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The final gavel fell
on a very busy session at the State Capitol. From big tax cuts to big spending
hikes and a controversial crime bill targeted at teens – we ask both side to take a tally on session 2022. 

Also, Connecticut and
the nation react after a leaked draft suggests the Supreme Court is about to
overturn abortion rights.

John Craven has taken
the show on the road to Hartford in this special edition of Power &amp;
Politics. 

The final gavel fell on a very busy session at the State Capitol. From big tax cuts to big spending hikes and a controversial crime bill targeted at teens – we ask both side to take a tally on session 2022.

Connecticut

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And we don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but it sounds like this weekend, at least Saturday would be a great day to do that. Yeah, definitely better than Sunday. Sunday. We got a lot of rain on Tampa. I'm liking Saturday out and, and take care of those errands. If you want to pick up that tree, it's gonna do. We're gonna be looking at numbers a lot better than what we're dealing with for today. 41 is the forecast at high. You get a lot of today. We're not gonna get out of the thirties very much feeling like winter, which is 15 more days away. We bring it in December 21st this year we work our way into the mid part of this month. And yeah, I know we're, we're, we're, we're gonna start to cruise these next couple of weeks, wrapping up 2023. It's just gonna go lightning speed as you push forward through the rest of this morning. Again, we're working with some cloud cover, chance for a few flakes late morning and then as we head into this afternoon, uh, still won't rule out a chance for flakes. If we're really watching back out across the lower Hudson Valley, some of them could seep into our neck of the woods, but still, we're not worried about any accumulation or anything like that. Just putting it out there. Keep that in mind as you are out about heading into tonight, we're gonna really look at the clear skies and we're gonna see colder numbers into your tomorrow. It, same set up to what we had last week. Right Wednesday night into your Thursday, we dealt with the coldest here. Thursday is gonna be the coldest day on tap. Numbers not making it out of the thirties, chance for a few more flakes. But again, nothing to worry about too, too much as we head into your Friday. Friday morning is gonna be a chilly start, but we bounce back as we head into your Friday afternoon again. Feel like numbers for Thursday tomorrow morning. We'll be in the teens for areas up north. We're talking twenties for areas south of 84. And then as we head into your tomorrow afternoon, we really aren't gonna feel anything better out of the twenties. So we definitely want to bundle up another shot of some cold air will work with us for your tomorrow. Make sure you got your winter gear prepared Saturday. Again, it's gonna be the pick of the week as we work our way into the first half of the week and we're staying dry. Maybe some sunshine. One thing's for sure, moderate temperatures well into the fifties. So it isn't gonna feel old, too bad. First half of your Sunday looks good. Then we're watching a storm really bringing in some heavy rain which will impact your Sunday afternoon into your Sunday evening. Where for right now, that's when we're looking forward to be its worst along with some strong gusty damaging winds, potentially Sunday night into your Monday as well. Other than that, we're still gonna hold on to mild weather into the first part of your week before we start to trend cooler heading into the tail end of next Becky John.

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Power & Politics: Final gavel falls on busy session in Hartford; the end of Roe v. Wade?

