELING OF ALL FOOD PRODUCTS

I’m ultimately against this bill because the list of gluten-free foods, most of which are already proudly advertised as such, is significantly shorter than those containing gluten. For this reason I’m of the opinion that a wiser path is to assume all foods are made with and contain glutens unless they are specifically labelled otherwise. The intention of this bill is obvious. Glutens are an allergen to a good portion of the population and as such the need to know about their existence in foods is important. The difference between peanuts, which are labelled, and glutens which are not is that peanuts would not be a normal ingredient in most foods whereas gluten is.

HB05930 AN ACT REQUIRING SMALL BUSINESS IMPACT ANALYSES FOR PROPOSED REGULATIONS.

This bill is another one that could be a curse wrapped in a blessing. I am in favor of the concept of reviewing all regulations to determine their impact on all businesses and citizens. What troubles me is the the cost, beurocracy and accuracy of any analysis that would occur. I don’t know how I’d vote on this one without more information.

SB00721 AN ACT HOLDING COMPANIES HARMLESS FOR DAMAGES CAUSED BY EX-OFFENDERS IN THEIR EMPLOY.

This bill seems good on it’s face, but it’s unclear what responsibility the employer has to ensure their customers aren ‘t harmed especially when the employer has reason to believe that the employee may be of poor character. How would you feel if Bernie Madoff were employed by a local bank after being released from prison and stole the money from your checking account. I would expect the bank to be responsible having knowledge that he has a significant ethical and character flaw in that area.

Conclusion

7 Good, 18 Bad, and 3 Neutral Bills.

That means on my scale LeBeau scores 25% good, or alternatively 75% bad.

It’s worth noting that the things I have listed as good are mostly only listed as such because they are tax breaks. It appears that LeBeau’s strategy is to introduce bills that create election issues to win segments of the voting population including senior citizens and veterans. There is nothing in this list of bills that helps CT as a whole and in fact a good portion of it is downright bad for the state.