Legislation

The “Time’s Up Act,” an overhaul of Connecticut’s sexual harassment laws, was passed by a legislative committee late Tuesday and will go to the General Assembly for consideration.The bill was introduced in February by Senate Democrats in the wake of sexual harassment claims that have been shaking individuals and companies nationwide, and the passing of the legislation comes as U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty is under fire for her handling of domestic violence allegations against Tony Baker, her former chief of staff.Sen. Mae Flexer, who championed the legislation and was the first Democratic state legislator to call for Esty to resign, called the act timely and said she hoped the committee action will boost support for the #MeToo movement.Flexer said the current law is “very narrow” and offers limited “recourse for far too many people who work in the state of Connecticut.”“We need to ensure victims are empowered to come forward,” she … [Read more...] about Overhaul Of State’s Sexual Harassment Law Approved By Legislative Committee

A bipartisan group of legislators asked their colleagues Wednesday to support a bill that would require the state’s public high school students to be educated on Connecticut’s Safe Haven law, intended to save the lives of newborns.“We are not doing enough to promote awareness of this law,” Rep. Jeff Currey, D-East Hartford, said at a Capitol news conference. “Including instruction on this law in public high school health classes will expose thousands of teens each year to this information.”H.B. 5546 would require education about the Safe Haven law in high school health classes. The Department of Children and Families would provide the curriculum to the public schools at no cost, Currey said.The bill passed unanimously in the education committee last week. The same legislation was proposed last year and made it out of committee and into the House with bipartisan support but time constraints at the end of the session didn’t allow for a vote in … [Read more...] about Legislators Push For Education Of Safe Haven Law In Public High Schools

On Monday, the finance, revenue and bonding committee became the fourth panel to hold a public hearing on recreational marijuana this legislative session. This time, on a bill that focuses on the taxation of marijuana and marijuana products sold in the state should they be legalized.The bill, H.B. 5582, would allow Connecticut to tax marijuana and marijuana products on and after the date marijuana is legalized, though this year legalization is unlikely as one key committee has already rejected the measure and another will not be voting on the measure.The bill doesn’t specify the tax rate consumers would have to pay when purchasing recreational marijuana but instead proposes that should legalization occur, the “marijuana wholesaler” would be taxed at a rate of 13.65 percent.The bill defines a marijuana wholesaler as a person licensed to purchase marijuana from a marijuana cultivation or marijuana product manufacturing facility who would then sell it to a marijuana … [Read more...] about Fourth Legislative Committee Holds Recreational Pot Hearing; Bill Focuses On Taxation