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we are in Hartford this week for a special edition of Connecticut power and politics seen A. D. A. The final gavel falls on a very busy session here at the state capitol from big tax cuts. These are taxes cuts that are going to make a difference for you right now to big spending hikes. This is an unacceptable way to run our government and a controversial crime bill targeted at teens. We asked both sides to take a tally of session 2022 on children's mental health. The investments in early childhood. All those are bipartisan bills. I think those would be the stories that live on for a long time. Yeah, I think that we could have done more. It was an opportunity for systemic change. Plus the end of row this is a nationally abortion access crisis Connecticut and the nation react after a leaked draft suggests the Supreme Court is about to overturn abortion rights Connecticut will of course continue to still be a state where abortion is legal for now and political payback. A potentially lifesaving bill named after a new Canaan youth hockey player is suddenly dropped at the last minute. Was the move done out of spite for this type of political action to be done on a bill that was meant to save lives is extremely upsetting and disappointing. I'm john craven. This is Connecticut power and politics. Mm hmm. Hello from Hartford, we are here to wrap up a very busy 2022 legislative session. Making news the gavel is down state lawmakers accomplished a lot in this short session. Everything from passing a controversial youth crime bill to a major expansion of abortion access. They also passed a new budget, making major investments in Children and the social safety net. While also cutting taxes, other highlights. This year, lawmakers passed several mental health bills for kids in school. A new law banned, so called captive audience meetings. That's when workers are forced to attend political or religious meetings. Unions say it's often used to stop employees from organizing. Also, lawmakers gave themselves a raise as well as the governor and other statewide officeholders, legislators only make $28,000 a year that will go up to 40,000 with automatic raises tied to inflation. Also, cops will now have 24 hours to notify families of a death or face a state investigation. The new law comes after Bridgeport police failed to notify to families, Lawrence smithfield's and Brenda Rolls officers could lose their certification, but only if the police inspector general finds they acted with malice or gross negligence. Big changes coming to Connecticut prisons, solitary confinement will now be limited to 15 straight days and banned for minors. Advocates wanted to go farther and band strip searches. Governor Lamont vetoed last year's version of the bill, but says he will sign this one. Lawmakers took big steps to tackle climate change, Connecticut's power grid is now legally bound to go carbon free By the year, 2040 school busses have to go all electric by then to heavier trucks will now face tougher California emission standards and apartment complexes will now have to allow electric vehicle chargers. But if you want one you'll have to pay for it. Speaking of clean air, Connecticut is attempting to curb skyrocketing catalytic converter thefts from cars. A new law bans auto recyclers from accepting so called loose converters that aren't attached to a vehicle scrap metal yards can still take them, but they will now have to submit detailed documentation to state police, including a photo of the seller. But the big headline here is the state budget. It makes major investments in Children, mental health and the environment. While still cutting your taxes, Governor Lamont says it's the biggest tax cut in state history. These are taxes cuts that are going to make a difference for you right now. For homeowners, a bigger property tax credit for parents, a $250 rebate check For their 1st 3 kids. So the online workbook for students more will qualify for free community college. Mhm. For drivers, the hated car tax will drop in half of Connecticut's towns and you can get that savings, you know, virtually that same month plus the gas tax holiday and free bus rides extended until december and for seniors pensions will no longer be taxed. But it's unclear if that also extends to 401 Ks. An attempt to keep retirees like jerry Reisman from moving south. People have tried to attract me, my moving to florida or south Carolina or a variety of other places. It's all possible because Connecticut is swimming in cash. The latest state surplus now, almost $5 billion. Republicans say tax cuts could have gone farther and the budget is rushed. This is An unacceptable way to run our government that we get this package at 4:37 AM. Well, it's always a rush on the last few days here at the state capitol. So who won and who lost? I sat down with House Speaker Matt Ritter and Republican leader Vinnie candle or a to find out we got a lot done and we look back, I think particularly in Children's mental health, the investments in early childhood, all those are bipartisan bills. I think those will be the stories That live on for a long time. But obviously the big story this year is going to be tax cuts. That's what people are talking about. We landed on about 600 million Republicans think we could have done a lot better. Yeah, I think that we could have done more. It was an opportunity for systemic change. So we propose, let's look at our income tax rate, make it, you know, more equitable for our lower and middle class earners try to reduce those rates. You know, we do agree with the gas tax extension, but we also wanted to extend that to diesel as well. We really need to focus on short term relief for our residents. Yeah, I don't know how far apart we were ultimately, um, I think the income tax that was proposed by Representative candle Laura had a lot of people feeling supportive that would have lowered the rate on middle class families. The sales tax a little more