Last night, the gavel came down marking adjournment sine die of the special session of the Connecticut legislature. Governor Malloy continued his push for his so-called Second Chance 2.0 legislation, which would have raised the age of criminal responsibility and largely eliminated bail for most misdemeanor crimes in Connecticut.
Three months ago, however, ABC along with the Bail Agents of Connecticut were able to convince the Governor’s administration to remove the mandatory 10% to the Court portion of the legislation, which would have simultaneously eliminated bail agents and destroyed accountability in Connecticut’s bail system. This was the most important achievement by ABC and BAC during this legislative season.
As the regular session ended and the special session commenced, it became clear that legislators did not want to vote to raise the age of criminal responsibility, particularly in an election year. The Senate refused to even debate the bill, informing the Governor that they were not going to waste their time since they did not think it would pass the House.
Legislators on both sides of the aisle in the House made clear that they did not want to raise the age of criminal responsibility. So, Governor Malloy pivoted, and decided that he would instead attempt to just push the bail reform portion of the legislation through.
Then, we received a sort of fortuitous bounce. The State Courts released statistics earlier this week that indicated that of those the Governor wanted to give a “second chance,” 77% had three or more prior convictions and 60% already had a prior felony conviction. This, it is believed, was the final nail in the coffin. So, yesterday, the Speaker of the House informed the Governor that the bill would not be taken up, and the House adjourned sine die, meaning the bill is dead unless the Governor attempts a second special session. It is not anticipated that we will see any further legislation in Connecticut this year.
ABC was proud to stand with all partners against this damaging legislation. We look forward to continuing our efforts as the conversation on bail reform in Connecticut has merely just begun.
Image courtesy of city.org
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