CT lawmakers debating until midnight on final night - Hartford Courant

CT lawmakers debating until midnight on final night

State lawmakers held an all-day marathon Wednesday as they raced to beat the clock while facing a midnight deadline for the end of the 2024 regular session in an election year.

Democrats, who control both chambers of the legislature, were still waiting to debate higher-profile bills on issues such as funding for striking workers, banning Chinese-made drones, and combatting climate change in a high-priority environmental bill.

But Republicans staged filibusters in the House and Senate chambers throughout Wednesday afternoon, asking detailed questions and delivering long speeches on lower-profile bills in a traditional strategy to run out the clock so that no time would be left to debate bills that they sought to block. In the final days, more than 400 bills were still pending on the House and Senate calendars with many of them expected to die without a vote as time expired.

Among the pending bills on the final day:

Chinese drones

The House was expected to debate a broad-ranging consumer protection bill that would prohibit Connecticut towns and state agencies from purchasing Chinese and Russian-made drones in the future. The reason is that some lawmakers are highly concerned about potential hacking aimed at gaining information that could be sent back to China.

The issue, contained in Senate Bill 3, has split lawmakers largely along party lines with Democrats in favor of the provision and Republicans against. The wide-ranging bill also includes provisions for greater disclosure on hidden “junk fees” that are often added to concert tickets and other items that consumers sometimes overlook until it is time to pay.

In Congress, where lawmakers remained deadlocked on most issues, legislators passed a law last year that bans the use of foreign drones for the military and the U.S. government.

As the Connecticut bill has been rewritten recently, the complete phaseout would apply to the state police by October 2026 and municipalities by October 2027. First responders like police departments statewide have already spent an estimated $1 million to $2 million on drones, but they will eventually be replaced because the average lifespan is three to five years, officials said.

The problem, lawmakers said, is that the Chinese-made drones are generally cheaper, and Connecticut municipalities have been buying them because of the lower cost.

The issue came to light when the FBI and a federal entity known as the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency released warnings that the drones could be a “significant risk” because they could collect video and photographs of water and sewer plants, emergency communications systems, and other key infrastructure.

Besides the federal ban, Connecticut would be following the lead of states like Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi that have banned the devices.

A crucial point in the bill is that cities and towns could obtain a waiver that would allow the governor’s budget office, known as the state Office of Policy and Management, to drop the funding and purchase provisions under certain circumstances. The local police or fire chief would need to explain why the municipality needed to keep using the drone that had been banned.

House Speaker Matt Ritter, a Hartford Democrat, said the drone issue raised concerns and he was not sure of its fate as time was running out.

“I don’t know. I’ll vote for it,” Ritter told reporters Wednesday. “I think there’s some concern, but we’ll get through it. I think we’ll get the votes for it. The hope is eventually America will produce those drones. … I think it’s a good goal to make it in America. I like that.”

Climate change

With time running out, the chances were diminishing that the Senate would debate a controversial bill on climate change that provides incentives for alternative energy like solar power and electric heat pumps.

The House previously had approved the measure by 94-56 after 4 1/2 hours of sometimes-impassioned debate as Republicans raised concerns. The measure was pushed chiefly by state Rep. Christine Palm, a Chester Democrat who is not seeking re-election. The issue, though, was that there was far less enthusiasm in the Senate than in the House.

Democrats hailed the multifaceted bill for taking steps like expanding solar canopies in parking lots and creating a task force to study electric transmission that would include offshore wind. The 23-page bill offers incentives like tax credits and business fee waivers, along with fostering training in green jobs, helping municipalities, encouraging water and air health, and supporting energy-saving grid enhancements. Republicans countered that the bill could cost $750,000 to $800,000.

Known as House Bill 5004, the measure was a high priority for House Democrats. Republicans noted that the bill contains incentives for consumers to switch to cleaner, greener energy, but they questioned how the state would pay for subsidies for expensive electric heat pumps and other items. They also said the United States could take action like closing pollution-spewing coal plants, but China and India keep running their factories at full steam.

