This brief outline is intended to convey the highlights of the 2014 Connecticut elections. The Connecticut legislature begins its 2015 session on January 7, 2015.

Election Results

• The office of Governor and all other Constitutional offices were won by Democrats. Governor Malloy’s margin of victory was the lowest of any of the Constitutional offices being contested.
• The Republican majority in the U. S. House of Representatives was increased by 12 seats. In the U. S. Senate, Republicans now hold 54 seats, a gain of 9.
• All of Connecticut’s U. S. Representatives were reelected.
• In the Connecticut Legislature, the Republicans scored wins primarily in the State House, where 64 elected Republicans will be seated, the highest in the last 20 years. The Democrats retained 87 seats, for a clear majority.
• The Connecticut Senate will be 21 Democrats and 15 Republicans, an increase of one seat for the latter. Thirty-three of them will be first-time lawmakers, with the other three having served previously in the House (Tim Larson, East Hartford; Tony Hwang, Fairfield; and Max Flexer, Danielson).
• There will be new chairmen for the following committees: Energy Committee, Ed Meyer of Guilford; Finance Chair, Pat Widlitz of Guilford; Commerce Chair, Gary LeBeau of Broad Brook; Education Chair, Andrea Stillman; Governmental Administration and Elections, Sam Musto of Trumbull, who lost a primary.
• The officers of Connecticut’s Senate have changed. The President Pro Tem will be Martin Looney of New Haven, replacing Don Williams, who did not seek reelection. The Majority Leader will be Bob Duff of Norwalk, replacing John McKinney, who did not run.
• In the Senate, the Republicans chose Len Fasano as Minority Leader.
• In the House of Representatives, positions were retained by Speaker of the House Brendan Sharkey of Hamden and Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz of Berlin.
• House Republicans chose Themis Klarides of Derby to be the minority leader. Ms. Klarides will be the first female GOP minority leader in the history of Connecticut.
• The work of the Connecticut Legislative Committees will begin once committee chairs have been named in the next few weeks. Given the changes in the committee structure, there will likely be many new committee chairs and committee members.

Federal Nominations of Interest

• EEOC. In December, the lame duck Congress approved the nomination of David Lopez to a four-year term as a Commissioner on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Charlotte Burroughs to a five-year term as a Commissioner.
• NLRB. On December 8, 2014, The Senate confirmed Lauren McFerron for a position on the National Labor Relations Board. The Democrats will have three NLRB members for the rest of President Obama’s term, giving them a majority.

Connecticut Key State Employee Changes

• In Connecticut, Linda Yelmini, the current head of the Office of Labor Relations, will be terminated.
• Connecticut’s Insurance Commissioner Thomas Leonardi resigned effective December 11, 2014, and his successor has yet to be named.

Reminder Regarding Minimum Wage Changes

One of the major laws enacted in the previous term that will take effect in 2015 is the minimum wage increase, which goes from $8.70 to $9.15 on January 1, 2015, to $9.60 on January 1, 2016, and finally to $10.10 on January 1, 2017. The law allows for a reduced rate for workers under age 18 or who meet the criteria for beginners or learners. These persons will be paid at the rate of 85% of the minimum wage.

Summary

Given that Connecticut’s Senate will consist of 33 first-time lawmakers and new leadership, it would behoove Connecticut’s businesses to become familiar with the Senator who serves the area of the business’s operations or headquarters. Leadership of the next legislature will be geographically focused in New Haven, North Haven, Derby, and Fairfield County. A business headquartered in any of these areas would be well served to establish a relationship with the legislative leadership in that area.