STATE REPRESENTATIVE ED JUTILA, 37th DISTRICT

Connecticut General Assembly

My Background

Biography Graduated from East Lyme High School Earned a B.A. from University of Connecticut Earned law degree with Honors from

University of Connecticut Senior Attorney with Carrier Corporation,

subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation

Political Experience Began public service as Volunteer Firefighter Former Democratic Town Committee

Chairman, Member of the East Lyme Board of Selectmen, Charter Revision Commission, and Deputy Town Meeting Moderator

My Job

First elected in November 2004Serving 6th (2-year) term and 11th year as State RepresentativeRepresents the towns of Salem and East Lyme (approximately 23,000 people)

Committees Government Administration and Elections (GAE) Committee Transportation Committee

My Committees

Government Administration and Elections (GAE) CommitteeThe Government Administration and Elections Committee deals with matters relating to the organization of state government, state buildings and land, ethics law, constitutional amendments, freedom of information and state elections law.

Transportation CommitteeThe Transportation Committee deals with all matters relating to roads, highways, bridges, railroads, airports and waterways. It also deals with the Department of Motor Vehicles, including licensing and registration for driving vehicles.

Rep. Jutila confers with the Vice-Chair of GAE Committee Rep. Jonathan Steinberg of Westport regarding legislation.

Separation of Powers

The Legislative Branch “Making the Law”

Part time LegislatureJanuary-June (odd numbered years)February-May (even numbered years)

151 Representatives ( 87 Democrats, 64 Republicans)

36 Senators (21 Democrats, 15 Republicans)

27 Joint Standing Committees

That cover areas such as Government Administration, Commerce, Education, Environment, Energy, Housing, Higher Education, Insurance Public Safety, Public Health, Transportation and Veterans.Appropriations and Finance deal with the budget and taxes

How a bill becomes a law

Proposed bill Bill is sent to the clerk of the House of the sponsoring legislator for numbering.

Bill title, number and sponsors are printed in the House and Senate Journals.

Bill is sent to the appropriate joint standing committee.

Committee may:1. have the bill drafted in legal language; 2. combine it with other bills and have it drafted as a committee bill; 3. refer the bill to another committee; or 4. take no action, so the bill fails. 

Committee holds public hearings for the public, state agencies, legislators on all bills it considers.

Committee may report the bill favorably, defeat the bill or issue no report (the bill fails).

Bill requiring action by another committee is referred to that committee a bill requiring expenditure is referred to the Appropriations Committee.

After leaving the last committee, the bill is sent to the Legislative Commissioners' Office to be checked for constitutionality and consistency with other law.

The Office of Fiscal Analysis adds an estimate of the bill's cost.  The Office of Legislative Research adds a "plain English" explanation of the bill.

Clerk assigns the bill a calendar #

Debate and amendments in the house of origin.  House may send the bill to another committee.

A "yes" vote sends the bill to the other house for placement on calendar.

Other house votes on the bill.

Bill returned to first house for concurrence if amended by second house.  If not amended, bill is sent to the governor.

If both houses pass the bill, it is sent to the governor. 

The bill becomes law if:1. the governor signs it;2. the governor fails to sign within 5 days during the legislative session;3. the vetoed bill is repassed in each house by a 2/3 vote.

Proposed Bill 5033

A bill is introduced by a legislator or raised by a committee. It is assigned a bill number and referred to the proper committee

Raised H.B. 5033

What is this Bill about? The bill requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to help pay for school buses equipped with lap/shoulder (3-point) seat belts. DMV must do this by raising certain fees and use the increase to fund school districts that participate. The bill also requires school districts to provide written notice to the parents of each student who uses a school bus of the availability and proper use of the seat belts and teach students the proper use of the seat belts, including how to fasten and unfasten them.

Committee Process

The Committee then holds apublic hearing on the bill where members of the public get to voice their opinion

Sheila McKay a lobbyist for the CT Association of Boards of Education (CABE) submits written

testimony on the bill.

A student testifies at a Public Hearing held at the Legislative Office Building.

Committee Vote

The Committee may approve the bill,

- Make changes,

- Send it to another Committee, or

- Defeat the bill.

House and Senate Vote

The Bill is debated and amended on the floor of the House or Senate depending on where the bill originated.

If the bill passes by a simple majority it is sent to the other chamber for approval

House Chamber

Senate Chamber

House Majority Leader Rep. Joe Aresimowicz

Senate Majority Leader Rep. Bob Duff

The Executive Branch Signing the Bill into Law

If both chambers pass the bill with the same language it is sent to the Governor where he can:

1. Sign the bill.2. Veto it or3. Take no action

The legislature can override a veto with a2/3 vote in each chamber.

Rep. Jutila attends a Bill Signing Ceremony with Governor Malloy

Bill becomes Law

Once it passes the House and Senate it is given a public act number.

It becomes law when signed by the Governor. It is then written into the State General Statutes.

All laws are carried out through Executive Branch State Agencies. The Connecticut

General Statutes

Follow up Since the Law

Recently the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) the organization that makes sure people are safe on the roads issued an advisory opinion that seat belts on school buses do improve safety.

This is a change from a previous U.S. Department of Transportation finding that said they “cannot conclude that a requirement for seat belts on large school busses will protect against an unreasonable risk of accidents.”

What do you think?

What are the Pros and Cons?

Follow up Since the Law

Cons:•School buses have an excellent safety record and seat belts are not always effective in school bus crashes.•Seat belts prevent students being able to exit the bus quickly in an emergency. A bus driver would not be help all students escape.•The cost per child to install seat belts is low, but multiply that by thousands and the cost is very high.•Drivers cannot be expected to police proper use of seat belts. Or this would mean helping young students adjust belts each time they got on the bus and increase driving times.

Pros:•Educates children to buckle up whether in a regular vehicle or a bus as a safe practice.

•Using seat belts has shown to improve overall behavior on school buses.

•Installation of seat belts in school buses would cost less than $2.00 per child

•Seat belts prevent students from being thrown out of their seats if their bus is involved in an accident.

The Executive Branch“Carrying out the Law”

The Executive Branch also consists of various state agencies including the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Education and the Department of Transportation

The Judicial Branch “Interpreting the Law”

The Courts interpret the laws, determine their constitutionality and resolve disputes.

Questions and Comments

If you are interested in what you learned here today I encourage you to find out

more at www.cga.ct.gov or www.kids.ct.gov

If you have any questions or want to speak to me regarding an issue please contact me: 860-240-8568 or at Ed.Jutila@cga.ct.gov.

Thank you for this opportunity to Speak.