I would expect that this will be the last report for the 2021 CGA legislative session.  Last in the listing is the budget implementer bill (S.B. #1202) which was passed at a special session on 6/15/2021.  There were several bills passed in that 6/15 session, but only that specific S.B. 1202 had any issues that pertained to any Fire Service issues.

With back-up from Chief Oates who perused all 837 pages of the implementer, I also scanned through the same 837 pages, plus the 69 pages of the budget bill (H.B. #6689), and the 128 pages of the bonding bill (H.B. #6690.  The results of all 3 of these bills are on the bill listing.  We only found 4 items within the implementer that were Fire Service related.  I have listed only the “jist” of the items in the implementer, as some items involve several paragraphs of text.  If anyone is interested in the full text of any legislation, you may contact me and I can lead you through the process.  It is rather simple once you have done it.

As in past years I have colored the text of passed bills in GREEN.  Most items that did not pass have been deleted.  Some bills that did not pass are still listed, but colored RED, because they were of interest to some individuals.  You will also note that some bills passed one chamber and not the other.  I left those listed, a some individuals have expressed a desire to know what happened to them along the process.  

If anyone is aware of any bills that they had an interest, and I have not listed them, please contact me via the email at the bottom of the listing.  After scanning through approximately 1000 pages of text, some pages get “blurry”. I will be happy to research any missed items.  Be aware that these results are of today, Saturday 6/26.  Some bills have not been signed by the Governor yet, but, if passed, they should be signed within the next week or so.

Ted Schroll Jr., Legislative Representative
Connecticut State Firefighters Association
Email  thschroll@snet.net

All,

All bills listed completely in GREEN passed both chambers.  They are not official until assigned a Public Act number and are signed by the Governor.

Bills still in RED died either in committee or on their respective calendar.  I left them on the list for now to show all that were being tracked and did not pass.

The regular session ended at midnight on this past Wednesday.  I have not had a chance to closely review each passed bill to see if there are any surprises hidden inside.  I would expect to have that done by next week and will refine the list by then.

Please note H.B. #6689 (Budget Bill) and H.B. #6690 (Bonding Bill).  Both bills passed the last day of the session.  All Fire Service items under the control of CSFA in the budget bill were flat funded from the previous biennium.  However, the Approps committee inserted $70K per year for both years of the biennial budget to fund firefighter training for distressed communities (H.B. #5666).

In the Bonding Bill, we were able to work with the Bonding Sub-Committee to insert $5 Million in the second year of the biennial toward the Regional Fire School Capital Improvement Program.

If anyone has any questions about any issues that you “heard” about, you can contact me by email and I will try to get you an answer.

Ted Schroll Jr., Legislative Representative
Connecticut State Firefighters Association
Email  thschroll@snet.net

Little to report this week.  Normally a 4 day week because of the Monday holiday, but because this was the last weekend before the end of session, the Senate worked late Friday night into Sat A.M and the House came in at noon Saturday and worked all day into the late evening.  Now only 3 days left, but who’s counting.  The 2021 regular session ends at midnight on Wednesday.  If like any normal year, both chambers will probably be working at least 12-14 hour days these last 3 days.  It has been interesting to watch both chambers these last few weeks.  More and more legislators are attending inside the building as the end nears.  However, the Capitol complex is still closed to the public.

Activity this week was 6/1  S.B. #1 passed.  This bill started out in session as a public health bill.  It ended as a bill that declared racism as a public health crisis.  No F.D. related items.

On 6/3, S.B. #261 passed the Senate.

On 6/4, Activity was performed on H.B. #5412, #5420, #6420, #6422 & S.B. #931.

On 6//5 S.B. #261 passed the House & S.B. #660 was passed.

It is hoped to be able to reach an agreement between the Governor and the legislature on a budget document early this week. Each day for the past 2-3weeks it is an on-again off-again announcement of an agreement.

Sports betting has passed, recreational “WEED” has not….. yet.

