Month: March 2018

Senate Democrats Call on Republicans for Motion to Reconsider the Confirmation of Andrew McDonald as Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court

Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) today announced that he was taking the extraordinary step of calling for a motion to reconsider the confirmation of Andrew McDonald to be the next Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.

“Today, I am asking that one of the 19 members of the Senate who voted down Justice McDonald’s confirmation as Chief Justice to have the courage to make a motion to reconsider,” said Senator Looney. “What was evident on the floor yesterday was that the Republicans failed to make a case as to why Justice McDonald is not qualified to lead the court. Their actions to block Justice McDonald’s conformation have been panned by editorial boards and the legal community.

“This is not a request that I make lightly. Indeed this is an extraordinary and historic action; however, in order to preserve the independence of Connecticut’s judicial system and ensure that partisan politics does not infect the judiciary, the senate should reconsider Justice McDonald’s confirmation,” said Senator Looney.

“This is the final opportunity for the Republicans to prevent the damage they are about to inflict on the judiciary,” said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk). “Justice McDonald’s credentials are unimpeachable which is why his nomination is supported by the deans of Yale, UCONN and Quinnipiac law schools, the Connecticut Bar Association and dozens of highly respected lawyers—including Democrats and Republicans. A vote to reconsider is the only course to honor Connecticut’s nonpartisan judicial traditions.”

Pursuant to Senate Rule 26, action on a bill or resolution is not final until the right of reconsideration has expired. After a vote has been taken, any senator on the prevailing side of the vote may move for reconsideration on the day of the vote or on the next succeeding session day. According to Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure Section 468, when a vote is reconsidered, the vote is “canceled completely as though it had never been taken”.

Statement from Senate Democratic Leadership Regarding the Nomination of Justice Andrew McDonald

Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) today released the following joint statement regarding the nomination of Justice Andrew McDonald to be the Connecticut Supreme Court’s next Chief Justice.

“There can now be no question that Connecticut Republicans are no different than Washington Republicans and are in lockstep with Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell. Their apparent inability to muster even a single vote in the Senate for Justice McDonald is appalling. Connecticut Republicans are setting a terrible precedent and are now condemning future judicial nominations to the type of partisan politics that has infected Washington.

“The truth is, Justice McDonald is an enormously qualified nominee and a thoughtful and intelligent jurist. Justice McDonald’s credentials are unimpeachable which is why his nomination is supported by the deans of Yale, UCONN and Quinnipiac law schools, the Connecticut Bar Association and dozens of highly respected lawyers—including Democrats and Republicans.

“By any and every metric, Justice McDonald should be the next Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.”

Senate President Pro Tempore Looney Testifies in Support of the Time’s Up Act

Senate Democratic Proposal Seeks to Combat Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault

Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) declared “time’s up” on sexual harassment and sexual assault in testimony today before the General Assembly’s Judiciary Committee. Senator Looney was testifying in support of the Time’s Up Act, a legislative package introduced by Senate Democrats that includes the largest overhaul in modern history of Connecticut’s sexual harassment and sexual assault laws.

“As a society, we are in the midst of a national reckoning concerning sexual harassment and sexual assault,” said Senator Looney. “We have seen sexual harassment exposed across all types of industries and have learned the heartbreaking stories of so many victims. The Time’s Up Act represents the largest overhaul of Connecticut’s sexual harassment and sexual assault laws in modern history.”

The Senate Democrats’ Time’s Up Act reforms Connecticut’s sexual harassment and sexual assault laws and processes to create stronger protections for victims and to increase penalties for offenders by:

• reforming the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) complaint process
• strengthening and expanding Connecticut’s mandated reporter laws
• eliminating statutes of limitation for all felony and Class A misdemeanor sexual assault crimes
• increasing financial penalties for offenders
• providing for injunctive relief and punitive damages
• setting a universal process for investigations of harassment complaints against school administrators, and
• requiring increased training and education in Connecticut workplaces.

“We must do all within our power to protect those who depend on us and ensure safe work environments so that no one at their place of employment ever feels exposed to discrimination, harassment or retaliation of any kind,” testified Senator Looney. “We must recognize that workplace harassment and discrimination does exist in Connecticut, and I believe we must do everything we can to eradicate and prevent it.”

