Connecticut Special Session: Legislature Debates Wide-Ranging Bills on Healthcare, Housing, Immigration, and Emergency Funding

During this week’s two-day special legislative session, the Connecticut General Assembly has taken up a series of proposals addressing key issues, including healthcare, housing, immigration, and emergency assistance.  The State House of Representatives passed multiple bills on Wednesday, November 12, which then advanced to the State Senate for final consideration on Thursday, November 13.  At the time of publication, senators were still in session and debating the legislation.  Bills approved by the Senate will head to Governor Ned Lamont’s desk for his signature. 

Among the measures are a proposal to establish a state emergency response fund to offset potential federal funding shortfalls, a revised version of a housing bill Governor Lamont vetoed over the summer, and legislation establishing the University of Connecticut Health Center Joint Venture Initiative (UCHC-JVI) and an associated bonding package to support the acquisition of Waterbury Hospital and to support future, potential ventures, including with Day Kimball Health and Bristol Health.

Governor Ned Lamont also signed a declaration of extraordinary circumstances enabling the General Assembly to adopt the bipartisan legislation appropriating the $500 million necessary to create the emergency state response reserve.  The reserve would support federally funded social programs, particularly the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).  Read the governor’s announcement here.

A summary of each bill debated during the special session is available below.

HB 8003, An Act Concerning Temporary Adjustments To The Budget Reserve Fund And Appropriating Funds To Address Reductions In Federal Funding

• Authorizes a $500 million mitigation fund, intended to be available for the state to use in response to the potential loss of federal funding caused by cuts or federal stalemates
• Gives Governor Lamont broad authority to transfer the $500 million to a state agency, provided the spending is tied to losses in federal revenue and is not blocked by a six-member bipartisan panel of legislative leaders
• Aligns with calls from state lawmakers from both parties who have urged the governor to use the state’s reserves to prevent cuts to federal benefit programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps residents pay for winter heating costs
• Directs dollars back to the Budget Reserve Fund if unused by February 4, when the 2026 Legislative Session begins

HB 8001, An Act Concerning The University Of Connecticut Health Center Joint Venture Initiative

• Authorizes UConn Health Center to establish subsidiaries or joint ventures to acquire, operate, fund, or improve hospitals, and to sell or otherwise divest said hospitals, as part of the University of Connecticut Health Center Joint Venture Initiative
• Clarifies that the joint venture is not a state agency and that employees of any subsidiary, joint venture, or acquired entity will not be considered state employees
• Increases by $390 million the bond authorizations for the UConn 2000 bond program to support acquisition and related expansion investments

HB 8002, An Act Concerning Housing Growth

• Requires municipalities either to adopt their own housing growth plan or opt to comply with a regional housing growth plan developed by the local council of governments (COG)
• Creates incentives for the adoption of zoning regulations that promote transit-oriented development and other measures to allow for more housing
• Creates a first-time homebuyer savings program
• Empowers the housing commissioner to develop “housing projects” on land the state owns or otherwise controls
• Includes provisions related to minimum off-street parking requirements and fees in lieu of parking
• Prohibits municipalities from installing or constructing hostile architecture in or on any publicly accessible building or property they own (“hostile architecture” meaning features such as armrests in the middle of benches or spikes that make it hard for people experiencing homelessness to rest or lie down)
• Requires the Department of Housing (DOH) to develop and administer a pilot program providing portable showers and laundry facilities to people experiencing homelessness
• Broadens the purposes for which DOH may use a certain portion of the Healthy Homes Fund to additional purposes besides those related to lead

HB 8004, An Act Concerning Children’s Behavioral Health, A Standard Self-Employment Expense Deduction For Temporary Family Assistance, The Telecommunications Surcharge To Support The Firefighters Cancer Relief Program, Courthouse Operations, Data Protection And Procedures For Redistricting And Correcting Districting Errors 

Children’s Behavioral Health Provisions

• Advances policies contained in legislation that passed the House of Representatives during the regular 2025 Legislative Session earlier this year (HB 6951), but which died before a vote in the Senate
• Includes policies focused on improving access to and coordination of children’s behavioral health services, including payment reform, coverage requirements, data collection, and interagency coordination, as detailed below:
  • Requires the Transforming Children’s Behavioral Health Policy and Planning Committee to conduct a study on existing behavioral health services and anticipated future demand and to develop a survey for school-based health centers concerning existing data collection practices; reporting deadline of January 1, 2027
  • Requires the Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS) to use Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics Planning Grant money for purposes related to care coordination, value-based payment models, and resource navigation, and to report on grant expenditures by January 1, 2027
  • Requires DSS to review the Yale Child Study Center’s IICAPS program and other evidence-based alternatives for children with serious emotional disturbances and report by January 1, 2027; authorizes the Transforming Children’s Behavioral Health Policy and Planning Committee to contract with the Yale Child Study Center for reasons related to federal funding
  • Raises the age, from under 21 to under 26, that applies to required coverage for behavioral therapy for people with autism spectrum disorder under private insurance plans
  • Requires the Transforming Children’s Behavioral Health Policy and Planning Committee to convene a working group to review private health insurance coverage for children’s treatment at urgent crisis centers and report to various entities by October 1, 2026, on results and recommendations
  • Establishes an advisory committee to make recommendations on a statutory and regulatory framework for providers to deliver applied behavioral analysis services to children, and requires it to report to various entities by January 1, 2027

Courthouse Operations and Data Protections Provisions

• Prohibits immigration officers from wearing masks while making arrests
• Limits when state agencies can share residents’ data
• Codifies a Connecticut Supreme Court policy preventing federal agents from making immigration related arrests within state courthouses without a warrant, aiming to bolster the Trust Act, which prohibits most arrests based solely on a request from ICE

Self-Employment Expense Deduction For Temporary Family Assistance Provisions

• Simplifies and standardizes a self-employment deduction under the Temporary Family Assistance program

Firefighters Cancer Relief Fund Funding Provisions

• Revises the effective date and notice timeline for implementation of the monthly telecommunications surcharge to support the Firefighters Cancer Relief Program, which provides wage replacement benefits for both paid and volunteer firefighters diagnosed with cancer
• Removes the opt-out provision of the 5-cent fee on monthly phone bills

Redistricting Provisions

• Establishes procedures for the Secretary of the State and registrars of voters to implement new redistricting plans, correct districting errors, and provide written notice to voters when polling places are changed as a result of such corrections