Author: Devin James

Sen. Gaston (opinion): Drones can boost our police force

Posted on by Devin James

Sen. Gaston (opinion): Drones can boost our police force

Bridgeport is set to take a major step forward in modernizing public safety, as new funding in the state budget will support the launch of a pilot program equipping the city’s police department with drones. Designed to enhance situational awareness, improve emergency response times, and support de-escalation efforts, the program marks a significant investment in innovative policing strategies. With the inclusion of this initiative in the state budget, Bridgeport becomes one of the first cities in Connecticut to explore how drone technology can be safely and effectively integrated into community-focused law enforcement.

Calling 911 you expect an immediate response. If you need help you want someone there within minutes. If a crime is taking place, officers are also expected to get to the scene ASAP. Police officers, however, don’t have teleportation powers. Although sometimes they arrive to a scene in minutes, what if we could enact something that would allow officers to process the scene quicker than any human could arrive.

Last legislative session, I introduced a bill to launch a pilot program allowing police departments to deploy drones to emergency scenes ahead of officers, with the goal of improving response times and enhancing public safety — especially in high-crime areas. While the bill did not advance, it sparked important conversations about the future of law enforcement technology and innovative ways to keep communities safe.

I’m excited that Bridgeport is set to receive funding to begin using drones as part of its public safety efforts. This is a major step forward in embracing smart, innovative tools that can help protect both our officers and our communities. While my bill didn’t pass last session, seeing Bridgeport move forward with this kind of technology shows there’s real momentum behind these ideas — and it reinforces why I’ll keep pushing for broader implementation across the state.

Drones offer a variety of benefits when it comes to aiding our police force. Not only can they arrive to a scene quickly, they can provide law enforcement agencies with a unique and versatile perspective, allowing them to surveillance areas that might be challenging or dangerous for officers to access directly. Drones empower police forces to swiftly gather critical information, monitor large crowds, and respond rapidly to emergencies.

Drones play a pivotal role in augmenting police departments, particularly in the face of declining recruit numbers nationwide. As police departments struggle with recruitment and retention, drones can provide enhanced capabilities without requiring additional human resources. They serve as additional eyes compensating for a shortage of officers.

Sending a drone to the crime scene first also limits potential risk of an officer. Sometimes when law enforcement heads to a scene, they might not know what to expect. By sending a drone ahead of time, they evaluate the scene from above allowing officers to gauge what they are going to step into when they arrive.

The use of drones not only improves situational awareness but also aids in search and rescue missions, crime scene documentation, and traffic management. As technology continues to advance, the integration of drones into police operations not only enhances overall public safety but also amplifies law enforcement’s commitment to embracing innovative solutions to benefit communities they serve.

View CT Post Article here- Sen. Gaston (opinion): Drones can boost our police force

Sen. Cohen Welcomes Diesel Tax Cut

Posted on by Devin James

Sen. Cohen Welcomes Diesel Tax Cut

HARTFORD – State Senator Christine Cohen, Senate Chair of the Transportation Committee, welcomes news that the state diesel tax will fall by 7% beginning July 1. Each year, the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services determines the diesel tax using a formula linking the tax to the wholesale cost of diesel fuel.

This year, the diesel tax will fall from 52.4 cents per gallon, to 48.9 cents – a 3.5 cent per gallon reduction.

“This tax cut comes at a critical time when the economy is facing much uncertainty between conflict in the Middle East that could affect oil prices and the administration’s on-again-off-again trade wars,” said Sen. Cohen. “This decrease will provide some relief on operating costs for businesses, the trucking industry in particular, and I am hopeful that relief will be shared with consumers.”

In 2023, Senator Cohen voted alongside many of her colleagues to freeze the expected diesel tax increases.

You can learn more about the decrease here, and the formula used to determine the diesel tax here.

Senator Honig Achieves Perfect Voting Record in 2025 Legislative Session

Posted on by Devin James

Senator Honig Achieves Perfect Voting Record in 2025 Legislative Session

Senator Paul Honig, D-Harwinton, announced Wednesday that he maintained a perfect voting record during the 2025 legislative session, participating in all 437 roll call votes taken on the Senate floor.

“The people of the 8th District elected me to be their voice in Hartford, and every vote is an opportunity to stand up for their priorities,” Senator Honig said. “I was proud to cast a vote on every issue, from statewide matters like energy affordability to local concerns like securing the first increase to municipal road repair funding in more than a decade. It’s an honor to represent the families of my district and I was proud to show up for every last vote.”

Senator Honig was one of eight state senators, all of them Democrats, who were present for each of the 437 votes taken in the Connecticut Senate during the 2025 legislative session.

This year marked Senator Honig’s first session in office representing the towns of Avon, Barkhamsted, Canton, Colebrook, Granby, Harwinton, Hartland, New Hartford, Norfolk, Simsbury, and Torrington.

