HARTFORD — Despite Wednesday's adjournment deadline, Connecticut legislators planned to return, possibly early next week, to vote on a new budget for fiscal year 2017, budget-related bills and Gov. Dan Malloy's criminal justice bill.
Highlights of bills that passed and failed during this year's regular session of the Connecticut General Assembly:
WHAT PASSED
— Campus Police: The bill allows the state's regional community colleges to create special armed police forces.
— Medical Marijuana: Legislation allows minors with certain debilitating conditions to use Connecticut's medical marijuana program.
— Restraining Orders: The legislation requires people with temporary restraining orders against them to transfer their firearms to police or a firearms dealer within 24 hours after being served with the order.
— Opioid Abuse: First-time opioid prescriptions for adults are limited to seven-day dosages under a bill that combined ideas from more than 50 bills submitted this session to address opioid drug abuse. Subsequent prescriptions can be filled for longer periods.
— Retirement Accounts: The bill creates a new agency that will establish a Roth individual retirement savings account program for private sector workers whose employers have at least five employees. Workers would be automatically enrolled unless they opt out.
— Animal Advocates: Under the bill, law school students or attorneys would be allowed to volunteer as legal advocates to assist in the prosecution of animal abuse cases.
— Teacher Records: School boards will be required to provide information to other districts about whether a teacher applicant was disciplined for abuse, neglect or sexual misconduct.
— School Threats: The bill makes it a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for intending to cause the evacuation of a school or school grounds with a threat.
— Handicapped Signs: The Department of Administrative Services is required to come up with regulations that will modernize the handicapped sign with a more active figure.
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WHAT FAILED
— Tesla: The Senate failed to take up a bill that would have allowed electric car maker Tesla Motors to sell its vehicles directly to consumers, bypassing the state's franchise system.
— Fantasy Sports: Despite being included in an early tax bill, lawmakers decided not to act on legislation that would authorize fantasy sports after Attorney General George Jepsen warned it could risk Connecticut's slot machine revenue-sharing agreement with the state's two federally recognized Indian tribes.
— Gambling Study: A proposal to study the impact of allowing a third casino in Connecticut died in committee. Meanwhile, the two federally recognized tribes did not submit a proposal for legislation approval to open their proposed jointly owned, third casino to compete with the MGM Resorts International casino in Springfield, Massachusetts, saying they'll return with a site next year.
— Weaponized Drones: A proposal creating a new class C felony for those who attach weapons to drones has failed for the second year in a row. While it passed in the House of Representatives, it didn't come up for a Senate vote.
— Cecil's Law: The House of Representatives failed to vote on a bill that would ban the importing, possessing, offering for sale or transporting in Connecticut big game specimens, including certain elephants, lions, leopards and two rhinoceros species.
