On February 17, Connecticut League of Conservation Voters (CTLCV), announced its annual Environmental Scorecard, which included standings for members of the Newtown legislative delegation. Senator Tony Hwang and Representatives Raghib AllieBrennan, Mitch Bolinsky, and Tony Scott were also included.
CTLCV uses this detailed report to grade Connecticut legislators on the basis of their votes on key environmental issues during the 2021 Connecticut General Assembly session. The nonprofit, bipartisan organization aims to protect Connecticut’s environment and hold elected leaders accountable for making democracy, equity, and climate action the top priorities.
According to a CTLCV newsletter released on the same day, this is the first Scorecard CTLCV has produced since Covid-19 abruptly ended the 2020 legislative sessions before significant votes could have been cast. This report is released at the beginning of the 2022 session. It emphasizes the unfinished work of the two previous years.
CTLCV collaborates with Connecticut’s environmental organizations to identify important bills and to consult advocates during session. It then tracks votes of politicians to create the scorecard.
Based on their votes on environmental legislation in committees, the Senate and the House, CTLCV grades legislators from 0% to 100%. The 2021 final score is the sum of all the votes received by legislators on key bills that we score. A blank space indicates that the legislator did not receive a vote on that bill. We don’t score abstentions or absences, but they are noted on our scorecard with an “A”, the Environmental Scorecard details.
Here are the 2021 bills that legislators scored:
* SB 127 The Sale of Electric Vehicles in The State
* SB 167 The Disposition of the Former Seaside Sanatorium Facility
* SB 356 An Act Concerning an Energy Efficiency Retrofit Grant Program for Affordable Housing
* SB 837 An Act Concerning The Use of Perfluoroalkyl or Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Class B Firefighting Foam
* SB 839 Electronic Documents and Pesticide Regulation in The State
* SB 882 Climate Change Mitigation and Home Energy Affordability
* SB 925 Prohibiting the Import, Sale and Possession of African Elephants, Lions, Leopards, Black Rhinoceros, White Rhinoceros, and Giraffes
* SB 884 Reducing Transportation-Related Carbon Emissions
* SB 926 An Act Concerning the Presence of PFAS In Certain Consumer Packaging
* SB 931 Emissions Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles
* SB 938 An Act Concerning Land Use Appeals
* SB 1037 Solid Waste Management
* SB 952 Energy Storage
* HJ 53 Adoption of the Long Island Sound Blue Plan
* HJ 58 Resolution Proposing a State Constitutional Amendment to Allow No-Excuse Absentee Voting
* HJ 59 Resolution Approving an Amendment to the State Constitution To Allow For Early Voting
* HB 5419 Federal Clean Air Act Fee on Motor Vehicle Registrations
* HB 6205 Revising Certain Absentee Voting Statutes
* HB 6386 Extended Producer Responsibility for Tires, Smoke Detectors, and Certain Gas Cylinders
* HB 6441 Climate Change Adaptation
* HB 6502 An Act Concerning the Use of Certain Polystyrene Products, The Availability of Single-Use Straws, Release of Certain Balloons, and the Compostable Nature of Single-Use Produce Bags
* HB 6503 Siting of Anaerobic Digestion Facilities on Farms
* HB 6551 An Act Concerning Environmental Air Quality
CTLCV marked the votes of legislators as being either pro-environment votes or anti-environment votes.
Tony Hwang
Republican State Senator Hwang received an Environmental Scoreboard score of 100% from the CTLCVs. All 11 of his votes were deemed favorable to the CTLCV and were pro-environment.
Hwang spoke toThe Newtown BeeBy phone, on March 8, and shared with the organization, I was recognized as an environmental champion for the past few years. The scorecard is just one indicator of advocacy, and recognition of our support for the environment. Even more humbling is being chosen as an environmental champion. Not only by the scorecard but also by our actions, activities, and support for so many aspects.
He stated that legislation does not mean only the creation of legislation. It also means raising awareness about the protection and preservation of our waterways and rivers; protecting air quality; being aware and proactive in supporting open space and climate changes; and how we can help preserve and maintain our ecosystem. While the scorecard is one indicator of my awareness, being recognized as an environmental champion means that I am constantly advocating and raising awareness.
Because I represent the entire spectrum of why it is important to protect our environment, and to raise awareness about the importance of coexistence with it, I am in a unique position to be a State Senator. Newtown is a strong advocate for that area due to the Newtown Forest Association, which balances what we want to do for business with the open spaces.
Being an environmental advocate is more than just being a good person. Advocates see environmental advocacy as a way to balance our business initiatives with our challenges. What I find most exciting is the rise in solar energy and renewable energy. It was only five or six years ago when we were able pass a bill that allowed for solar farms to be built in the town dump. This was something that we did legislatively and the town is now saving hundreds of thousands of dollars by having our town connected to the grid.
When I speak about environmental advocacy, I find the scorecard very useful and I am grateful for their acknowledgement. However, I am more grateful for the acknowledgement of my work as an environmental champion, and the work that I have done every year on each issue to measure it from public policy perspective. This is a conscious view that recognizes that we can make good policies while still protecting our environment.
He said, “One of my most powerful lessons in looking at this country’s beauty as an immigrant was that they don’t make it like this anymore.” We have a responsibility for preserving this beauty for future generations.
To contact Hwang, call 860-240-8805 or e-mail [email protected].
Raghib Allie-Brennan
Raghib AllieBrennan, Democrat State Representative, also received a 100% score on the CTLCVs Environment Scoreboard. All 12 of his votes were deemed favorable and pro-environment by the CTLCV.
Allie-Brennan told The Newtown Bee By eMail March 8, Connecticut communities are feeling the effects of climate changes. It is critical that the legislature continues its efforts to protect the environment and ensure resilience in our communities.
