Reapportionment Committee schedules September public hearings and outlines data access, safety rules

The Reapportionment Committee on Tuesday announced a set of public hearings in September to gather input for redistricting, clarified the hearing dates and venues, and outlined when the public can expect to access official and revised data.

Senator Kelly, chairing the organizational meeting, called the process "something that we do only once every 10 years" and said the committee and nonpartisan staff would work to ensure a robust public record before the constitutional deadline of Sept. 15. Representative Haddad, who led the schedule and outreach discussion, said the committee would accept in‑person and virtual testimony and encouraged people to submit maps drawn with public tools.

Why it matters: The committee must compile public input and data to inform the commission that will draw final districts. Committee members repeatedly emphasized that delays in Census releases compressed the timetable this cycle and that the committee wants clear, documented public submissions to inform the commission's work.

What the committee announced: Representative Haddad initially set a four‑hearing plan covering southeastern, north‑central and southwestern parts of the state plus one virtual session. Senator Kelly corrected a misspeaking during the meeting: the Legislative Office Building hearing in Hartford will be Sept. 8 at 7 p.m., Norwich will be Sept. 9 at 1 p.m., a final Fairfield County hearing is scheduled for Sept. 13 (location tentative — Shelton or Norwalk at 10 a.m.), and a virtual hearing is set for Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. The committee plans to post final details and any changes on its website.

Data and technical resources: Committee staff said they have already posted a decade of election data, links to Census TIGER and shapefiles, and will post additional user‑friendly Census products when available (a Census announcement referenced Sept. 16 for more accessible files). Staff told the committee they are coordinating with the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) on revised prison‑count adjustments (often called prison‑gerrymandering adjustments); OPM has indicated it will deliver those revised figures to the committee by the end of the week, after which the committee will post the data for public download.

Representative Haddad encouraged the public to use third‑party mapping tools — cited in the meeting as "dave's redistricting dot org" and "Districtor" — to draw maps and submit them to the committee as part of the public record.

Operational details and public safety: Committee members asked about hearing protocols. Staff said venue rules (for example, Norwich town hall requires the hearing to end by 4:30 p.m.) will govern scheduling; masking requirements and social‑distancing measures will be specified in each public notice. The committee requested that members limit questioning during initial testimony so that the largest possible number of speakers can be heard within venue limits.

Broadcasting and public record: Members raised concerns that CTN and YouTube had not picked up the live stream earlier in the day; nonpartisan staff confirmed the meeting was being recorded and that the video would be uploaded to the committee's YouTube channel and made accessible to CTN and the public shortly after the meeting.

What happens next: Staff will finalize the Sept. 13 Fairfield County location and post all hearing notices, masking rules, and instructions for submitting testimony and mapped proposals on the committee website. The committee said it will accept written materials before and after hearings for the public record.

Representative Haddad said staff and committee leaders will coordinate media advisories and social media outreach to alert the public to the hearings and submission procedures. The meeting adjourned after members thanked staff for their work in lining up venues and addressing the accelerated timeline.