Affordable housing, consumer protections and the regulation of artificial intelligence are some of the items that top their agenda this year, according to Connecticut Senate Democrats.
There's a significant lack of affordable housing in Connecticut. Senate President Martin Looney said that’s why housing tops the agenda for his caucus.
“We need more affordable housing in our urban areas to help build up the urban populations to what they should be. And we need more affordable housing in our suburbs who have resisted every effort and continue to fight against 8-30G and every effort that we have made in that regard,” he said
According to Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, their proposals do not override local zoning, which has been a contentious issue.
“We are going to continue to push that. But we also have to be realistic at the same time to figure out what we can get past in a short session that makes sense. But zoning will always be an issue that we talk about,” Duff said.
Instead, they want to provide incentives, including $20 million to tackle homelessness and evictions, and $25 million to adjust Section 8 housing vouchers to reflect market rates.
The artificial intelligence regulations they propose include a ban on the use of deep fakes in political campaigns.
