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Disability advocacy group urges funding boost for attorney general to backstop federal civil-rights enforcement
Summary
The executive director of the Connecticut Council on Developmental Disabilities told appropriators the state should prepare the Attorney General’s Office to take on civil-rights enforcement for people with disabilities if federal enforcement recedes.
The executive director of the Connecticut Council on Developmental Disabilities asked the Appropriations Committee to ensure the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General has resources to enforce civil-rights protections should federal enforcement decline.
Walter Glaum, executive director of the Connecticut Council on Developmental Disabilities, told the committee he is “concerned that going forward, we will not be able to rely on the U.S. Attorney to enforce civil rights laws for people with disabilities or other protected classes.” He said that historically the U.S. Attorney has played a role in civil-rights enforcement and that if that role diminishes the state will need to be prepared.
Glaum said he is “heartened by statements” from the governor and the attorney general that they intend to continue protecting residents’ rights but added that the Attorney General’s Office will need additional staff and resources to fulfill that role. He said he will return to testify on related budget items concerning the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and other offices.
No appropriation or specific staff-count request was presented in the testimony; Glaum urged the committee to provide resources to the Attorney General’s Office as part of the budget process.
