section on climate change. "We need to protect our coastal towns from flooding, but that isn't about pseudo-science and global warming, it's about preparation for storm surges". Education In 2010, Coutu was part of a bipartisan effort with 60 co-sponsors, 12 mayors, and a dozen organizations to support a pilot student scholarship program for students from low- and middle-income families. The May 7 vote, which failed 98–44, was the first relating to student scholarships in more than 20 years. In 2011, he proposed new student scholarship legislation to include special needs schools. Election funding Coutu is a critic of public funding for political campaigns in Connecticut and claims to be the only Connecticut Republican who publicly supports the Citizens' Election Program. He was one of the first candidates to qualify for state funding in 2008 and 2010, but testified in 2008 that much of this funding should be cut and has expressed concerns that the system could be abused during statewide races, including in the approval of a $3 million increase in funding for the Malloy campaign during the 2010 gubernatorial election. People with disabilities In 2010, Coutu, who was a personal care assistant (PCA), joined a group of citizens with disabilities to challenge HB 6486. In October 2011, Governor Daniel Malloy signed Executive Orders 9 and 10 to bypass the legislature and establish a way for unionization of PCAs and daycare providers. In response, Coutu formed an online petition to support citizens with disabilities. In 2014, the United States Supreme Court agreed with Coutu in Harris v. Quinn. The ruling finds that it is unconstitutional to require these individuals to financially support a union. Unfunded mandates As the ranking member on the Insurance and Real Estate Committee, Coutu has criticized what he refers to as "unfunded mandates" passed by the state legislature. Coutu signed on to a 2010 resolution denouncing mandates, claiming they "squeezed budgets of cities and towns". Unions In 2011, Coutu stood side by side with thousands of state union employees. Thousands of government employees from multiple unions signed green cards requesting the opportunity to vote and potentially join another union called UPSEU. "This is all about bargaining unit members rights to be able to choose who represents them," said UPSEU attorney Barbara Resnick. She said not allowing a vote until 2015 is "fundamentally un-American, undemocratic and contrary to all basic fairness." Rep. Coutu stated, "... the