HARTFORD, CT — Allegations of sexual harassment in a Congresswoman’s office grabbed headlines and may have helped remind Connecticut legislative leaders they promised to examine their own sexual harassment policies.
In January, Senate President Martin Looney, D-New Haven, said legislative leaders planned to introduce legislation through the Joint Committee on Legislative Management and hold a public hearing on the sexual harassment policy for the state Capitol complex.
No such legislation was ever introduced and the Joint Committee on Legislative Management never met. It will be the sixth session in a row that this committee has failed to meet or raise any issues.
Legislative leaders from both parties said they didn’t forget. They just haven’t had time to get together and discuss the current policy which was adopted in July 2014.
Senate Democratic leadership and House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, said Monday that they plan to hold some type of public hearing on April 16 to address the issue.
“It’s in the works,” Klarides said. “All four caucuses believe strongly that we should internally have our conversations and then come out and do public hearings and forums on it.”
However, the discussion won’t happen as part of the Legislative Management Committee. That committee’s deadline to forward legislation to the House and Senate was March 19.
It’s unclear what if anything can be done following the April 16 public hearing if any improvements to the current policies need to be made.
