January 25, 2023

Kennedy Votes in Support of State Police Contract

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(HARTFORD) — Today, State Representative Kathy Kennedy (R-119) joined the House General Assembly as she considered House Resolution 9, Proposing the Approval of a Collective Bargaining Agreement between the State of Connecticut, and the CT State Police Union. Last week, joint members of the Appropriations Committee held a public hearing and committee vote where H.R. 9 was approved for House floor debate.

The State Police Contract consists of several new approaches to encouraging State Police recruitment, as well as motivate current employees to avoid seeking more competitive pay and benefits as outside of Connecticut. More specifically, the contract will implement roughly a twenty percent estimated salary increase for 888 employees over the next four years, while also tending to concerns with appropriate meal reimbursement, health and wellness stipends, overtime compensation, and trainee pay.

“With record numbers of law enforcement officers looking out-of-state for employment, we need to incentivize recruitment and attract officers to stay,” said Rep. Kennedy (R-119), member of the Appropriations Committee. “There’s no question that we need to return trust and respect to our police, and through passing this agreement, we are supporting necessary salary increases, addressing overtime concerns, and enacting the first step in growing our state police force for a safer Connecticut.”

The final vote tally for H.R. 9 in the House General Assembly was 142-1, with support from Rep. Kennedy. Additionally, the House also considered judicial and executive nominations for both commissioner and secretary positions to oversee various legislative committees.

Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, House Republicans proposed three bills before the Public Safety Committee, range from restoring an officer’s ability to perform consent searches during motor vehicle stops to creating a fund to compensate the families of officers who are killed in the line of duty.

House Republican Proposals on Supporting Law Enforcement

Protect law enforcement and municipalities from being forced to settle in qualified immunity cases because any denial under current law bars them from appealing that decision until after jury decision. (HB 5361)
Require P.O.S.T. to rewrite the police pursuit policy to allow pursuit of property crime offenses. (HB 5361)
Restore the ability for police to request consent searches during motor vehicle stops when there is reasonable suspicion of a crime. (HB 5361)
Evaluate the use of force from the perspective of a reasonable officer in the same situation, based on the totality of the circumstances known to or perceived by the officer at the time, rather than with the benefit of hindsight, and that the totality of the circumstances shall account for occasions when officers may be forced to make quick judgments about the use of force. (HB 5361)
Provide clarity and list circumstances under which police can be decertified for undermining public confidence. (HB 5362)
Create a special account for families of officers killed in action. (HB 5363)

For more information on this and any other state issues, please visit the General Assembly’s website at cga.ct.gov. For more current updates, visit Facebook.com/StateRepKennedy.