Rinity Perspectives News Today

HB 6551: Connecticut’s take on environmental justice: A step in the right direction Connecticut continuously ranks as one of the greenest and most environmentally friendly states in the United States. In 1973, Connecticut enacted its first environmental policy called the Connecticut Environmental Policy Act (CEPA), which is an evaluation of how the state’s operations affect the environment. This policy was a crucial step forward in environmental preservation for the state. This policy is ...

For The People Act: More than just a remedy against restrictive voter laws People register to vote at Hartford City Hall. It can be hard to vote, even in “blue state” Connecticut. Connecticut does not have early voting or no-excuse absentee voting. Most voters are forced to vote in person on election day. The only option for voting on a day other than election day is to vote absentee with a qualifying excuse. To vote absentee a Connecticut resident must fill out a form, mail the form to t...

The number of retail, or non-professional, investors has grown exponentially in the U.S. throughout the pandemic. Large retail trading sites such as E*TRADE, TD Ameritrade, and Charles Schwab saw their number of new users increase by 103% compared to last year. At the same time, Robinhood had 3 million new accounts opened in the first quarter of 2020, almost double the first quarter of 2019. Half of Robinhood’s 3 million new accounts reported themselves as first-time investors. Teenage an...

Even though Connecticut is a blue state with a Democratically controlled house, senate and governor, it  is just one of seven states in the nation does not allow universal absentee voting prior to election day. As the COVID-19 pandemic raged during the primary season, the Connecticut legislature voted to permit Connecticut residents to cast absentee ballots. Who would have thought that it would take a pandemic during a presidential election year to expand access to voting in Connecticut and al...

SB 1018: Connecticut’s effort to increase prosecutorial accountability and why it will not work Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division, CT OPM Prosecutors hold people’s lives in their hands. Their decisions shape not only the futures of defendants, prisoners, and formerly incarcerated people, but also the overall extent of mass incarceration. Currently, the United States is the international leader for incarceration with almost 2.3 million people behind bars. Connecticut’s incarcer...