Members of the Connecticut Legislature are back in Hartford.
Governor Ned Lamont (D) delivered his seventh State of the State address to kick off the 2025 session on Wednesday.
“We have a longer legislative session this cycle, giving us an opportunity to get in the weeds, lift up the hood, not always arguing about more money, but better results – not just more, but better – delivering results that make a difference by reducing costs to you and expanding opportunity for all,” Lamont said.
“Our north stars are affordability and opportunity, holding down costs of energy and health care and education, allowing you to keep more of what you earn and providing tools to let you earn more, buy a home, start a business,” he said, in his state of the state address to lawmakers.
The Democratic governor is working with one of the biggest majorities he’s had since taking office in 2019. His party controls more than two-thirds of the House and Senate.
He’s hoping to use that majority to deal with the state’s energy woes by increasing supply, potentially through more wind procurement. Energy costs have been a top issue in Connecticut over the last year.
But that’s a hard sell to Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding.
“Wind energy is coming in at four times what the market rate is for other sources of energy. So if he thinks that he's going to reduce energy rates by procuring more wind energy, you're just not,” Harding said.
Instead, Harding said Republicans would focus on removing the public benefits charge from ratepayer bills and capping power purchase agreements.
Other hot topics on opening day were budget shortfalls at the state’s colleges and universities, a statewide lack of affordable housing, and health care costs.
It’s also a budget year. Lamont is expected to present his budget on Feb. 5.
Connecticut’s relationship with the new Donald Trump administration in Washington would affect his priorities in the two-year state budget he’ll present to lawmakers next month.
“The cost of Medicaid and employee health care is spiking,” Lamont said. “And the Trump administration is rumored to be cutting back on healthcare subsidies for Medicaid and Obamacare. Which will hurt working families and small businesses hard,”
Republican minority leaders said they’re focused on keeping the state’s fiscal guardrails in place to keep spending down — a topic that they often find themselves on the same side as Lamont, but opposed by Democrats.
Lamont did not directly mention the guardrails. Democratic leaders were tight-lipped about the issue after the speech.
“I think that there are ways in which everybody can come out a winner on this, but those are discussions we're going to have through the process,” Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) said. “Let's see what the governor says at his budget address.”
The session runs until June 4.