controversial when 20 to 25% of the revenue comes from out of staters. And then the issue really was ultimately ARP right. The federal rules say, because of the money we got, we were limited to cutting taxes to a certain amount. Some folks said, well, maybe we joined other states and try to sue. We thought that was a little unpredictable and didn't want to kind of take that chance that we would lose federal funding. But let me ask you about that because there are new office of fiscal analysis numbers out that say that we could have cut almost a billion dollars more and stayed within the rules. Yeah, we're, we're seeing those again. Those were revisions that are still coming because so much money poured in even a couple of days ago. Um, but look, we, we were very confident what we did. We think it does provide relief. And look, we can always come back and do more things if we feel the need to do that, we're spending a lot of money this year. Are we making promises? We can't keep? Well, I think the promises are very clear that a lot of this funding is, is one year funding, but I think it's setting people up for failure potentially when that money goes away, we remind people back home, we have a spending cap. Right? So that's always going to be calculated. So one of the biggest concerns that make sure you have enough money that you have room under the spending caps. So when people say all this money came in spending on this or that, well, you can't, that's why so much money is going to pay long term debt and pensions beyond taxes. Crime is going to be a big issue at the elections this fall. We landed on a youth crime package. It's a compromise. Not everybody got what they wanted. It makes tweaks to the system, right? Yeah, it does. I think they're important incremental changes that need to be addressed. The public wants more accountability. And I think this bill is starting to address those issues and I wouldn't look at that bill in isolation and how we approach the issue around crime and juvenile justice and things like that. Right? The investments we made in mental health, the investments we're making in after school programming and summer school. All these things are interconnected in many ways. The big headline this week is abortion. A leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court suggests that they're going to strike down roe v wade now to be clear, this will not change anything in Connecticut. But is this going to be an election issue this year? I think it's going to be a conversation possibly for next session, depending on what that that opinion looks like. But you know, overall Connecticut has its statutes in place. So I don't think it's an election issue per se, but is it enough to motivate a base that's going to support democrats over republicans? You know, I'm not sure we have a lot of pro choice people in our caucus. We do have pro life people as well. And I would point out the bill we passed that the governor is going to is going to sign any day now, which makes Connecticut. Um, really the national leader in all the national news, there were republican votes when we were here on the first day of session, there were a couple 100 people outside protesting mask mandates that seems like so far away now. But there was a lot of talk about reforming the emergency statutes, how that plays out, that seems like that sort of fell by the wayside this year. We have commitments actually to continue working on that. You know what it wasn't able to be done in the short session. It's not something that I've forgotten. You know, people always think of these things in in weather like conditions or or a state of war or something like that. Not so much in a public health emergency like that. So it was a little unique. All right Before we go, when you guys come back next year assuming everybody gets reelected, uh, you're gonna be making more money. It seems like one of the few things that both sides agreed on that lawmakers deserve a pay raise. Yeah, it was sort of an unpopular position for me to take as a fiscal conservative. But you know, bottom line is that the public is starting to understand we're making $28,000 as a base salary with a job that's really full time. It's been a barrier to entry. And I think we firmly believe that everybody should be given given an opportunity to run for office. Who wants to? I mean, it takes courage to be able to stand up and say, look, I'm willing to do this even though it's not the most popular thing in my caucus. So I just say that I think one of the reasons we work well together, we have a good relationship is we're not afraid to sometimes say this is how it's gotta get done. It's hard to be a leader. But that was a situation where a leader made that difference on his side of the island. Well, there is no rest for the weary this weekend. Both parties are holding their nominating conventions and quite a few people in this building behind me are running for statewide office. Alright, we are back in three minutes. The Supreme Court looks likely to overturn roe versus wade next. How safe are abortion rights here in Connecticut? Yeah, yeah, I'm john craven at the state capitol, This is power in politics. I couldn't believe what I was reading protest across Connecticut and across the nation after news broke that the U. S. Supreme Court is likely to overturn roe versus wade. The 49 year old ruling that legalized abortion In a draft opinion leaked to politico justice Samuel Alito writes Rowe was egregiously wrong from the start because abortion rights are not rooted in american history. Critics worry the court could use the same logic to strike down same sex marriages here in Connecticut, no matter what the Supreme Court does, abortion is legal. Under state law, women are going to be denied their reproductive rights and an awful lot of other states right now. We're not gonna let that happen. In Connecticut. On Tuesday governor Lamont joined 16 other Democratic governors urging Congress to codify abortion rights into federal