Senate Government Operations committee votes 5-0 to report draft 1.1 of S.89

The Senate Committee on Government Operations voted 5-0 on March 12 to report draft 1.1 of S.89 favorably after legislative counsel summarized technical edits and clarified which employees the bill covers.

Legislative counsel Sophie Zadatni told the committee she prepared draft 1.1 as a scribe-rule amendment that removes the prior Section 1 (a provision identified in the transcript as “Jessica’s law”), renumbers the bill’s sections and clarifies applicability for classified family services employees in the Family Services Division of the Department for Children and Families and for classified medical employees working in state-operated therapeutic community or inpatient psychiatric hospital units. Counsel also said the bill’s effective date was set to July 1, 2026.

Committee member Sophie Zadatni moved to vote out draft 1.1 of S.89 favorably; the motion was seconded by the chair. The clerk called the roll and recorded affirmative votes from Senators Clarkson, Morley, Bechovsky, White and Kalama. The committee approved the motion by a 5-0 vote. Senator Bechovsky was assigned to report the bill.

After the vote, committee members discussed logistics for reporting and notice. The chair said staff would get the bill to Melissa for posting (targeted at about 4:15 p.m.) and that it would be on notice the following day; whether the bill goes directly to the floor on Tuesday depends on scheduling and the “props” process used for floor placement.

The committee’s vote reflects approval of the draft’s technical and scope changes as described by counsel. No amendments or dissents were recorded in the transcript; attendees in the room included staff flagged by the chair (Steve Howard and Tom Allen) to review drafting details. The next procedural step is for Senator Bechovsky to file the committee report and for staff to post the notice as discussed.

The committee adjourned its discussion of S.89 and moved on to other calendar items.