11 key issues for the state legislature in 2021
Sports betting, legal marijuana among hot topics as session begins
The Connecticut legislature is scheduled to convene on Jan. 6 and will adjourn on June 9. While there are a number of fresh faces at the Capitol this year, many key issues that will be under consideration over the next five months — including recreational marijuana and sports betting — are far from new.
Here are 11 of the most significant issues the General Assembly is expected to tackle this year:
Pulling back Lamont’s executive powers: In September, a special bipartisan committee extended Gov. Ned Lamont’s executive powers until Feb. 9, allowing him to close bars, restaurants and gyms and limit attendance at nursing homes, weddings and religious gatherings to limit the spread of COVID-19. Republicans who weren’t happy with the extension will likely try to revoke those powers as soon as they can — a move Lamont said he sees coming. “We’ve got 80-plus executive orders,” Lamont said at a news conference last Monday. “I think the legislature is going to want to take a look at some of those, decide where we are in terms of the infection rate sometime in January, figure out whether they want to give me a little more executive authority and help us power through COVID a little bit longer. I think that will be probably priority No. 1.”
Rebuilding the cities: With aid to cities and towns comprising such a large part of the state budget, the question remains what the legislature will do to help rebuild Connecticut’s cities — where arts organizations, theaters, restaurants, commercial office spaces and retail shops have been decimated by the coronavirus pandemic.
While many towns saw a massive influx of homebuyers, urban centers that rely on commercial office buildings as an important part of their tax base may see those spaces take a hit that lasts for years.
“Connecticut has for decades been too reliant on the property tax,” said Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin. “One of the lasting effects of the pandemic may be that it makes the property tax disparities in Connecticut even worse than they were before. I think this is an important moment to try to make progress that’s long overdue on reducing our overreliance on the property tax.”
Bronin said there are many different ways to build more diverse revenue streams for municipalities. “If you look at almost any one of the 49 other states, you’re likely to find a model,” he said.
Budget
State officials are trying to close a projected deficit of $640 million in the current fiscal year, but Lamont and some lawmakers say that the record-high rainy day fund of nearly $3.1 billion is more than enough to cover that shortfall. The deficits are projected at $2 billion in each of the next two years, but those estimates can change quickly depending on the fortunes of Wall Street and the amount of federal money that Connecticut would receive from the Democratic administration of President Joe Biden in 2021.
Taxes
While liberals have pushed strongly for a so-called millionaires’ tax on the state’s wealthiest residents, Lamont has repeatedly pushed back — saying he doesn’t want to raise taxes on anyone when the state has “the wind at its back.” If Lamont draws a sharp line in the sand on the millionaires’ tax, the Democrats lack the two-thirds majority needed in the state House of Representatives to override a gubernatorial veto. But as Lamont gears up for another run at governor in 2022, he may be forced to compromise with the more progressive element of the Democratic Party.
Racial justice and zoning
In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, racial justice advocates have repeatedly pointed to Connecticut’s restrictive zoning regulations, which have impeded affordable housing developments in the state’s richest towns. In 2020, House Majority Leader-elect Jason Rojas and others proposed a bill that would require cities and towns to develop an affordable housing plan and would eliminate zoning commissions’ right to use a town or city’s “character” as a reason for approving or denying a building project. Similar legislation is likely to be proposed in 2021.
Recreational marijuana
After failing repeatedly for the past five years, advocates say they have the best chance yet for approving the legalization of recreational marijuana because Democrats picked up seven seats in the House and two seats in the Senate in November’s election. While downplaying the potential revenue stream, House Speaker-elect Matt Ritter has said that recreational marijuana has a “50-50 chance” of passing this year. Racial justice advocates will be pushing for equity agreements in whatever legislation is put forward, including the expungement of criminal records and preferred licensing for communities most affected by the war on drugs.
Sports betting
Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney of New Haven and others say this is the year that the legislature needs to approve a deal on sports betting because it is growing nationally and regionally after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states to decide on the issue in a landmark decision in 2018. The nature of the deal will depend on reaching an agreement by Lamont and the two Native American tribes that operate Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino in southeastern Connecticut. But the odds are favorable; in December, sports betting operator DraftKings announced a partnership with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation to offer online sports betting in Connecticut (pending legalization).
Transportation
Neither Lamont nor the legislature seem to have the political appetite for the highly controversial issue of electronic highway tolls. Ritter says he believes it’s in the category of “asked and answered” — a legal phrase that an issue has been discussed and settled. Connecticut also joined Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., in the regional Transportation Climate Initiative, which would provide new funding for cleaner transportation but could lead to higher gas prices, but the General Assembly will have to vote on the move for a full commitment.
Vaccinations
In February — just a month before the COVID-19 shutdown in Connecticut — a 20-hour public hearing drew thousands of anti-vaccination protesters to the Capitol. Following a record-breaking measles outbreak in 2019, the state Department of Public Health said a growing percentage of religious exemptions to vaccines could create pockets of vulnerability throughout the state and lawmakers moved to curtail those exemptions for schoolchildren. While some lawmakers believe the General Assembly will avoid making a move on the highly controversial subject of eliminating the religious exemption for vaccinations in 2021, others say the COVID-19 pandemic raises the importance of vaccinations for improving public health.
Public option for health care
The legislature has been unable to pass significant health care reform, but supporters say this is the year for action. Lawmakers were defeated by Connecticut’s powerful insurance industry lobby in 2019, but reform advocates now say the coronavirus pandemic — which has left tens of thousands without jobs or health insurance — brings new urgency to the issue, as policymakers also want to end racial disparities in health care coverage that have worsened during the pandemic. Connecticut Democrats recently announced a proposal would extend the state employee health plan to individuals, small businesses and nonprofits, though insurers and pharmaceutical companies would undoubtedly oppose the move. Lamont has said he supports efforts to make health insurance more accessible but doesn’t want taxpayers to foot the bill.
Criminal justice reform
Lawmakers have lacked the votes to allow free phone calls for prisoners, but Democrats say the issue will be important this year as part of criminal justice reform and racial equity. In February, Lamont introduced “clean slate” initiatives that would erase certain misdemeanor convictions after seven years (excluding sexual assaults and domestic violence cases), test and treat prison inmates for hepatitis C, hire up to 170 new state troopers and lower the price of inmate telephone calls. Advocates are also pushing for the elimination of solitary confinement as part of a broader criminal justice reform.