State Legislature Begins Session with Historic Democratic Majorities

By Hugh McQuaid

January 8 @ 2:30 pm

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Backed by expanded Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate, the General Assembly began its 2025 legislative session Wednesday, kicking off a five-month effort to craft new laws and a two-year budget to fund critical services for Connecticut residents.

The legislature’s opening day signals the start of its annual session, which runs from January to June in odd-numbered years. The day was marked by fresh starts and ceremonies as new and returning legislators took the oath of office, beginning new terms at the state Capitol building in Hartford.

As of Wednesday, Democrats outnumbered Republicans by 25 to 10 in the Senate and 101 to 49 in the House. The party’s majority in the Senate represented the third-largest Senate Democratic Caucus in nearly four decades.

Senate leaders said they were honored to have earned the trust of voters, who awarded Democrats a historic mandate on Election Day. During his remarks, Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney said the people of Connecticut had sent a resounding message at the polls.

“They entrusted Democrats with the largest majority in the State Senate in 38 years—a mandate as historic as it is humbling,” Looney said. “This overwhelming support is a testament to the tangible results of our governance. Our policies have strengthened Connecticut’s economy, expanded access to quality healthcare, enhanced educational opportunities, and addressed the pressing challenges of our time—from climate change to public safety.”

Among the Senate Democrats who took the oath of office Wednesday were two new members: Sen. Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox of Trumbull, who was elected to represent a district previously served by retired Sen. Marilyn Moore, and Sen. Paul Honig of Harwinton. Honig, a retired finance executive, is the first Democrat to represent the state’s 8th Senate District in more than five decades.

Honig said it was a privilege to bring a fresh approach to representing his home communities.
“Connecticut is a great place to live and raise a family, but there’s more we can do to make our state affordable and I’m excited to get to work, delivering meaningful results for the people of the 8th District,” he said.
After convening the session in their respective chambers, legislators from both the House and Senate crowded into the House Chamber on the second floor of the state Capitol to hear an annual State of the State address from Gov. Ned Lamont.

The governor said state policymakers would focus this session on building on the progress Connecticut had made over the last several years. He stressed the importance of working to bring down the cost of living by addressing the affordability of expenses like health care and energy.

“Always, our north stars will be affordability and opportunity,” Lamont said, “holding down the 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, to start a business.”

In addition to negotiating a two-year state budget and tackling affordability issues, legislative leaders created a new committee to oversee government operations. The new panel, called the Government Oversight Committee, will be led by Gadkar-Wilcox and Rep. Lucy Dathan, D-New Canaan.

Looney said the Connecticut Senate would also be ready to address a wide range of issues during the coming session, including regulating the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence, the growing dissemination of misinformation, and the potential for massive cuts in federal funding under the incoming Trump administration.

He urged senators to think creatively and meet those challenges with wisdom and compassion.

“Let us continue to build a state that believes in human potential, honors every generous dream, and dismisses no one as unworthy,” Looney said.

Flood Compensation Program Helps Hundreds of Hartford Residents

By Hugh McQuaid

January 7 @ 9:30 am

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A Connecticut relief program has directed nearly $9 million to assist more than 500 Harford residents and property owners who were impacted by ground flooding, the Office of the State Comptroller announced in December.

The Hartford Flood Relief and Compensation Program was created in 2023 to assist Hartford homeowners and businesses whose property had been damaged by severe flooding in the city’s North End.

According to a new report from Comptroller Sean Scanlon’s office, the program has since provided $8,191,494.97 in relief to 523 property owners, renters, and business owners with another $565,803 in claims still in the works.

In a press release, Scanlon said the initiative had provided “tangible relief” to hundreds of residents and businesses.

“This program has demonstrated the positive impact government can have when we partner with communities to address chronic challenges and better the lives of citizens,” Scanlon said. “We would not have been able to do this without our legislative partners, community leaders, [program administrator] Dr. Gary Rhule, and the Blue Hills Civic Association.”

Originally funded at $5 million, the relief program was established and later expanded through advocacy by North End residents and support from Hartford-area legislators like Sen. Doug McCrory, D-Hartford.

In a press release, McCrory thanked everyone involved with administering the program for helping many Hartford residents put their lives back together in the aftermath of devastating floods.

“This program has been a lifesaver for many members of our community, who have been dealing for too long with the devastating impacts of flooding across the North End,” McCrory said. “This $9 million represents a direct response to the needs of our families.”

According to the comptroller, the program received more than 130 applications in the last several weeks before its application window closed on Dec. 2. Scanlon said some properties were still awaiting home inspections. He proposed allocating additional funding for the program during the legislative session that begins on Jan. 8.

