June 17, 2022
In This Issue:
From Paddi's Desk
CT Agency Corner
Municipal Roundup
Inside Scoop
This Day in CT History
Two, four, or unlimited? Who knows!

This week an interesting Office of Legislative Research (OLR) report came out talking about the difference in term lengths across all the 50 state legislatures. As you may recall, I mentioned this past session legislators had approved an increase in legislative pay since many felt the role is more than part-time. Folks raised the challenges of trying to balance family life, professional responsibilities and legislative duties. Many commented that they find it hard to have a primary job since many employers are reluctant or won’t accommodate the time commitments needed to do a good job of representing a district. A few mentioned the low compensation also kept them from even considering campaigning for a seat. 
 
After a short and to-the-point debate on the House floor, it passed with a strong bipartisan vote 95-53, with the Senate following in short time, approving the measure with no debate.
 
Base pay for a legislator will jump in January 2023 after the election in Nov. 2022 to $ 40,000 from $28,000. Many thought the compensation adjustments were reasonable, especially since they had not changed in over two decades. The law also relieves the legislature from having to revisit the compensation rate since it will now be adjusted to something called the Employment Cost Index. A number calculated by the US Department of Labor Statistics. 
 
So the OLR report that got me thinking. OLR takes on topics of interest upon the request of legislators or based on pending legislation. This one looks at the structure of state legislative terms of office. What stood out is that only 15 states have term limits for holding office. (Not including CT) Five of those states have a lifetime limit on years they are eligible to serve. (Interesting since in CT it’s not common for a departing legislator to return after leaving office unless they had lost a reelection campaign!) The other ten have consecutive limits, meaning you can serve a certain number of terms—take a step away, and then return to office after a set period of time.
 
The report states that for state senator there are a variety of term limits, unlike state representatives. In five states both the senator and representative serve four-year terms. Given the fast paced world we all live in, that’s a long time! Then the next category of terms has 26 states where the senators serve four-year terms and the representatives serve two-year terms. That’s interesting huh? In 12 states, senators and representatives each serve a two-year term—just like Connecticut. Then, in the remaining seven states, senators serve either two or four-year terms, while the representatives serve only a two-year term. WOW, interesting.
 
So some of us are wondering: is this the next initiative to MODERNIZE the CT legislature by changing the length of terms or instituting term limits for Connecticut? During my career as a lobbyist I don’t think there’s ever been a serious look at changing term limits or placing term limits on an individual. In fact some of our most distinguished state legislators have served close to four decades in the General Assembly.
 
Other research shows that legislative term limits increase legislative polarization, reduce the legislative skills of politicians, reduce the legislative productivity of politicians, weaken legislatures vis-à-vis the executive, and reduce voter turnout. Parties respond to the implementation of term limits by recruiting candidates for office on more partisan lines. States that implement term limits in the state legislatures are associated with also developing more powerful House speakers.
 
Additional research shows that term limits have not reduced campaign spending, reduced the gender gap in political representation, increased the diversity of law-makers, or increased the constituent service activities of law-makers. And this one is kind hard for me to grasp but it popped up in a recent paper - term limits have been linked to lower growth in revenues and expenditures.
 
In Connecticut it would take a constitutional convention or a ballot initiative to set the process moving to change the term of a senator or representative. I’m not sure about term limits but in many states that have approved term limits they have proven to be unconstitutional according to the same research.
Term limits adopted in four states were struck down as unconstitutional by their state supreme courts. In Massachusetts, Washington and Wyoming, the court ruled that term limits could not be enacted by statute, and could only be enacted by an amendment to the state constitution; the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that the Oregon initiative establishing term limits violated the single-subject rule. In two other states, legislative term limits were repealed or overturned. Term limits for state legislatures were adopted by Idaho and Utah in 1994, but repealed by their respective legislatures in 2002 (Idaho) and 2003 (Utah).
 
The state constitution in Section 10 clearly states that both senators and representatives serve the exact same term length and that it be based on a two year cycle. (Though that is stated in a less than simple manner!) There is no restriction on term limits nor does it set any limits. Interestingly, in Section 11 of the constitution it does prohibit a legislator, during the term for which he is elected, to hold or accept any appointive position or office in the judicial or executive department of the state government, or in the courts of the political subdivisions of the state, or in the government of any county. 
 
