Connecticut Legislative Office Building interior

The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the

state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. It is a

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...

body composed of the 151-member

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

and the 36-member

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. It meets in the

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Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. There are no

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potential for monopoly, w ...

s for members of either chamber. During even-numbered years, the General Assembly is in session from February to May. In odd-numbered years, when the state

budget A budget is a calculation plan, usually but not always financial plan, financial, for a defined accounting period, period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including tim ...

is completed, session lasts from January to June. The governor has the right to call for a

special session In a legislature, a special session (also extraordinary session) is a period when the body convenes outside of the normal legislative session. This most frequently occurs in order to complete unfinished tasks for the year (often delayed by confli ...

after the end of the regular session, while the General Assembly can call for a "

veto session A veto session, also referred to as a veto review session, is a type of meeting held by state legislatures in the United States, used to reassess bills that have been vetoed by the governor of the state. State legislatures typically schedule the ...

" after the close in order to override gubernatorial

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...

es. During the first half of session, the House and Senate typically meet on Wednesdays only, though by the end of the session, they meet daily due to increased workload and deadlines.

History

The three settlements that would become Connecticut (

, Wethersfield, and

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

) were established in 1633, and were originally governed by the

Massachusetts Bay Company Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode Island to it ...

under terms of a commission for settlement. When the commission expired in 1636 and the

Connecticut Colony The Connecticut Colony, originally known as the Connecticut River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became the state of Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636, as a settlement for a Puritans, Puritan congregation o ...

was established, the legislature was established as the "General Corte", consisting of six magistrates along with three-member committees representing each of the three towns. In 1639, the

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut The Fundamental Orders were adopted by the Connecticut Colony council on . The fundamental orders describe the government set up by the Connecticut River New England town, towns, setting its structure and powers and was a driven attempt for the ...

were adopted, which changed the spelling to "General Court;" formalized its executive, judicial, and legislative authority; and changed its membership to consist of the governor and six magistrates (each elected for one year terms) and three or four deputies per town (elected for six-month terms). Although the magistrates and deputies sat together, they voted separately and in 1645 it was decreed that a measure had to have the approval of both groups in order to pass. The Charter of 1662 changed the name to the General Assembly, while replacing the six magistrates with twelve assistants and reducing the number of deputies per town to no more than two. In 1698, the General Assembly divided itself into its current bicameral form, with the twelve assistants as the Council and the deputies as the House of Representatives. The modern form of the General Assembly (divided into the upper Senate and lower House and devoid of all executive and judicial authority) was incorporated in the 1818 constitution.

Facilities

Most of the General Assembly's committee and caucus meetings are held in the modern Legislative Office Building (LOB), while the House and Senate sessions are held in the

State Capitol A capitol, or seat of government, is the building or complex of buildings from which a government such as that of a U.S. state, the District of Columbia, or the organized territories of the United States, exercises its authority. Although m ...

. The two buildings are connected via a tunnel known as the "Concourse", which stretches underneath an off-ramp of Interstate 84. Most offices for legislators and their aides are also housed in the LOB, though some legislative leaders choose to be based in the State Capitol itself. Each committee has its own office space, with most being located in the LOB. A few committees, particularly select committees, have their offices in the Capitol. Committee chairs and ranking members normally choose to have their personal offices near their committee offices, rather than staying in their caucus areas. The General Assembly is also provided with facilities such as a cafeteria, private dining room, newsstand, and library.

Committee system

The General Assembly has 26 committees, all of which are joint committees; that is, their membership includes House and Senate members alike. Several committees have

subcommittee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

s, each with their own chair and special focus. Before most bills are considered in either the House or Senate, they must first go through the committee system. The primary exception to this rule is the emergency certification bill, or "e-cert," which can be passed on the floor without going through committee first. The e-cert is generally reserved for use during times of crisis, such as natural disasters or when deadlines are approaching too quickly to delay action.

Permanent committees

Most are permanent committees, which are authorized and required by state statute to be continued each session. The twenty-seven permanent committees of the General Assembly are: * Aging Committee **Co-Chairs: Jan Hochadel ( D- S13) and Jane Garibay (D- 60) **Vice Chairs: Patricia Billie Miller (D- S27) and

Mary Fortier Mary Fortier is an American politician, who is a Democratic member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from District 79 since 2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, O ...