law. That's unlikely to happen. With the Senate split 50 50 Connecticut leaders are promising a firewall against any attempts to restrict abortion access. But opponents see cracks in that wall. Mm hmm. The Supreme Court appears ready to overturn roe v wade here in Connecticut. Two very different reactions. This is a nationally abortion access crisis. It's a huge victory for life in America. No matter what the high court does abortion will remain legal under state law. In fact, Connecticut just expanded. Who can perform abortions including physician assistants, advanced practice nurses, even midwives, Connecticut also passed a shield law against out of state legal action. We are ready and we will fight against any attack on fundamental freedoms in our state, but just how safe our reproductive rights lawmakers are divided about adding it to the state constitution. I'm not sure what the question would say. That's why I go back to intellectually is you have to ask a question. It has to be shall with a question mark. And then parentheses, you know, and then quotation marks, abortion opponents see an opportunity. More than a dozen black and hispanic democrats voted no on the new abortion law. They were taught that at any point in time When they were 13 or 12 or 15, they can go to a planned parenthood and receive an abortion without their parents knowing the split between the black community and white progressives was something that was always out there. What's new. What's different is that it was never discussed openly on the floor of the House and the Senate well, could Connecticut's law face its own legal challenge. Now, I asked steve gillis with quinnipiac University School of Law In order to say that Connecticut could not permit abortions. The court would have to have a very different ruling. The ruling would be actually fetuses are persons within the meaning of the 14th amendment. The court in Rose said no, they're not. You have to be born to be protected by the 14th Amendment and no justice? None of the dissenters in row, and no none of the dissenters in later abortion cases has ever said that's wrong. Some of the briefs in the Dobbs case asked the court to do that, but there's not even a whisper of a hint of that in the Alito draft opinion. All right, well, let's talk about that draft opinion. What does it say? And what does it not say? So, what it says is that roe was not just wrong? It was really severely egregiously wrong as a legal matter and wrong on a hugely important issue. Therefore, although the court normally doesn't overrule its past precedents just because it thinks they were likely to be wrong. This is a case where it's the court's duty to overrule this precedent and return the question of abortion to each of the states where the people, we'll get to decide whether their abortion laws will allow lots of abortions or almost none. And Justice Alito used some pretty broad language here. He writes, the Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision this week's State lawmakers warned that logic could also be used to strike down same sex marriage, it would eliminate the right to same sex marriage. It would eliminate the right to contraception and it could very well eliminate the right to interracial marriage, are they right is same sex marriage also in danger as a practical matter? I think it's not in danger at all. Um Legally speaking. Uh there's an unresolved issue in the in the draft opinion about the status of the legal test that the court used in the same sex marriage case. But Alito's draft opinion says we're not going there, abortion is a fundamentally different issue because it involves taking a fetal life. You clerked for justice Sandra Day O'Connor. So you've got some unique insight into how the Supreme Court works. Is this a foregone conclusion? Or could justice is still uphold roe? Absolutely. This is not a foregone conclusion. I'm not sure that there actually have been five justices who said I endorsed this opinion. I think what it tells us is that five justices voted to overrule roe and that Justice Alito was assigned probably by justice thomas to write this draft. But that was as of february. We know that Justice Alito circulated a draft. We do not know what has happened since then. The Supreme Court's final ruling will come out by the end of next month. Well, more power in politics from Hartford straight ahead. Next. Did spite kill a bill that could have saved lives our last word today. Did political payback defeat potentially life saving legislation. News 12 Connecticut's Mark SUDOL takes a look ST luke's school hockey player teddy ball kind died during a game when an opposing player skate accidentally cut his neck his death inspired state House bill 50 to 40 permitting a study into the pros and cons of neck guards for hockey players across all levels of the state. But now the state Senate has sent the bill back to a legislative committee meaning it won't get a vote this year. It's obviously very upsetting. House reps like tom o'Day from New Canaan claimed the Senate did this out of spite after the House fixed a top Senate bill for this type of political action to be done on a bill that was meant to save lives is extremely upsetting and disappointing. Six House bills were recommitted, which state reps say hasn't happened in nearly two decades. Speaker of the House matt Ritter says this one was not out of spite. We're all tired. We worked really hard. Um, there's going to be disagreements amongst chambers. That was, we never meant that in any which way to to be personal news. 12 Connecticut wanted to know why senate democrats made the last minute move, but so far they haven't responded to multiple requests for comment. Mark SUDOL News 12 Connecticut in the end time ran out here for the teddy ball kind bill supporters do plan to reintroduce it next year. That's all of our time from Hartford. I'm john, craven. Thanks for watching and have a great week. Mhm, mm hmm. Mhm

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