Virtual session begins; lawmakers recount riots

The legislative session that began Wednesday was quickly overshadowed by insurrection in Washington, where pro-Donald Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol and delayed by several hours the certification of the Electoral College vote that confirmed President Trump’s defeat. Connecticut lawmakers caught in the siege were forced to shelter in place, with some inside the House Chamber retreating to the tunnels underneath the Capitol complex for safety.

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The big story

Outdoor, virtual ceremonies mark start of legislative session:

The 2021 legislative session began Wednesday with outdoor swearing-in ceremonies and a virtual State of the State address by Gov. Ned Lamont as lawmakers embarked on a year of legislating amid a raging pandemic. House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, was sworn in by his father, who served as speaker in the 1990s. Two other caucuses — House Republicans and Senate Republicans — likewise elected new leaders: Rep. Vincent Candelora of North Branford and Sen. Kevin Kelly of Stratford. In his address, Lamont said after a tumultuous 2020 he was looking forward to 2021 being the year of Connecticut’s comeback. “There is a hopeful light on the horizon, our state and our nation are on the mend, and Connecticut’s comeback is happening,” he said. The governor also listed off items he would like lawmakers to tackle this year, including the legalization of recreational marijuana and sports betting. Lamont did not mention any tax increases or tolls, the issue that had consumed his administration soon after he was elected. And while Lamont highlighted the importance of access to affordable health care, he did not go so far as to endorse a so-called public option that is being advanced by legislative Democrats.

Five things you may have missed

Connecticut lawmakers recount storming of U.S. Capitol: Several Connecticut lawmakers were inside the House Chamber on Wednesday as a pro-Trump mob overtook the U.S. Capitol and forced them to shelter in place for hours until the trespassers could be removed. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, was watching the debate over the certification of Electoral College votes from the gallery when she saw security hurriedly remove leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from the chamber. Capitol police then announced the building had been breached and asked those still in the chamber to retrieve gas masks. After about 10 to 15 tense minutes, she and the others were escorted downstairs to a secure location. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th District, chronicled the lawmakers’ experience on Twitter in real-time. “They were at the door to the chamber,” Himes said of the mob. “They broke the glass.” Hours later lawmakers returned and completed the task of certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.

Capitol officials review security in Hartford after Washington unrest: The day after Wednesday’s riot at the U.S. Capitol, Connecticut officials met to discuss whether any security upgrades were warranted at the state Capitol in Hartford. About 500 protesters had been there Wednesday for the opening day of the legislative session but the demonstration remained peaceful, with just one arrest reported after an anti-vaccine protester spit at a Black Lives Matter demonstrator. Changes were last made in 2014 when metal detectors were installed and visitors were directed to enter through one door, with others shut and locked. “There were some members who have tried in the past to undo that,” House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, said. “I can tell you that, as long as I am speaker, there will never be a debate about that. In 2021, you need that security in place.” Officials plan to continue discussions about any possible changes.

Nursing home group makes recommendations: An advisory group tasked by lawmakers with considering how nursing homes can better control the spread of COVID-19 issued recommendations this week that included expanded training around infection control, increased stockpiles of personal protective equipment and continued frequent testing of both residents and staff for the coronavirus. “We know in this pandemic how important this testing was and continues to be, and it should continue to be implemented,” Sen. Mary Daugherty Abrams, D-Meriden, a co-chair of one of the group’s subcommittees, said, according to The Connecticut Mirror. “With this virus, you have asymptomatic contagion. We know that this testing is very important.” Last year the state hired a New Jersey firm to conduct a review of the response to

COVID-19 in the state’s nursing homes and assisted-living centers, which have borne the brunt of coronavirus-linked deaths in Connecticut. The state reported Thursday that 3,643 nursing home residents and 434 people in assisted-living facilities had died of COVID-19.

Working Families Party agenda includes higher taxes on wealthy:

The Connecticut Working Families party has released its legislative agenda for 2021, and it includes many top progressive issues that they have championed for years. They include a public health care option and higher taxes on the state’s wealthiest residents. “It’s time for game-changing legislation that makes a difference in the real-world problems that people are going through every day in Connecticut,” said Carlos Moreno, the party’s state director. “If not now, when?” Lamont has rebuffed prior calls for tax increases, arguing that they would only drive some of the state’s largest taxpayers out of Connecticut. In his State of the State address he made no mention of new or increased taxes. He did, however, urge lawmakers to move on legalizing sports betting and marijuana, two items that would bring new revenue to the state. “Let’s not surrender these opportunities to out-ofstate markets or even worse, underground markets,” Lamont said.

State completes first round of COVID19 vaccinations in nursing homes: State leaders Friday celebrated the completion of the first round of coronavirus vaccines in Connecticut nursing homes, but residents of the homes are still dying in the homes at an alarming rate as the state copes with a second wave of COVID-19 infections. “Connecticut is the first state in the country where every nursing home has gotten their vaccines for that first shot,” Lamont said. From Dec. 5 to Jan. 5, there were 120 COVID-19 deaths in the state’s 213 nursing homes, up from 126 deaths the week before. “We have a lot of progress still to make,” the governor acknowledged. The plan is to have all nursing home residents and staff receive both doses of vaccine by the end of January as part of the state’s first phase of vaccinations. The second phase is expected to include frontline essential workers and those living in congregate settings, among others.

Odds and ends

Dick Foley, a former state representative from Oxford who served as chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party and an adviser to several governors and would-be governors, died at his home on Jan. 2 at the age of 71. Foley cut his teeth in state politics in the early 1970s working with then-Gov. Tom Meskill. “He had a wealth of knowledge and always delivered it with a quick wit,” state Republican Party Chairman J.R. Romano said. … Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, a close ally of Lamont, has been selected by President-elect Joe Biden to be the next U.S. commerce secretary. “I really wish Gina well,” Lamont said. “I think it’s a great choice and we’ve got a good friend now as secretary of commerce.” He said he had not been in talks with Biden’s transition team about a post in the new administration and was not interested in such a job. … Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin has hired a former mayoral staffer of Pete Buttigieg to be the city’s next chief financial officer. Jennifer Hockenhull, who worked as city controller in South Bend, Indiana, under Buttigieg, started in an interim capacity on Monday. Bronin had endorsed Buttigieg in the Democratic presidential primary and traveled to New Hampshire to campaign for him. The pair, who have similar resumes as Rhodes scholars and Navy Reserve intelligence officers, have known each other for more than a decade. … Aundre Bumgardner, who served one term as a Republican state representative before abandoning the party over Trump, plans to challenge City of Groton Mayor Keith Hedrick in a Democratic primary, he announced last week. “My experience as a State Representative and Town Councilor has prepared me to be that voice that is so needed to create a brighter future for our community,” Bumgardner said in a statement. The 26-year-old was elected to the state House in 2014 but lost reelection in 2016. … Bob Stefanowski, the Republican candidate for governor in Connecticut in 2018, slammed Hartford and its leadership in a Jan. 1 op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, saying the city is “falling apart” and blaming decades of Democratic administrations. Hartford City Councilman Joshua Michtom said that while Stefanowski had identified the city’s problems — including a shrinking population, high tax rate and widespread poverty — he “diagnoses them all exactly backwards. He is consistently and astonishingly wrong.” Bronin said Stefanowski “has zero understanding of Hartford or any Connecticut cities, zero passion for our state, zero experience doing the difficult work of lifting up a community — and zero chance to be governor of a state that he loves to root against.”