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2024 Connecticut legislative session

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2024 Connecticut legislative session
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General information
Scheduled session start:    Feb. 7, 2024

Scheduled session end:    May 8, 2024

Leadership
Senate President
Susan Bysiewicz (D)

House Speaker
Matthew Ritter (D)
Majority Leader
Senate: Bob Duff (D)
House: Jason Rojas (D)
Minority Leader
Senate: Kevin C. Kelly (R)
House: Vincent Candelora (R)

Elections
Next Election:    November 5, 2024

Last Election:    November 8, 2022

Previous legislative sessions
2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2024 legislative sessions


In 2024, the Connecticut State Legislature was scheduled to convene on February 7 and adjourn on May 8.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2022 elections. Democrats won a 24-12 majority in the Senate and a 98-53 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Democratic state government trifecta. At the start of the 2024 session, Connecticut was one of 21 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

At the beginning of the 2024 legislative session:
  • Democrats held a majority in the Connecticut state House and state Senate.
  • Connecticut was one of 17 Democratic state government trifectas.
  • Connecticut's governor was Democrat Ned Lamont.

    • Leadership in 2024

    Connecticut State Senate

    Connecticut House of Representatives

    Partisan control in 2024

    See also: State government trifectas

    Connecticut was one of 17 Democratic state government trifectas at the start of 2024 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    Connecticut was also one of 21 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Connecticut State Legislature in the 2024 legislative session.

    Connecticut State Senate

    Party As of January 2024
         Democratic Party 24
         Republican Party 12
    Total 36

    Connecticut House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2024
         Democratic Party 97
         Republican Party 53
         Vacancies 1
    Total 151

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Connecticut state government


    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2024 legislative session, there were 25 standing committees in Connecticut's state government.

    Joint legislative committees

    • Aging Committee
    • Appropriations Committee
    • Banking Committee
    • Children Committee
    • Commerce Committee
    • Education Committee
    • Energy and Technology Committee
    • Environment Committee
    • Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee
    • Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee
    • General Law Committee
    • Government Administration and Elections Committee
    • Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee
    • Housing Committee
    • Human Services Committee
    • Insurance and Real Estate Committee
    • Judiciary Committee
    • Labor and Public Employees Committee
    • Legislative Management Committee
    • Legislative Regulation Review Committee
    • Planning and Development Committee
    • Public Health Committee
    • Public Safety and Security Committee
    • Transportation Committee
    • Veterans' Affairs Committee

    Legislation

    Enacted legislation

    The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2024 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2024. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Election administration legislation

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    State election laws are changing. Keeping track of the latest developments in all 50 states can seem like an impossible job. Here's the solution: Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker.

    Ballotpedia's Election Administration Tracker sets the industry standard for ease of use, flexibility, and raw power. Ballotpedia's election experts provide daily updates on bills and other relevant political developments, translate complex bill text into easy-to-understand summaries written in everyday language, and, because it's from Ballotpedia, our Tracker is guaranteed to be neutral, unbiased, and nonpartisan.

    The table below lists 2024 election-related legislation in Connecticut. The following information is included for each bill:

    • Bill number
    • Official name or caption
    • Most recent action date
    • Legislative status
    • Topics dealt with by the bill

    Bills are organized by bill number. The table displays up to 100 results by default. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, simply click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.

    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

    The methods by which the Connecticut Constitution can be amended:

    See also: Article XII and Article XIII of the Connecticut Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Connecticut

    The Connecticut Constitution provides two mechanisms for amending the state's constitution—a legislative process, and a state constitutional convention. Connecticut requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments. Connecticut does not feature the power of initiative for either initiated constitutional amendments or initiated state statutes.

    Legislature

    See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

    In Connecticut, a constitutional amendment can be referred to the ballot after one legislative session or two legislative sessions depending on the vote count.

    When an amendment receives a 75% vote in both legislative chambers, the amendment goes on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 114 votes in the Connecticut House of Representatives and 27 votes in the Connecticut State Senate, assuming no vacancies.

    When an amendment receives a simple majority vote in both legislative chambers, the amendment must pass during two successive legislative sessions to go on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 76 votes in the Connecticut House of Representatives and 19 votes in the Connecticut State Senate, assuming no vacancies.

    Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

    Convention

    See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

    According to Article XIII of the Connecticut Constitution, a question about whether to hold a state constitutional convention is to automatically appear on the state's ballot every 20 years starting in 1978. Connecticut is one of 14 states that provides for an automatic constitutional convention question.

    The table below shows the last and next automatic constitutional convention question election years:

    State Interval Last question on the ballot Next question on the ballot
    Connecticut 20 years 2008 2028

    The Legislature can also refer a constitutional convention question to the ballot. A two-thirds vote is required in each legislative chamber to refer a convention question to the ballot.

    Proposals adopted at a state constitutional convention require voter approval.


    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Connecticut.

    Connecticut Party Control: 1992-2025
    Fifteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
    Governor I I I R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
    Senate D D D R R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
    House D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D

    Historical Senate control

    Democrats won control of the Connecticut State Senate in 1996. In 2022, they won a 24-12 majority.

    The table below shows the partisan history of the Connecticut Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2022. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Connecticut State Senate election results: 1992-2022

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20 '22
    Democrats 20 17 19 19 21 21 24 24 24 23 22 21 18* 23 24 24
    Republicans 16 19 17 17 15 15 12 12 12 13 14 15 18 13 12 12
    * Democrats maintained effective control of the chamber because Lieutenant Gov. Nancy Wyman (D) could cast tie-breaking votes

    There were eight elections between 1930 and 2022 where Republicans won control of the state Senate.

    Historical House control

    Democrats won control of the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1986. In 2022, they won a 98-53 majority.

    The table below shows the partisan history of the Connecticut House following every general election from 1992 to 2022. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Connecticut House of Representatives election results: 1992-2022

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20 '22
    Democrats 87 90 97 96 100 94 99 106 114 97 98 87 79 92 97 98
    Republicans 64 61 54 55 51 57 52 45 37 54 53 64 72 59 54 53

    Republicans controlled the House following most elections during the first half of the 20th century, while Democrats controlled the chamber following most elections during the latter half of the 20th century.


    See also

    Elections ConnecticutState Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    External links

    Footnotes

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