At midnight, the Connecticut General Assembly ended its regular session on time--and with a new two-year budget.
This hour, we look at what lawmakers accomplished and what’s still left on the table. Mark Pazniokas, Capitol Bureau Chief for the Connecticut Mirror, will join us with more.
We also talk with a member of the ACLU’s Smart Justice initiative. Anderson Curtis was incarcerated 12 years ago--now, he is celebrating several legislative victories that his group worked on to further criminal justice reform in state.
Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.
GUESTS:
- Anderson Curtis - Smart Justice Field Organizer with ACLU Connecticut
- Mark Pazniokas - Capitol Bureau Chief at the Connecticut Mirror
READING LIST:
CT Mirror: Winners and losers: The 2019 legislative session - [Winners] "LBGTQ residents: The legislature overwhelmingly endorsed a measure to ban the so-called gay panic defense, a legal strategy that asks a jury to find a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity is to blame for a defendant’s actions. It has been invoked in crimes in Connecticut." ...
[Losers] "Pot smokers: Attempts to legalize recreational marijuana stalled following fierce opposition from some legislators and black and Latino faith leaders. The bill also would have set up a path to erase the criminal records of those with low-level drug convictions. Democratic proponents have pitched a fallback: Placing the issue on the ballot in the form of a constitutional amendment, though a bill that would allow the maneuver would have to wait until next year."
Chion Wolf contributed to this show.
