Connecticut House passes broad criminal-justice bill after heated debate over Trust Act changes

The Connecticut House passed H.B. 7259 on Monday after an hours-long floor debate that centered on revisions to the state—onnecticut Trust Act and related criminal-code provisions. The bill, as amended, advanced on a roll-call vote of 96 to 51.

Supporters said the package modernizes several criminal statutes and preserves protections for immigrant victims of crime while carving out narrow exceptions for serious convictions. Representative Staffstrom, the bill's House proponent, said the measure balances public safety with due process: "What this bill seeks to do is to make sure that those who do commit these certain crimes ... are prosecuted for that and serves their sentence," he said during the floor summary.

Opponents focused most of their criticism on changes to the Trust Act, arguing that the bill extends the statute's bar on communication between local police and federal immigration authorities to additional categories of officials and only permits cooperation in limited circumstances. Representative Fishbein, a leading critic, said the measure "precludes local law enforcement" from communicating with federal authorities in many situations and warned that the changes make the state less safe: "I don't feel safer," he…