Midway in session, where key bills stand

A status check on marijuana, sports betting, zoning reform

It’s about halftime at the Connecticut General Assembly, where state lawmakers have been meeting largely virtually since January as they review hundreds of proposed bills and hear hours of online public testimony.

Committees have largely wrapped up their work drafting and reshaping legislation dealing with all aspects of state government, so here’s a status check on key bills the Courant has been tracking this year.

One disclaimer: An affirmative committee vote is no guarantee of a bill’s eventual fate, and likewise, a bill that fails in committee could return in some form before the session ends June 9.

Recreational marijuana — Awaiting committee vote:

Legislation to legalize the sale of recreational marijuana is still awaiting action in the General Assembly’s judiciary committee, but the measure has the support of Gov. Ned Lamont, who said in his State of the State Address in February that Connecticut must no longer “surrender these opportunities to out-ofstate markets or even worse, underground markets.”

Since then, lawmakers in neighboring New York have passed legal marijuana legislation.

Much of the recent debate on the topic in Connecticut has focused not on whether lawmakers should OK a marijuana bill but how the legalization process should be handled including questions about expungement of criminal records, where the new revenue would go and how communities disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs could benefit from legal marijuana sales.

Critics of the Lamont-backed proposal, including urban and progressive lawmakers whose votes are crucial to its passage, say it doesn’t contain enough equity provisions.

A bill that advanced out of the legislature’s labor committee last month contained pieces not seen in the governor’s bill including allowing homegrown marijuana.

Sports betting, online gambling — Passed committee: After years of negotiations, the state reached a deal this spring with the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes that paves the way for legalized sports betting that could begin this fall in time for the start of the NFL season in September.

Soon after, the legislature’s public safety committee on March 24 approved the necessary legislation for sports betting as well as online casino gambling. The expansion is expected to raise tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue for the state.

The bills, which passed by a wide margin in bipartisan fashion, now await action in the state House of Representatives and Senate.

Racial justice and zoning—Passed committee:

A pair of bills that would overhaul the state’s zoning rules in an attempt to promote the construction of more affordable housing and address racial segregation advanced out of committee but it’s unclear if the legislature will act further on them before adjourning in June.

One sweeping proposal would legalize construction of accessory apartments across the state and require towns to draft zoning rules that rely onmeasurable qualities such as the physical characteristics of a building lot or the architectural context of a neighborhood, not vague terms such as “character.”

Another measure would set benchmarks and deadlines for cities andtownsto develop affordable housing.

Last week’s vote in the planning and development committee was along party lines with Democrats in favor andRepublicans opposed.

Religious exemptions from vaccines — Passed committee:

Two identical bills to remove Connecticut’s religious exemption from mandatory school vaccinations advanced out of the public health committee last week, but lawmakers are already considering changes that might be needed to secure their passage in the House and Senate.

The contentious topic was the subject of a 24-hour virtual public hearing in February andthevote in the public health committee came after hours of debate.

Lawmakers from both parties said at the meeting they supported allowing the more than 8,300 children in Connecticut schools with existing exemptions to be grandfathered in. As the proposal currently stands, students in sixth grade and younger would either have to receive mandatory vaccinations or leave schools when the bill would take effect in September 2022.

House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, supports the measure and predicted in December that “I think this has the votes to pass the House.”

The COVID-19 vaccine is not a state-mandated vaccine for schoolchildren.

Wine in supermarkets — No committee vote: A proposal to rewrite Connecticut’s restrictive liquor laws and allow wine to be sold in supermarkets for the first time failed to advance out of the general law committee making it unlikely lawmakers will revisit the topic before the legislative session ends.

The bill faced fierce opposition from the state’s package store owners whose arguments about the detrimental impact it would have on their businesses appear to have won out over those who say customer want more convenience and competition.

Legislation that would have allowed big-box stores like Walmart and Target to sell beer also did not advance.

Aid-in-dying — Passed committee:

After years of stalling in the Connecticut legislature, a bill that would allow physicians to prescribe life-ending medication to terminally ill patients passed at the committee level for the first time in March.

But it’s unclear whether the bill will be debated in the House or Senate, and even supporters in the committee acknowledged it was a work in progress.

“I’ll vote for this bill to get out of the committee because I do think there are things that need to be worked on and I do think that we have an obligation to continue the conversation’“said Rep. Michelle Cook, D-Torrington. “But this weighs heavy on me.”

Public option for health care — Awaiting second committee vote:

Legislation expanding the role of government-run health insurance through a so-called public option was dealt a blow in the insurance committee last month when a coalition of Republicans and moderate Democrats insisted it be regulated by the state and audited regularly.

The amendment doing that, critics said, would eliminate cost savings that are a key part of the legislation. Its supporters said the amendment puts the public option plan on the same footing as options offered by private insurers.

Rep. Sean Scanlon, a proponent of the public option, said last week he’s rounding up votes to undo the amendment and restore the bill to what legislative leaders and Comptroller Kevin Lembo had intended.

The bill’s next step is approval in the finance committee.