Rep. Anne Dauphinais

Maddy summaryHB 5336 prohibits courts from interfering with parental decisions regarding a minor's upbringing based on biological sex, bans physicians from providing gender-related medical treatments (including hormones or puberty blockers) to minors, and requires parental consent for gender-transition-related mental health care for minors. The bill also prohibits Medicaid coverage for gender transition surgeries and mandates that schools and colleges maintain separate athletic teams based on biological sex. It directly affects minors, parents, healthcare providers, schools, and Medicaid recipients. The law aims to restrict medical interventions for minors and enforce sex-segregated sports participation.

Maddy summaryHB 5313 protects students' rights to free speech, assembly, and press in public schools, colleges, and universities across the state. It ensures students cannot be penalized for expressing religious or political views - unless the speech is obscene (for minors), libelous, slanderous, or creates a clear and present danger of unlawful acts or school disruption. The bill amends statutes 10 and 10a to establish these protections, explicitly limiting exceptions to the specified categories. This directly affects all students in public educational institutions by clarifying their rights to express viewpoints without discrimination based on content. The law focuses on concrete policy changes, not outcomes or political advocacy.

Maddy summaryHB 5315 requires Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to study the state's black bear population annually, ban unintentional feeding of bears, educate the public on preventing human-bear conflicts, and establish regional hunting seasons to maintain bear numbers within natural limits. The bill directly affects residents (through feeding restrictions and public education) and hunters (via regulated hunting seasons). Key provisions include mandatory population studies, a public feeding prohibition, and region-specific hunting seasons to balance bear populations with ecological and community safety. The goal is to maintain a healthy bear population while minimizing conflicts with humans.

Maddy summaryHB 5314 would allow school districts to choose not to follow the Common Core State Standards for their curriculum. It amends state law to permit local school boards to adopt alternative standards instead. The bill directly affects public school districts by giving them legal authority to develop their own curriculum frameworks. This is a procedural change that modifies existing statutes to enable district-level curriculum decisions. The policy change is limited to permitting opt-outs without requiring districts to adopt specific alternative standards.

Maddy summaryHB 5351 establishes a working group to study the costs to Connecticut state and local governments for providing specific services to undocumented immigrants, including education, language courses, and Medicaid. The bill does not change existing policies but directs the group to gather data on these expenses. It is a procedural measure focused solely on research, not on altering service access or funding. The working group will report findings to the legislature, with no immediate policy changes proposed.

Maddy summaryHB 5342 requires healthcare providers to notify a minor's parent or guardian before providing medical or mental health services to the minor. The bill directly affects minors receiving such care and their parents/guardians, mandating prior notification as a standard practice. It includes a specific exception for pregnancy termination, allowing minors to seek court approval for the procedure while maintaining anonymity and ensuring timely processing. This legislation aims to establish a notification requirement for routine care, with a streamlined court process for pregnancy-related decisions. The bill does not alter existing abortion access laws but specifies procedural steps for minors seeking pregnancy termination without parental involvement.

Maddy summaryHB 5343 requires healthcare providers to notify a minor's parent or guardian before performing an abortion on the minor. The bill directly affects minors seeking abortion services, with an exception allowing a court to approve the procedure without notification if the minor's anonymity is protected and the process is expedited. Key provisions mandate parental notification as the standard, but permit judicial bypass through a confidential court process. The stated purpose is to protect minors' best interests during unplanned pregnancies. This bill amends general statutes to establish this notification requirement.

Maddy summaryHB 5344 would amend state law to allow students to be exempt from school vaccine requirements based on moral or philosophical objections, in addition to existing medical exemptions. This directly affects students enrolled in public and private schools who would no longer need medical documentation to avoid required vaccinations. The bill specifically adds "moral or philosophical objection" as a statutory exemption category under existing immunization rules (section 10-204a). It does not change medical exemption processes or requirements for students with health conditions. The change would apply uniformly across all schools in the state.

Maddy summaryHB 5340 prohibits the state government and its employees from requiring individuals to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. The bill directly affects state agencies, public health programs, and any state-mandated vaccination policies. It amends state statutes to explicitly ban the state from enforcing such mandates, covering all state entities and their employees. The law focuses solely on preventing state-level vaccination requirements, with no provisions affecting private businesses or individual choices. This is a straightforward prohibition with no additional mechanisms or exceptions outlined in the bill text.

Maddy summaryHB 5356 would end the requirement for the state to follow California's vehicle emission standards and instead mandate that all vehicle emission standards align with those set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This bill directly affects the state's regulatory approach to vehicle emissions, impacting car manufacturers selling in the state and the state's environmental compliance framework. The key provision repeals the existing law requiring adherence to California standards and substitutes it with EPA standards as the baseline. This change would simplify compliance for automakers operating in the state but shifts oversight from California's more stringent rules to federal standards.