HARTFORD, CT -- New York state is leading a group of 18 states, 10 cities, four counties and the U.S. Conference of Mayors in a lawsuit against the Census Bureau and Commerce Department to try to remove a new citizenship question from the 2020 census questionnaire. It was originally filed April 3, more than a week after California filed a similar lawsuit in San Francisco federal court against Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who oversees the bureau, and Census Bureau officials. The city of San Jose, Calif., as well as a group of individuals from Maryland and Arizona, have also taken separate legal actions to block the citizenship question. The states joining New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court are Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.
Policy News
HARTFORD, CT -- Michelle Riordan-Nold, Executive Director of the Connecticut Data Collaborative, comments on the importance of an accurate Census 2020 count, and challenges the Census Bureau has faced in maintaining their federal funding and finding new leadership, a recent ruling has put the accuracy of the Census 2020 count in jeopardy.
WASHINGTON, DC -- After months of fighting over aid to last summer’s hurricane-hit communities, Congress finally approved a compromise budget bill earlier this month that will provide millions of dollars to help schools care for displaced students. The budget bill provides $8,500 for each displaced student, $9,000 for each one that is not English-speaking like Nairelys and Jason, and $10,000 for disabled students requiring special education.
WASHINGTON, DC -- In rare bipartisan agreement, Congress on Friday approved a massive budget deal that will increase federal spending in Connecticut, providing big boosts for the state’s defense industry and health care programs and even helping schools educate displaced students from Puerto Rico. ...A new measure was added to the extenders package that would help Westport’s Newman’s Own Foundation, which gives 100 percent of the profits made from the Newman’s Own food business to charity, but would have been hit with a 200 percent tax this year unless it divested or got the exception.
NEW YORK, NY -- Philanthropic organizations have been on edge since Republicans rammed through the monumental tax bill: Will Americans give as generously now that the incentives have completely shifted? Findings suggest that the the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 may deal a particularly devastating blow to charities that make up the private social safety net . . .
HARTFORD, CT -- Local nonprofits are calling on Congress to reject aspects of the proposed tax reform bill that address changes in charitable giving deductions, and non-profit status, saying they hurt their ability to operate at a time when many are losing state and federal funding.