"SPECIAL" SESSION??

The state constitution declares there will be a "regular session" of the General Assembly in odd-numbered years that will run from early January to early June and a "regular session" in even-numbered years to extend from early February to early May. These strict parameters are in line with the principle that we have a "citizen legislature." Lawmakers do their work at the State Capitol, then return to real life with real jobs and real families.

However, the constitution also provides for "special sessions." The founding fathers recognized that from time to time lawmakers would need to take action on important issues outside the tight constraints of their annual sessions.

The constitution states that the extra meetings should be for "special emergencies," but when you give politicians the proverbial inch, they'll take the proverbial mile. In recent years, they've launched special sessions so often, the word "special" has become a joke.

This year is no exception. Lawmakers and the governor could not reach accord on a new state budget on time, so they agreed on a special session in June to finish it off.

After the horrific Cheshire home invasion murders in July, there were immediate calls for special sessions to beef-up criminal penalties and tighten up parole procedures. Democratic leaders stifled that drumbeat warning that the issues were too important for "knee-jerk reaction" legislation.

Lawmakers can call themselves into special session, but the governor has that power as well, and in the fall, Republican Gov. Jodi Rell ordered up a special session for September 26th to deal with state bonding. The legislature ended the regular session without approving a bonding package for the two-year budget cycle, so
Rell said lawmakers should at least act on bonding for school construction to help cities and towns pay their contractors.

Rell went so far as to send state troopers to track down each and every lawmaker and personally serve them with notices for her special session. That didn't go down well with the Democrats who run the General Assembly. They obeyed Rell's order to show up at the Capitol September 26th, then promptly opened and closed her special session without taking any action.

That doesn't mean Democrats didn't want to be in Hartford. They opened their own "special" session and sent Rell an overall bonding package they had devised. Tit for tat, Rell vetoed the bill as too costly.

Lawmakers never really adjourned their bonding session, and they're expected back at the State Capitol this week to take another crack at sending Rell a bonding bill she can sign, or so they say.

Meanwhile, there are new calls for special sessions. State Sen. Sam Caligiuri (R-Waterbury) wants lawmakers to meet and adopt a beefed-up "three strikes law" that would mandate life imprisonment for a third serious felony conviction. He'd also like to reclassify home invasion as a violent crime, and strengthen Connecticut's persistent offender laws to improve public safety. Caligiuri urged Democratic leaders to set a date for a special session, "the sooner the better."

Meanwhile, the Democratic co-chair of the legislature's Judiciary Committee, Rep. Michael Lawlor (D-East Haven) said he'd prefer to have a special session in January to vote on criminal justice reforms. He said he wants to dovetail proposals from the Judiciary Committee with recommendations from a governor's task force on justice reforms and that will take some time.

The bottom line? It looks as if there will be special sessions (and suggestions for special sessions) from now until the General Assembly convenes next year's regular session on February 6th, 2008. Quiet moments at your State Capitol are becoming rare indeed!

Posted 10/29/07

Comments or questions?  Contact us at  CTReport@crnradio.com

© Connecticut Radio Network