July23-36.qxp_NCN new template 7/1/24 12:50 PM Page 24
Ellington State Representative Round-up
Sometimes bills are born from constituent suggestions When I'm interacting with the public, I take your suggestions back to Hartford. One of those suggestions became law this past session. Jaime Foster Constituents Al and Charlene Trujillo suggested that they would like to see veterans’ tax exemptions. The House and Senate both unanimously passed legislation establishing a tax exemption for veterans with a service-connected permanent and total disability rating. Beginning with the 2024 assessment year (and first applicable to tax bills due July 1, 2025), the new law, Public Act 24-46 requires municipalities to fully exempt a primary residence or motor vehicle for each of these veterans who served in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Air Force or Space Force of the United States, who have a permanent and total disability rating from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
To qualify, veterans must file for the exemption with their town assessor. The exemption may also be transferred to a deceased veteran’s surviving spouse or minor child. There is a retroactive part to this legislation as well, as veterans may apply for a tax abatement or refund for up to three years if they meet the eligibility criteria. This legislation is effective Oct. 1 of this year. When I hosted a veteran resource discussion in Ellington recently with fellow State Rep. Kevin Brown (D-Vernon), this bill was a topic of discussion. Another piece of legislation tied to our military, Public Act 24-57 expands eligibility for grants from the Military Relief Fund for essential household goods or services if payment for such goods or services would be a hardship to a serious injury or illness, or the death, of an eligible service member or an immediate family member thereof. The Military Department shall use the
fund to make grants to eligible members of the armed forces or their immediate family members for essential personal or household goods or services in this state if the payment for such goods or services would be a hardship for such eligible member or immediate family member because of the military service of the eligible member, or a serious injury or illness, or the death, of such eligible member or immediate family member. The department shall not make any grant that exceeds $5,000 or the balance available for grants in the fund The Senate and House both showed this bill unanimous support. This legislation is effective July 1. I will continue to work to listen and learn, to hear from all of you about what issues you would like me to focus on next, so as always, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns you have. As you can see, the tax-exemption bill was born out of a concern brought about by constituents.
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Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Ronald P. Welch and Reps. Jaime Foster and Kevin Brown spoke to veterans about programs and resources at a recent resource event in Ellington. Rep. Foster’s Office photo
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