HARTFORD, Conn — Tuesday, lawmakers made their way to the capitol after Lamont called on a special session.
Not all lawmakers agreed on the bills and topics chosen for special session.
“Based upon this agenda, there is no need for a special session right now when nearly all of these bills could wait for the regular session to allow for more thought and public input. There is nothing on the agenda dealing with the pandemic, public health or the immediate needs in the middle of the crisis,’ says Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano.
On the agenda this week, absentee ballots.
“I want to give the registrars the flexibility they need to make sure we count these votes timely and on an accurate basis. And that’s what the absentee ballot bill allows folks to do and start processing earlier. The Friday before Election Day,” Gov Lamont said.
Also on the agenda, regulating and holding Connecticut’s utility companies accountable.
This comes as companies like Eversource have been under scrutiny for recent rate hikes and their response following Tropical Storm Isaias.
The “Take Back Our Grid Act” looks to place limits on energy rate hikes and allows reimbursement to consumers who lose food or medicine due to extended outages.
“I thought it had some good parts and some concerning parts. Why would you treat a thunderstorm the same way you would treat a category 3 coming through?” Sen. Fasano said.
“I wanted to let the folks know especially those who have been hit so hard with those long outages that we have not forgotten,” says Gov Lamont.
The legislature will also take on Connecticut’s hemp program and attempt to align in with federal law. The House of Representatives will debate the bills on Wednesday and the Senate will do the same late this week.