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) receives workplace complaints of sexual harassment, and notes that women file more than 80 percent of such complaints. Studies show that around 70 percent to 80 percent of people who experience workplace harassment do not report it. Perhaps this is for good reason, because those who do report general mistreatment at work experience retaliation 75 percent of the time.

Senator Looney continued, “Victims of harassment have rights, and the fact that they suffer more when these rights are exercised is unacceptable. Harassment undercuts hardworking individuals who deserve the same opportunities as others, and it generates real mental and economic hardship. Further, it hurts a company’s bottom line because it diminishes worker productivity and leads to staff turnover.”

During calendar year 2017, the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) processed 4,600 total complaints and received 2,490 new complaints. Of those new complaints, more than two-thirds, over 1,800, were about employment discrimination. 158 were about sexual harassment. The sexual harassment complaints are trending significantly upwards on a year over year basis, with the last three months of 2017 seeing a 37 percent increase in filed complaints over the last quarter of 2016.

The bill ensures employees are better informed of their rights. Under current law, only employers with 50 or more employees must provide training on sexual harassment, and even then only to supervisors. Under the bill, CHRO is authorized to require all employers with three or more employees to provide training to all employees, not only supervisors. The bill will prohibit an employer from taking corrective action that modifies the accuser’s employment conditions, without her or his written consent.

“Harassment undercuts hardworking individuals who deserve the same opportunities as others, and it generates real mental and economic hardship,” testified Senator Looney.

Senate Bill 132 would also eliminate the statute of limitations for rape and other sexual assault crimes

“As we listen to the #MeToo movement, we should not dismiss the accusers. Not reporting sexual assault is a common response. According to statistics by the Department of Justice, victims report these crimes less than others because they are fearful of retaliation and do not think the police will believe them. Our statute of limitations should reflect the fact that victims respond differently to sex crimes than victims of other crimes,” testified Senator Looney

Senate Bill 132 would add licensed and board certified behavior analysts to the list of professionals required to report child abuse, and this provision is consistent with SB 244, which received bipartisan support from members of the Human Services Committee. Senate Bill 132 also bill removes an exemption from the mandated reporter laws for certain day care facilities.

**Senator Looney’s testimony and a fact sheet are attached.

Senate President Pro Tempore Looney: Ban Bump Stocks and “Ghost Guns”

Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) submitted testimony today to the Judiciary Committee expressing his strong support for banning bump stocks which can turn semi-automatic weapons into automatic weapons and banning untraceable “ghost guns”.

Bump stocks are devices that transform the firing mechanism of a semi-automatic weapon into a weapon that fires like a fully automatic weapon. They also make the weapon less accurate.

“Semi-automatic weapons with a bump stock device have been used in a mass shooting where clearly accuracy was not an important criterion to the shooter,” wrote Senator Looney in his testimony in support of House Bill 5542, An Act Concerning Bump Stocks and Other Means of Enhancing the Rate of Fire of a Firearm. “There is no legitimate reason why bump stocks should be owned or sold in our state.”

“Ghost guns” are guns that do not have serial numbers, most commonly because they are sold only partially assembled and thus are not required by current law to have a serial number. House Bill 5540, An Act Concerning Ghost Guns and the Permit Application Process, would close these loopholes and ban guns without serial numbers; it would also regulate firearms that are sold in a partially assembled state or are homemade. In addition, the bill would permit local authorities to interview immediate family members as part of a determination of an applicant’s suitability.

“Essentially, a person who wants to own the equivalent of an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle or a Glock semi-automatic pistol but who cannot legally own these weapons can purchase these weapons in a partially assembled state, assemble the parts and then own an equivalent weapon,” wrote Senator Looney. “There is generally no background check and no registration required. It is easy to obtain these parts from websites where an AR-15 ‘lower receiver’ can cost as little as $65 and an AR-15 ‘jig set’ costs $37. Clearly these sites are meant to exploit loopholes in gun control regulation. Connecticut should close this loophole and make our state safer.”