Connecticut Politics Week in Review: Gov. Ned Lamont eases more COVID-19 restrictions, but mask rule remains

With Connecticut’s coronavirus numbers continuing to decline and the number of vaccines distributed climbing, Gov. Ned Lamont Thursday made his biggest announcement yet about loosening restrictions on businesses and gatherings. Rules about mask-wearing and social distancing will remain in place. “I think there was general consensus that we know what works, we know we have capacity at our hospitals, we know we can turn and change if we have to,” Lamont said of discussions that led to the move.

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The big story

Lamont eases more COVID-19 restrictions, but mask rule remains: In the largest move yet to roll back coronavirus restrictions that have been in place for nearly a year, Lamont Thursday said starting later this month restaurants, houses of worship, offices and other businesses will be allowed to reopen at 100% capacity. But unlike other states, Lamont is keeping rules in place that require wearing of masks and social distancing. Restaurants, for example, must keep tables spaced apart unless they have plexiglass between them. “This is not Texas, this is not Mississippi. This is Connecticut,” Lamont said in reference to other states that recently rolled back restrictions. “We are maintaining the masks.” The governor said the decision was based on continued decline in Connecticut’s coronavirus hospitalizations and test positivity, both of which are their lowest point in months. In another change, Lamont shifted the state’s travel advisory, making it a recommendation, rather than a requirement, that people quarantine after arriving in or returning to Connecticut. Outdoor sports venues can reopen at up to 50% capacity with a maximum of 10,000 spectators. Indoor arenas can have up to 10% of their capacity. Private gathering limits will be expanded to 25 people indoors and 100 people outdoors. Events at commercial venues, like weddings, can have 100 people indoors and 200 people outdoors. Bars that do not serve food will remain closed. And an 11 p.m. curfew for restaurants will remain. Most of the new changes will begin March 19.

Five things you may have missed

Cardona confirmed as U.S. education secretary: Meriden native Miguel Cardona was confirmed by the Senate Monday to serve in President Joe Biden’s cabinet as U.S. education secretary. The educator who mostly recently served as Connecticut’s education commissioner was approved by a 64-33 vote, with some prominent Republican senators, including Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida, supporting the pick. Cardona, 45, rose quickly through the ranks after starting his career as an elementary school teacher in his hometown. He became a principal at age 27 – the youngest in the state – and later served in other administrative roles in Meriden before become commissioner. On Wednesday, his first full day on the job, Cardona traveled back to Meriden with First Lady Jill Biden to tour a local elementary school as part of the Biden administration’s push to reopen classrooms for in-person learning as Connecticut has successfully done.

New payroll tax starts, but not yet for state employees: State officials mandated a new 0.5% payroll tax starting Jan. 1 to launch Connecticut’s paid family and medical leave program, but so far have not started collecting the tax from state workers who are supposed to be paying it. House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, who discovered the delay, told The Connecticut Mirror it was “the height of arrogance” that the state was mandating employers sign up for the program but had not yet collected the tax from its own employees. State officials said the delay was due to changes that needed to be made to the state’s payroll system. Deductions for non-union employees are expected to begin in mid-April. Unionized state workers are not part of the system. The state Department of Labor has given businesses until June 30 to begin collecting the deduction but those who start late must make payments retroactive to Jan. 1.

Lamont reaches gambling deal with one of two tribes: When the governor on Tuesday announced he had reached a deal on online gambling and sports betting, the Mashantucket Pequots were conspicuously absent from the agreement. The tribe that runs the Foxwoods Resort Casino had balked at a proposed 20% tax rate on online casino games that the state and the Mohegans had agreed to. Rodney Butler, the Mashantucket Pequot tribal chairman, called the announcement of the agreement with only one of the two tribal nations offensive and disrespectful. Lawmakers from eastern Connecticut have urged the Lamont administration to come to an agreement with the Mashantuckets, saying they could not support a proposal that excludes them. The deal also gives the Connecticut Lottery Corp. the right to operate 15 retail sports betting locations and an online sports book and allows them to sublicense some locations to Sportech, the state’s existing off-track betting vendor.

Poll gives Lamont high marks for handling COVID: Lamont continues to get high marks for how he’s responded to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new Sacred Heart University poll, with more than 70% of respondents approving of the job he’s done thus far. Lamont’s overall approval rating stood at 55.9%, almost double his 28.1% approval rating in December 2019 when his administration was still making its push for electronic highway tolls, a proposal that was deeply unpopular with many voters and ultimately rejected by the legislature. “Considering the trauma Connecticut residents have been through this past year relative to the pandemic, support for the governor’s handling of this public health and economic crisis has been generally positive, and quality-of-life metrics in the state remain high,” Lesley DeNardis, executive director of the Sacred Heart Institute for Public Policy, said in a news release. The poll of Connecticut residents also found broad support for legalizing recreational marijuana.

Aid-in-dying bill passes committee for first time: After years of setbacks in the General Assembly, legislation that would allow doctors to prescribe life-ending medication to terminally ill patients passed at the committee level Friday, a step in the right direction for the bill’s supporters but no guarantee it will be called for a vote in the full House of Representatives or Senate. “I’m not sold on this bill, but I am sold on the notion that that choice is important to a lot of people,” said Rep. Sean Scanlon, D-Guilford. The vote was largely along party lines, with three Republicans joining Democrats on the committee in backing the bill. Nine states and the District of Columbia have passed similar laws. Opponents have raised concerns that the aid-in-dying law could be used to prey upon vulnerable people, but supporters argue it includes many safeguards, including requiring two physicians to sign off no a patient’s request.

Odds and ends

Rep. Patricia Billie Miller, D-Stramford, was victorious in a special election Tuesday night in the 27th Senate District. Miller, a six-term legislator who defeated Republican Joshua Esses, will fill the vacancy left by former Sen. Carlo Leone, a Democrat who left the legislature to take a position in the Lamont administration at the Department of Transportation. Miller will be the first Black woman to represent the district and just the fourth Black woman to serve in the state Senate. … Nora Dannehy, a well-respected ex-federal prosecutor, has been tapped by Lamont to take over as his office’s top attorney. Dannehy, who led prosecutions of corrupt politicians including former Gov. John G. Rowland, will take over for Robert Clark, who has been appointed to the state Appellate Court. Dannehy last worked alongside U.S. Attorney John Durham on his investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe. She resigned from that assignment in September over concern, colleagues said, about political pressure. … Connecticut Attorney General William Tong jointed with the Federal Trade Commission and dozens of other attorneys general in shutting down a massive charity fraud robocall operation that made 1.3 billion deceptive fundraising calls including 34 million in Connecticut alone. Associated Community Services agreed to settle charges by the FTC that they duped would-be donors into contributing more than $110 million the company falsely claimed would be going to support veterans, children, firefighters and other causes. … Norwich Mayor Peter Nystrom will be running for reelection in November, but according to The Bulletin newspaper, this will be his last campaign. “I’m happy to have made this decision to run, what will be for all practical purposes, my last opportunity to serve as mayor,” Nystrom, a 64-year-old Republican, told the newspaper. He has served as mayor in two stints – from 2009-2013 and beginning again in 2017. He previously served in local office in Norwich as well as almost tow decades in the state House of Representatives. … Karen DuBois-Walton, president and CEO of the Housing Authority of New Haven/Elm City Communities, has launched a primary challenge of Democratic New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, who earlier this winter announced he’d be running for reelection to a second term. In announcing her candidacy on Friday, Walton strayed away from criticizing Elicker, instead saying she was “running for a vision … of equity and inclusion,” according to the New Haven Independent.

Russell Blair can be reached at rblair@courant.com.