The Connecticut House on Wednesday unanimously passed legislation that would establish a gender responsiveness subcommittee to recommend improvements to the continuum of care for children affected by the criminal legal system.  House Bill 5508 passed on a 139-0 tally, with 12 lawmakers who were absent or did not vote, sending the Juvenile Justice Policy and Oversight Committee’s recommended legislation to the Senate a week ahead of the General Assembly’s adjournment deadline.  The legislation seeks to require the gender responsiveness subcommittee — which, more broadly, would identi ..read more

A group of New England utilities plans to seek federal funding for a regional energy data platform that would make it easier for consumers and contractors to estimate potential savings from efficiency upgrades or new electric technologies.  Clean energy advocates see this kind of service as key to supporting the rollout of Inflation Reduction Act rebates and, more broadly, to controlling costs and demand on a lower-carbon power grid.  Energy providers Unitil, Eversource and Liberty Utilities are working with several subsidiaries and state groups and agencies to propose the new data ..read more

State lawmakers are considering a number of bills this session that could alter what types of information journalists, lawyers and average citizens can obtain from state agencies, local police departments, public colleges and universities and Connecticut’s 169 municipalities. The legislature’s Government Administration and Elections Committee forwarded several bills to the House and Senate earlier this year that would exempt state employees’ home addresses, information related to academic research, and portions of police body camera footage from public disclosure. The debates surrounding thos ..read more

As a first-year at Yale University and a lifelong resident of Cheshire, I have witnessed firsthand the transformative power of technology in education and daily life. However, the growing digital divide in our state threatens to undermine these advances for some. That’s why I stand in support of Senate Bill 3. The bill aims to declare broadband access a fundamental right in Connecticut but also ensures that it is affordable, equitable, and transparent for all residents of Connecticut. [RELATED: Federal internet benefits at risk in CT. Could a state bill fill in gaps?] Since the pandemic ..read more

With the legislative session nearing its close, “local control” advocates are once again making a series of confusing and contradictory arguments about housing policy in the state. But whatever the forum, their arguments always come down to “no”: no to new policies, no to new neighbors and no to any change whatsoever. But “no” isn’t an answer for the future of our state, and local control is standing in the way of building new homes for our friends and family. Thomas Broderick It’s useful to highlight the central claim of a recent local control opinion piece before addressing it:  …“so-c ..read more

Charter Oak State College is part of the Connecticut State Colleges and University (CSCU) system and is Connecticut’s public online college. With master’s, bachelor’s, associate, and certificate programs specifically designed for non-traditional and adult learners, teaching faculty are all experts in their academic fields and as practitioners. Charter Oak has recently seen an enrollment growth of 16% in fall 2023 and is poised to continue growing. This is where the good part of this article ends. Charter Oak State College is the worst offender in our public system of higher education because ..read more

Three years after the legalization of recreational marijuana in Connecticut, the state is moving to curb the proliferation of unregulated cannabis and hemp products now being sold in convenience stories, vape shops and gas stations. The House voted 130-16 Tuesday night for House Bill 5150, a bipartisan measure intended to set clear rules for THC-infused beverages and other intoxicating products made from hemp and sold under a loophole in federal law. “We can’t ban them, but we can regulate the hell out of them,” said Rep. Mike D’Agostino, D-Hamden, co-chair of the General Law Commit ..read more

The conversation will run from 7-8 p.m. In The Room is a new, in-person, monthly interview series with Connecticut’s top elected officials. Host John Dankosky brings a new approach to political interviews, exploring the policy and the people behind the policy. In the second event of the series, Dankosky interviews Gov. Ned Lamont at Mohegan Sun. Click for More Upcoming In The Room Events Thank you to our In The Room sponsors Presenting Sponsor Accountability Sponsors Publishing Sponsors Click Here for Information About Sponsoring In The Room ..read more

As legislators learned Tuesday state budget surpluses would top or approach $1 billion through 2026, leaders said Connecticut must scale back an aggressive savings program that critics say is choking core programs. The program that forces legislators to save a portion of volatile income and business tax receipts will capture $1.12 billion this fiscal year — $645 million more than originally anticipated, according to a joint report from Gov. Ned Lamont’s budget staff and the legislature’s nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis. Originally expected to capture slightly more than $450 mi ..read more

Friday, April 26, 2024 – STORRS – The concrete is deceptively comfortable at first. Like when you lay flat on the floor to stretch out your back after a very long day. But alas, it does not take much time for knots to tie themselves into tight little balls around your shoulders and ice to creep its way down the length of your sleeping bag. You feel the chilling midnight air bite at your feet through what protection you have and decide to toss the hand warmer someone had given you earlier in the night down the bag, in the hopes it’ll provide some heat. It does, for a time but not before you ne ..read more