Len Fasano

Len Fasano (born May 15, 1958) is a Republican member of the Connecticut Senate, representing the 34th District since 2003.^[1] Senator Fasano was sworn in as Senate Republican President Pro Tempore in January 2017. Under the new leadership role Senator Fasano will lead a Republican caucus with considerably more control over the Senate's agenda than in previous years^[2] as a result of a power sharing agreement negotiated after Republicans gained three seats in the Connecticut Senate,^[3] creating a tie for the first time since 1893.^[4] Previously, he had served as the Senate Minority Leader since 2015.

Fasano has been the State Senator for the 34th Senate District since 2003, representing the suburbs of New Haven in the Connecticut Senate, including the towns of Durham (part), East Haven, North Haven (part), and Wallingford.

Education

Fasano graduated from Hamden Hall Country Day School in 1977. He earned his B.S. from Yale University in 1981, a J.D. from Quinnipiac University School of Law in 1984, and a LL.M. in taxation from Boston University School of Law in 1985.

Career

Fasano is a tax attorney, and partner with Fasano, Ippolito, Lee & Florentine with offices in New Haven and Branford.^[5] He also owns Silver Sands Beach and Tennis Club in East Haven, Connecticut.

Senate career

Fasano was elected in 2002, 50% to 48%. He was Minority Whip from 2003-2004, Assistant Minority Leader from 2005-2006, Deputy Minority Leader from 2007 to 2008, Minority Leader Pro Tem from 2009-2014, Minority Leader since 2014, and Senate Republican President Pro Tempore since 2017.

Fasano was unopposed for reelection in 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010. In 2012, he defeated former state representative Steve Fontana, 58% to 42%. He was unopposed for reelection in 2014 and 2016.

Health Care Issues

Alongside Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, Len Fasano co-created and co-chaired Connecticut's Bipartisan Round Table on Hospitals and Health Care, established in 2014. The Round Table was formed to reach out to policy makers, health care providers, patients other stakeholders to monitor the implementation of recent legislation, discuss the rapid changes in the health care market and develop policy recommendations to help ensure continued access to affordable quality care in Connecticut. In 2016 Fasano was recognized for his work on the Round Table and subsequent legislation that emerged from the bipartisan discussions with the Connecticut State Medical Society Legislative Award.^[6]

In 2015, Len Fasano and Martin Looney worked together to pass a wide-ranging health care bill aiming to help control health care costs ^[7] and improve transparency for patients.^[8]

The 2015 bipartisan legislation required disclosure of actual contracted rates for common outpatient, inpatient, surgical and imaging procedures and made that information available to the public to compare prices by provider, service and payer. Under the new law, insured patients receiving emergency care will be billed only the in-network rate with no balance billing and out of network providers will be reimbursed at a reasonable rate. The legislation also was one of the first in the country to ban certain facility fees. Facility fees are extra costs tacked on to medical procedures and services at a hospital owned-facility. The legislation also increased oversight of hospital consolidations, created a cabinet to study cost containment models to look for ways to reduce hospital costs and established the creation of a statewide health information exchange.^[9]

In 2017 Fasano and Looney worked together again to craft and pass a bill that would make several changes aimed at lowering the price for pharmaceutical drugs, including the elimination of so-called "gag orders" that prevent pharmacists from sharing pricing information and what are referred to as "clawback" practices that increase the price. The legislation would clarify the definition of facility fee and increase patient notification. It also seeks to clarify antitrust laws.^[10]

Fasano also worked to make Connecticut the second state in the nation to implement a statewide screening program to test all newborns for adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) a genetic brain disorder.^[11] He was the lead sponsor for the legislation in 2013 ^[12] that was fully implemented in 2016.