SENATOR MAHER PROUD OF 100% VOTING RECORD IN 2025 LEGISLATIVE SESSION

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SENATOR MAHER PROUD OF 100% VOTING RECORD IN 2025 LEGISLATIVE SESSION

State Senator Ceci Maher (D-Wilton) today was proud to announce her perfect voting record during the 2025 legislative session. Out of 437 total votes, Sen. Maher participated in all of them, making sure her constituents had a voice in every matter brought to the Senate floor.

“Elected officials are tasked with the responsibility of representing their communities, and this makes it clear I take that very seriously,” said Sen. Maher. “Each of my votes is calculated to support what I truly believe is the best way forward for Connecticut and our region. I’m pleased I was able to give our district a voice at the table for every one of the hundreds of issues we considered and hope to continue this effort in the coming legislative session.”

This is the second straight year Sen. Maher participated in every vote the Senate considered, following similar results in 2024.

According to Office of Legislative Management data, Sen. Maher was one of eight Democratic Senators to participate in every vote before the Senate.

Sen. Gadkar-Wilcox Statement on Supreme Court Deportation Decision

Posted on by Devin James

Sen. Gadkar-Wilcox Statement on Supreme Court Deportation Decision

Today, State Senator Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox, a professor of constitutional law, released a statement in response to the Supreme Court decision that allows the deportation of undocumented immigrants to third-party countries. Senator Gadkar-Wilcox argues that sending individuals to countries outside of country their origin, where they don’t speak the language, understand the culture, or share the same religion, and where they may face harm and violence, violates our most fundamental constitutional right to due process.

“The Supreme Court’s recent ruling allows the Trump administration to deport individuals to countries that are not their country of origin, including conflict zones and countries where they could face persecution – all without due process. Not only is this unconscionable, but it goes well beyond the pale of settled law.”

“We have already seen this administration send individuals to a prison in El Salvador known for human rights violations without so much as a charge. We have seen masked officers abduct a student off the street for exercising free speech. We have seen Donald Trump defy court orders that he does not agree with. We are witnessing an attack on our constitution unfold before our eyes.”

“In 1944, the Korematsu v. U.S. case legitimized the sending of more than 120,000 Americans of Japanese origin to internment camps. When we reflect on that case today, history shows us that Supreme Court cases that blatantly violate basic human rights will ultimately be remembered as a stain on the constitutional order of the United States. This administration and the Supreme Court would do well to look towards history and learn from our most shameful moments, not repeat them.”

Background
One of the central purposes of due process is to ensure that people are not detained without a meaningful opportunity to be heard or deported to places where they would face violence and persecution. The due process right that the court undermines with this decision is so fundamental to our system of laws that it goes all the way back to the Magna Carta (1215): “No man of what state or condition he be, shall be put out of his lands or tenements nor taken, nor disinherited, nor put to death, without he be brought to answer by due process of law.”

The habeas corpus right in the U.S. Constitution, Article I, maintains that anyone who is detained has the right to be heard by a neutral arbiter.

The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution says “no person, shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”

The Fourteenth Amendment adds that “nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.”

The court has held the line on due process in Boumediene v. Bush (2007) and JGG v. Trump (2025). In the former, which applied to detentions of non-US citizens after 9/11, and in the latter, in which the Supreme Court prohibited the Trump Administration from implementing the Alien Enemies Act to send deportees to El Salvador before providing due process to the accused, the court upheld due process. It should have provided that same due process here. This is the minimal constitutional requirement and a fundamental moral obligation.

Sen. Looney and Sen. Duff Denounce Cuts to Federal Digital Equity Program

Posted on by Devin James

Sen. Looney and Sen. Duff Denounce Cuts to Federal Digital Equity Program

Connecticut to Lose $20 Million in Federal Funding

HARTFORD – Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) issued the following statement in response to today’s CT Mirror report on President Trump’s cut to the federal digital equity program which will cause Connecticut to lose $20 million in funding.

“This is getting exhausting. Just five months into Republican control of Washington and it’s already hard to keep track of all the ways the GOP has shifted more of a burden onto Connecticut taxpayers. Week after week, they target another federally funded program — whether it’s mental health care for Connecticut kids or, this week, funding to expand digital access in our communities — and tell local taxpayers to pay for it themselves. Make no mistake: voters notice, just as they notice the ever-growing silence from Connecticut Republicans, who still can’t seem to find the courage to utter a single meek word in defense of the people they supposedly represent.”

Sen. Looney and Sen. Duff Denounce Cuts to Federal Digital Equity Program

Posted on by Devin James

Sen. Looney and Sen. Duff Denounce Cuts to Federal Digital Equity Program

Connecticut to Lose $20 Million in Federal Funding

HARTFORD – Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) issued the following statement in response to today’s CT Mirror report on President Trump’s cut to the federal digital equity program which will cause Connecticut to lose $20 million in funding.

