Connecticut Democrats look to force vote on bills before session ends; Republicans blast process

Senate Democrats were looking to vote on a range of priorities Wednesday, using an emergency certification to force votes early in the session.”  

One bill sought to address concerns about out-of-state people taking advantage of Connecticut’s 10-cent bottle deposit, while a second one combined a range of proposals into a sprawling, 121-page bill.  

“This is about getting results for the people of the state,” Sen. Bob Duff (D-Majority Leader) said. “It’s about governing.”  

The Senate hadn’t approved either bill as of 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

Bills that are emergency certified can skip the committee process, including public hearings and votes, that are otherwise required before reaching the House and Senate floor.  

The larger bill included language from an education bill that stalled last session, as well as a limit on who can request the state’s voter file, protections for warehouse workers, and funding for nonprofit organizations.  

Republicans said none of those should be considered an emergency.  

“They are usurping the entire legislative process today for no good reason,” Sen. Stephen Harding (R-Minority Leader) said. “And not one thing in that bill, not one thing does anything about your electric bill back home or your tax burden back home.”  

Democrats said they wanted to move bills along now that the legislature is three weeks into a 13-week session.  

Sen. Martin Looney (D-New Haven) said he wanted to avoid letting Republicans stall priorities at the end of the session by utilizing Connecticut’s legislature’s time-honored tradition of unlimited debate.  

“We’re worried about republican efforts to filibuster and delay if items are delayed until further in the session,” Looney said.  

Notable changes in the larger bill:

• Including restricting who can request the statewide voter database under the Freedom of Information Act;  
• Limiting the ability of warehouses to set production quotas for workers 
• Creating an optional waiver for school districts to allow students to enroll in kindergarten before they reach the age of 5.
• Forming a working group to look into antisemitism in schools.  

Republicans instead wanted a vote on their proposed $1 billion income tax cut and more oversight of nonprofits. They spent the afternoon raising amendments on some of their priorities.  

Among the earmarks for nonprofits was $750,000 for the Capitol Region Education Council, which employs Sen. Doug McCrory (D-Hartford).  

McCrory is at the center of an FBI investigation into nonprofit funding.  

“If you care about corruption, then institute common-sense measures like we’ve brought out time and time again,” Harding said.  

Looney denied that McCrory had any influence.  

“CREC has been – this has been a program that has been ongoing for years, and it has nothing to do with who works there,” he said.  

The other bill sought to address concerns that people in neighboring states are taking advantage of Connecticut’s 10-cent bottle deposit by bringing in cans and bottles from states that offer only 5 cents.  

The state’s redemption rate has climbed to nearly 100%, and some redemption centers claim their returns exceed the volume they sell.  

There is no effective way for the state to track where bottles and cans are sold, but some part of the issue is returnables coming from neighboring states.  

Under the bill, redemption would require demand information, including proof of purchase in the state, whenever someone returns 1,000 bottles in a trip. The current threshold is 2,500.  

The bill also raises the fine for a first offense from $50 to $500. Republicans said they expect to vote for the bill, too, even though they think the state needs to lower the deposit back to 5 cents.  

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