1. Introduction of the Bill: An idea must be introduced by legislators or committees as a bill. Citizens can ask their state senator or representative to introduce legislation. There are different types of bills: - Proposed Bills: Introduced by individual legislators. - Committee Bills: Proposed by committees after screening. - Raised Bills: Developed by committee leadership and drafted in formal statutory language. - Governor's Bills: Usually budget-related and submitted by the Governor. 2. Filing Deadlines: - Proposed bills have an early session deadline, about two weeks after the session starts. - Raised bills have later deadlines. 3. Public Hearings: Committees must hold a public hearing before reporting a bill favorably (known as “Joint Favorable Report” or JF). During the hearing, public members, state agencies, representatives, and legislators can testify. 4. Committee Review: After a bill receives a JF, it goes to the chamber of the bill's author for a vote without further committee review. The Legislative Commission Office (LCO) prepares the final text, fiscal notes, and analysis. 5. Voting in Both Houses: Once a bill passes both the House of Representatives and the Senate, it becomes a public act. 6. Becoming Law: A public act becomes a law when either the Governor signs it or a certain period passes without his signature. If the Governor vetoes the bill, a 2/3 majority of the full legislature must vote to pass it.

A member of the public can get involved in the legislative process in Connecticut by following these steps: 1. Contact a Legislator: If a citizen has an idea for legislation, they should reach out to their state senator or representative and ask them to introduce a bill. 2. Participate in Public Hearings: Attend public hearings related to proposed bills. Citizens can testify during these hearings, providing their opinion and input on the legislation being considered. To testify, individuals need to sign up and typically wait for their turn, as well as prepare and bring copies of their written testimony. 3. Stay Informed: Keep updated on the legislative process and the status of bills through a bill tracking service, where details about bills, public hearings, and other legislative activities are available. 4. Follow Committee Actions: Citizens can monitor the actions of legislative committees since favorable reports from these committees can significantly influence whether a bill proceeds for a vote in the General Assembly. 5. Advocate for Issues: Engage in advocacy by communicating with legislators, joining advocacy groups, or participating in community events that focus on legislative issues of interest.

Tracking bills is hard, especially if you rely on state legislature websites, which are often hard to navigate. Thousands of bills get filed in Connecticut every year (and about 180,000 bills nationwide). If you want to be an effective advocate, you need to know where legislation of interest stands, and act quickly.

FastDemocracy's free version allows you to track an unlimited number of bills - no strings attached. We'll send you a daily or weekly email on your priority bills and give you tools to research bills and legislators.

FastDemocracy Professional is for anyone who tracks bills in a professional capacity. It features

• real-time bill, amendment and hearing alerts
• automated reporting
• team collaboration
• bill tagging for clients and stakeholders
• bill similarity detection
• ...and much more

1. Sign up here for a free FastDemocracy account.

2. Head to Tracked Topics to select issue areas you care about.

3. Use the search bar on top if you're looking for something specific.

4. Click "Track Bill" for any legislation you'd like to monitor a bit closer. That's how you add it to your Tracked Bills. You can also click on a bill to learn more, see the bill summary, most recent actions, votes, news and tweets. You can also contact legislators or share your bills on social media.

5. You can track an unlimited number of bills for free and we'll send you a daily or weekly email if your tracked legislation moves.

6. Do you need real-time alerts, outreach tools, bill lists, and professional functions? Then FastDemocracy Professional is the right fit for you.

7. Track bills on your smartphone using our free mobile app.

You can use the Find Your Legislators tool to find them, see their voting records, and contact them.