Representative Dathan targets mental health and carbon neutrality

Noting that issues of mental health affect every generation, not just young people, Democratic Rep. Lucy Dathan says she has been raising awareness of the issues and supporting the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Community is high on her list of what she hopes to achieve in the legislature.

“I’d like to see additional resources go into expanding our workforce, especially for the IDD community,” she said. “We’re seeing quite a lot of issues there, but also within the mental health space and ensuring we have enough counselors.”

As for carbon neutrality, Dathan said there has been significant discussion around electric vehicles and hybrid regulations, part of the process of moving the state toward carbon neutrality. “That’s something I’ve worked on in the session and will continue to try to get that over the finish line this year,” she said.

In a related action, the Biden Administration issued what The New York Times said, was one of the most significant climate regulations in the nation’s history, aiming to ensure that the majority of all new passenger cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. be all-electric or hybrid by 2032.

The new rule would, if implemented, would reduce tailpipe emissions equivalent to seven billion tons of carbon dioxide over the next 30 years.