Legislation

The ACLU-CT supports measures that increase algorithmic oversight. Algorithms and artificial intelligence can perpetuate racial bias and inequity and deeply change how people interact with the government.

The ACLU-CT believes that in order to reduce the harm that policing is causing communities of color across the state, Connecticut must reduce the role, responsibilities, and presence of systems of policing. Police presence in schools is a key link in the school-to-prison pipeline.

This bill seeks to ban the use of police deceptive interrogation tactics on children. No one, including children, should be imprisoned because police coerced them into a false confession.

The ACLU-CT is dedicated to ending mass incarceration. That effort includes examining all aspects of the criminal and civil legal systems, including fees and fines. Fines and fees in the criminal justice system are a practice that traps people into cycles of debt.

The ACLU-CT believes that everyone should be paid a fair wage for their labor, including people who are incarcerated. Justice-impacted families are bled dry by the criminal legal system.

Contact between community members and police can have tragic consequences for people experiencing mental health crises. We have significant concerns with Senate Bill 972 because of its failure to reduce the role of policing in our communities.

At the ACLU-CT, we believe in the complete decriminalization of cannabis—from cultivation to sale and delivery to possession and use. House Bill 5434 is an attempt to repeal key aspects of cannabis legalization in Connecticut.

Improving voting rights and voting access strengthens democracy, since voting is a cornerstone of democracy itself.

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.