CTLCV Highlights Key Environmental Bills, Hosts Legislative Session Debrief

​HARTFORD, CT – The Connecticut League of Conservation Voters (CTLCV) is evaluating the environmental progress of the recently concluded legislative session of the CT General Assembly.

The organization will host a virtual legislative debrief on Friday, May 10th, where legislative leaders will discuss major bills and assess the session's successes and challenges. 

The debrief provides important insights into the environmental policies that were considered by state lawmakers and what happened. This will also help inform upcoming conversations about strategies for protecting Connecticut's environment and next steps.

CTLCV actively supported several significant environmental and democracy bills during the session. A major focus this year was on climate. House Bill 5004 successfully passed that chamber, but for the second year in a row the Senate refused to bring out either of the two major climate bills for a vote when threatened by Republican filibuster. This proactive legislation would have updated Connecticut's Global Warming Solutions Act, incentivized sustainable businesses, promoted energy efficiency through heat pumps and solar canopies, and expanded nature-based solutions. 

“The failure to pass climate legislation is a severe blow to Connecticut's environmental future," said Lori Brown, CTLCV Executive Director. "The Senate's inaction on the broadly supported bill this session raises serious questions about how we will be able to address the increasing impacts of climate change. This inaction will have lasting consequences, and put us farther behind in reaching our state’s climate goals.”

According to the League, Connecticut has been falling behind its neighboring states in many areas impacting climate and needs to catch up. In addition to climate legislation, CTLCV actively lobbied lawmakers on a range of environment and democracy bills throughout the session. Some of the environmental priorities CTLCV will review include:

Bills that passed 
PFAS - SB 292 bans use of PFAS in certain products in Connecticut. 

Solar - HB 5232 advances solar energy projects by conducting studies of existing solar programs through DEEP and PURA that will provide  guidance on solar canopies, shared community solar, and commercial solar programs.

Invasive Plants -HB 5225 adds 7 species to the list of banned invasive plants in CT and requires reporting by the Invasive Plants Council.

Bonding - HB 5524 includes $25 million for Heat Pump rebates and $10 million for Waste Reduction.

Bills that failed
Climate - HB 5004 was the major climate initiative of the session to update our Global Warming's Solutions Act, give sustainable business incentives, deploy energy efficient heat pumps and solar canopies, and expand nature-based solutions.

Climate -  SB 11 was the Governor’s bill that provided tools and resources for shoreline communities to handle rising sea levels and build resilience against climate change.

Food Waste - SB 191 aimed to reduce food waste in our landfills and help reduce food insecurity by requiring large generators to adopt a food donation program, and diverting food scraps produced residentially from the food waste streams to donation centers.

Transit Oriented Communities - HB 5390 provided another zoning tool for land use planners, creating transit-oriented development and incorporated environmental standards, including inland wetlands and watercourse protection into the program.

Environmental Rights - SJ 193 The addition of an Environmental Rights Amendment to our State Constitution would have put focus on environmental protection at the planning and decision-making stages of state and local government and reduce the damages of climate change on ALL communities. 

Rodenticides - Would have banned the use and sale of second-generation rodenticides in order to stop poisoning hawks, owls, eagles and other raptors, as well as foxes, bobcats and pets who consume the poisoned rodents. 

Neonicotinoids - Would have prohibited the nonagricultural use of neonicotinoids that is widely associated with massive die-offs of bird populations and pollinators.

Top Democracy priorities
Election Security and Transparency - HB 5498 introduces reforms to state election procedures to enhance security and privacy measures for election workers. 

Artificial Intelligence - HB 5450 to prevents election interference using deceptive synthetic media.

The virtual debrief will take place on Friday, May 10th from 12-1 PM.

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