House Democratic leaders want to repeal CT's 'poverty tax'

House Democratic leaders unveiled a proposal Wednesday to effectively end Connecticut’s longstanding practice of trying to recover public assistance by placing liens on the homes of former welfare recipients.

House Speaker Matt Ritter of Hartford and Rep. Toni E. Walker of New Haven said the measure would end an outdated procedure that amounts to a “poverty tax.”

“We treat it like a debt and not the temporary hand up it’s meant to be,” Ritter said during a mid-afternoon, live-streamed press conference. “These liens are the ultimate dream-crushers.”

Connecticut is one of 12 states that place liens on the property of recipients of any form of public assistance, according to a 2020 report from the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Research.

Read more: https://ctmirror.org/2021/01/27/house-democratic-leaders-want-to-repeal-cts-poverty-tax/