Legislative Priorities
In the recent weeks, legislative leaders have announced their legislative priorities for the upcoming 2022 Session. Top House and Senate leaders said Tuesday that addressing Connecticut’s overburdened and understaffed mental health system for children and adults will be a bipartisan priority when the General Assembly convenes next week. Speaker of the House, Matt Ritter (D), plans to address juvenile crime and negotiating expiring state employee contracts this session. Additionally, President Pro Tempore Martin Looney (D), stated that easing property taxes, inequities in public health, and juvenile crime are top priorities of his. Senate Republicans will make helping lower income families battered by the pandemic a priority in addition to addressing mental health and labor shortages. Governor Lamont has been quiet surrounding his legislative priorities but plans to include expanding the earned income tax credit to help the working poor. He also stated he’ll make property tax relief a priority this year and will leave to the General Assembly any action on business tax relief.
2022 Legislative Session
With less than two weeks until the start of the 2022 session, lawmakers in the Connecticut General Assembly have decided to continue implementing Covid- 19 restrictions for at least the first month of session. This means that there will be limited public access to the state Capitol Complex and committee meetings and hearings will be held virtually for the time being. Republican leaders have generally been critical of the decision to keep the building closed but did not object to the prospect of virtual hearings for a limited time to safely accommodate those who wish to testify. Speaker of the House Matt Ritter and House Majority Leader Jason Rojas said that their goal is to ultimately transition to in-person committee meetings in March.
Josh Geballe Leaving Lamont Administration
Josh Geballe, one of the most important players in Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration, announced today that he is leaving the administration for a job at Yale. For nearly two years during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Geballe became one of the key faces of the administration as he answered numerous questions from reporters on live television. After Lamont, Geballe was among the most powerful leaders in state government. Lamont said he will nominate Michelle Gilman, who currently serves as deputy chief operating officer, to the position of DAS commissioner.
Lamont Requesting Extension of Powers
Governor Ned Lamont is asking the legislature to codify and extend a narrow group 11 executive orders, such as a mask mandate for children in school and COVID-19 safety measures for nursing home visitors. But he is not asking for an extension of the current mandate that requires state employees in the executive branch to be vaccinated or to submit to weekly testing. While the Democratic-controlled legislature has extended Lamont’s powers six times, Republicans and some Democrats have pushed back by saying that the legislature should be restored to a co-equal branch of government after nearly two years. It is possible that the legislature could act on opening day to vote on extending the Governor’s powers once again.
Stamford Special Election
Democrat and Army Veteran, Hubert Delany, won the special election for the state House’s 144th District seat, which opened up after Caroline Simmons was elected the city’s Mayor in November. Delany will be representing his district when the Connecticut General Assembly convenes for its regular session on February 9th. He will serve out the remainder of Simmons' term. The seat will be up for grabs again, with all legislative seats, in the November 2022 election.
Governor Lamont has also announced a special election will be held Feb. 22 to fill the seat left vacant by state Rep. Tony D’Amelio, who resigned at the end of last year. The following week, a special election will be held on March 1st to fill the seat of state Rep. Brandon McGee’s seat. McGee will run the political arm of Governor Lamont’s re-election campaign.
Witkos, Haskell and Formica not Seeking Re-Election
Following Senator Will Haskell’s announcement that he will not be seeking re- election in 2022, Deputy Senate GOP leader Paul Formica of East Lyme and Sen. Kevin Witkos of Canton are also not running for re-election after long careers. Currently serving his third term, Senator Formica has decided to not run for re- election with the arrival of a new grandchild and to spend more time focusing on his restaurant. Witkos, 57, has served in the legislature for the past 20 years — starting with a stunning upset in 2002 of seven-term Rep. Jesse Stratton in Canton. Witkos is now looking forward to rejoining the Canton volunteer fire department.
As mentioned in last month’s newsletter, Senator Haskell (D) will not seek reelection to a third term this fall as he takes “an intermission” in public service to start law school. Representative Witt Betts (R) of Bristol has also announced his retirement leaving a vacant seat to be filled in the 2022 election.
Governor Lamont’s Executive Orders
During a public health emergency, the Governor essentially can run the state via executive order.
Please review the Governor's most recent Executive Orders: