Although the General Assembly closed out the session with hugs, cheers and applause, it was tinged with a sour note after a dispute among Democrats over a few lines in the state budget that allow the state to take financial oversight of Ansonia.
Republicans, displeased that the lines targeting Ansonia had been included in the budget, moved to undo them by an .
Speaker of the House Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, voted alongside Republicans, and the amendment passed with Ritter's support, 80-70.
But victory was fleeting. The move prompted a filibuster from one Democrat on the newly amended bill, a rare move from the majority party.
Rep. Kara Rochelle, D-Ansonia, who was in favor of the state takeover, made clear that she planning to kill the amended bill by speaking until the midnight adjournment.
The tactic worked 鈥� legislators moved on, and the bill died without a vote.
The budget provision was an unwelcome surprise to the city鈥檚 Republican mayor, David Cassetti.
Rochelle has been a critic of Cassetti and his management of the city. The pair long have feuded.
鈥淪he brought a personal gripe to Hartford. She's entitled to have that gripe, but I think she shouldn't have used the process to try to get even with her mayor,鈥� said House Minority Leader Vincent J. Candelora, R-North Branford.
Candelora called the surprise effort to force state oversight on Ansonia 鈥渢he most egregious abuse that I鈥檝e ever seen in this building.鈥�
Ritter said he regretted the inclusion of the Ansonia language in the budget: It should have been a separate bill subjected to a public hearing, and the unsuccessful 11th-hour fight to strip it took up time that could have been used to pass other bills.
Ritter said he voted with Republicans to uphold his end of a deal to pass other bills important to his caucus.
鈥淐ulture鈥檚 important,鈥� Ritter said.
Rochelle offered no regrets.
鈥淚 encourage everyone to look at what's happening with the finances of Ansonia,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 all I鈥檓 going to say tonight.鈥�
Despite the Ansonia disruption, the House and Senate passed most of the day Wednesday easily, with most of the priority legislation they planned to move forward this session already approved. They spent hours debating the bonding bill, which passed the Senate in the afternoon. The Senate also gave the final nod of approval to a climate change bill.
Other than those, the day passed with mostly smaller bills. Lawmakers slowed down in the late hours. Less than an hour before midnight, the House was waiting for the Senate to send bills downstairs and announced Little League wins in their districts, teenagers getting driver's licenses and interns' future plans.
The Senate then passed dozens of bills in the last few minutes of the night on a consent calendar.
In the last few weeks of the six-month session, lawmakers have passed an , legislation to , a bill to improve and reforms to .
After weeks of negotiations with Gov. Ned Lamont鈥檚 office that included a since-rejected proposal to draft a one-year budget , lawmakers passed the biennial budget Tuesday.
Democratic leadership told members they were happy with the work accomplished this session.
鈥淚 think that we have a strong record of achievement in this session, but there is more work to do. This is an extraordinary year,鈥� said Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, D-New Haven, in his closing remarks.
Still, thousands of bills died after committee passage. Democrats have already hinted at topics they鈥檇 like to work on again when the 黑料吃瓜网 General Assembly is next scheduled to convene in February. Looney said first on his list is a bill that .
The possibility of a special session remains, depending on the federal budget from Washington. If federal funds to 黑料吃瓜网 are cut, particularly for human services and health care, lawmakers may have to gather to adjust the budget. Looney told members it seemed likely he'd see them again in a few months for those adjustments.
Lamont has a few weeks to sign bills into law and is expected to veto at least one 鈥� a bill that would He鈥檚 already signed several bills into law.
The governor visited the House of Representatives and Senate just before 9 p.m. Wednesday to chat with lawmakers and received a standing ovation. He told members of the media afterward that he was ultimately happy with how the budget negotiations turned out.
"Look what we did on child care," Lamont said outside the House chambers. "Look what we did on special ed. Look at the investments we made that'll make a big difference for our towns and cities for years to come."
Drama in the Senate chambers
On the third floor, Lamont walked into a drama over whether the Senate would call a vote on a bill sought by Republicans and opposed by the building trades and the 黑料吃瓜网 Business and Industry Association.
The measure, , is intended to give Plainfield, a small town in eastern 黑料吃瓜网, the ability to hold a referendum over a proposed trash-to-energy plant.
A negative referendum vote would not kill plan, but it would be a factor that the state Siting Council must consider, said Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton.
Business in the Senate stopped Wednesday night while legislators talked over whether the bill would get a vote, as demanded by the Senate Republican minority. Without a vote, the GOP threatened to halt business by filibuster.
鈥淭his is a top Republican priority,鈥� said Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding, R-Brookfield.
The House passed the bill on a 104-43 vote at 12:06 a.m. Tuesday. Most of the no votes were cast by Democrats.
The bill鈥檚 impact would be broader than Plainfield: It would expand the number of so-called 鈥渆nvironmental justice鈥� communities able to hold referenda by raising the population threshold from 10,000 to 16,000.
Environmental justice communities are any U.S. census block for which at least 30% of the population consists of low-income people who have an income below 200% of the federal poverty level.
Labor lobbyists were fuming at the prospect of the Democratic majority calling the bill for a vote as part of a last-night deal to smooth business. At that moment, Lamont arrived and was immediately confronted by Jennifer Berrigan of the 黑料吃瓜网 AFL-CIO.
鈥淪he was not talking about the other bill that she cares deeply about,鈥� Lamont said after their conversation.
"The other bill" is the measure that would provide jobless benefits to strikers, and the AFL-CIO is already angry at Lamont over his pledge to veto it.
Berrigan spoke animatedly to the governor, her words inaudible to onlookers.
Lamont said the topic Wednesday night was HB 7004, the siting bill. He was not familiar with its details and looked to Matt Brokman, his chief of staff.
鈥淚 think it's not a bill you really like,鈥� Brokman said, telling the governor it could hamper the ability to site necessary projects in 黑料吃瓜网.
Lamont said his night-time stroll was meant to be purely social.
鈥淚 think I did this last time, to just go around, say, 鈥楬i, thank you for a good session. Good working with you. Now get out of here,鈥欌�� he said.
The Senate passed the bill at 11:15 p.m. on a 25-11 vote, with every Republican in support.
No charter school change
For years, some education lawmakers have tried to back-pedal on a decade-long standing piece of legislation that made it more difficult for charter schools to open in the state.
An effort to change it came up empty again this year.
Prior to 2015, a charter school could begin recruiting students and building its campus as soon as it received approval from the state Board of Education. That year, however, a bill changed the process into a two-tier approval system, where the state Board of Education grants 鈥渋nitial鈥� approval and a charter school can only open in 黑料吃瓜网 after receiving funding approved by lawmakers.
proposed to 鈥渋nclude funding for new charters granted by the State Board of Education in the Governor's annual budget, revise the process by which charters are granted for state charter schools, include charter school students in a town's resident student count for purposes of education cost sharing grant calculations, and require a biennial report regarding charter schools to be submitted to the General Assembly,鈥� according to language in the bill.
It had passed out of the Education Committee 30-14 and 37-17 in the Appropriations Committee but was never taken up by the House or Senate.
Scholarship opportunities
Several bills that expanded scholarship opportunities merged into the budget this year, including for students who qualify for the and for students looking to become educators.
The budget allotted $6 million in each of the next two fiscal years for aspiring educators. The scholarship was proposed this year to expand from offering up to $10,000 annually to graduates from priority school districts, or the top 10 lowest performing districts in the state, to anyone who鈥檚 underrepresented in the teaching profession and willing to become an educator in a shortage area.
Child Advocate
The House and Senate have also approved that would change the reappointment process for the state鈥檚 Child Advocate, a position that has subpoena power to investigate all matters related to children in the state, including child welfare and unexpected deaths.
If Lamont signs the bill, the Child Advocate will be selected for a term of five years instead of four. The bill also requires the Office of the Child Advocate鈥檚 advisory committee to evaluate the advocate's performance and recommend whether they should be reappointed or not.
Earlier in the session, lawmakers had considered a significantly different version of the bill which would have taken the selection process away from the governor altogether. At the time, proponents said that facing appointment and reappointment by the executive puts the advocate in a delicate position in which they are serving as a watchdog for the executive branch while also reliant on its favor for their position.
But after pushback from Lamont, that provision of the bill was stripped out, and the new legislation allows the governor to retain the power to appoint the position. Lawmakers have called the new bill a compromise, since it would create public-facing information about the effectiveness of the advocate鈥檚 performance, making any future decision to decline reappointment of an effective advocate more transparent.
Omnibus education bill fails
The legislature鈥檚 omnibus education bill, , which included dozens of provisions from establishing a state seal of civics education, requiring school boards to annually adopt policies limiting smart-devices, changing kindergarten waiver requirements, and more, was never taken up by the Senate.
The bill passed the House on a 128-20 vote in early May and : a recent report by the Office of the Child Advocate concluding that 黑料吃瓜网 is one of a dozen states with 鈥渘o meaningful regulation of homeschooling.鈥�
Nonprofits and inflation rates
For years, nonprofits that contract with the state have struggled to pay bills and employees, and wages have been stagnant. To that end, , which passed through both the House and Senate, would tie increases in wages and Medicaid rates to inflation.
Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, co-chair of the Appropriations Committee, said the bill was long in the making.
"The concept of the bill itself is very important," Osten said. "It is not a new concept, by the way 鈥� we use this for nursing homes and residential care facilities right now, so this is continuing that concept so that the nonprofit providers can be set up to have a standard increase in their funding, based on the consumer price index each year."
Gian-Carl Casa, the president of the CT Community Nonprofit Alliance, said nonprofits have been struggling for a long time with stagnant employee wages and with the rising costs of health insurance, energy and rent.
But when those organizations are pinched, they are unable to improve wages. After inflation, that effectively results in a pay cut for workers. "Many nonprofits now provide food panties for their employees because they have been so poorly paid."
Green crabs
On Tuesday, Lamont signed into law a bill that allows 黑料吃瓜网 restaurants to serve green crabs, one of the state鈥檚 most invasive species.
passed the House and Senate in May and allows restaurants to serve other 鈥渂ait鈥� species as well, without gaining a license from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Restaurateurs said in that they benefit from the new law, citing the high culinary value of green crabs.
On a similar note, the bill authorizes the Department of Agriculture to study lowering the minimum harvest size for oysters to smaller than 3 inches, the current standard. Bill proponents cited consumer demand for smaller oyster sizes, whereas opponents of the bill 鈥� oyster industry members 鈥� said that the current standard of harvest size preserves the health of Long Island Sound鈥檚 species.
The new law demonstrates, among other things, the prevalence of industry and consumer demands versus environmental concerns in 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 aquaculture.
Earned wage access regulations loosened
As inflation, economic uncertainty and 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 high cost of living continue to strain wallets, legislators approved , a bill that makes it easier for workers to receive pay advances for hours worked before their official pay day.
Under the bill, which originated in the Banking Committee and was later amended by the Senate, so-called 鈥渆arned wage access鈥� payments will now be exempt from certain portions of the state鈥檚 small loans law, relaxing previous regulations that went into effect last year.
The measure limits how much borrowers can request to less than $750, prevents them from requesting more than what they will actually earn in a pay period, and caps any related finance charges at $4 per transaction, or a maximum of $30 per month. The bill also restricts third-party earned wage access providers from pursuing people who fall behind on repayment.
Supporters said the changes protect workers and will make it easier for them to access money when they need it by requesting part of their paycheck early. But consumer protection groups the measure, arguing that because earned access wages are expected to be paid back so quickly, typically by their next check, already cash-strapped borrowers could end up in trouble.
The bill passed unanimously out of the Banking Committee and received a 35-13 vote in appropriations before clearing the Senate 32-3. But the measure sparked debate and significant questions before Wednesday鈥檚 101-46 vote in the House, where dissenting lawmakers argued it did not do enough to protect users from high interest fees and finance charges that could trap vulnerable workers in a spiral of debt.
鈥淚 know what happens to our low-income folks, our folks that don鈥檛 really know how to navigate the financial system,鈥� said Rep. David Rutigliano, R-Trumbull, who compared the practice to a payday loan and described it as "predatory.鈥�
Earned wage access regulations have been a focus of several state legislatures in 2025, with lawmakers in , and Utah passing new measures guiding how providers should operate. Banking Committee co-chair Rep. Jason Doucette, D- Manchester, argued that SB 1396 is the best version of the regulation to date.
鈥淭his bill will end up being, believe it or not, the strongest consumer protection bill for this product in the country,鈥� he said.
Better prison meals, reporting on strip searches, more power for Correction Ombuds
An put forward by the state Department of Correction was mostly folded into the state budget. The provisions include a ban on nutraloaf 鈥� a solid 鈥渓oaf鈥� made of a mix of different foods that is sometimes used as a form of punishment 鈥� and a requirement for 鈥減alatable鈥� meals, a study on the possibility of relocating the Bridgeport and New Haven Correctional Centers, a protocol for documenting inmate assaults on correction officers, a plan to improve retention and recruitment, and reporting on strip searches.
Removed from the bill was a on medical malpractice cases that took place under the care of the Department of Correction, as well as approximately $11.6 million that would have gone to educational and vocational programming. The bill also does not include a reference to a pilot program for two body scanners, although Ritter said at a Wednesday press conference that the funds for the scanners was included in the budget.
that would give more power to the correction ombuds, including the ability to subpoena witnesses and to conduct unannounced visits to correctional facilities, passed the House of Representatives four hours before the close of the legislative session. It had previously passed the Senate 36-0.
The bill extended the term of the ombuds from two to four years. It also requires a correction officer who sees a fellow officer engage in an inappropriate use of force to report that colleague to the warden, who must then report it to the commissioner of the Department of Correction and the state police, and it requires the department to instate body cameras for correction officers in the facilities.
Modifications to hate crimes laws
After a lengthy and highly technical debate, the House of Representatives on Wednesday revising the state鈥檚 laws on hate crimes.
The original bill came out of the work of Lamont鈥檚 Hate Crimes Advisory Council, which was convened in 2021. Rep. Steven Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, said Tuesday that the purpose was to , which are 鈥渟cattered,鈥� 鈥渋nconsistent鈥� and 鈥渄ifficult for police officers and prosecutors to charge,鈥� into one place.
The bill will move all the current statutes that pertain to hate crimes into one section, increases penalties for criminal acts that are found to have been motivated by bias against a protected group, and extends the power of the Attorney General鈥檚 office to investigate and prosecute hate crimes.
Rep. Craig Fishbein, R-Wallingford, protested Tuesday against an amendment to the bill that removed an earlier provision that would have required someone who committed a murder that was also classified as a hate crime to serve life without parole.
鈥淲hen somebody kills someone 鈥� I don鈥檛 care how old you are 鈥� and you kill a Black person not because they were trying to do something, but merely because they were Black, that鈥檚 a different kind of evil,鈥� said Fishbein.
Stafstrom said they did not want to take away discretion from judges, particularly if a hate crime was committed by a young person. He also said nothing prohibited a judge from imposing a sentence of life without parole.
鈥淎 19-year-old kid, even a 19-year-old kid who commits a hate crime might 鈥� might 鈥� be a different person when they reach the age of 50 or 55 or 60, and we should at least allow that 19-year-old kid the opportunity to make their case at the Board of Pardons and Paroles,鈥� said Stafstrom.
The amendment passed 102-46.
Fishbein offered an amendment that would have included law enforcement as a protected class, along with race, gender, sexual orientation, age and other characteristics. The House opted to pause the debate and resume it the next day, when Fishbein withdrew the proposal.
The House passed an amended version of the bill unanimously on Wednesday.
Roaming dogs debated but run out of time
Late in the evening, House lawmakers spent about half an hour debating whether to increase penalties on the owners of roaming dogs 鈥� only to give up before the clock struck midnight.
The penalty for anyone whose dog is caught wandering on private lands or a public highway is currently a fine that would increase to $350 under with even greater penalties for subsequent offenses. In addition to the state ban, many towns have their own leash laws.
After introducing the bill, state Rep. Jack Fazzino, D-Meriden, faced questions from Republicans who said they were concerned that owners could be penalized for simple mistakes.
"I could see dogs getting loose a couple of time on the owner," said state Rep. Gale Mastrofrancesco, R-Wolcott. "They're excited, they've got the zoomies, they take off, I can certainly see it happening."
While Fazzino said that the bill was intended to deal with dogs that are habitually allowed to roam free, Rojas afforded to "throw him a bone" after several rounds of questions and pass over the bill, sending into the scrap heap of the legislative session.
Mobile home bill
A bill that would have offered more protections for mobile home residents died Wednesday night after passing the House earlier in the week.
would have required park owners to disclose any ancillary fees, such as extra costs to own a pet or have a washer and dryer, ahead of time, and increase relocation payments for residents from $10,000 to $20,000 if the owner sells the park with the intent to turn it into something else, among other measures.
It would also have required that park owners test the power of fire hydrants on their properties and report the results to fire marshals, a measure added in the wake of two fires at parks in East Hartford that were difficult to control because the hydrants didn鈥檛 have enough water pressure.
The bill passed the House after being to implement caps on land rents and ancillary fees but wasn't called in the Senate.
Prescription drug prices
The Senate on Wednesday gave final passage to that aims to reduce the cost of prescription drugs for 黑料吃瓜网 residents and increase transparency of the pharmaceutical industry.
The proposal requires state-regulated insurance plans to count certain out-of-pocket drug costs toward an enrollee鈥檚 deductible, even if someone goes outside of their insurance plan to buy medication, if they find a cheaper price. The change is meant to ensure that purchases from companies like GoodRX, which offer drug coupons for discounts on medications, can still count toward a deductible.
Rep. Jillian Gilchrest, D-West Hartford, said the measure would 鈥済et people savings right there at the pharmacy.鈥� Gilchrest served as co-chair of a bipartisan prescription drug task force that met over several months earlier this year to weigh possible solutions to the rising cost of medications.
The legislation also seeks to increase transparency into the practices of pharmacy benefit managers, middlemen commonly referred to as PBMs that help to manage drug benefits for health plans. The bill requires that the state Insurance Department report each year on the percentage of drug rebate dollars that insurers put toward reducing premiums for policyholders.
PBMs arose to help health plans negotiate with drug companies and save money on prescriptions but have come under fire over the last year for driving up costs for people and health plans to reap bigger profits for themselves. Gilchrest called it 鈥渧itally important鈥� to bring transparency to the inner workings of PBMs.
The bill also allows state agencies to opt into a bulk drug purchasing program and requires the state to petition the federal government to authorize the production of generic GLP-1s.
The measure drew wide support in both chambers, passing with a vote of 142-5 in the House, and 32-4 in the Senate.
Lawmakers' final actions
In the frantic final stretch, the Senate added more than 30 bills and resolutions to a consent calendar that they passed with less than 10 minutes to spare. Among the items was , which would create a new tax credit for anyone who challenges another state for taxing them on income earned while in 黑料吃瓜网.
The idea is one that stretches back to February 2024, when Gov. Ned Lamont that he wanted to create an incentive to encourage someone to sue New York 鈥� where tens of thousands of 黑料吃瓜网 residents commute 鈥� over the taxes on wages they earned working from home.
After a year of waiting, lawmakers and members of Lamont鈥檚 administration decided to re-up their offer.
鈥淭his is a critical emerging policy issue as telework arrangements have become increasingly common since the pandemic,鈥� Jeffrey Beckham, the secretary Office of Policy and Management, said in in support of the bill. 鈥淢any of these workers would receive favorable tax treatment if their income were sourced to 黑料吃瓜网, and our position is that our state is the correct tax jurisdiction for our citizens when telecommuting from their home."
After passing their consent calendar, the Senate voted on the very last bill of the session, , implementing recommendations of the state鈥檚 bipartisan drug task force. The roll call was taken at 11:58 p.m.
CT Mirror reporters Jessika Harkay, Laura Tillman, P.R. Lockhart, Janhavi Munde, Emilia Otte, John Moritz, Katy Golvala and Jenna Carlesso contributed to this story.
