The Commerce Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly convened for an organizational meeting during which members introduced themselves, outlined priorities for the 2025 session and set a tentative schedule for hearings and a manufacturing caucus.

The committee co-chair, Representative Meskers, said he was "looking forward to the work of the committee" and signaled that members would use hearings to surface concepts and proposals from agencies and industry groups. Representative Meskers added the committee will take "logistic hearings on subject matter to see if there's the meat and potatoes for, reasonable bills for reforms."

Committee members and staff described economic development, manufacturing policy and remediation of contaminated properties as top items for the session. The chair, Representative Muscar, noted the committee's past work establishing the Office of the Chief Manufacturing Officer and said that role helped the state respond during the pandemic. Muscar also highlighted reformed funding for the Community Economic Development Fund and increased brownfield remediation funds enacted in recent sessions as work the committee will continue to track.

Members repeatedly cited the Transfer Act as an ongoing priority. The committee discussed the state's move toward a "release based" approach to handling hazardous properties, a shift Muscar said began in this committee and now appears in the governor's package and before the Environment Committee. Muscar described the Transfer Act work as long running, saying the issue has been before the state for decades and that the committee needs to "keep our arms around" the transition.

Several members emphasized manufacturing and repurposing large vacant retail spaces. Representative Kara Rochelle said she was "really focused and excited to work on additional policies regarding manufacturing" and on strategies for repurposing big-box stores in economically distressed communities. Senator Needleman, who identified himself as the owner of a manufacturing company in his district, said his background made the committee's manufacturing work "personal," and Representative McGourty noted the presence of large manufacturers such as Sikorsky in his district.

The committee also announced plans to form a Manufacturing Caucus that will be open to all lawmakers; the chairs said the caucus would likely meet during the committee's regular days (typically Tuesday and Thursday) and that staff would circulate notices. The next scheduled Commerce Committee meeting was identified as Tuesday the 14th; Patricia Kramer, the committee clerk, will issue formal notices for future meetings.

Brie Wolf was introduced as the new liaison from the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD); she will succeed Katie Stark Under as the department contact for the committee. Committee staff and outside counsel attending included Patricia Kramer (clerk), Ashley Redding (Senate Democratic staff), Joe Brennan Riley and visiting staff Nick Panzarella.

There were no formal legislative votes on bills during the meeting. The only formal action recorded was a motion to adjourn, which was moved and seconded and carried without roll-call. The committee closed after no additional matters were raised.

The meeting mounted organizational groundwork rather than substantive bill debate; members said forthcoming hearings will flesh out specific legislative proposals and funding requests.