Martin M. Looney (born July 23, 1948) is an American politician. Looney, a Democrat, has been a

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

from

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. ...

since 1993. From 2003 to 2014, Looney served as Majority Leader of the Senate; in 2015 he became President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Looney, a resident of

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

, represents the eastern half of the city as well as parts of Hamden in the Connecticut Senate. He is also a part-time professor at Quinnipiac University and the University of New Haven in Hamden, CT and West Haven, CT, respectively, where he teaches classes such as State and Local Governments. Looney was born in New Haven and graduated from Fairfield University and later received his M.A. in English from

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

followed by his J.D. from University of Connecticut School of Law Prior to being elected to the Connecticut Senate, Looney served as a Connecticut state representative. In 2001, Looney lost to incumbent John DeStefano Jr. in the Democratic primary for mayor of

. In July 2016, Looney said he would "certainly" consider running for

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, ...

if incumbent Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman decided not to run in the 2018 election.

Political positions

Looney is a supporter of legislation strengthening gun safety measures. In 2013, weeks after the Sandy Hook mass shooting, Looney introduced 17 bills that would change firearm control and rights in Connecticut. He was instrumental in the eventual passage of legislation considered some of the strongest in the country. Looney led the creation of Connecticut’s Earned Income Tax Credit in 2011 and has been influential in ensuring it remains a part of the state’s budget. The Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC, is a state income tax credit supporting low-income working individuals and families. Looney led passage of legislation to cap the out-of-pocket cost of prescription drugs like insulin and has introduced legislation to reduce the cost of pharmaceutical drugs in Connecticut through use of generic drug manufacturers. He led the Senate during the passage of the legalization of marijuana and was Senate Majority Leader during the abolition of the state’s death penalty.

References

External links

Martin Looney
''official website
Connecticut General Assembly - Martin M. Looney
bills introduced
Project Vote Smart - Representative Martin Looney (CT)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Martin M Looney
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campaign contributions , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Looney, Martin 1948 births Democratic Party Connecticut state senators Fairfield University alumni Living people Democratic Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives University of Connecticut School of Law alumni 21st-century members of the Connecticut General Assembly