Installing a projected 300,000 electric heat pumps in the future, Republicans warned, could use the same amount of electricity as powering 40 small towns.

The climate bill became more of a priority after lawmakers failed to take any action on incentives for electric cars.

Late last year, pushing for more electric cars was among the highest priorities for Gov. Ned Lamont and Democrats. But Republicans pushed back hard on a plan to pass a controversial bill that would have mandated that Connecticut adopt the California emissions standards and mandate that all new car sales in Connecticut starting in 2035 would be all-electric or plug-in hybrid. Republicans raised multiple questions earlier this year, saying that Democrats were moving too quickly without enough public input and no legislative hearings at the time.

Striking workers fund

As of 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, the Senate had yet to vote on a House bill that would create a $3 million fund to compensate striking workers for wages lost during labor disputes. The measure was a high priority for organized labor and Democrats who have supported each other for decades.

The controversial proposal cleared the House in a 90-59 vote Friday, cloaked in language that made no explicit mention of the word “strike.” Likewise, House lawmakers made no explicit mention of the bill’s full intent during a 3-minute discussion that preceded the vote.

House Bill 5431, which seeks to establish a “Connecticut families and workers account … for the purposes of assisting low-income workers,” is expected to meet increased friction from opponents in the Senate.

The proposal is seen as a compromise for labor advocates who hoped to pass House Bill 5164, which would have made workers eligible for unemployment benefits after 14 days on strike, starting Dec. 14, 2025. Under the bill, the Connecticut Department of Labor would operate the program under the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.

Bond package

During the final six hours, senators debated the annual bond package that had been previously approved in recent days by the House. The package includes provisions written by Sen. John Fonfara of Hartford to address concentrated poverty in various U.S. Census tracts across the state.

Sen. Tony Hwang of Fairfield, the ranking Senate Republican on the bonding subcommittee, spoke in favor of the bipartisan bill that includes $2.476 billion for various projects for public schools, highways, housing, and higher education that includes UConn, the four state universities, and the community colleges.

“These dollars come from taxation,” said Hwang, one of two Senate Republicans who voted in favor of the Democratic-written bill on the reallocation of federal coronavirus funding. “There is no question about meeting the covenant of the bonding cap. … We are asking for greater accountability, greater respect for taxpayers’ dollars. … This bonding package is under the bonding cap, and we have done a service to the people of Connecticut.”

Noting that he lived in a federal housing project, Hwang said, “It is important to understand what abject poverty can do in making people do things.”

Retiring legislators

In the middle of debating state Comptroller Sean Scanlon’s bill on retirement security at 2:40 p.m. Wednesday, the House called a timeout to honor retiring members who are not seeking reelection in November and were spending their last day in regular session at the state Capitol.

The nine retirees include Reps. Michael D’Agostino of Hamden, Christine Palm of Chester, Peter Tercyak of New Britain, David Labriola of Naugatuck, Charles Ferraro of West Haven, Rick Hayes of Putnam, Cindy Harrison of Southbury, Keith Denning of Wilton and Tom Arnone of Enfield.

D’Agostino told colleagues that he has been surprised recently when people have approached him and said “congratulations” as he is leaving.

“It’s a full-time job. Don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise,” D’Agostino told his colleagues in the cavernous Hall of the House, adding that constituent service is year-round. “You better be there for them 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. … A burden? No. This is the best job in the world. … Look around in case you haven’t. This is your office. … The only thing better than the setting is the people who are in it.”

“That was a good speech!” Ritter responded from the dais.

In another speech, Denning said he did not realize how much work the job entailed as he is stepping down after one term.

“There are some fish out there that need to be caught,” Denning said, “and some grandchildren that need to be played with.”

Candelora congratulated his fellow lawmakers, saying that the grind of campaigning is not easy.

“This is a tough business where we are selling ourselves every two years to the electorate,” he said. “We will miss you all.”

Courant staff writer Alison Cross contributed to this report.

Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com