Without a budget document, at this time, both the Governor’s budget and the current Legislative budget have flat funded (same as last year) the CSFA disability account, both the county and state-wide radio maintenance accounts, and the operating budgets for the Regional Fire Training Schools.  We, as late as today, working with other fire service organizations are still attempting to convince the Legislature to increase these accounts. We continue with the philosophy of “It ain’t over ’til it’s over”. 

I can be reached by email if any questions.

Ted Schroll Jr., Legislative Representative
Connecticut State Firefighters Association
Email  thschroll@snet.net

All,

It has been said that the days dwindle down to a precious few.  Last week was a 4 day week because of the holiday and the coming week will be a 4 day week also.  When the CGA goes back to work on Tuesday there will only be 9 days left to the regular session, and that is if they work over the last weekend.  They usually do.

Activity this past week which is on my listing are as follows:

Monday 5/24       H.B. #6600 was passed in the House and is on the Senate calendar.

Tuesday 5/25       S.B. #1083 Passed in the House and should be heading to the Governor.

Wednesday 5/26  H.B. #5412 & H.B. #6666 were passed in the House and are on the Senate calendar.

                             S.B. #123 & S.B. #660 were passed in the Senate and are on the House calendar.

Thursday 5/27      H.B. #6646 was passed in the House but does not show on the Senate calendar yet.

Friday  5/28          No sessions on this day.

If any questions you may email to the address on the bottom of the listing.  

Ted Schroll Jr., Legislative Representative
Connecticut State Firefighters Association
Email  thschroll@snet.net

Down to 2 and a half weeks before adjournment.  Both chambers were in session Tues, Wed, & Thur this past week.  They were busy all days, but some of the bills were “talkers”.  These are bills in which there is a lot of debate and lots of discussion.  Sometimes on days like these, legislators may spend 8-10 hours debating one bill.  

Activity this past week with bills on my list were:

Mon 5/17   H.B. #5653 was passed and sent immediately to the Governor for his signature.

Tues 5/18   H.B. #6420 was passed and sent to the Senate

                   S.B. #1 was passed and sent to the House

                   H.B. #6595 was JF’d out of the Judiciary committee and placed on the House calendar

Thur 5/20   S.B. #141 & S.B. #1083 were passed and sent to the House

                   H.B. #6391 was passed by the House, but it has not shown as being on the Senate calendar yet.

I deleted 7 bills from the listing this week. All had been past their time for a few weeks, but I was waiting to see if they might show up elsewhere.  They were H.B. #5840, #5846, #5852, #6170, S.B. #638, #962 & #1010.  Most were money bills and the money committees are closed to new bills.

                                                                     *************************

I neglected to mention last week that it appears that S.B. #119 is dead.  It was sent to the Finance committee on 4/28.  If a bill is sent to committee and does not get voted back out within 3 session days or 7?? or 10?? business days, it is considered dead.  Both those times have passed.  The bill was proposed by Sen. Champagne from Vernon, but his district encompasses Ashford, Chaplin, Coventry, Eastford, Ellington, Hampton, Pomfret, Stafford, Tolland, Union, Vernon, Willington & Woodstock.  If anyone from his district reads this and has a rapport with him, you might call him and ask if he can revive the issue.  He may have way to bring it back to life.  This bill would have eliminated fees for volunteer F.D. for criminal history checks. 

                                                                       *************************

The House is scheduled to be in session Mon, Tues, Wed & Thur next week.  The Senate has not published their schedule at this time.  May be a short week this week as next Monday is Memorial Day.  Long Weekend????

Any questions you can reach me by email.  I’ll try to help   

Ted Schroll Jr., Legislative Representative
Connecticut State Firefighters Association
Email  thschroll@snet.net

Only 3 and a half weeks until adjournment of the regular 2021 session.  Both chambers met multiple times this past week.  There was still only one day that they were working at the same time.  More legislators are coming into the building, but not into the chambers.  They now have a “button” in their offices in the LOB, and can vote from there.  They are still working under COVID-19 guidelines and the Capitol complex is still closed to the public.

Both chambers did get to move some legislation.  Activity was as follows:

HOUSE

H.B. #5653, H.B. #6302, H.B. #6477 & H.B. #6626 were passed in the House and were sent to the Senate.

