Following a debate that stretched on for more than seven and a half hours, the state House of Representatives approved a bill just after dawn on Thursday that offers undocumented immigrants the opportunity to obtain a Connecticut drivers license.
The 74 to 55 vote broke along party lines, with all the Republican members of the House voting no and all but nine Democrats voting yes. Twenty one members did not vote. The measure now moves to the state Senate, where it has a powerful advocate in Majority Leader Martin Looney. If approved, Connecticut would be the first state in the Northeast to enact such a policy, though several other states, including New Mexico, Washington and Illinois, have enacted similar laws.
The bill would permit undocumented immigrants to obtain Connecticut drivers licenses beginning Jan. 1, 2015. Supporters – including Catholic priests and other clergy, union activists and state Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Melody Currey – say it’s a matter of public safety as well as basic fairness.
An estimated 54,000 undocumented immigrants living in the state could qualify for drivers licenses under the provisions of the bill. Many of them live in fear that a minor traffic transgression could result in deportation. Supporters of the bill say allowing these immigrants to obtain a license means they would be trained and tested, just as other motorists are. And like the rest of the driving public, they would be required to carry automobile insurance.
Rep. Juan Candelaria, the New Haven Democrat who is the measure’s chief proponent in the House, said the bill would “benefit everyone in this room and every resident of the state because…the next time you see a car passing you by, you will know that that individual has a drivers license, that that vehicle is registered and insured.”
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Vice President Joe Biden, who visited Connecticut Wednesday to speak at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy commencement, had warm words of praise for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, even though he appeared to confuse him with Maryland’s Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley.
Biden’s comments came as he spoke about the devastating tornado in Oklahoma. “No one knows better than my friend, your governor, how in times of tragedy…the good wishes and help of the rest of the nation matter,” the vice president said. “The governor knows what it’s like to go through such a travail.”
“Governor, I want to say again to you publicly, the way you handled the tragedy at Sandy Hook…has been remarkable,” Biden said. He said Malloy’s “stamina” and “compassion” were a source of strength for Connecticut and the world.
Moments later, Biden acknowledged the dignitaries sitting on the platform with him: Rear Adm. Sandra Stosz, superintendent of the academy, New London Mayor Daryl Finizio and “Gov. O’Malley.”
It isn’t the first time a visiting dignitary messed up the name of Connecticut’s governor. In 2005, then-President George W. Bush called former Gov. M. Jodi Rell “Judy Kell.”
The state House of Representatives briefly debated Wednesday night over strengthening the state’s racial profiling law by adding more police departments to monitor the race of drivers who are stopped by officers.
In the middle of the debate, shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday after an all-day marathon, the House Democratic majority called for the matter to be temporarily postponed so that they could begin debating over a bill that would the steps for drivers licenses for as many as 54,000 illegal immigrant drivers in the state.
“They understand that they are currently breaking the law by driving without a driver’s license, but they have to take the risk,” said Rep. Juan Candelaria, a New Haven Democrat who introduced the measure.
The racial profiling bill expands the current law to cover the police forces at the state Capitol, the University of Connecticut and the Connecticut State University system, among others. If the update is approved by the House and signed into law by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, those departments would now be required to provide information on traffic stops and complaints so that officials could analyze the race, age, ethnicity, and gender of the drivers being stopped over the course of the year.
The Senate had approved the bill recently by a 36-0 vote.
There has been disagreement over whether police are following the original profiling law, which was passed more than 10 years ago. The Senate Democrats said last year that only 27 of the 92 local police departments had complied with the law. Some small communities among the state’s 169 cities and towns do not have a full police department and instead are patrolled by a resident state trooper.
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A coalition of news and freedom-of-information organizations wrote a letter Wednesday to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, raising concerns about shutting off information to the public concerning crime-scene photos and police audio tapes following the Newtown massacre.
“We understand the process of gathering information may have the unfortunate and unintended effect of reminding families and friends of the Sandy Hook victims of their terrible loss,” the letter said. “All agree that every reasonable step should be taken to minimize such painful reminders, while not depriving our local, state and federal governments – and the people in general – of information needed to assess the tragedy and develop appropriate legislative responses.”
House and Senate leaders, as well as Chief State’s Attorney Kevin Kane, were sent copies of the letter from Michael Schroeder, president of the Connecticut Daily Newspaper Association, Michael Ryan, president of the Connecticut Broadcasters Association, and Jim Smith, president of the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information.
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Some lawmakers are expressing concerns about a Freedom of Information bill that has been crafted in secret regarding the shootings last year at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.
Top legislators say they are trying to strike a delicate balance between the public’s right to know and the privacy concerns expressed by the families of the victims of the massacre.
Even before the formal debate, the bill was raising concerns Wednesday.
“We’re troubled to learn that exceptions to open government are being drafted and planned in secret,” said Sandra Staub, the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut. “Regardless of the merits, if any, of the legislative proposal, there’s no excuse for creating new open records exemptions without a full public hearing. Good public policy is not made in the dark. That’s why we have freedom of information laws in the first place.”
Insiders said the original bill had much more sweeping provisions that would have blocked more information. The latest version, which is still a draft, is designed to block various pieces of information, including allowing the deletion of the names of children who were named as witnesses in the police reports so that they would not be questioned about it years later by reporters or others. The names of adult witnesses would remain open to the public.
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Prompted by the drowning deaths of students in public schools, the state House of Representatives unanimously approved a bipartisan bill Wednesday to increase safety in swimming pools and help prevent future tragedies.
By a vote of 140 to 0, lawmakers approved House Bill 5113 as lawmakers said that improvements were needed in order to quickly detect students struggling in the water. Lawmakers called for having two adults in the pool area because one person cannot see everything that is happening in a crowded pool that is filled with students.
“This is a great bill that addresses a problem that had not been addressed before,” said Rep. Jeffrey Berger, a Waterbury Democrat. “It’s groundbreaking.”
Rep. Anthony D’Amelio, a Waterbury Republican, said he was surprised that Connecticut never had a uniform policy on pool safety until now.
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Sen. Chris Murphy is taking the SNAP Challenge, promising to spend no more than $4.80 per day on food this week, to illustrate what it’s like to live on a food stamp diet. Because Murphy is sharing what he eats via social media, we will too.
Here’s the latest. No word on what he had for breakfast today.
Dinner Tuesday: (picture from CM)
Lunch Tuesday: More chicken and rice! (not CM’s picture)
Breakfast Tuesday: (Murphy picture)
Chris Donovan explains what it means when he says “I took care of you” to a guy who wants to give him cash in return for killing legislation:
Two weeks later, he shows up – unexpectedly – at the convention. I said, “I took care of you.” When somebody wins, you say, “I took care of you.” When somebody loses, you say, “Sorry it didn’t work out.” That’s just how we talk. Now, the government obviously thought that sounded bad. When I saw the tape, it did sound bad. The way it sounded is not what I meant.
Vice President Joe Biden will address the graduating class at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy this morning.
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