(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he has issued a proclamation calling the Connecticut General Assembly to meet in special session next week to consider the approval of several pieces of legislation, including changing the date set by state statute for Connecticut to hold its presidential preference primary, and also authorizing the Secretary of the State to retain an election monitor to detect and prevent irregularity and impropriety in the management of election administration procedures and the conduct of elections in certain municipalities.
Specifically, the governor is asking the legislature to move the date of the primary four weeks earlier – from the last Tuesday in April to the first Tuesday in April. Currently, Connecticut is among one of the last states in the nation to hold its presidential preference primary.
“Moving the date of our presidential primary slightly earlier will give voters of all political parties in Connecticut a greater voice in the outcome of these primaries,” Governor Lamont said. “The suggestion to move the date to the first week of April came to my attention at the request of leaders from both major political parties – Democrats and Republicans – who, in a bipartisan show of unity, feel that this shift will benefit all the voters in our state. I agree with them, and I urge the legislature to approve a bill changing the date so that I can sign it into law and we can make this change in time for the 2024 primaries.”
Other pieces of legislation the governor is requesting the legislature to consider during the special session include:
- Legislation extending the term of any incumbent municipal elected official to conform to the beginning of the succeeding term;
- Legislation improving the procedure related to recanvasses;
- Legislation changing the effective date requiring EMS personnel to administer epinephrine using automatic prefilled cartridge injectors, similar automatic injectable equipment, or prefilled vials and syringes; and
- Legislation clarifying that a solicitation over the internet for a contribution to any committee, as defined under the current campaign financing law, shall not be considered an expenditure under the law.
The governor’s proclamation compels the special session to begin on Tuesday, September 26, 2023.
This is the second special session call that Governor Lamont has issued this month. Last week, Governor Lamont filed a proclamation calling the legislature into special session to consider the nomination of Nora Dannehy to serve as an Associate Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court. That special session began on Tuesday, September 19, and a public hearing was held by the Judiciary Committee the next day, immediately followed by a vote by the committee that same day approving her nomination. It is anticipated that the Senate and House of Representatives will meet on September 26 to vote on the nomination – the same day that they will meet to begin this second special session.
**Download: Proclamation calling the General Assembly into special session