Bills that passed, failed on last day of legislative session

HARTFORD — On the final day of the 2022 General Assembly session, hundreds of bills were still up for consideration before lawmakers adjourned Wednesday night.

Here’s a look at how some of the bills fared:

What passed Stricter consequences for juvenile car thefts

The state Senate Wednesday evening overwhelmingly approved a juvenile justice package that had previously passed the state House and now heads to Gov. Ned Lamont for approval.

The hotly contested bill will require a minor charged with a crime to be arraigned in court within five days of their arrest and will give state Superior Court judges the ability to implement GPS monitoring for certain repeat motor vehicle offenders.

Additionally, police will be allowed to hold suspects for eight hours, instead of six, when they are seeking a detention order from a judge. The bill will also make it easier for law enforcement to access the records on juvenile arrests.

The bill will treat all motor vehicle thefts the same, instead of basing the punishment on the value of car, which is the existing standard. A first car-theft offense will be a misdemeanor and a second offense will be a felony.

No more marijuana gifting

After an 80-minute update on the state’s legal cannabis landscape, the state Senate on Wednesday afternoon approved legislation to end so-called marijuana gifting parties that became public retail marketplaces even as the state’s regulated recreational-use system is being developed for later this year.

The bill, which won initial passage last month in the House, was approved 22-13 and next moves to Lamont’s desk for final action.

Organizers of parties where people give items of value in exchange for cannabis-related products, could face $1,000 fines from the state and up to $1,000 from local towns and cities, plus scrutiny from the state Department of Revenue Services for making sales without paying sales taxes.

Juneteenth as a state holiday

A bill to make Juneteenth, a day commemorating the end of slavery, into a state holiday passed the House on Wednesday by a vote of 148-1 and now heads to Lamont.

“Us being recognized as whole human beings, I hope that is what this holiday will bring,” said Sen. Robyn Porter, a Black Democratic lawmaker from New Haven.

Lamont has said he is open to enshrining Juneteenth as a paid day off for state workers, and a spokesperson said Wednesday the governor’s office will review the bill and its associated costs.

Pesticide banned on golf courses

Starting Jan. 1 next year, Connecticut golf courses will be prohibited from using the pesticide Chlorpyrifos to control foliage and soil-borne insect pests, under legislation that won unanimous, final approval in the House on Wednesday, in an amended bill that now heads to Lamont for final review.

“We are looking to ban a particularly harmful chemical here,” said Rep. Stephen Harding, R-Brookfield, a top Republican on the legislative Environment Committee, who along with Rep. Joe Gresko, D-Stratford, cochairman of the committee, said was developed with support from state golf course officials.

‘Collateral consequences’ in licensing

Senate lawmakers approved a licensing reform bill in the waning hours of the legislative session that would grant felons greater leeway in obtaining professional licenses after their release from prison.

The legislation passed the Senate by a vote of 35-1, and heads to Lamont’s desk.

“This bill removed an automatic ban for having had a criminal record and allows an agency to look at each individual, look at whether the crime was related to the job that the person would be performing and whether or not that would impact the ability of the person to carry out their responsibilities and duties safely and competently,” said state Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, the chair of the Labor Committee.

What failed Lollipops as the state candy

The fourth-graders at Timothy Dwight School in Fairfield who lobbied for legislation making lollipops Connecticut’s state candy learned a hard lesson about politics, as their bill passed the House but never came up for a vote in the Senate.

Housing affordability

Despite soaring rents across much of the state, it was a quiet session for housing policy, with the major efforts pushed by advocates eventually falling short.

A bill that would have allowed municipal authorities to develop and operate affordable housing in cities and towns outside of their jurisdictions passed out of committee but never came up for a vote in the House or Senate.

Funding the Contract Standards Board

Despite passing unanimously in the Senate, a bill that would have bolstered the Contract Standards Board, which provides oversight over executive branch contracts, did not come up for a vote in the House.

Ban on flavored vapes

An attempt initially to ban flavored vaping devices and then just to limit them to customers 21 and older never came up for a vote.

Ban on foreign money in state elections

An effort to reduce foreign interference in state elections, among other reforms, was on the House calendar, but did not come up for a vote.

Allowing striking workers to collect unemployment

The House never took up a measure passed by the Senate that would have allowed striking workers to collect unemployment insurance.