(D- 79) **Ranking Members: Tony Hwang ( R- S28) and Mitch Bolinsky (R-

106 106 may refer to: * 106 (number), the number * AD 106, a year in the 2nd century AD * 106 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 106 (emergency telephone number), an Australian emergency number * 106 (MBTA bus), a route of the Massachusetts Bay Transpor ...

) * Appropriations Committee **Co-Chairs: Catherine Osten (D- S19) and Toni Walker (D- 93) **Vice Chairs: Joan Hartley (D- S15), Julie Kushner (D- S24),

Tammy Exum Tammy R. Exum is a teacher and politician from Connecticut. She is a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives since 2019, when she won the special election. Formerly, she was a member and later the Vice Chair of the West Hartford, Conne ...

(D- 19), and

Corey Paris Corey Phillip Paris is an American politician serving as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from the 145th district. Elected in an April 29, 2021 special election, he assumed office on May 4, 2021. He was re-elected to a second ...

(D-

145 145 may refer to: *145 (number), a natural number *AD 145, a year in the 2nd century AD *145 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC *145 (dinghy), a two-person intermediate sailing dinghy *145 (South) Brigade, a regional brigade of the British Army that ...

) **Ranking Members: Heather Somers (R- S18) and Tammy Nuccio (R- 53) * Banking Committee **Co-Chairs: Jason Doucette (D- 13) and Patricia Billie Miller (D- S27) **Vice Chairs:

Farley Santos Farley Santos is an American politician. He is a Democratic member of the Connecticut House of Representatives serving in the 109th district since 2022. In December, 2023 Santos was appointed, in addition to his elected office, by Roberto L. Al ...

(D-

109 109 may refer to: * 109 (number), the integer following 108 and preceding 110 * AD 109, a year of the Julian calendar, in the second century AD * 109 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * 109 (department store), a department store in Shi ...

) and

Paul Honig Paul Honig (born 1962 or 1963) is an American politician who is a member of the Connecticut State Senate, representing the 8th district since 2025. Early life and education Honig was born and raised on Long Island. His mother was an art teache ...

(D- S8) **Ranking Members: Tom Delnicki (R- 14) and

Eric Berthel Eric C. Berthel (born March 28, 1967) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Connecticut Senate, representing the 32nd District since 2017. Early life and education Berthel was born in Brooklyn, New York and attended Pompera ...

(R- S32) * Children Committee **Co-Chairs:

(D-

) and Ceci Maher (D- S26) **Vice Chairs: Mary Welander (D-

114 114 may refer to: *114 (number) *AD 114 *114 BC *114 (1st London) Army Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, an English military unit *114 (Antrim Artillery) Field Squadron, Royal Engineers, a Northern Irish military unit *114 (MBTA bus) *114 (New Je ...

) and

Christine Cohen Christine Hunter Cohen (born January 25, 1976) is an American politician. She was a member of the Guilford, Connecticut school board from 2015 to 2019, when she resigned to serve on the Connecticut State Senate from the Connecticut's 12th State S ...

(D- S12) **Ranking Members: Anne Dauphinais (R- 44) and Henri Martin (R- S31) * Commerce Committee **Co-Chairs: Joan Hartley (D- S15) and

Stephen Meskers Stephen Robert Meskers (born March 7, 1958) is an American politician who is currently serving as the representative from the 150th district in the Connecticut House of Representatives for the Democratic Party since 2019. His district includes pa ...

(D-

150 150 may refer to: * 150 (number), a natural number * AD 150, a year in the 2nd century AD * 150 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 150 Regiment RLC * Combined Task Force 150 * 150 Nuwa, a main-belt asteroid * Chevrolet 150, an economy or fleet car ...

) **Vice Chairs: MD Rahman (D- S4) and

Sarah Keitt Sarah Keitt (born September 3, 1969) is an American politician serving as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from the 134th district, comprising parts of Trumbull and Fairfield. Keitt was first elected in 2022, and assumed offi ...

