HARTFORD — Legislation that could have led to bear hunting in Litchfield County has been killed.
Senate Democrats on Thursday successfully scuttled the bill by replacing it with other legislation that makes it illegal to bring certain big game specimens into the state.
Democratic Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman broke a tie vote in the Senate. The bill was ultimately referred to the Judiciary Committee.
Litchfield Sen. Craig Miner, a Republican, originally proposed requiring the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to come up with bear-hunting season regulations.
Recognizing he faced opposition, Miner amended the bill, allowing DEEP to decide whether to seek such regulations. Also, his revised bill limited potential bear hunting to Litchfield County.
All of that language was stripped and replaced with the ban on big-game trophies.