This is interesting in that we don’t have counties in CT, but increasingly many legislators serve in their local municipalities. For the most part they are hard-working and have been reelected to both their legislative seats and municipal seats as well. Recently though, there’s been trouble in river city in one municipality where there was some “hanky panky” a.k.a. criminal action happening that’s working its way through the judicial branch.
 
So as the next session starts up in mid-Fall we'll be listening to hear if the topic of term lengths or term limits pops up along the campaign trail or during next session. It would definitely be an interesting debate and more than likely take several years for a consensus to be reached—But who knows? The world is changing, and changing fast! 
List of Legislators not Seeking Re-Election

We would like to give a huge thanks to the following legislators that will not be seeking re-election this year for all they have done for Connecticut. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors!
  • Rep. Cathy Abercrombie (D)
  • Rep. Dave Arconti (D)
  • Rep. Harry Arora (R)
  • Rep. Whit Betts (R)
  • Sen. Dan Champagne (R)
  • Rep. Tony D'Amelio (R)
  • Sen. Mary Daugherty-Abrams(D)
  • Rep. Joe De La Cruz (D)
  • Rep. Laura Devlin (R)
  • Rep. Mike France (R)
  • Sen. Paul Formica (R)
  • Rep. Robin Green (R)
  • Sen. Will Haskell (D)
  • Rep. John Hampton (D)
  • Rep. Brandon McGee (D)
  • Sen. Craig Miner (R)
  • Rep. Chris Perone (D)
  • Rep. Bill Petit (R)
  • Rep. Rosa Rebimbas (R)
  • Rep. Emmett Riley (D)
  • Rep. Sean Scanlon (D)
  • Rep. Brian Smith (D)
  • Rep. Charlie Stallworth (D)
  • Rep. Stephanie Thomas (D)
  • Rep. Dave Wilson (R)
  • Rep. Mike Winkler (D)
  • Sen. Kevin Witkos (R)
DEEP Approaches EPR with Renewed Vision for 2023

The Commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) this week announced during a coalition meeting that Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation is expected to be reintroduced for the next legislative session.

The Connecticut Coalition for Sustainable Materials Management (CCSMM) is a committee set up through DEEP, resource recovery organizations and municipalities to explore ways to reduce the amount of waste that is generated in our state, and looks to improve reuse, recycling, and organics collection, as well as support EPR legislation and other innovative solutions. Over 90 municipalities have signed onto the CCSMM sign-on statement which seems to be growing as a stronger push is being anticipated for next session.

The CCSMM has four working groups:


As of this moment, a meeting has not been scheduled to finalize their working group recommendations to the legislature. However, each year they usually have a meeting during early January to finalize their reports.

At their last meeting which was held Wednesday, DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes mentioned that 2 failed EPR bills, SB 115 (AAC EPR for consumer packaging link) and HB 5139 (AAC EPR for Tires link) will be coming back next session. Currently, the main focus of the CCSMM seems to be unit based pricing and organics diversion (getting food out of the waste stream and into composts piles, anaerobic digesters, etc.) since MIRA’s closure presents a colossal challenge to fixing the waste crisis.

There certainly will be an increased cause for concern on what could be recommended for next session so stay tuned for more updates on their progress from our team.
Top Ten

We love top 10 lists here in CT. This week an online publication, Stacker, used U.S. Census Bureau data to determine where people are moving to over the last few years. The report compiled lists of where people were to from CT. So if you want to play along, take a guess at the top 3 places people are moving to from CT, the answers may surprise you.

1.      New York
2.      Florida
3.      Massachussetts

Where are the least amount of nutmeggers relocating to? That would be Idaho, Nebraska and Kentucky. Apparently we don’t like potatoes, corn or bourbon.

In more serious news, an update from the City of West Haven. As previously reported, West Haven has been in an heap of trouble for misallocating hundreds of thousands of dollars of federal stimulus funds. This week the city is preparing to hire a fiscal management firm that would attempt to help them shore up some of those damages. At this moment the city could be on the hook for over $1.5 million that they would need to turn back to the federal government and this firm would attempt to find a way to lessen that burden. The cost of that administration, over $300,000. 
Click here for more detailed report from the New Haven Register-
The Race For Governor

Last week, the focus of this particular blog was to dial in on the United States Senate race here in Connecticut between sitting Senator Richard Blumenthal and a Republican candidate to be named in August. Today, the point of interest is the Governor’s race where current Governor, Ned Lamont (D), faces off against Madison Republican Bob Stefanowski (again). In a recent Quinnipiac Poll, the Governor leads Republican challenger Bob Stefanowski 51 - 43 percent in Connecticut's gubernatorial race. That is a good cushion a few months from Election Day but many in Connecticut are having a tough time getting by, so this race is very much a toss-up. Let’s dive in.

