海角换妻鈥檚 2024 General Assembly has come to a close.
Legislators advanced a variety of measures, but the short session, which runs from February to May in even numbered years, limited the time lawmakers had to consider and pass legislation.
Several bills did not get taken up by both chambers by the after Republicans鈥� prolonged debate Wednesday, which ended with concerns over funds that would go . A wide-ranging bill addressing climate change, and to create financial incentives for affordable housing close to public transit didn鈥檛 pass.
Several key measures passed the General Assembly in its final week, and for further action.
Expiring pandemic aid disbursed to higher ed, CT agencies and more
Lawmakers did not make formal adjustments to , but instead proposed a bill to allocate $372.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars for the next fiscal year beginning July 1. The Senate passed the late Tuesday. A large chunk of the funds, designed to help with continued pandemic relief, go toward the state鈥檚 public higher education system which faces proposed budget cuts.
The federal dollars are also going to fund state early childhood education, nonprofits, and services that address mental health, in addition to municipal aid.
, state governments are required to disburse the ARPA stimulus dollars, and spend them by the end of 2026.
Election security and transparency
One of the final bills to pass the Senate on Wednesday mandates video surveillance at ballot drop boxes, and would limit replacement absentee ballots to only the applicant. This is to better monitor potential voting irregularities, though relatively rare, as has reported.
Its passage comes as voting integrity, especially around absentee ballots in Bridgeport, has come under increased scrutiny. A judge ordered the city to redo its mayoral primary and invalidated the results of last year鈥檚 general election after reviewing videos that appeared to show two Mayor Joe Ganim supporters dropping papers into an absentee ballot drop box. Ganim, a Democrat, won the redo of that election in February.
Improvements for home-based care
The legislation bolstering care for the state鈥檚 older adults is intended to help more people 鈥渁ge in place鈥� 鈥� which proponents emphasized was important with the population of older adults in the coming years. It cleared the Senate on Tuesday, with unanimous support.
The creates a home care services provider registry to help people find aides more feasibly, and facilitate background checks of providers. It also grants presumptive medical eligibility 鈥� temporary Medicaid coverage 鈥� for home-based care, so people do not have to wait for insurance approval, and have the choice between living at home and in a care facility.
Expanding CT's paid sick days law
This measure to almost all workers in the state over the next three years. It passed the Senate Monday night, updating existing , which only mandated sick days for workplaces with 50 or more employees.
Under the measure, employees would get an hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours they work, with a limit of 40 hours of leave per year. In 2025, workplaces with at least 25 employees would have to offer paid sick days, and in 2026, employers with 11 or more workers must offer the days. By 2027, workplaces with at least one employee must give paid sick days.
The next time legislators are scheduled to again write new laws is .
This story has been updated.
