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What Happened During the 2021 Connecticut Legislative General Session and the Special Session
January 6 – June 9, 2021 & June 15 – 17, 2021
This was an unusual Legislative Session. The State Capitol and Legislative Office Building were both closed to all except Legislators because of COVID-19 pandemic and aftermath. Still, the State Capitol grounds continued to be used for press conferences and demonstrations. Read on to find out what happened during the General Session and Special Session.
We owe a BIG THANK YOU to all the legislators and League members for their strong support of our work to Empower Voters and Defend Democracy. We will continue the work to make Early Voting and No Excuse Absentee Voting realities for all Connecticut voters, election officials, and poll workers.
Note: the following summary does not include a full review of the“Implementer Bill” (SB 1202), which was passed in a Special Session after the regular General Session, and is not available as of this writing.
LWVCT 2021 Legislative Priorities
- Protecting Voting Rights and Expanding Voter Access through measures such as Early In-Person Voting and No-Excuse Absentee Ballots
- Gender and Racial Equality
- A Fair and Transparent Redistricting Process
- Open & Transparent Government: Protecting the public's right to know and access to the legislative processes by adequately funding CT-N.com and Community Access TV
- Citizens/Clean Election Program and Campaign Finance Reform
- Environment & Climate
LEGISLATIVE SUCCESSES
VOTING RIGHTS
1 - CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
HJ 58 – NO EXCUSE ABSENTEE VOTING resolution passed in the Senate 27-9 (a supermajority) and in the House 104-44 (a simple majority; needed 113 for a supermajority of all 151 House members.) Therefore, HJ 58 will have to be passed in both chambers in the next General Session in 2023 before it can appear on our ballots in 2024.
HJ 59 – EARLY VOTING resolution passed in both houses by a simple majority for the second time, so it will appear as a referendum question on our ballots in 2022.
Passed 26-9 in the Senate; 115-26 in the House.
2 - EXPANDING VOTER ACCESS + ELECTION INTEGRITY
The 837-page “Implementer Bill” (SB 1202) contained historic voting rights legislation and an Election Monitor for “any town with a population of at least one hundred forty thousand”. SB 1202 was passed by both the House (89-50) and the Senate (20-6) on June 16th. LWVCT had supported a similar bill for an Election Monitor, SB 1014.
Many key provisions of the earlier SB 5 bill which LWVCT had supported were folded into the “Implementer Bill” SB 1202 to:
- Expand Automatic voter registration through multiple state agencies in addition to DMV. This will both enable more eligible voters to register to vote and it will help keep voter rolls current.
- Restore voting rights to people on parole.
- Make drop boxes for absentee ballots permanent.
- Empower voters to apply for an absentee ballot using an online system which the Secretary of the State is to create and maintain.
- Make more accommodations for persons with visual disabilities.
- Require the Secretary of the State to implement an e-signature system for most election-related forms and applications.
RACIAL EQUALITY
Declaring Racism a Public Health Crisis
SB 1 – To Equalize Comprehensive Access to Mental, Behavioral and Physical Health Care in Response to the Pandemic. Passed 30-5 in the Senate, 114-33 in the House. (LWVCT testified on a similar bill HB 6662).
RACIAL EQUALITY; FAIR REDISTRICTING
Prison Gerrymandering
SB 753 – Counting of Incarcerated Persons for Purposes of Determining Legislative Districts PASSED in the Senate nearly unanimously 35-1 and in the House 95-49.
FAIR & TRANSPARENT REDISTRICTING PROCESS
People Powered Fair Maps
Patricia Rossi’s work in this area and engagement with CT MIRROR triggered the Reapportionment Committee to meet before the end of April, and before CT Mirror’s hour-long webinar on redistricting on “PPFM Day of Action” on April 29, 2021.
Her one-page report to 2021 LWVCT Convention is included at the end of this document. It is essential to understanding the redistricting process underway in CT very soon.
CITIZENS ELECTION PROGRAM
Funds for Child Care
SB 883 – Governor’s Bill for Women and Girls includes permission for qualified participants to use CEP funds to offset childcare costs while running for office. Senate passed 34-1 and House passed 113-33.
Campaign Finance/ CEP bills we opposed, SB 1078 and SB 294, died in committee.
OPEN AND TRANSPARENT GOVERNMENT
Seven sections in the "Implementer Bill" (SB 1202), are derived from the following two bills that did not get voted on separately:
SB 183 – Remote Meetings under FOIA – remote meetings allowed until 4/30/2022.
SB 1072 – FOIA. Made technical adjustments to FOIA act.
ENVIRONMENT: BOTTLE BILL
SB 1037 – Solid Waste Management Bill – aka Modernization of the 1980 Bottle Bill – passed with numerous last-minute amendments; in the Senate 33-1, and in the House 105-42.
Our Legislative Specialist Kathy Golas worked tirelessly to get the best possible bill passed; this is a definite compromise and will need close attention as extended deadlines for enactment of its three main sections approach.
UNSUCCESSFUL LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS
ENVIRONMENT
Transportation Climate Initiative
SB 884 – Reducing Transportation-Related Carbon Emissions (and environmental justice)Legislative Specialist Susan Iseman, Judy Lhamon, and Carol Reimers worked with LWVMA and LWVRI and others to get this “Cap and Invest” bill approved.
This effort was UNSUCCESSFUL in 2021. Will come back again to this in 2022.
ONGOING INITIATIVE: PEOPLE-POWERED FAIR MAPS
Year 2 of 3
LWVUS started a 50-state program to ensure fair redistricting in the fall of 2019. Patricia Rossi has been the Connecticut State Representative for PPFM from the beginning. The program continues through 2022, when Connecticut’s new maps, which will be in effect from 2022-2031 must be defined.
From September of 2020 until the end of May of 2021, in Connecticut we have:
- Held 17 events to draw attention to redistricting, including car caravans, voter registration pop- ups, educational presentations to community groups, and rallies at the Capitol
- Created a Redistricting 101 Educational presentation focused on CT that can be used throughout the state via teleconference and in person
- Partnered with the NAACP, ACLU, and Yale Rule of Law Clinic to rally support and pass Committee Bill 753 which outlaws Prison Gerrymandering in CT
- Engaged with community allies —including Democracy Now and NAACP—to work for fair maps
- Met with stakeholders in local and state government, elected representatives, and community leaders to promote citizen-directed fair maps
- Generated media coverage in CT newspapers, Radio, and TV
- Engaged over 600 members of the public through webinars, oral testimony in the legislature, rallies, and tabling events
- Engaged over 30 volunteers to work on PPFM
- Sponsored a CT Mirror panel discussion with experts from The Brennan Center, Florida On the Line, and Iowa LWV that was watched by hundreds across the state
- Triggered the Reapportionment Committee to meet before the end of April
From June 2021 until the maps are drawn and approved, we will draw attention to the process as the legislature’s bipartisan committee drafts and submits maps for approval. We’ll encourage public input and oversight and help them make their voices heard to the committee. We can collect draft maps and testimony that can be useful if the committee’s plan ends up in CT courts.
Support non-partisan advocacy with a gift of $15, $25, $50 or more! 100% of your gift goes to sustaining LWVCT Advocacy efforts and legislative priorities.