Urban Development & Jobs Policies

As leader of the Senate Republican Caucus, Len Fasano has proposed policies focused on urban development and job growth in Connecticut cities.^[13] Proposals have included ideas to encourage the poor to enter the job market, remove disincentives to securing a job, and direct certain higher-education funds to subsidize low-income parents seeking college degrees.^[14] In 2017 the state Senate passed a bill proposed by Fasano to expedite the brownfield redevelopment process to redevelop old urban industrial properties and encourage urban developers to work with high schools and community technical colleges on curriculum to train future job seekers. The bill was not called for a vote in the House of Representatives.^[15]

Advocacy for the Disabled

Fasano has advocated for budgets that protect funding for social services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He has protested deep cuts to these services.^[16] He cosponsored legislation in 2016 to improve communication between the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) and families in need of services for family members with intellectual and developmental disabilities.^[17] Fasano worked alongside a bipartisan group of lawmakers, the DDS state agency, and advocacy groups including DDS Families First and the Arc of Connecticut to draft the legislation which requires DDS to provide families with information about their eligibility status for state resources and initiated communication between the agency and families to improve the system.^[18]

Advocate for Children Len Fasano was named a Children's Champion in 2015 ^[19] and 2016 ^[20] by the Early Childhood Alliance.

He has been a vocal critic of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families under the leadership of Commissioner Joette Katz appointed by Governor Dannel P. Malloy, including findings that children's needs are not being met by the department,^[21] multiple reports of system failures conducted by the Office of the Child Advocate,^[22] an unprecedented number of child homicides where children were under the care of the Department of Children and Families,^[23] and cases of child abuse reported at the Department's locked facilities.^[24]

Senator Fasano has proposed reforms to increase oversight of the department ^[25] over many years. He renewed calls for reform following a Federal Audit conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families which found that the agency practice is inconsistent in assessing safety and risk in the child's living environment and in preventing children's removal from their homes. The audit also found that Connecticut's child welfare agency is not in substantial conformity with any of the seven child and family outcomes related to children's safety, permanency, and well-being.^[26]

In 2017, a bill backed by Fasano to increase oversight of the Department of Children and Families garnered bipartisan support and passed the state Senate.^[27]

The Connecticut chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) named Len Fasano a "Legislator of the Year" multiple times including in 2016 ^[28] and 2013 ^[29] recognizing his efforts in support of tougher laws to help prevent drunk driving and educate young drivers about road safety.

Criticism

2005 Civil Racketeering Fine - In 2005, a federal jury ordered Fasano to pay $500,000 under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), for illegally helping a client hide their assets in a bankruptcy case.^[30]. However, the case - Cadle Company vs. Flannagan - was dismissed on July 24, 2006 by order of Judge Alfred Covello.

2015 Chris Healy Hiring - In December 2014, Fasano appointed former state Republican Chair Chris Healy as a senior advisor to the State Senate Republicans. Healy was described as an unindicted co-conspirator in the prosecution of Lisa Wilson-Foley.^[31] The hiring was condemned by Farmington Republican and former FBI agent Mike Clark, who ran against, and lost to, Wilson-Foley for the Republican nomination for Congress in 2010.^[32]

2016 Caucus Website - In 2016, it was reported that the Senate Republican Caucus had hired a former state employee in 2012 living in Texas to manage the Senate Republican website, at the same time this former employee was managing the campaign websites of Republican senators. Fasano said he was confident that the contractor upheld the separation between his contract and campaign work, but also told the contractor to stop performing campaign consulting jobs for Connecticut Senate Caucus members to remove any appearance of impropriety.^[33].The State Election Enforcement agreed with Fasano and took no action on the Democrat complaint, noticing Democrat Senators Looney and Duff in a SEEC report on August 23, 2018 where it found no evidence to support the Democrat claims.

2017 Attacks on Women in Leadership Roles - In October 2017, Fasano was criticized for his "pattern of misdirected criticism towards women holding high-ranking positions in our state's public institutions."^[34]

Personal life

Fasano and his wife Jill have three adult children, all graduates of Hamden Hall Country Day School. He is a founder of the East Haven Land Trust, and a Trustee of Hamden Hall Country Day School.^[35]

See also

• Connecticut Senate
• Senate Maps

References