Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has officially declared a special session to begin Nov. 12, just hours after announcing his administration had reached a deal on a new version of a housing bill advocates hope will spur creation of more homes around the state.
The housing legislation is one of the nine agenda items Lamont outlined in his special session proclamation issued Friday, which turned out to be a busy day for the two-term Democrat, whose campaign also filed paperwork that day for the 2026 governor’s race.
Opponents of the housing bill that passed during the 2025 regular legislative session were concerned that its policies would limit local control on development. Lamont ended up vetoing the omnibus housing bill, saying he wanted more input from town leaders.
“Every day we think about what we want the state of Connecticut to look like in five or 10 years, and this bill tells mayors and first selectmen: what do you want your town to look like in five or 10 years? And start planning accordingly,” Lamont said at a press conference Friday alongside lawmakers, and several municipal leaders at a parking lot in East Hartford.
“We're standing on a place that's almost 30 acres of really underutilized surface parking, and in front of a commercial building that's going to be converted to housing,” House Majority Leader Jason Rojas (D-East Hartford) said. “And I think that's why we're here today.”
"It really reflects a lot of progress, and it gives us the ability to really move forward,” Rojas added.
Changes in legislation come as housing need persists
At a housing conference last month, Rojas said the policy known as “fair share” was among the dozen or so pages where there were disagreements. Opponents viewed that part of the bill as an affordable housing mandate. In the new bill, that part was taken out.
Data shows housing relief is needed. A recent analysis shows more Connecticut residents have become “Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed,” or ALICE, since the pandemic shutdown and that 73% of all renter households below that threshold spend a third or more of earnings on rent and utilities.
Kara Capone, CEO of Community Housing Advocates, said the organization is working on the ground every day with people who cannot afford a place to live.
“It's at a crisis point,” Capone said. “And so any movement to get more housing into more areas, to provide families and individuals with opportunities to get better and do better, than we're all for that.”
Pete Harrison, Connecticut Director of the nonprofit Regional Plan Association, said such a crisis has been building for decades and is among advocates who were disappointed by Lamont’s veto, but is encouraged by the new bill, and how the Democratic governor is keeping his word to move the state forward on housing.
“It's not going to be one bill. It's not going to be one local reform,” Harrison said. “It's going to take years to get us out of this.”
Rojas said Friday that while the revised legislation was not “a painfully incremental bill,” he said “there is still going to be more work to be done.”
