by Donald Eng CTNewsJunkie
HARTFORD, CT — A proposal to establish two new incentives for people to pursue careers as police officers and firefighters may be headed for bipartisan approval.
On Tuesday, Gov. Ned Lamont announced House Bill 5046, An Act Supporting Firefighter and Police Officer Recruitment and Retention. The bill waives tuition and fees for police officers and firefighters with five or more years or service at all Connecticut public colleges and universities and also creates a mortgage assistance program to help the responders purchase a home in the communities where they serve. Under the proposal, the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority will be responsible for developing the terms of this program and administering it.
“Police officers and firefighters are the backbone of the safety of our neighborhoods, and it is imperative that we have strategic recruitment and retention policies that build robust and adequately staffed firefighter and police forces,” Lamont said. “In particular, I believe that police officers and firefighters should be able to afford to live and purchase a home in the towns they serve, which is why I want to create a mortgage program that would be specifically focused on achieving that objective.”
State Sen. Stephen Harding speaks in a 2025 media briefing with Sen. Jeff Gordon. Credit: Donald Eng / CTNewsJunkie
House and Senate Republican leaders issued statements of varying levels of support Tuesday afternoon. Senate Republicans Paul Cicarella of North Haven, Jeff Gordon of Woodstock, Jason Perillo of Shelton and Stephen Harding of Brookfield called the proposal “a good first step” and said it sent a positive message.
“We look forward to its bipartisan passage into law,” they wrote.
House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora with Rep. Greg Howard, R-Stonington Credit: Hugh McQuaid / CTNewsJunkie
But the legislation doesn’t go far enough, the senators said, and House leaders agreed in a statement of their own. State Rep. Greg Howard of Stonington, who is a police officer, and Vincent Candelora of North Branford, said the proposal was nice but avoided the hard truth.
“Years of Democratic legislation and anti-law enforcement rhetoric have demoralized Connecticut’s police,” they wrote. “This crisis accelerated the moment Connecticut enacted its so-called police accountability legislation in 2020. Officers are walking away and telling their sons and daughters to avoid the career altogether.”
The state’s police accountability law, a frequent Republican target, created an office to investigate deadly use-of-force incidents, mandated officers to wear their name and badge numbers visible on their uniforms, required body and dashboard cameras and limited qualified immunity from prosecution, among other things.
Lamont’s office said the bill is currently being considered by the Public Safety and Security Committee, which is expected to schedule it soon for a public hearing.