Connecticut’s Democrat-controlled Senate used an emergency procedure to pass a package of more than a dozen bills on Wednesday.
Senate Republicans criticized the move.
An emergency certification should not be used during the regular session, said Minority Leader Stephen Harding.
He was also concerned that a $750,000 grant was approved for an agency where Hartford Democratic Senator Doug McCory works, who is at the center of an investigation into local nonprofits.
“There are aspects of this bill like earmarks for different organizations that no one has discussed how it's emergent,” Harding said.
“This is millions of dollars of taxpayer money that is usurping the entire legislative process, usurping any level of scrutiny,” he complained.
Republican amendments to derail the package were easily thwarted by the 25-11 Democratic majority.
“The Speaker and I believe that the circumstances in each of these items do necessitate immediate action. And the bill is properly before us for that reason,” Senate President Martin Looney said, defending the need for E-certification.
The bills also include provisions to prevent federal interference with the state’s voter data, restrict quotas for warehouse workers, and provide a fix to the state’s bottle recycling program to prevent exploitation by out-of-state residents.
Most of the bills had passed in the House last year but died in the Senate in the final hours of the session, following threatened Republican filibusters.
The bill now goes to the House for action.