(D-

134 134 may refer to: *134 (number) *AD 134 *134 BC *134 (MBTA bus) *134 (New Jersey bus) 134 may refer to: *134 (number) *AD 134 *134 BC *134 (MBTA bus) The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority MBTA bus, bus division operates 151 bus routes ...

) **Ranking Members: Henri Martin (R- S31) and

Chris Aniskovich Chris Aniskovich (born March 14, 1965) is an American politician who serves in the Connecticut House of Representatives representing the 35th district. The district is composed of Chris' hometown of Clinton, as well as neighboring Killingworth ...

(R- 35) * Education Committee (K–12) **Co-Chairs: Douglas McCrory (D- S2) and

Jennifer Leeper Jennifer Marie Leeper (born April 27, 1984) is an American politician serving as an elected official in the Connecticut General Assembly. She represents parts of Southport and Fairfield, comprising Connecticut's 132nd assembly district. Early ...

(D-

132 132 may refer to: * 132 (number), the natural number following 131 and preceding 133 *AD 132, a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar * 132 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * 132 (MBTA bus), a Massachusetts Bay Transportati ...

) **Vice Chairs:

Gary Winfield Gary A. Winfield (born March 11, 1974) is an American politician from the state of Connecticut and member of the Democratic Party. He serves in the Connecticut State Senate, representing the 10th district. From 2009 to 2014 he served as a State R ...

(D-

S10 S10 may refer to: Automobiles * Chevrolet S-10, a pickup truck * Nissan Silvia (S10), a sports car * Toyota Crown (S10), a luxury car Aviation * Lake Chelan Airport, in Chelan County, Washington, United States * Letov Š-10, a Czech trainer a ...

) and Kevin Brown (D- 56) **Ranking Members:

(R- S32) and Lezlye Zupkus (R- 89) * Energy and Technology Committee * Environment Committee * Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee * Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee * General Law Committee * Government Administration and Elections Committee * Government Oversight Committee * Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee * Housing Committee * Human Services Committee * Insurance and Real Estate Committee * Internship Committee * Judiciary Committee * Labor and Public Employees Committee * Joint Committee on Legislative Management * Planning and Development Committee * Public Health Committee * Public Safety and Security Committee * Regulation Review Committee * Transportation Committee * Veterans' Affairs Committee Of those, the Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee, Internship Committee, Joint Committee on Legislative Management, and Regulation Review Committee are considered bi-partisan and feature leadership from each party.

Select committees

Some committees are select committees, authorized to only function for a set number of years before being brought up for review. Most select committees deal with issues of major importance during a particular time period and are created in response to specific problems facing the state. As of the 2025 legislative session, there is one active select committee, the Select Committee on Special Education.

Leadership and staff

Most committee chair positions are held by the ruling party, but committees considered officially bi-partisan have chairs from both the Republican and Democratic

caucus A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...

es. Bi-partisan committees are ones that are mostly administrative in nature, such as the Legislative Internship Committee. Most committees have

ranking member In United States politics, a ranking member is the most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the minority party. On many committees the ranking minority member, along with the Chair, serve as ''ex officio'' members ...

s, or leaders from the minority party who serve as the leaders of their party on each committee. All committees have their own staff members. The four largest committees (Appropriations, Finance, Judiciary, and Public Health) are led by non-partisan senior committee administrators. The rest are led by a committee

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

appointed by the majority party. The majority and minority party appoint assistant clerks. Each committee is assigned additional non-partisan staffers from the Office of Legislative Research, the Office of Fiscal Analysis, and the Legislative Commissioners' Office who, respectively, research legislation and issues, assess fiscal impacts, and draft legislation.

Subpoena power

The General Assembly has

subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...

power under

Connecticut General Statutes The Connecticut General Statutes, also called the General Statutes of Connecticut and abbreviated Conn. Gen. Stat., is a codification of the law of Connecticut. Revised to 2017, it contains all of the public acts of Connecticut and certain specia ...

§2-46. Recent decisions by the

Connecticut Supreme Court The Connecticut Supreme Court, formerly known as the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The seven justices sit i ...

, the

state supreme court In the United States, a state supreme court (known by other names in some states) is the highest court in the state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of state law, the judgment of a state supreme court is considered final and binding in ...

