Less than two weeks before President-elect Donald Trump is set to take office, 海角换妻鈥檚 General Assembly reconvened for its 2025 legislative session.
For nearly five months, the part-time legislature will discuss bills, hear public testimony and vote on legislation in committee and on the House and Senate floor. Lawmakers will also decide on the state鈥檚 next two-year budget.
The session began Wednesday with 海角换妻 Gov. Ned Lamont鈥檚 State of the State address at the Capitol in Hartford.
The two-term Democratic governor will present lawmakers with a budget proposal in the coming weeks.
"And always, our north stars will be affordability and opportunity, holding down costs of energy and education, allowing you to keep more of what you earn and providing you the tools you need to earn more, to buy a home, start a business," Lamont said during his address.
Lawmakers must end the regular session business by midnight on June 4.
High cost of power dominates early parts of Lamont's speech
Affordability and the high cost of electricity in 海角换妻 dominated the early parts of Lamont's speech to lawmakers, with the governor saying expensive power impacts everyone from families to small business owners.
"They鈥檙e asking me about the reliability and affordability of electricity, as everything we do gets more energy intensive," Lamont said.
Lamont said the state needs to increase its supply of low-carbon energy, but 海角换妻 continues to rely on two major staples for its electircal supply: natural gas and nuclear energy, the latter of which accounts for about one-third of .
Nuclear energy raises concern among environmentalists
Lamont hinted during his speech Wednesday that nuclear power could grow in 海角换妻.
"Nuclear power that provides most of our carbon-free power," he said. "Right now, we're working with the federal government to find ways to expand nuclear capacity in 海角换妻."
But environmental groups immediately voiced that the state needs to focus more on renewable energy options, not more nuclear power.
"Offshore wind is, was and will continue to be a huge part of getting us to our emissions goals that both the Governor and the legislature and the public have adopted," Lori Brown, executive director of the 海角换妻 League of Conservation Voters, said at the Capitol. "And we cannot afford to slide back from that."
Last month, the state officially with Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Lamont told 海角换妻's "The Wheelhouse" in December that the project ended from concern over cost to ratepayers.
Charles Rothenberger, a climate and energy attorney at Save the Sound, also expressed concern about the state depending more on more nuclear energy.
"I don't believe it is a cheaper alternative to actual clean renewable energy," Rothenberger said, citing offshore wind and solar as alternatives. "And those are projects that could come online much more quickly to help serve our needs, improving the resilience of the grid and lowering costs for customers."
State lawmakers decry federal 'chaos'
Democrats hold an overwhelming majority in both houses of the General Assembly.
During remarks Wednesday, Democratic House Speaker Matt Ritter urged legislators to work in a bipartisan fashion, in contrast to what he said happens in Washington D.C., as well as in many other state governments.
"People get elected and they have new majorities," Ritter said. "There's a new majority in D.C.; there's a new majority here ... and the first thing that they plan to do is find ways to eliminate all of the opposition's power."
Everyone is frustrated by federal lawmakers who risk chaos, said Vincent Candelora, 海角换妻 House Republican Minority Leader. He said he watched the recent election of U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson when the election of the speaker was in question.
"It struck me that either party would stand and allow potentially an institution to be put into chaos and jeopardy for political gain," Candelora said. "And I think time and again we see that on the federal level."
A 'cheeky' touch of CT showmanship
Name-checking 海角换妻 showman P.T. Barnum during his address, Lamont acknowledged a touch of hyperbole in the state鈥檚 recent rollout of road signs declaring 海角换妻 the 鈥減izza鈥� and 鈥渂asketball鈥� capital of the world.
Lamont said those signs attracted a lot of attention.
"Some people thought the signs were a little cheeky. Italy questioned our claim to be the pizza capital. The Boston Celtics wondered about the basketball capital," Lamont joked. "But as a great showman, and 海角换妻 state representative, P.T. Barnum famously said, 鈥業 don鈥檛 care what they say about me, as long as they spell my name right.鈥� And they鈥檙e talking about 海角换妻."
