State representative Marilyn Giuliano hosts a community cable show called “Shoreline Conversations,” featuring regular community guests and public figures. This week’s show for Tuesday, August 31 at 7:30 P.M. on Comcast channel 14 will feature guests from the North Cove Yacht Club.

“This group of likeminded avid watercraft sportsman has been active on the shoreline for more than 50 years. The North Cove Yacht Club hosts racing series, most notably their sailboat racing from the Saybrook Outer Light, and summer cruises amongst other activities. On my upcoming August 3rd show you’ll hear about its history, programs and historic place in the shoreline community,” said Rep. Guiliano.

Guests include Commodore Jack Cunningham, Past Commodore Lisa Carruthers and Chairman of the Race Committee Mark Fortin.

State Rep. Marilyn Giuliano Achieves Perfect Voting Record

State Representative Marilyn Giuliano continues her exemplary record of public service by registering a perfect voting record in the Connecticut General Assembly.

Giuliano, who represents Lyme, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook and Westbrook in the state House of Representatives, gave an up or down vote 100 percent of the time for the 274 votes of the 2010 legislative session. Only about 20 of the 151 legislators in the state House of Representatives accomplished such a voting record.

Giuliano called her service as an elected representative as both a serious responsibility and a distinct honor.  In these unprecedented economic times, she cited how it’s crucial be in Hartford for every vote to express concerns about the rising wave of state taxes and fees, cutting back excessive borrowing, reigning in spending, opposing unfunded mandates, reducing energy costs, and creating an environment of prosperity for generations to come.

Giuliano is the Ranking Member of the Education committee in the legislature. She is also a member of the Public Health and the Program Review and Investigations committees.

For more information about the 2010 legislative session, feel free to browse around the rest of her site.

The women’s suffrage movement started decades, even generations before the 19th Amendment was ratified. The movement’s supporters comprised of both men and women alike. Suffragists lectured, wrote, conducted rallies, lobbied governing officials, practiced civil disobedience, brought challenges to court, ran for office, organized marches and used many forms of peaceful demonstration and public education to further their cause. It was August 26th of 1920, through the final passage and certification of the 19th Amendment that a women’s right to vote was indisputably recognized by the U.S. Constitution.

The forum is designed to equip local home based businesses, or those thinking of starting a home based business, with necessary tools, assistance and information to help their small business thrive in Connecticut. It will also feature information about what the government can do for them as small businesses as well as provided an opportunity for like-minded Connecticut small businesses to network.

The forum is free and open to all home based business owners or those considering a home based business. If you are interested in attending the forum, please RSVP to Marilyn.Giuliano@cga.ct.gov.

Old Saybrook High School is located at 1111 Boston Post Road in Old Saybrook.

 State Representative Marilyn Giuliano and David Griswold will be special guests this week on WLIS/WMRD 1420 AM “The Best of the Valley Shore” radio program hosted by Don DeCesare this Wednesday, August 11 from 12:30 P.M. to 1:00 P.M. The show will cover the presence and proliferation of home based businesses in the lower river valley, their economic impact on the regional economy and the challenges of operating a business from home.

The program will also highlight the upcoming Home Based Business Networking Forum on August 18^th from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Old Saybrook High School 1111 Boston Post Road in Old Saybrook. The forum is designed to equip local home based businesses, or those thinking of starting a home based business, with necessary tools, assistance and information to help their small business thrive in Connecticut. The forum is hosted by Rep. Giuliano and the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.

For more information about the Home Based Business Networking Forum call 1-800-842-1423.

“Home based businesses are estimated to make up about 20% of small businesses in the U.S. numbering them about 34.3 million to 36.6 million home office households. These business models often require lower start-up costs and face higher than average success rates. If you are a home based small business owner or have thought about starting one of your own, I suggest you tune into Shoreline Conversations this week to hear about the success of my featured guests,” said Rep. Giuliano.

 The guests will be business owners David Griswold and John Forbis.

The Department of Environmental Protections Office of Long Island Sound Programs will be hosting a community forum on coastal permitting this week from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM on Thursday, July 8 at the DEP Marine Headquarters, Building A in Old Lyme. The forum is an informational meeting to discuss and seek feedback from coastal stakeholders on the coastal permitting program.

