Sen. Heather Somers’ Statement on the Opening Day of the 2025 Legislative Session

Sen. Heather Somers’ Opening Day Statement

“Today at the State Capitol, I was honored to be sworn-in for a new two-year term as State Senator representing 100,000 people in the 18th Senate District.

Watch my remarks in the Senate Chamber here: http://ct-n.com/ctnplayer.asp?odID=24051&jump=1:38:13

After each chamber finished its opening business, Governor Ned Lamont delivered his annual opening day address to a joint session of the House and Senate.

I was encouraged to hear the governor talk about the need to make Connecticut more affordable for working and middle class families. However, I was disappointed to not hear the governor mention several policy issues which my Republican colleagues and I have championed. Among them:

1. The smart bipartisan fiscal guardrails have injected discipline into government spending since 2017 when Republicans insisted upon it. The governor did not mention the guardrails, and that is worrisome. Connecticut has been paying down debt and even lowering taxes thanks to those responsible curbs on spending. To dismantle the guardrails will lead to tax hikes, and my constituents cannot afford tax hikes. I will do all I can to preserve and protect the fiscal guardrails this session.
2. The governor did not mention any specific ideas to lower our energy bills. For two years, Republicans and I have introduced and advocated for a six-point energy plan that includes taking public benefits off our electric bills, and capping the price of long-term energy purchases among other reforms that will reduce long-term energy bills. The governor failed to touch upon these issues which are negatively impacting families’ and businesses’ monthly budgets. This must be our top priority.
3. Tourism funding. We heard nothing from the governor regarding the need to invest more in our state’s tourism industry which is such a tremendous jobs engine for our region. This is troubling. I will continue to work in bipartisan fashion as Co-Chair of the Tourism Caucus and as Ranking Senator on the Appropriations Committee and as a member of the Commerce Committee to advocate for more state tourism funding.
4. Special education funding. Municipalities are largely required to financially support the expenses necessary to provide special education services for their students who have Individualized Education Programs. The Excess Cost grant is Connecticut’s method for sharing in the expense for students who have extraordinary special education needs. The governor did not mention the Excess Cost grant in his speech. That was unfortunate. As a member of the Education Committee, I will be a strong advocate for increased special education funding.

I am pleased to continue serving in a leadership role on the Public Health Committee. I will continue to speak out for policies which improve health care access, lower the cost of health care and support our health care workforce.

Please feel free to contact me anytime at [email protected] and sign up for my informative State Capitol updates at www.SenatorSomers.com.”

– Senator Heather Somers was elected to serve the 18th Senate district in November 2016. The 18th district includes Griswold, Groton, North Stonington, Plainfield, Preston, Sterling, Stonington, and Voluntown.