Connecticut Homeschool Network believes that an integral part of
homeschooling is to know and understand your legal rights. Connecticut
homeschoolers are fortunate to live in a homeschool friendly state that
supports the rights of parents to educate their children. It is imperative
that each and every one of us understands the legislative process and the
statutes that affect our lives.
Connecticut's Government
Communicating With Your Elected Officials; Federal, State and Local
Who Your Elected
Officials Are
When Visiting the State Capitol
Becomes Necessary
Connecticut's Government
State government in Connecticut has three branches: executive, legislative
and judicial.
Voters elect six state officers: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of
State, Treasurer, Comptroller and Attorney General. All have four year
terms. Connecticut voters also elect two U.S. Senators and five U.S.
Representatives.
The General Assembly or legislature has a Senate and a House of
Representatives. Members of both houses represent districts based strictly
on population. Currently, there are 36 state senators and 151 state
representatives.
The Judicial Department is composed of the Superior, Appellate and Supreme
courts. Except for probate judges, who are elected by the voters of the town
or district they serve, all judges are nominated by the governor and
appointed by the General Assembly.
Connecticut has no county government. Below the state level, governing units
are either cities or towns. Your local school superintendents fall within
this category.
The Connecticut General Assembly
web site contains a step-by-step description of
How a Bill
Becomes a Law in Connecticut.
The
Enactment of
Bills can be found on the web site for the
Office of the Clerk of the House.
Communicating With Your Elected Officials; Federal, State and Local
Plenty of Connecticut homeschoolers have found that their Connecticut
Legislators are quite approachable people and have an open ear on homeschool
issues. Not all of them, but plenty of them. Furthermore, many of them have
offered their own helpful suggestions and advice about ensuring ways to keep
our homeschool freedoms intact. At several Legislative Breakfasts hosted by
CHN, homeschoolers received a positive response, and had productive, cordial
and informative conversations with the legislators. They were very happy to
see us, hear our voices, and asked that we return again.
Your opinion is important to elected officials and can influence their
votes. You can communicate with them by letter, e-mail, telephone, FAX, or a
personal visit.
- Be brief and to the point; discuss only one or two issues.
- Write to each legislator individually and use your own words.
- Identify legislation by number or title, if possible. If you know the
number, author or subject of a bill, a phone call to Hartford, (860)
240-0555, will get you information on bill status in minutes or visit the
CT General Assembly
website and click on Search.
- Influence legislative committees by testifying at their public
hearings on proposed bills.
- Write notes of appreciation to your legislators when appropriate.
Elected representatives typically hear from people who are against
something; this gives them a one-sided picture.
- Send a copy of your letter to your local newspaper to build local
support for an issue.
More information can be found at
League of Women Voters of Connecticut (pdf)
Who Your Elected Officials Are
Connecticut Governor
Connecticut Representatives
Connecticut Education
Committee
United States Representatives
United States Senators
Visiting the State Capitol
Directions to the State Capitol
A Guide to Testifying at
Hearings (doc)
Joining
the Debate: A Guide to Testifying at Hearings (a 13 minute video)
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