The state Senate granted final legislative approval Tuesday for key measures that will allow payments to UConn athletes in the future and provide grants to more than 20 nonprofit organizations that are facing funding cuts from President Donald Trump’s administration.
The overall funding package of $2.88 million, Democrats said, was necessary due to expected cuts at the federal level and a lack of funding for immigrants and refugees, along with LGBTQ+ organizations. The largest grant, at $800,000, will be going to Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, which prompted opposition by Republicans.
The measure passed on mostly party lines by 25 – 9 with one Republican, Sen. Tony Hwang of Fairfield, joining with the Democrats in favor. After Republicans objected that debate had been cut off and the vote was called too quickly, the Senate held another vote to reconsider the issue. The debate on House Bill 7066 then continued Tuesday afternoon before ending with the same vote tally as Sen. Patricia Billie Miller of Stamford was absent for both votes.
As part of the omnibus bill, lawmakers voted to change the state law to allow future payments to University of Connecticut athletes in the fast-changing world of college sports.
The action was taken in advance of an expected ruling by the NCAA, which oversees college athletics and is expected to allow athletes to be paid directly through revenue sharing by the universities. The move would be the next step following the current allowance of payments under the “name, image and likeness” system, known as NIL.
Sen. Derek Slap, a West Hartford Democrat who co-chairs the legislature’s higher education committee, said UConn and all colleges in Connecticut will be able to spend “up to $20.5 million of revenue that comes into the athletic department from ticket revenues” and other sources like donations. The cap of $20.5 million is set nationwide and would be at that level for football powerhouses like Ohio State and Michigan as universities with several high-profile sports teams would have the authority to allocate the money within the cap.
The legislature needed to act Tuesday, Slap said, because the issue is “very important for recruiting” for the most elite athletes who are sought by the top basketball schools in the nation. The new national policy is expected to be codified in the next several weeks, Slap said, as six states have already passed similar legislation and others have passed by executive order.
Without the legislation, he said, “UConn would begin the recruiting season severely handicapped.”
But state Sen. Rob Sampson, a Wolcott Republican, said he was not sure whether his constituents believe that UConn’s recruiting constitutes an emergency.
Slap, though, said later that the issue is critical to UConn’s status as a basketball powerhouse for men and women.
“If we don’t do it, you might as well turn the lights out at Gampel,” Slap told The Courant in an interview. “It could keep student athletes in school longer.”
Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, a longtime college football fan and expert on the Heisman Trophy, said the bill shows the changes through the decades.
“That’s just the reality of high-level college sports as it is right now,” Looney said on the Senate floor. “In a way, it’s unfortunate because what that means is we are no longer understanding amateurism as we did in college sports. … We have heard over the years of many reports of booster groups paying players under the table, hiring them for non-existent summer jobs, all those kinds of things … in unorthodox and illegal and unacknowledged ways where administrators turned their heads. … This is not a new issue in college sports.”
Emergency bill
The Senate, Republicans said, should not have been voting Tuesday on the “emergency certified” bill that is permitted without a public hearing for important matters if deemed necessary by the top Democratic leaders who control the House and Senate.
“None of these things is an emergency,” Sampson said. “Nothing is on fire. There is no pandemic. There’s nothing really going on except a political emergency for the majority. … To draw attention to the Trump administration and raise the ire across the state. … I don’t know what the hurry is. … There’s no emergency for Planned Parenthood. … I believe this is happening for political reasons.”
But Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff of Norwalk said the House Speaker and Senate President Pro Tempore both decided that a vote was needed on the matters mentioned in two bills. Republicans pushed for a roll call vote, which was defeated by the Democrats along party lines by 24-10.
Chinese drones
The bill also called for prohibiting Connecticut towns, state agencies, and their contractors from purchasing Chinese and Russian-made drones in the future because they are deemed as a security threat. Lawmakers fear that the information obtained by the drones could be sent back to the Chinese company, which officials say is an arm of the Chinese military.