, have clarified and limited this power. §2-46 vests the Connecticut General Assembly with broad subpoena power. The power to compel documents and testimony is vested in the

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the Speaker (politics), speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's Order of succession, succes ...

, Speaker of the House of Representatives, or either of the chairman of any committee (Connecticut has joint Committees, with a chairman from each house of the General Assembly). Once subpoenaed, a person refusing to comply may be fined between $100 and $1000, and

imprisoned Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...

for between one month and one year. The legislature has the power to subpoena the sitting

governor of Connecticut The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Connecticut Military Department, military forces. The Governor (United States), governor has a duty to enforce state laws, ...

in limited circumstances. The Connecticut Supreme Court clarified these circumstances, during the

John G. Rowland John Grosvenor Rowland (born May 24, 1957) is an American former politician, author, and radio host who served as the 86th governor of Connecticut from 1995 to 2004. Rowland served three terms representing Connecticut's 5th congressional distri ...

impeachment Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eur ...

process, in ''Office of the Legislature v. The Select Committee On Inquiry'', 271 Conn. 540 (2004), holding that the legislature can issue subpoenas only in conjunction with its mandate under the state constitution. Impeachment is a constitutional power of the legislature under Article IX of the

Connecticut Constitution The Constitution of the State of Connecticut is the basic governing document of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was approved by referendum on December 14, 1965, and proclaimed by the Governor of Connecticut, governor as adopted on December ...

, and therefore the legislature can compel the testimony of the governor in conjunction with impeachment proceedings. The ability of the legislature to subpoena

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

s of the state court has also been clarified in court. During the controversy surrounding the retirement of the chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, William "Taco" Sullivan, the Connecticut General Assembly subpoenaed the testimony of Sullivan, who was still sitting on the Court. Sullivan challenged the subpoena in

Connecticut Superior Court The Connecticut Superior Court is the state trial court of general jurisdiction. It hears all matters other than those of original jurisdiction of the Probate Court, and hears appeals from the Probate Court. The Superior Court has 13 judicial dis ...

. The court ruled, in ''Sullivan v. McDonald'' (WL 2054052 2006), that the legislature could only subpoena a sitting Justice in an impeachment proceeding. On appeal, the entire Connecticut Supreme Court

recused Recusal is the legal process by which a judge, juror, or other adjudicator steps aside from participating in a case due to potential bias, conflict of interest, or appearance of impropriety. This practice is fundamental to ensuring fairness and ...

itself, and the argument was made before the judges of the

Connecticut Appellate Court The Connecticut Appellate Court is the court of first appeals for all cases arising from the Connecticut Superior Courts. Its creation in 1983 required Connecticut's voters and legislature to amend the state's constitution A constitution i ...

sitting as the Supreme Court. The Judiciary Committee, who issued the subpoenas, argued that they could also issue subpoenas in conjunction with their constitutional confirmation power. Sullivan voluntarily testified before a ruling was issued.

Public participation

The majority of General Assembly proceedings are open to members of the public. Public hearings are held regularly during the session for residents to be given a chance to testify on pending legislation. Viewing areas are offered in both chambers for people who would like to observe, though the floor of each chamber is generally restricted to legislators, staff members, interns, and certain members of the media collectively known as the Capitol Press Corps. Additionally, the

Connecticut Network The Connecticut Network, also known as CT-N, is a 24-hour Cable TV and internet streaming service that provides coverage of Connecticut state government and public affairs. Launched in 1999, CT-N is managed in partnership with the Connecticut Ge ...

, or CT-N, broadcasts the majority of each session for viewing on television. Members of the public are often recognized during legislative proceedings, particularly sessions of the House. Representatives and Senators can call for a "point of personal privilege" when there is no business pending on the floor, which allows them to introduce family members or residents of their districts to the rest of the membership. The entire chamber often recognizes civic and youth groups, particularly championship-winning sports teams. Some residents receive special citations from the membership as well.

References

External links

* Connecticut General Assembly * CGA Legislative Member Database, 1776-Present * Capitol ToursCapitol Tours
/ref> {{Authority control 1636 establishments in Connecticut Bicameral legislatures Legislatures of the Thirteen Colonies