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House adopts consent calendar, confirms dozens of judges and a Port Authority pick; amends joint rules
Summary
The House approved a consent calendar that confirmed multiple judicial reappointments and other nominations, adopted an amendment to joint legislative rules and confirmed a Port Authority board pick; several nominees drew objections during floor debate.
HARTFORD — The Connecticut House of Representatives on Jan. 28 approved a broad consent calendar and a set of separate roll calls that together confirmed dozens of judicial reappointments, a member of the Connecticut Port Authority board and an amendment to the legislature’s joint rules.
Among the items the chamber approved by voice or roll calls were:
- House Joint Resolution 46 — Kristen L. Zurbach was confirmed to the Connecticut Port Authority board after the executive nominations committee reported her nomination. The committee chair described her background in offshore wind initiatives and economic development; the House adopted the resolution by voice vote.
- Senate Joint Resolution 33 — An amendment to the joint rules that adjusts the composition of the Executive & Legislative Nominations Committee (changes to numbers of senate and house members), adopted by roll call (143‑0 among those voting present, with absentees noted).
- Dozens of judicial nominations and trial‑referee approvals were adopted, many via the consent calendar. The package included reappointments and confirmations for superior court judges, state referees and appellate court judges. Several nominees were placed on consent calendars after committee action; others came before the full House for roll‑call votes.
Votes on individual judicial and referee confirmations were recorded throughout the day. House members used consent calendars to expedite routine reappointments, but some nominations drew floor objections and extended remarks. Representative Minnie Gonzalez registered repeated and substantive objections on the floor, citing constituent complaints about handling of family‑court matters, guardians ad litem and supervised visitation in multiple cases. Gonzalez urged colleagues to review complaints and said some parents had described long, unresolved cases; other members responded that the judiciary committee had conducted review and that many nominees have long service records.
Representative Jason Ross moved the suspension of rules to consider emergency and joint rules items; other committee chairs repeatedly urged the House to adopt consent calendars to process the long list of nominations. The clerk announced several roll‑call tallies for individual resolutions during the afternoon and evening session; the House recorded adoption for each item announced.
The confirmations and rules amendment mark routine but consequential staffing decisions for the courts and for a state port authority, and they set the committee rosters that will handle executive and legislative nominations going forward.
Speakers who addressed particular nominations or objections during the votes included Representative Concepcion (executive nominations chair remarks for some items), Representative Matthew Sta strom (judiciary committee), Representative Toni E. O’Day and Representative Minnie Gonzalez, who offered extensive floor objections on several judicial reappointments.