The measure previously became split largely along party lines, and the measure failed on the final night of the legislative session in May 2024 after a lengthy debate in the state House of Representatives as time expired at midnight.
The problem, lawmakers said, is that the Chinese-made drones are generally cheaper, and Connecticut municipalities have been buying them because of the lower cost.
Grants
The overall funding package of $2.88 million, Democrats said, was necessary due to cuts at the federal level from Trump’s administration and a lack of funding for immigrants and refugees, along with LGBTQ+ organizations.
Besides Planned Parenthood, more than 20 organizations will receive money in supplemental grants because they either serve immigrants and refugees or provide services for the LGBTQ+ community.
Three of the largest grants will be $387,500 for the Hartford Gay and Lesbian Health Collective, Inc. and $225,000 each for the New Haven Gay and Lesbian Community Center and Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services, Inc.
Refuting Republican arguments, Looney said the nonprofit entities had been chosen because they were “unfairly targeted” and “whose national government, in effect, has declared war on them.” The funding is an emergency, he said, “because of the hostile attitude of the national government.”
Overall, 20 organizations will receive the exact same amount at $62,500 as the money was divided evenly. The groups helping immigrants include the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants; Jewish Family Services of Greenwich; Connecticut Immigrant and Refugee Coalition; and Center for Children’s Advocacy.
Others receiving $62,500 are Anchor Health Initiative Corp.; Middlesex Hospital for a gender clinic; Triangle Community Center; Queer Youth Program of Connecticut; Kids in Crisis; OutCT, Inc.; Bridgeport Pride Center; PFLAG Enfield, Inc.; PEERPRIDE; The World Health Clinicians, Inc.; Social & Environmental Entrepreneurs; Upper Albany Neighborhood Collaborative; City Seed, Inc.; Building One Community Corp.; Havenly, Inc.; and Junta For Progressive Action, Inc.
Sampson objected to the funding for Planned Parenthood, saying that the organization has “billions of dollars in assets.”
“Effectively, it’s Christmas for entities that are aligned” with the Democratic majority, Sampson said on the Senate floor. “It’s money going to what I would consider far-left advocacy organizations.”
A representative of the Roman Catholic Church also objected to the idea.
“Giving more taxpayer money, even one cent, let alone $800,000, to those in the abortion business is truly tragic,” said Chris Healy, executive director of Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference. “We can only pray for those in power to reject this horrible idea.”
Planned Parenthood, Healy said, had also received an additional $3 million at the end of the 2024 legislative session. He said the organization is the largest abortion provider in the state, adding that more than half of the abortions ”are fully funded by state taxpayers under the Medicaid program” for low-income women.
Sen. Heather Somers of Mystic, who serves as the ranking Republican senator on the budget-writing committee, questioned why the organizations were all getting the same amount of money at $62,500. Noting that she has been a Planned Parenthood supporter, Somers said, “I believe this funding is coming from a ‘what if’ in Washington.”
She questioned why Planned Parenthood already received $1.9 million, plus an additional $1.3 million, at a time when other organizations and individuals are struggling financially.
“They can’t pay for their heating,” Somers said of elderly constituents, adding that additional money should go to organizations like Meals on Wheels. “We may have some elderly folks who are only getting one meal a day.”
Sen. Cathy Osten, a Sprague Democrat who co-chairs the budget committee, said she has sat through hundreds of hours of public hearings as money is being sought for nonprofits, workforce development, public schools, special education, low-income heating assistance, and elderly nutrition. One of the hearings lasted until 3 a.m., she said, also noting that she understands the issues of heating in the winter as she keeps the temperature at 61 degrees in her own home. All of the financial needs are being debated in the current budget process that may reach a final compromise at the Capitol in early June.
“Yes, Planned Parenthood did receive some dollars in the block grant,” Osten said on the Senate floor. “Their costs are exponentially higher than anticipated.”
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