H.B. 5002, Democrats’ housing bill, gets final passage, heads to Lamont
Ginny Monk | CT Mirror
With a slim margin, the state Senate on early Saturday morning gave final passage to the most significant piece of housing legislation to emerge from the Connecticut legislature in years.
House Bill 5002 passed the Senate on a 20-15 vote, with some moderate Democrats voting alongside Republicans.
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While the bill has faced fierce opposition from Republicans, the lengthy debate is also part of a political strategy. As time left in the legislative session dwindles, the minority party holds more power to filibuster bills and talk long enough that fewer bills get passed.
“It’s extremely important that communities share in the responsibility of building housing so that we don’t segregate people based on a ZIP code or where we think they should live,” said Majority Leader Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk. “We have to make sure that we are growing our state, growing our state economically and working to make our state more prosperous for everybody.”