Special Session Information
After months of talking about convening a special legislative session this summer, a date has finally been set. Governor Lamont plans to issue the official call on Friday. The House of Representatives plans to be in session next Thursday, July 23, and the Senate will take up the bills sometime the week after.
The special session will very likely be limited to four topics: police accountability, access to absentee ballots for the November election, telehealth services, and capping the cost of insulin.
A second special session is also under consideration for September. A broader set of issues could be addressed at that time, including potentially changes to exclusionary zoning laws. Other potential topics include additional policing reforms, education reforms, and economic reforms. The Senate Democrats unveiled a “Juneteenth Agenda” that highlights a broad range of priorities, and the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus also recently released an “Agenda for Equity”. It’s unclear how many of these topics could be addressed in a second special session, and what might be held until the next regular legislative session, which will begin in January. We will continue to keep you updated as we know more details.
Immediate Action Needed!
Tomorrow, the Judiciary Committee will be hosting a public listening session via Zoom on the working draft of the police accountability bill: An Act Concerning Police Accountability (LCO 3471). You can find more information on the bill here and the text of it here. This draft is a product of bipartisan work by the Chairs and Ranking Members on the Judiciary Committee. However, this does not mean that all the included provisions will garner wide bipartisan support, as the Ranking Members made clear. The bill is in working draft form right now; the language of the bill is a starting point for discussions.
The bill seeks to create more transparency and accountability by making police officer disciplinary records subject to the Freedom of Information Act, and including mechanisms for revoking a police officer’s certification if found of wrongdoing, among other provisions. The bill also seeks to make other reforms, including: requiring departments to evaluate the feasibility and impact of engaging social workers to respond instead of, or with, police officers when appropriate; creating an objectively reasonable standard for use of force; limiting the justifiable use of chokeholds; and establishing a duty of other officers to intervene when excessive use of force is being used, and to report that excessive use of force.
The bill falls short of fulling addressing some aspects of police reform that we would like to see, (you can read our action alert on our policy demands here) but this bill has a number of strong pieces and is an important start. There is also room for the bill to be strengthened over the next two weeks, but your voice is needed in order to show legislators that there is support for more robust reforms.
The listening session will begin at 10 a.m. and go until no later than 10 p.m. on Friday, July 17. View the session via CT-N.com. To submit written testimony: email it to JUDtestimony@cga.ct.gov and include your name and town in the email. Click here to register to testify virtually before the Judiciary Committee; registration will close on Thursday, July 16 at 6 p.m. You can also leave a message at 860-240-5255 requesting to virtually testify. Speaker order will be randomized and available here; chosen speakers will have three minutes to speak.
Emails are needed to your local legislators on this bill. Urge them to maintain the provisions described above. Also ask them to consider adding other provisions to strengthen the bill, including:
- The bill seeks to limit what type of military equipment that departments can obtain through the 1033 program. We believe a complete ban on departments from receiving military-grade equipment is needed. A 2017 study found that police departments that participated in the federal 1033 program, which transfers surplus military equipment to police departments, increased the likelihood of police violence against civilians.
- Ban officers from participating in military exercises. Connecticut is listed among the many states that receive training in counter-insurgency tactics, among other forms of training, from militaries around the world.
- Ban no-knock warrants, which are essentially surprise raids that endanger both civilians and police. Police conduct approximately 20,000 per year, usually looking for drugs. At least 39 people have died in these raids between 2010 and 2016, including eight officers.
- The bill also includes provisions for increased anti-bias training for officers. Urge legislators to not use funds to create more training programs, but instead make investments directly into communities of color.
Find your local legislators here.
Thank you for your continued advocacy!
