Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has signed three of the four bills passed by the Connecticut General Assembly in special session last week.
Here’s what they are and what they do:
The first bill allocates $500 million from the rainy day fund to create a reserve to compensate for lost federal funding. Although using state funds to compensate for federal cuts has been discussed throughout the year, the issue became more pressing during the government shutdown.
The money could be used to support programs like SNAP, as well as address issues such as health care and more.
Any unused funds would be deposited back into the state’s reserves in February.
Republicans argued there was no need for the fund, since the government shutdown ended before the special session finished. Democrats said general unpredictability from the federal government made the issue evergreen.
HB 8004 is a wide-ranging omnibus bill — meaning it includes multiple unrelated pieces of legislation.
It bans ICE agents from wearing masks in and around courts, and from making arrests in courthouses without a judicial warrant.
It puts a $.05 charge on cellphone bills, money that will go toward a firefighters' cancer relief fund.
The bill also addresses children's behavioral health and self-employment expense deductions for the state’s Temporary Family Assistance (TFA) program.
Allocates state money to buy Waterbury Hospital and make it part of UConn Health.
The hospital, one of three formerly owned by Prospect Medical Holdings, has been struggling since its parent company was hacked in 2023.
UConn Health is expected to pay $13 million in cash and $22 million in assumed debt. The state will also forgive some overdue provider taxes as part of the deal.
The final piece of legislation is a wide-ranging housing bill meant to incentivize housing expansion for towns.
It’s been in the works for months now, since the end of this year’s regular session. Lamont vetoed an earlier version of the bill after it got pushback from local municipal leaders.
The bill hasn’t been transferred to the governor yet, but Lamont said he’ll sign it once it is.