2018 was the first time we saw Bob Stefanowski and Ned Lamont face off. That mid-term race also had a US Senate race, statewide races and the State Representative and State Senate races on the ballot. The town-by-town results are interesting to look at with many of our small towns turning out for the Republicans. Will the sentiment remain the same as Democrats deliver the big cities and smaller towns go red? How will the hopeful end of the pandemic immerse itself into the way we vote in this particular race? There are now over 2.3 million active, registered voters in Connecticut. Just under 1 million of those are Unaffiliated, more than 850k are Democrats and just over 480k are Republican. Absentee ballots were not as significant of an issue in 2018 but as we know, in 2020 as the pandemic was raging, many voters in CT chose the mail-in option. Heading into this election cycle, with absentee ballots having more of an impact than they did in the last Governor’s race, the element of intrigue is important to watch.

Many believe, and rightfully so, that Governor Lamont was a leader who helped us get through that COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses are moving into the state and with an influx of federal dollars, CT’s budget outlook is rosier than in years past. But politics is very much a “what have you done for me lately” gig. Groceries, gas prices, and what feels like just about the cost of everything, have been rising. It has been a nightmarish few months filling up the tank for many of us and according to several news outlets, the people that inflation and gas prices hit the hardest, are lower income workers who have to travel to their jobs. While this is happening across the country for various reasons, the next time people go to the polls they have a choice and if these hardships continue, we might see a changing of the guard in some big races.

In 2018, the Governor won by more than 40K votes in an election that was very much considered a referendum against President Trump. This time around, the sentiment at our gas pumps and grocery stores spell trouble for Democrats. It’s important to remember, this far out, that there is still time to turn things around. If this turns out to be a race about perception, the Governor and the Democratic party have a good chunk of time to turn voter sentiment around (or at least bump their lead up) heading into a very important election. Heading into next week, our focus dives into a few other statewide races. Stay tuned. 
June 17: The First Black Playwright to "Take a Giant Step" to Broadway

Award-winning playwright and filmmaker Louis Peterson spent his career creating dramatic stories that explored conflict and relationships especially as they turned around issues of race. He achieved a number of firsts, becoming the first Black playwright to have his work produced on Broadway and one of the first Black Emmy nominees – but before he became a familiar name in Hollywood and on the Great White Way, his story began in Hartford, Connecticut.
Peterson was born in Hartford on June 17, 1922, into a civically active family in a largely white neighborhood in the city’s South End. The Peterson family prioritized education and the arts, making sure Louis and his brother took piano lessons and spent plenty of time at the Wadsworth Atheneum.
After graduating from Bulkeley High School in 1940, Peterson went on to attend Morehouse College and earn a degree in English, but his interests in music and theater continued to call him and his considerable creative energies. After a year at the Yale School of Drama, he moved to New York, where he got his master’s in drama from NYU in 1947. He acted in plays and studied writing and drama, including with the famous acting teacher Sanford Meisner (whose instinct-based technique is a relative of Method acting).

He worked on writing all the while. Peterson’s first play, Take A Giant Step, opened on Broadway on September 24, 1953 after an incubation period in Hartford at the New Parsons Theatre, and a trial run in Philadelphia. The semi-autobiographical play, which tells the story of a Black teenager contending with entrenched racism in a largely white New England neighborhood, opened with Louis Gossett, Jr. in the lead role and received largely positive reviews – the Hartford Courant, which followed Peterson and the opening closely, noted with some pride that “The New York critics, who have been ripping into new plays this season, gave uniformly favorable notices Friday to the efforts of a young Hartford Negro playwright.” Take A Giant Step was listed as one of the best plays of the year, and drew praise for its humor as well as its frank approach to race, identity and teenage conflict.

Peterson went on to a prolific career in entertainment, writing for film, television and the stage over coming decades. He was the first black writer to be nominated for an Emmy award in 1957 for the Goodyear Television Playhouse’s “Joey”, and headed to California in the 1960s to explore more film and TV opportunities (which he considered helpful in buying time for him to work on stage drama). He was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1975. Peterson continued to write and taught drama at the SUNY Stony Brook campus into the 1990s. He died in 1998, having paved a way for future generations of Black actors and playwrights.




The original article from the CT Humanities Council can be found here.
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