It appears that with the changes made by amending H.B. #6626, that the bill is no longer F.D. related.  I will probably be deleting this bill and several others in the next couple weeks.  I usually wait a period of time to see if the abandoned items show up elsewhere.  

H.B. #6595 was referred to the Judiciary committee.

H.B. #6666 was moved from the Appropriations committee onto the House calendar.

SENATE

H.B. #5653 was passed and sent to the Governor for his signature.

S.B. #102, S.B. #121, S.B. #837 & S.B. #983 were passed and sent to the House.

The House is scheduled to be in session on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday.  The Senate has not released their schedule.

As always, I am available for any questions.

Ted Schroll Jr., Legislative Representative
Connecticut State Firefighters Association
Email  thschroll@snet.net

My apologies to all, if you are receiving some of this information twice.  It appears that maybe some may not have received last week’s info until mid-week.  Even though, not too much has occurred since.  No bills have actually passed both chambers.  Bills have moved between committees and from committee to chamber and vice versa.  

Last week activity was as follows:

The Appropriations committee met on Monday and moved several bills out of committee.  They were H.B. #5666, #5722, #6595, #6626, #S.B. #1, #121, #660, #845 & #1002.  All these bills were moved back to their respective chambers.  One bill, S.B. #119 did NOT make it out of committee.  That bill would have exempted volunteer F.D.s and volunteer ambulance companies from the fee for a criminal history records check.  I have notified the advocate for the bill so he may follow up.

The House met in session on Tuesday.  They did not pass any of the bills I have been following, however, they did refer H.B. #6639 & H.B. #6666 to the Appropriations committee.  Before I forget, the Appropriations is meeting as I write and have moved both of these bills back out of committee to the House chamber.  Also, some may note that I have added H.B. #6639 to the listing.  It is possible that this item may be of some interest to Fire Marshals.

Back to last week, the Senate met 2 days, but did not take up any of the bills that I have been following.

I already mentioned some activity of this week.  On Monday, Appropriations is meeting.  The House is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  When the Senate adjourned last Thursday, they told their members to be prepared to be in session on Wednesday, Thursday & possibly Friday.  However, the House has already scheduled Tues, Wed & Thur and they have made a pattern of both chambers not meeting on the same day, because of COVID social distancing.

Again, email with any questions.  Or, if you feel that I have missed something.

Ted Schroll Jr., Legislative Representative
Connecticut State Firefighters Association
Email  thschroll@snet.net

The Covid 19 pandemic continues to make it’s effect on the 2021 session.  Normally, at this time, most of us are spending almost every week day at the Capitol or LOB.  The Capitol complex continues to remain closed to the public.  This past week the House met on Monday and the Senate met on Tues & Wed.  And they continue to purposely not meet on the same day in any week.  If anyone watches the sessions on CT-N or You Tube you have noted that during a session day, some legislators are in their chambers, some are in their offices in the LOB, and some use a link from their home.

On Monday’s House session, they PASSED H.B. #6422 and that bill is now on the Senate calendar.  They referred H.B. #5666, H.B. #6595, & H.B. #6626 to the Appropriations committee.  They also referred H.B. #5722 to the Finance committee.

On Tuesday’s Senate session, they took up only one bill which was the bill that deals with the religious exemption for immunizations.  They spent 10 hours on that one bill and went home.  On Wednesday’s session, they did not pass anything that was of interest to the F.D.s.  However, they did refer S.B. #1, S.B. #121, S.B. #660, & S.B. #1002 to the Appropriations committee.  They referred S.B. #119 to the Finance committee, and they referred S.B. #845 to the Judiciary committee.

Tomorrow (Monday) all three of these committees will be meeting and all of these bills are on the agendas of each respective committee.  The House is scheduled to meet on Tuesday and Thursday of next week,  When the Senate adjourned last week they told their members to expect to meet Wed, Thur, & possibly Fri of the week.  However they are not on the schedule yet.

Email if there are any questions.

Ted Schroll Jr., Legislative Representative
Connecticut State Firefighters Association
Email  thschroll@snet.net