Lamont says he wants to continue efforts to raise the state鈥檚 profile.
Over the holidays, 海角换妻 leaned into its role as a Hallmark movie backdrop, to highlight spots from movies filmed in the state.
This session is fundamentally different from last year鈥檚
This session is a 鈥渓ong鈥� one, as outlined . In odd-numbered years, the governor鈥檚 office and state lawmakers must agree on a new .
That means this year, Lamont must present his proposed state budget and to lawmakers by Feb. 5. That sets off a month-long process to negotiate and finalize, which in the end requires a simple majority in both chambers, where Democrats hold a majority, along with the governor鈥檚 signature for approval.
The 2025 session will be nearly two months longer than the 鈥渟hort鈥� session in even-numbered years, when lawmakers usually adjust the budget. Last year, things turned out a little differently when Lamont and other Democratic lawmakers assigned expiring American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to help programs, rather than formally adjusting the budget.
Expect some debate on state鈥檚 fiscal guardrails
These , first enacted in 2017, are a complex set of rules for how much lawmakers can spend. 海角换妻 has been able to pay down pension debt and has seen state budget surpluses under the guardrails, but there has also been considerable debate among some lawmakers about the need to change these policies. Advocates and lawmakers who want to see the guardrails loosened say they want to see more state money for health care, child care and education.
Lamont said he wanted to keep the guardrails during a December appearance on 海角换妻鈥檚 鈥淭he Wheelhouse.鈥� Some Republicans have also .
Top leaders are the same
Democrats still hold a comfortable majority in both state legislative chambers.
Ritter will return to lead the chamber alongside Majority Leader Jason Rojas. Candelora will return as House Minority Leader. Martin Looney and Bob Duff return as Senate Pro Tem and Majority Leader, respectively. And State Sen. Stephen Harding will return for his second year as Republican Minority Leader.
Bills, bills, bills
Over half a dozen of the nearly 30 have new House leaders. Legislative committees drive policy debate among lawmakers and engage the public on specific issues like education, health care and the environment. This year, there is a new committee on government oversight and a select committee on special education.
While many bills are proposed each year by lawmakers, comparatively few become law. That鈥檚 because there is a specific process for how most bills become a law, which the 海角换妻 General Assembly learning center . (Think: 鈥漇choolhouse Rock鈥檚鈥� 鈥溾�� sans music).
There are also a number of of bills. Some come out of committees or are introduced by individual lawmakers or groups of lawmakers, or the governor. Among the many topics that will likely come up this session:
- Addressing the housing crisis, such as passing 鈥淲ork, Live, Ride,鈥� which would have created incentives for municipalities to increase housing near transportation hubs, but died in the 2024 legislative session.
- Crafting rules to make absentee ballots available for all 海角换妻 voters. Voters approved so-called 鈥渘o excuse鈥� absentee balloting in a November 2024 ballot referendum.
- Re-examining the number of required early voting days in 海角换妻. Last year was the state鈥檚 first foray into early voting. Turnout was high during the general election in November, but there were concerns about early voting during the primaries earlier in the year. Some town officials cited low turnout and long, state-mandated staffing hours.
- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the state, and building resiliency to the climate crisis. The issue of energy and the economy has been on the mind of many voters and the governor, who recently pulled out of a multi-state deal to procure offshore wind.
- Discussing enhancements to the state鈥檚 aging electrical grid, and high utility rates.
- Tackling medical costs, from a task force on high prescription prices to potentially expanding 鈥淗USKY for immigrants鈥� eligibility for people ages 16-18.
Ways to get involved
Committees will hold public hearings, where people in a few ways. That can be through written testimony on the CGA website 鈥� or speaking at the public hearing, Public hearings are also often .
There鈥檚 also a bill tracking system 鈥� that鈥檚 not just for reporters and stakeholders!
海角换妻's Matt Dwyer and Patrick Skahill contributed to this report.