“This is getting exhausting. Just five months into Republican control of Washington and it’s already hard to keep track of all the ways the GOP has shifted more of a burden onto Connecticut taxpayers. Week after week, they target another federally funded program — whether it’s mental health care for Connecticut kids or, this week, funding to expand digital access in our communities — and tell local taxpayers to pay for it themselves. Make no mistake: voters notice, just as they notice the ever-growing silence from Connecticut Republicans, who still can’t seem to find the courage to utter a single meek word in defense of the people they supposedly represent.”

Sen. Looney Releases Statement on the Passing of Former WTNH Reporter Mark Davis

Posted on by Devin James

Sen. Looney Releases Statement on the Passing of Former WTNH Reporter Mark Davis

HARTFORD – Today, Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney (D-New Haven) released the following statement regarding the passing of former WTNH reporter Mark Davis.

“In a media landscape where personalities come and go with jarring frequency, Mark Davis was a steady presence for many years, beginning in broadcast journalism in the early 1980s as I was starting my own career in the General Assembly. For decades, Mark could be found seated in the front row of nearly every press conference, ready with the first question. He understood the vital role government plays in the lives of residents and recognized the media’s responsibility to illuminate its workings, even when simpler, flashier stories competed for attention. He brought a sharp mind and unmistakable presence to his work, and he will be missed.”

Sen. Duff Releases Statement on the Passing of Former WTNH Reporter Mark Davis

Posted on by Devin James

Sen. Duff Releases Statement on the Passing of Former WTNH Reporter Mark Davis

Today, Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) released the following statement regarding the passing of former WTNH reporter Mark Davis.

“I started watching Mark with my grandparents, who always turned on Channel 8 for state news. When I first met Mark working on a gubernatorial campaign in 1994, I was starstruck. He was probably one of the first people I shook hands with who was actually on the television. Mark was so kind and easygoing, almost like he had known me for years. I immediately called my grandparents to tell them who I had a conversation with. Years later, when I was elected to the legislature and was interviewed by Mark, he was still the same kind and easygoing person but was always tough with his reporting yet fair. We lost one of the good ones today. I hope my grandparents and he have the same opportunity to shake hands and talk about the issues of the day.”

STATEMENT OF LABOR COMMITTEE SENATE CHAIR JULIE KUSHNER ON GOV. LAMONT’S VETO OF SENATE BILL 8 /UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FOR WORKERS ON STRIKE MORE THAN 14 DAYS

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STATEMENT OF LABOR COMMITTEE SENATE CHAIR JULIE KUSHNER ON GOV. LAMONT’S VETO OF SENATE BILL 8 /UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FOR WORKERS ON STRIKE MORE THAN 14 DAYS

“The governor is on the wrong side on this one. Most often, strikes occur when workers are fighting to protect their health and pension benefits or fighting egregious working conditions. It’s never an easy or careless decision to strike. Furthermore, when unionized workers’ wages and benefits are protected or improved, every business in Connecticut is then pressured to improve its own workplace standards. This bill would not only help workers on one particular picket line, it would help the entire Connecticut workforce – our friends and neighbors – and keep us moving forward. That’s really important in this economy where corporate profits are soaring, where the stock market is soaring, and where working people are left to grapple with rising prices for rent and childcare and inflation at the grocery store and gas pump.

“I disagree with the governor when he suggests that providing unemployment benefits to striking workers gives them an unfair advantage at the bargaining table. For nearly 100 years, since the enactment of the National Labor Relations Act, corporate America has lobbied successfully to impose limitations on workers’ rights – putting their collective thumb on the scales in favor of business. But when Democrats in the General Assembly – who were overwhelmingly elected to represent the people of this state just a few months ago – pass legislation that would allow workers to exercise without fear of impoverishment their right to strike under federal law, the governor sides with businesses,  joining the long list of politicians, past and present, who side with corporate executives. Now is a good time to remember that the only reason that we have good jobs with good benefits in Connecticut is because of the effort of labor unions to fight for and secure these jobs. For example, Pratt & Whitney threatened to move out of state if the governor were to sign this bill. Did the governor get a written commitment, or even a handshake, from Pratt to create more jobs or even guarantee that the jobs we have will stay in Connecticut? The only written guarantees from Pratt are in the union contract the workers fought to secure.

“Thank you, Connecticut union members, for working so hard to get this bill passed. I look forward to raising this issue again in another legislative session and having it successfully signed into law – whether that’s next year or when we elect a governor who has pledged to support workers on this critical priority.”

State Senator Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, Senate Chair, Labor & Public Employees Committee