June 9, 2020 Speaker Joe Aresimowicz Legislative Office Building 300 Capitol Avenue Hartford, CT 06106 Room: 4105 Senator Martin Looney Legislative Office Building 300 Capitol Avenue Hartford, CT 06106 Room: 3300 House Majority Leader Matt Ritter Legislative Office Building 300 Capitol Avenue Hartford, CT 06106 Room: 4106 Senator Bob Duff Legislative Office Building 300 Capitol Avenue Hartford, CT 06106 Room: 3300 Representative Themis Klarides Legislative Office Building 300 Capitol Avenue Hartford, CT 06106 Room: 4200 Senator Len Fasano Legislative Office Building 300 Capitol Avenue Hartford, CT 06106 Room: 3402 Dear Legislative Leaders: I write to inform you that I intend to call the legislature into special session very soon to resolve the issue of absentee ballots in the November general election and take immediate action on police accountability and transparency in the wake of the tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last month. On the issue of absentee ballots for the November general election, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill needs to undertake a number of measures in short order to ensure expanded absentee balloting can be done in a secure and orderly manner in November. She cannot do so responsibly without legislation that closely mirrors the recent Executive Order I issued for the August primary. Because my emergency powers are currently set to expire on September 9, I am unable to resolve the absentee balloting issue for the November general election through an Executive Order at this time. In addition, the recent events in Minneapolis and the public outcry over similar events throughout the country require us to seize this moment and work together now to enact measures that will ensure our communities of color feel safe and have confidence that law enforcement and our criminal justice system as a whole treat all of our citizens fairly and equally. Both of these issues must be addressed together quickly, and preferably, in a bipartisan manner in a special session. To that end, I have directed my Chief of Staff to contact each of you immediately to commence discussions that will result in proposed legislation that I am hopeful all of us can support. Once we have agreed upon a package that has sufficient support in both chambers, I will issue a call for a special session that is tailored to specifically address that legislation. I will not issue a call for a special session until or unless that happens, however. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for us to act quickly and with focus on the issues I have identified. Let’s work together now on the urgent issues the public expects us to address. Thank you, Ned Lamont Governor