Opening day ceremonies may be outdoors
Lamont will likely give State of the State address remotely
HARTFORD — Faced with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the need for social distancing, the state legislature is strongly considering holding its opening day ceremonies outdoors on Jan. 6.
Senate President Pro TemMartin Looney of New Haven said Thursday that both the state House of Representatives and the Senate are considering having the official swearing-in ceremonies on the steps of the Capitol. A final decision, he said, would not be made until closer to opening day so that lawmakers would know whether there would be snow or freezing rain.
“It’ll keep the speeches short — if it’s cold,” Looney said in an interview.
Another change from tradition is that Gov. Ned Lamont would not deliver the State of the State Address inside the Capitol for the first time in memory, he said.
“I think he will deliver the State of the State, but he won’t do it in a packed chamber,” Looney said. “I think he’ll do it by Zoom from his office. It wouldn’t be safe to bring 187 members into the chamber for his speech.”
For decades, governors have opened the annual legislative session in front of a packed, standing room only crowd with family and friends standing wall to wall in the historic Hall of the House.
“I think it’ll be sort of like this,” Lamont said during a virtual news conference Thursday when asked how he planned to address the legislature on opening day.
Opening day will also include the official election of state Rep. Matt Ritter of Hartford as the new House speaker, but it is still unclear whether that vote by all 151 House members would be done outside.
Looney said that lawmakers are keenly aware that the newly elected House speaker in NewHampshire, Republican Dick Hinch, was recently sworn in outdoors on a cold day and died one week later at age 71 of COVID-19. Nearly 80 Republicans at the outdoor ceremony did not wear masks, according to media reports.
In another move, state senators will be able to vote from their offices in the Legislative Office Building in the coming months so that all 36 members would not need to gather together in the Capitol, Looney said.
Deputy House Speaker Robert Godfrey of Danbury said the State Armory, the XL Center, The Bushnell and the Legislative Office Building atrium have all been