Connecticut: "Ballistics Fingerprinting Bill Dies In Waning Moments Of Session"

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from The Day

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Ballistics Fingerprinting Bill Dies In Waning Moments Of Session

By MICHAEL COSTANZA
Day Staff Writer
Published on 6/6/2003

Hartford –– A proposal to study the creation of a ballistics-fingerprinting database for new handguns died in the final hours of Connecticut's 2003 legislative session Wednesday.

The Senate approved the measure last week, but the House of Representatives never called the bill for a vote before lawmakers adjourned at midnight. Gun-control advocates argued that a database could help police solve crimes by making it easier to trace guns to their original buyers, but gun rights groups and some forensics experts have questioned whether the technology works.

Their criticisms forced lawmakers to abandon a proposal earlier in the session that called for Connecticut to create a database with Massachusetts. The revised bill instead called for the state police, the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association and the office of the chief state's attorney to complete a feasibility study by next February.

But pro-gun lawmakers had prepared amendments to make it easier for people to obtain handgun permits, and House leaders never called the bill.

“There were no gun bills passed (this year) –– nothing good, nothing bad, but that's a win for us,†said Robert Crook, executive director of the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen. While the ballistics-database bill failed, so did the coalition's proposal to require Connecticut to honor handgun permits from other states.

Lawmakers also dismissed proposals to set uniform criteria for local police chiefs to consider when reviewing applications for handgun permits, and to allow people convicted of certain misdemeanors to obtain permits to carry handguns again five years after their convictions. The sportsmen's group has complained that chiefs often use different criteria from town to town, and that current law forbids those convicted of misdemeanors from ever obtaining permits.

High school games of chance

The General Assembly failed to act on a proposal to let high school students play bingo, raffles and other games of chance at all-night, alcohol-free prom and graduation parties. The legislation had ignited debate during the session because of fears that it could undermine the state's legal efforts to control casino gambling.

The Senate voted in April to let schools host games of chances for this spring and summer only, but the House never took up the Senate's amended version of the bill.

State Rep. Claire Janowski, D-Vernon, a chief sponsor of the proposal, said Thursday that she hopes to try again next year.

For years, high schools had obtained permits under Connecticut's Las Vegas Nights law to let students play games such as roulette with fake money at the annual parties, but lawmakers banned casino-style games when they repealed the Vegas Nights law in January.

After some school groups complained, legislators sought to include high schools under a separate law that allows various nonprofit groups to obtain “bazaar permits†for such games as bingo, knock-a-block and raffles.

An unusual alliance of gambling opponents and pro-casino lawmakers worked to defeat the legislation, however. Minority lawmakers who had opposed the Vegas Nights repeal, which they said smacked of racism against American Indian tribes, accused their colleagues of hypocrisy for trying to let students attend gambling events, even with fake money.

Bingo and keno

State lawmakers ignored a proposal to allow keno and high-stakes bingo games at Plainfield Greyhound Park.

State Rep. Michael Caron, R-Danielson, introduced the legislation early in the session, but it never made it out of committee and onto the House's “go list,†he said. Caron also tried unsuccessfully to amend another bill to allow bingo games at the track.

Under his proposal, the games would have been taxed to raise money for the Northeast Connecticut Economic Alliance, which offers loans and other help to small businesses in Windham and Tolland counties. Caron hoped to set aside a certain number of days each year for veterans and nonprofit groups to operate high-stakes bingo games at the track.

The bill would have applied to dog tracks in Plainfield and Bridgeport and off-track betting locations. High-stakes bingo is now allowed only on American Indian reservations, including southeastern Connecticut's casinos.

Animal-rights activists complained that the state should not help attract more gamblers to the dog tracks, which they claim exploit greyhounds. The state's Division of Special Revenue warned that allowing bingo at the tracks would qualify as an expansion of commercial gaming and require new laws regarding licensing, prize limits, taxes and other issues. They also warned that the games would hurt churches, volunteer fire departments, and non-profit groups that already host charitable bingo games.

Tax breaks for farmers

The General Assembly approved legislation to give towns the right to offer property-tax exemptions to farmers, sending the measure to Gov. John G. Rowland for his signature.

Sponsored by state Rep. Steven Mikutel, D-Griswold, the bill would allow tax exemptions on barns, greenhouses and other actively used farm buildings of assessed value up to $100,000. The exemptions would not apply to farmer's homes.

Supporters, including the Connecticut Farmland Trust, hope the tax breaks will help farmers stay in business and avoid selling their land to developers. The trust estimates that the state is losing roughly 9,000 acres of farmland a year. According to the state Department of Agriculture, New London County had 157 dairy farms in 1978 but only 39 in July 2001.

Mikutel said towns can save money in the long run by preserving farmland and open space. If the land is developed, on the other hand, towns typically end up spending more on education and services for the families who move into the new neighborhoods.

Puppets

The General Assembly approved legislation to designate the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut as the state's official museum of puppetry. The recognition should help the museum obtain more federal grants and lend the prestige needed to raise more private donations.

State Sen. Catherine Cook, R-Mystic, brought some of the museum's puppets into the Senate chamber recently in an effort to draw attention to the bill, which lawmakers approved in the final minutes of the 2003 session. One of the puppets sat on the dais in the Hall of the House as Gov. John G. Rowland delivered a midnight speech to legislators after the session adjourned Wednesday.

Cook said she also hoped to honor work of the late state Rep. Rufus Rose of Waterford, the puppeteer who brought Howdy Doody to life on television through the 1950s. “It's historic and kind of fun that one of our former legislators, a local guy, was a famous puppeteer,†Cook said.

Rose twice performed skits with puppets on the last night of the legislative session during his term in Hartford. The representative, who served from 1963 to 1974, made portrait puppets of many of the legislative leaders and other political figures during that time and spoofed them in his skits.

Besides Cook, Sen. Melodie Peters, D-Waterford, and Reps. Lenny Winkler, R-Groton; Gary Orefice, D-Niantic; and Linda Orange, D-Colchester, were co-sponsors of the museum bill.

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