Newtown’s State Rep Mitch Bolinsky (R-106) is reminding residents that a raft of new laws went into effect on January 1 — including a number of which he supported and opposed.

“These new laws may have an impact on you, your business, or our community,” Rep Bolinsky said in a December 30 advisory message.

The local lawmaker highlighted some of the noteworthy new laws and encouraged constituents to review the full list, which can be accessed by visiting the General Assembly website at cga.ct.gov/asp/aearchives/20200101actseffective.asp.

Among the new laws Rep Bolinsky highlighted are an Act Concerning Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorder. He said “this new law creates a level of parity and protection for patients seeking mental health and substance abuse disorder treatments.”

He also highlighted an Act Concerning Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Training and Best Practices.

“This new law requires certain healthcare professionals who provide primary care or emergency treatment for adults to receive training in recognizing the signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia and to establish a working group to develop recommendations on improving the care of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia patients,” Rep Bolinsky related.

Additionally, Rep Bolinsky pointed to an Act Concerning Prescription Drug Costs.

“This new law, originally passed in 2018, requires greater reporting requirements on pharmacy benefits managers, health carriers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, the Office of Health Strategy, and the Insurance Department concerning prescription drug rebates and the cost of prescription drugs,” he stated.

Rep Bolinsky also focused on four new taxable entities that were marked up as of January 1.

“These new taxes, which I opposed, came up for debate earlier in the year,” he said, noting constituents could look forward to shelling out additional pocket money to cover dry cleaning and laundry services; parking fees; and interior design services. Rep Bolinsky also noted that the tax exempt status on safety apparel was repealed as of January 1, subjecting items like reflective vests, protective gloves, etc to existing sales tax rate.

According to the Assembly site, some of the other new laws that went into effect January 1 include:

An Act Concerning Paid Family And Medical Leave — This act creates the Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FMLI) program to provide wage replacement benefits to certain employees taking leave for reasons allowed under the state’s Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). It provides them with up to 12 weeks of FMLI benefits over a 12-month period. The program also provides two additional weeks of benefits for a serious health condition that results in incapacitation during pregnancy.

An Act Expanding Required Health Insurance Coverage For Hearing Aids — This act eliminates an age restriction for mandated health insurance coverage for hearing aids, thus requiring certain insurance policies to cover hearing aids for any covered person. Under prior law, policies could limit hearing aid coverage to $1,000 within a 24-month period. The act instead allows policies to limit coverage to one hearing aid per ear within a 24-month period.

An Act Concerning Mental Health And Substance Use Disorder Benefits This act prohibits certain health insurance policies from:

1. Applying non-quantitative treatment limitations (i.e., non-numeric limits on the scope or duration of coverage, such as prior authorization requirements) to mental health and substance use disorder benefits unless the policy applies the limitations comparably to, and not more stringently than, how it applies them to medical and surgical benefits.

2. Denying coverage for substance abuse services solely because the services were provided under a court order.

An Act Concerning The Convenience Of Acquiring Motor Vehicle Licenses And Registrations — This act makes several changes related to acquiring and renewing driver’s licenses, identity (ID) cards, and vehicle registrations. Principally, it:

1. Authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles commissioner to renew (a) driver’s licenses and ID cards for any period, up to eight years, and (b) most vehicle registrations for two or three years;

2. Increases the initial term of driver’s licenses and ID cards from six years to seven years; and

3. Eliminates the authority of the commissioner to issue driver’s licenses and ID cards without the personal appearance of the holder.

An Act Concerning Training For Certain Public Safety And Emergency Services Personnel — This act makes various changes related to the training of public safety personnel. Specifically, it requires the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, starting January 1, 2020, to expand its free training on juvenile matters for state and local police to include techniques for handling incidents involving juveniles and adults with ASD, NLD, or cognitive impairment.

An Act Streamlining The Liquor Control Act — This act does the following:

1. Increases, from nine liters to nine gallons, the daily per-person amount of beer certain beer manufacturer permittees may sell for off-premises consumption;

2. Allows cider manufacturer permittees to sell alcoholic cider and apple wine for on-premises consumption;

3. Combines the coliseum and coliseum concession permits and, among other things, allows soccer stadiums to receive this permit; and

4. Allows non-uniform cases of alcoholic liquor (e.g., spirits, wine, and beer) and increases the maximum number of times the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) commissioner may allow cases with less than the statutory minimum number of bottles or quantity of units to be sold.

An Act Requiring An Invasive Species Stamp For The Operation Of A Motorboat On The Waters Of The State And Enforcement Of Noise Ordinances On Candlewood Lake — This act requires owners of registered vessels (i.e., generally, any type of watercraft except a seaplane) to pay an annual aquatic invasive species (AIS) fee. The fee is $5 for in-state vessels and $20 for out-of-state vessels. The act authorizes DEEP environmental conservation police officers to enforce the noise ordinance of any municipality bordering Candlewood Lake on the lake’s waters. If more than one of these municipalities has a noise ordinance, the officers may enforce the most restrictive one.