Connecticut lawmakers OK bills on last night of 2024 legislative session

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — On the final night of the 2024 legislative session, Connecticut lawmakers moved rapidly to pass a slew of bills before the midnight deadline.

Just after 11 p.m., with under an hour left before lawmakers were required to close the legislative session, the state House began taking a series of rapid-fire, mostly unanimous votes. Among the bills passed was “Broko’s Bill.”

“Broko’s Bill,” formally designated Senate Bill 339, was drafted in response to the killing of Connecticut State Police K-9 Broko . The bill requires those who intentionally harm police or rescue animals to pay financial restitution to the agency for which the animal served. The bill passed in the state Senate last week after months of advocacy by state Sen. Heather Somers.

“Broko’s story is a stark reminder of the bravery these animals display in the face of danger,” Somers said. On the day the bill passed in the Senate, Somers welcomed Connecticut State Police K-9 Valor and Trooper First Class Gregory Fascendini to the Senate chamber. Fascendini was K-9 Broko’s handler. Valor is his new partner.

Prior to the House taking a roll call vote on the bill on Wednesday evening, state Rep. Greg Howard (R-43rd District) stood to ask his colleagues to support the bill. In addition to being the ranking House Republican on the legislature’s Public Safety Committee, Howard is also a veteran police detective.

“I’ll just take one brief moment to recognize my former partner, K-9 Fritz,” Howard said on the House floor. K-9 Fritz served with Howard in the Stonington Police Department from 2008 to 2014.

“Best friend I ever had, and I’m grateful to support this legislation,” Howard said.

If it’s signed into law by Gov. Ned Lamont, “Broko’s Bill” will go into effect in October.

Shortly before midnight, the House also voted unanimously to pass a bill intended to crack down on drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses. The legislation was spearheaded by one of Bridgeport’s State Senators, the Rev. Dr. Herron Gaston (D-23rd District), after a report revealed thousands of instances of drivers illegally passing stopped school buses in the Park City.

“Our kids are our top priority. We want to make sure that we let parents know that we have their back,” said Gaston in an interview after the bill passed through the legislature’s Public Safety Committee.

The bill gives towns additional enforcement tools to identify and hold accountable drivers who pass school buses. If it’s signed into law, it will go into effect in July.

In the state Senate, members voted unanimously to pass a bill intended to strengthen election security in the aftermath of the 2023 Bridgeport absentee ballot scandal.

Among the bill’s many provisions are measures that would eventually require surveillance of all absentee ballot drop boxes of the kind that were at the center of the Bridgeport scandal. The bill is also designed to hasten the enforcement of election-related crimes.

“We’re gonna speed up that process. Justice delayed is justice denied,” said Gov. Ned Lamont, referencing widespread criticism of the state’s yearslong investigation into a woman at the center of the 2023 absentee ballot scandal.

Senate Republicans joined their Democratic colleagues in supporting the legislation, but many Republicans in both chambers of the legislature wanted to see election security measures taken further.

State Senator Rob Sampson, the ranking Republican on the legislature’s Government Administration and Elections Committee, pushed for a series of amendments that would have required prison time for those found guilty of election-related crimes and required all voters to show identification before casting a ballot. Democrats voted down Sampson’s amendments.

If it is signed into law, the election security measures will start going into effect in July.

The video below is from News 8 at 11 p.m. on May 8.

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