HARTFORD — Senator Mae Flexer (D-Danielson) was recognized by two national military service organizations for her dedication to enacting legislation in Connecticut to improve the lives of veterans, active duty military personnel and their families.

Senator Flexer was presented with a plaque at the War Memorial at Minuteman Park in Hartford by Colonel Robert Hill, the Vice President of Reserve Officers Association, and Colonel Greg Miller, the Vice President of the Military Officers Association of America, to express the organizations’ appreciation of her contributions to veterans’ causes.

“We gave Sen. Flexer this award to thank her for the significant time and effort she has spent working on behalf of veterans in the state of Connecticut, and for passing legislation that honors and supports our military members,” said. Col. Hill. 

In 2016, Senator Flexer, who chairs the General Assembly’s Veterans’ Affairs Committee, championed a new law that gives veteran-owned small businesses additional preferences that will make it easier for them to start and grow businesses and bid on state contracts.

Her efforts also led to a change in the law which doubled the maximum property tax exemption that a municipality may provide to wartime veterans or their surviving spouses to $20,000, while disabled veterans may be eligible for a further property tax exemption of $3,000. Now municipalities can opt in to this program and help local veterans save on their property taxes.

In 2015, Senator Flexer championed legislation that established a program within the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to provide information and services specifically to women veterans, who are statistically far less likely to take advantage of programs that are available for veterans, following military service.

During that session, she also pushed forward a bill to evaluate and enhance services and programming at Operation Academic Support for Incoming Service Members (OASIS) centers at Connecticut’s public colleges and universities in Connecticut.

Senator Flexer also led passage of a bill adding the Commissioner of Veterans’ Affairs to the Criminal Justice Policy Advisory Commission, in an effort to help track veterans who are incarcerated and determine what services they may be eligible for upon release, in an effort to lower recidivism rates in that population.  

In total, 24 bills aimed at supporting veterans, service members and their families were signed into law by Governor Dannel P. Malloy during Senator Flexer’s tenure as chair of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee.