Legislation

The ACLU-CT strongly supports measures that improve access to quality healthcare for people incarcerated in Connecticut’s prisons. Given the DOC’s failure to provide adequate care, both during and before the pandemic, Senate Bill 957 is vital in this effort.

Today, there is widespread recognition that disordered substance use is an illness to be treated and not a criminal problem to be punished. However, CT and the rest of the U.S. insist on addressing addiction, a public health problem, through criminal law for decades.

Relying on police as first responders to drug overdoses and other addiction crises will not improve our public health outlook for opioid addiction, but rather will prop up the system of mass incarceration.

Exponentially increasing the maximum fine that municipalities can charge for ordinance violations is likely to further entrench people, especially families of color, into cycles of poverty. What results is a two-tiered criminal legal system, where income level determines the outcome.

The ACLU-CT believes that all members of the public have a right to exist and enjoy public space, including people who are experiencing homelessness.

The ACLU-CT believes in a society where all children can flourish. HB 6587 expands Medicaid coverage to include infant and toddler diapers, which will drastically improve health, economic, and educational outcomes for families across the state.

The ACLU-CT believes in a society where all people, regardless of housing status, are treated with dignity, respect, and care. Homelessness is intrinsically connected to public health.

The ACLU-CT believes that all women should have equal access to employment, free from discrimination. Automatically providing the salary range on job postings creates an open dialogue from the beginning of the job search process.

Contact between community members and police can have tragic consequences for people experiencing mental health crises and substance use disorder. People who are in mental health crises need treatment.