AT THE CAPITOL
With the governor in quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19, the announcement of his nomination for a new supreme court justice to replace Justice Christine Keller, who is taking senior status, and the nominations of another ten new superior court judges, is being moved to this week. The intention of the governor is to have the new judges vetted by the Judiciary Committee and approved by the General Assembly by the end of the session on May 4. One of the first orders of business in the legislature this week, aside from executive nominations, is the approval of 22 new superior court judges, two family magistrates, and three workers’ compensation administrative law judges recently approved by the Judiciary Committee.
The legislature will be in session on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. The public is still not permitted beyond the second floor of the Capitol and the first floor of the Legislative Office Building (LOB).
Committees have reached their deadlines and will no longer have reason to meet unless bills are referred to them as a committee of legislative cognizance.
Starting this week, the governor and caucus leaders will be behind closed doors to the budget adjustments which need to be approved in session. The Appropriations Committee passed a $24.2 billion state budget in adjustments for Fiscal Year 2023. As of now, surplus in the budget stands at $1.76 billion. There is only a specific statutory level in which taxes to the public can be cut.
With only three weeks left in the session, only so many bills will be forwarded to the floor for discussion. Certain groups within the legislature will hold others hostage by threatening to “talk” bills, unless they can have a certain number of their own bills brought to the floor for a vote.
YLS ANNUAL LEGISLATIVE BREAKFAST
The Annual YLS legislative breakfast will be held virtually over Zoom on Tuesday, April 19at 9:00 am. The speakers will be Rep. Steve Stafstrom, Judiciary Committee chair, and Rep. Rosa Rebimbas, House Deputy Republican Leader. Learn more and register.
STATE TREASURER
With Republican and Democrat endorsement caucuses being held in May, Shawn Wooden, state treasurer and former pension lawyer at Day Pitney, announced that for family reasons he will not run again for this constitutional office. This year three out of six constitutional officers will not be running for re-election, including Secretary of the State Denise Merrill and State Comptroller Kevin Lembo.
SENATE MEMBERS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MEMBERS
TELEVISION COVERAGE
CT-N, The Connecticut Network, provides daily live and taped coverage of the legislature's activities. When hearings, committee meetings or floor sessions are being taped, live video coverage will be available in the Capitol and LOB over the in-house television system. House and Senate sessions will be covered in their entirety and selected hearings and committee meetings will also be covered. This live coverage can be viewed in-house on the channel assigned to the room where the proceeding is taking place. CT-N itself can be seen on channel 98 of the in-house system and on Comcast Cable’s Hartford system.
CT-N is available full-time on cable TV statewide, and on basic or expanded cable in most of the state.For more information on The Connecticut Network or to find out where CT-N is available in your area, visit their website at www.ct-n.com or call (860) 240-1400.