Connecticut Climbs 27 Spots in National Bike Safety Rankings Over 15 Years

By Joe O’Leary

January 6 @ 11:30 am

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Usually, governments don’t like to promote surveys ranking their state 40th out of 50. When those surveys show how far they’ve come, however, they may sing a different tune.

In 2010, Connecticut ranked 40th on the League of American Bicyclists’ list of the most bike-friendly states in the country. Fourteen years later, the Nutmeg State has come a long way. In the 2024 rankings, Connecticut climbed all the way to 13th, and that’s up seven spots just in the last two years.

Every other year, the League of American Bicyclists releases its list, and in the last 15 years, Connecticut has improved its standing from near the bottom of the ranking to a position closer to the top. There’s still work left to do, officials said, but the continued growth indicates positive movement.

This year’s list found Connecticut receiving high marks for its investment in infrastructure and in planning for the future. The report recognized the state’s laws protecting bikers and safety measures but criticized the lack of bicycle counting programs amid the state’s vehicle-heavy transportation methods.

The report praised specific policies enacted in Connecticut like the state’s implementation of complete streets initiatives, its Safe Passing Law, which requires motorists to give bicyclists three feet of space when passing, and the development of a statewide bike plan in the last ten years.

In a press release, the Department of Transportation highlighted several advances that helped the state ascend 27 spots in 15 years. For instance, Connecticut has implemented a Safe Routes to School Program to educate children, a Complete Streets Design Directive to ensure future road projects include bicycle-friendly infrastructure and an Active Transportation Microgrant that provides communities with funds to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety.

“Through investments and programs, we’re making it easier and safer for people to use active transportation,” said Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto. “There is still more to do to ensure there are more bike lanes, paved trails, and bike-friendly accommodations across our state.”

The importance of the work has been underscored by recent events in Connecticut. Residents of West Hartford expressed concerns about bikers’ safety during a public hearing in early December. Meanwhile, in 2023, there were five bicyclist fatalities and 336 bicycle injuries involving motor vehicles — nearly one per day.

High-Quality Internet Access Rapidly Spreading Through Connecticut

By Joe O’Leary

January 4 @ 5:00 am

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While the Internet has been a part of daily life for decades now, the pandemic exposed how access to broadband connections was uneven at best. Working and learning from home revealed that high-speed internet access was “not a luxury, but a necessity, for all Americans,” as the Biden Administration said in 2023.

That’s something Connecticut leaders have kept in mind for years, and the results of the state’s biannual broadband report make that clear. From 2022 to 2024, state efforts have expanded broadband internet access to 92.2% of households in Connecticut, up from 86.7%.
That’s many thousands of households with better connectivity and stronger service.

This year’s results are the first to reflect the expansion initiative begun in 2022. From 2022 to 2024, homes without access to broadband internet dropped from 1.7% of the state to just 0.4%. Meanwhile, gigabit service access rose from nearly zero locations to about 850,000 locations.

A major effort to increase internet access standards to one gigabyte downloaded per second and 100 megabytes uploaded per second has also found success. In 2022, only 38% of the state could access that level of service; today, it’s 87%.

In a December press release, Gov. Ned Lamont said expanding access to broadband would remain a priority for Connecticut.

“We’ll keep working with communities, businesses, and local leaders to guarantee that everyone in Connecticut, no matter where they live, can benefit from the opportunities high-speed internet provides,” Lamont said. “As technology evolves, so must we.”

One of this year’s biggest advances in broadband service expansion was the announcement of $28 million in grants expanding service to locations that either do not have broadband service or are not receiving service meeting state standards. Administered through a new community grant program, those funds will serve 88 cities and towns in the state, getting service connections to hard-to-reach or underserved locations. Another $12 million in funds remain for similar work.

What’s to come in the next two years? Experts who compiled the report for the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said the state’s next steps should include simplifying the process to deploy internet service to more locations, enhancing grant monitoring to maximize effective investments and developing risk mitigation strategies in the event of complications ranging from supply chain disruptions to technical issues during broadband deployment.

Though the pandemic’s worst impacts have faded in recent years, the push for enhanced service access serves to aid students by providing better service to bolster their educations, foster career growth, and improve overall quality of life everywhere from adoption of telemedicine to enhanced social connections.

“The internet is here to stay, and it’s a great state priority to make sure all of our residents can access the fast speeds and reliable service necessary to keep up in the modern age,” said Sen. Norm Needleman, Senate Chair of the legislature’s Energy and Technology Committee.