I was proud to bring important pieces of legislation to Congress last session. This included an act regarding the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy Program. This program provides businesses with a way to pay for zero emission vehicle infrastructure and resilience measures to address the climate crisis. I was also proud of being part of some of the most significant environmental legislative victories last session, including the passage and restriction of toxic chemical PFAS.
To contact Allie-Brennan, call 860-240-8583 or e-mail [email protected].
Mitch Bolinsky
Republican State Representative Mitch Bolinsky received an Environmental Scoreboard score of 80% from the CTLCVs. Eight of his ten votes were positive from the CTLCV and marked as pro-environment.
Two votes that were deemed anti-environment were the SB1037 Bottle Bill in House and the HJ58 Absentee voting in House.
Bolinsky released a statementThe Newtown BeeIt was published on March 8th, as:
I am pleased to have received a positive score on the CTLCV 2021 Scorecard. However, I would like to make a few comments to add context as CTLCV is often very literal in how they score certain matters. First, Absentee Voting should not be considered an environmental issue. It is hard to see my, or any other lawmakers’, position in favor of Absentee Voting. My opposition to HJ58 was rooted in the possibility that ballots could be distributed uninvited. My vote would have been affirmative if distribution had been at the voters request and subjected to basic verification. Even with that consideration, I don’t believe HJ-58 was an environment bill.
Second, I voted against the 2021 Bottle Bill SB-1037. However, I did not vote against the deposit/return concept, which I have found to work well. My vote against the bill was motivated by concerns about our state’s inability support the current amount of recycling. Our states’ shift to single-stream recycling had an unintended consequence: they co-mingled incompatible materials, driving up the price of processing it all. This led to a collapse in the resale of reclaimed materials for recycling.
Many of this material is sent to landfills today, and not recycled. I believe we must address the current processing problem before adding more. He concluded that he was the only member to have worked with the California state regulators and the US EPA to create a working program for recycling. I stand ready and able to support programs that encourage high levels of return and recycling of subject matter materials.
To contact Bolinsky, call 860-240-8700 or e-mail [email protected].
Tony Scott
Tony Scott, Republican State Representative, was awarded a score of 45 percent on the CTLCVs Environment Scoreboard. Five of his 11 votes were deemed favorable by the CTLCV.
The six votes not deemed favorable were for: SB 925 Wildlife Trafficking; SB 1037 Bottling Bill; HJ 56 Absentee Voting, HJ 59 Early voting; HB 6205 Absentee Electoral Voting Statutes and HB 6441 Climate Change adaptation. Scott released a statement. The Newtown BeeIt was published on March 4th, as:
I am an electric vehicle driver who supports their sale in the state. However, the scorecard doesn’t accurately reflect my environmental record.
I was not present in the House at the time these scorecard votes were held. Therefore, only 11 of the bills were counted. Three of the environmental scorecard votes were for bills that dealt with absentee and early voting, which have nothing whatsoever to do with the environment. My score is 62% when those voting-related bills are removed. This is significantly higher than the score shown in this alleged legislative scorecard.
A true representation would show that I voted to ban the sale and use of firefighting foam and products that contain harmful toxins that could reach our waterways. I voted in favor of a bill that provided grants for retrofitting affordable housing to make them more efficient and funded the removal or asbestos and lead.
I would vote in the affirmative for bills that would help our environment, but not damage to residents or businesses who have been affected by the pandemic. One example of the bills included in this scorecard was a bill that had little to do the environment. It would have added an additional conveyance fee to real estate purchases in Connecticut. This would have added another tax on working-class residents while making it harder to buy homes at a time of low housing stock.
To be fair, I want to mention that my Connecticut Business and Industry Association 2020 Legislative Score was a 100. Since I was elected, I’ve made it a point that I vote on every bill brought before the House. This gives me a 100% voting score.
To contact Scott, call 860-240-8700 or e-mail [email protected].
Lori Brown, CTLCV Executive Director, stated that lawmakers should use this document to help address the urgent need for climate change and make long-term investments in the environment of their states.
Visit the Connecticut Legislators’ Environmental Scorecard to access the complete report. ctlcv.org/scorecard2021.
Connecticut Ranking
The CTLCV also released a National Environmental Scorecard which ranked the Congressional Delegation based upon votes cast in 2021 on federal legislation. The entire Connecticut federal delegation was ranked with perfect scores in that report.
According to the CTLCV scorecard both Richard Blumenthal, a Democratic United States Senator, and Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Senator, had 100% proenvironmental action votes.
Brown said that it is a blessing to have a delegation that understands the urgency of climate changes. But, we know the work isn’t done. The future of our democracy and planet is at stake. Our delegation in Connecticut must work with the White House and their congressional counterparts to pass the Build back Better Agenda and vital voting rights protections.
Jahana Hayes, Newtown’s 5th District Congresswoman, scored 100 with her colleagues Rep Rosa DeLauro Jim Himes John Larson and Joe Courtney.
Visit this website to see the interactive National Environmental Scorecard scorecard.lcv.org.
This year’s Environmental Scorecards were dedicated in memory of Julie Belaga, co-founder of CTLCVs. Julie died in 2021.
CTLCV members have generously donated to create the Environmental Scorecard. Visit www.CTLCV.com to learn more. ctlcv.org.
Reporter Alissa Silver can be reached at [email protected]
Newtowns current redistricting plan will result in the loss of 112th District Rep Tony Scott and Raghib AllieBrennan, 2nd District Representative, or anyone else residing in those districts following Election Day 2022. Second from right, Senator Tony Hwang was retained. He expanded Rep Mitch Bolinskys106th District and brought northern Newtown and Hawleyville under the 107th district, currently represented by Republican lawmaker Steven Harding.