Due to the implementation of “An Act Concerning Expedited Permitting for Economic Development,” DEP in required to conduct an analysis of permit timeframes in an effort to better improve and streamline the permitting process. This forum is your chance to give critical feedback to DEP.

If you are unable to attend, please send comments or questions to:
Brian P. Thompson
Director, Office of Long Island Sound Programs
79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106-5127
Phone: (860) 424-3650
Fax:  (860) 424-4054

The DEP Marine Headquarters are located at 333 Ferry Road in Old Lyme.

Please feel free to contact my office in Hartford at 1-800-842-1423 if you have any questions.

If Connecticut is to emerge successfully from this international recession, government must make hard decisions to underwrite a future of prosperity.  During this last session of the legislature, this process began with a few important steps. 

The cancellation of old bond authorizations
The General Assembly passed legislation to cancel $480 million of old bond authorizations.  If programs or initiatives are important enough, then economically prioritized bond authorizations can and should be re-authorized.   Priorities for any new or re-authorized bond allocations should start with specific criteria to guide government in its decision making.  Examples of this include improvements in our transportation infrastructure; emergencies in the areas of public safety, public health; technology that leads to government efficiency, job growth, and economic development; and school construction.  Currently, eleven cents of every Connecticut  taxpayer dollar is used to pay down debt.  Connecticut has the fourth highest debt of any state in the United States.  Our current system of borrowing (bonding) makes it too easy for government  to spend taxpayer dollars.  The cancellation of old bond authorizations is a step in the right direction.

Expedited permitting for economic development
The legislature created an expedited permitting mechanism to speed up the review process for job  creating projects.  Coordinated under the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), an inter-agency coordination will speed the permitting process for transportation, environmental and economic development projects.    Granting businesses the requisite permits to operate in Connecticut has been a costly and time consuming.  This proposal is designed to create a one-stop, streamlined permitting and approval process within DECD so that projects of economic significance can receive expedited permitting to quickly begin the important work of stimulating jobs and economic growth.  

Municipal mandate relief
New legislation eliminates the requirement for towns to post minutes of municipal meetings on their website;  shifts the burden of removing and storing the possessions of evicted tenants from town responsibility to the responsibility of landlords and state marshals; and permits voluntary agreements between towns and boards of education for the joint purchase of employee health insurance to drive down health care costs. 

Still, much more needs to be done to reclaim Connecticut’s prosperity. Protecting jobs must be a priority. Repealing the business entity tax would give needed relief to every business, but especially small businesses. Every bill, amendment or resolution before the General Assembly that affects employment should be accompanied by a job impact statement. This job impact statement must disclose the effect of the proposed bill on employment in the state, and include an estimate of the gain or loss of jobs anticipated. 

Given the number of Connecticut’s state agencies and the size of the state workforce, Connecticut must look to innovative streamlining of state government through agency consolidations, telecommuting initiatives, and early retirement workforce downsizing . 

Reclaiming our prosperity means reviewing before renewing under-performing programs.  Too often in state government, programs are created without the necessary criteria to evaluate a program’s effectiveness.  It then becomes impossible to know if a program is successful, and whether or not it represents a wise or wasteful use of citizen tax dollars. Government needs to establish benchmarks for state-funded programs and services.  These benchmarks should measure the program’s effectiveness in meeting the needs of the user and in assessing the efficacy of the program.  If benchmarks are not met, the state should sunset these under-performing programs.

Navigating Connecticut’s recession will be difficult, but reclaiming our prosperity as a state and a people is my ultimate goal.

Marilyn Giuliano is the state Representative for Lyme, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook and coastal Westbrook in the Connecticut General Assembly.

State Representative Marilyn Giuliano Celebrates Memorial Day
Speaks with Students of Mile Creek School

State Representative Marilyn Giuliano celebrated Memorial Day with students from Mile Creek School on Friday morning, May 28th for a ceremony honoring those who gave their lives for our country. Rep. Giuliano was a special guest speaker at the event where she recounted the history behind our nation’s Memorial Day celebration. Also participating in the ceremony were the American Legion posts of Lyme and Old Lyme.

Re-enactment men dressed as Union soldiers fire three salutes to honor the fallen.

American Legion members give American flags to Mile Creek students during a Memorial Day celebration.