CT Senate passes all four House bills; Lamont expected to sign shortly

The Connecticut state Senate has approved the four bills that had previously passed the House and sent them to Gov. Ned Lamont, who is expected to sign them into law possibly as early as today.

The most contentious of the bills ”“ police accountability ”“ passed the Senate by a 21-15 majority after some 10 hours of debate.

That bill requires body cameras for all officers; allows towns to create police civilian review boards with subpoena power; mandates that officers display their name tag “prominently” on their uniform; and asks local departments to assess if social workers should be added to first responders on some calls.

Causing the most controversy is a provision that would make it easier for residents to sue individual officers in state court. In such cases, the officer would only be held financially liable if he or she knowingly broke the law. However, the financial burden can be shifted to the municipality employing such an officer.

That provision would not go into effect until July of next year.

In addition, the Senate voted 35-1 in favor of no-excuse absentee ballots in both the Aug. 11 primary and the November general election. President Donald Trump and other Republicans around the country have argued against such a move, maintaining that it would open the way to widespread voter fraud. Trump has taken to Twitter to float the idea of delaying the Nov. 3 election, although he does not have the Constitutional right to do so.

The Senate also voted 35-1 in favor of limiting the monthly cost of insulin to $25 for people on state-regulated health plans; $100 a month for supplies such as blood sugar meters, pumps and syringes; and $25 a month for other glucose-lowering medications.

Also passed, by a 35-0 tally, was a bill extending broader telehealth services through March 15, 2021. It requires that providers be paid the same amount for a telehealth visit as they would for an in-person appointment.