Editing Connecticut General Assembly (section)

==Committee system==
The General Assembly has 26 committees, all of which are joint committees; that is, their membership includes House and Senate members alike.  Several committees have [[subcommittee]]s, each with their own chair and special focus.

Before most bills are considered in either the House or Senate, they must first go through the committee system.  The primary exception to this rule is the [[emergency certification bill]], or "e-cert," which can be passed on the floor without going through committee first.  The e-cert is generally reserved for use during times of crisis, such as natural disasters or when deadlines are approaching too quickly to delay action.

===Permanent committees===
Most are permanent committees, which are authorized and required by state statute to be continued each session.

The twenty-seven permanent committees of the General Assembly are:
* Aging Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/age/ Aging Committee]</ref>
**Co-Chairs: [[Jan Hochadel]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]-[[Connecticut's 13th State Senate district|S13]]) and [[Jane Garibay]] (D-[[Connecticut's 60th House of Representatives district|60]])
**Vice Chairs: [[Patricia Billie Miller]] (D-[[Connecticut's 27th State Senate district|S27]]) and [[Mary Fortier]] (D-[[Connecticut's 79th House of Representatives district|79]])
**Ranking Members: [[Tony Hwang]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]-[[Connecticut's 28th State Senate district|S28]]) and [[Mitch Bolinsky]] (R-[[Connecticut's 106th House of Representatives district|106]])
* Appropriations Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/app/ Appropriations Committee]</ref>
**Co-Chairs: [[Catherine Osten]] (D-[[Connecticut's 19th State Senate district|S19]]) and [[Toni Walker]] (D-[[Connecticut's 93rd House of Representatives district|93]])
**Vice Chairs: [[Joan Hartley]] (D-[[Connecticut's 15th State Senate district|S15]]), [[Julie Kushner]] (D-[[Connecticut's 24th State Senate district|S24]]), [[Tammy Exum]] (D-[[Connecticut's 19th House of Representatives district|19]]), and [[Corey Paris]] (D-[[Connecticut's 145th House of Representatives district|145]])
**Ranking Members: [[Heather Somers]] (R-[[Connecticut's 18th State Senate district|S18]]) and [[Tammy Nuccio]] (R-[[Connecticut's 53rd House of Representatives district|53]])
* Banking Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/ba/ Banks Committee]</ref>
**Co-Chairs: [[Jason Doucette]] (D-[[Connecticut's 13th House of Representatives district|13]]) and [[Patricia Billie Miller]] (D-[[Connecticut's 27th State Senate district|S27]])
**Vice Chairs: [[Farley Santos]] (D-[[Connecticut's 109th House of Representatives district|109]]) and [[Paul Honig]] (D-[[Connecticut's 8th State Senate district|S8]])
**Ranking Members: [[Tom Delnicki]] (R-[[Connecticut's 14th House of Representatives district|14]]) and [[Eric Berthel]] (R-[[Connecticut's 32nd State Senate district|S32]])
* Children Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/KID/ Children Committee]</ref>
**Co-Chairs: [[Corey Paris]] (D-[[Connecticut's 145th House of Representatives district|145]]) and [[Ceci Maher]] (D-[[Connecticut's 26th State Senate district|S26]])
**Vice Chairs: [[Mary Welander]] (D-[[Connecticut's 114th House of Representatives district|114]]) and [[Christine Cohen]] (D-[[Connecticut's 12th State Senate district|S12]])
**Ranking Members: [[Anne Dauphinais]] (R-[[Connecticut's 44th House of Representatives district|44]]) and [[Henri Martin (American politician)|Henri Martin]] (R-[[Connecticut's 31st State Senate district|S31]])
* Commerce Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/ce/ Commerce Committee]</ref>
**Co-Chairs: [[Joan Hartley]] (D-[[Connecticut's 15th State Senate district|S15]]) and [[Stephen Meskers]] (D-[[Connecticut's 150th House of Representatives district|150]])
**Vice Chairs: [[MD Rahman]] (D-[[Connecticut's 4th State Senate district|S4]]) and [[Sarah Keitt]] (D-[[Connecticut's 134th House of Representatives district|134]])
**Ranking Members: [[Henri Martin (American politician)|Henri Martin]] (R-[[Connecticut's 31st State Senate district|S31]]) and [[Chris Aniskovich]] (R-[[Connecticut's 35th House of Representatives district|35]])
* Education Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/ED/ Education Committee]</ref> (K–12)
**Co-Chairs: [[Douglas McCrory]] (D-[[Connecticut's 2nd State Senate district|S2]]) and [[Jennifer Leeper]] (D-[[Connecticut's 132nd House of Representatives district|132]])
**Vice Chairs: [[Gary Winfield]] (D-[[Connecticut's 10th State Senate district|S10]]) and [[Kevin Brown (politician)|Kevin Brown]] (D-[[Connecticut's 56th House of Representatives district|56]])
**Ranking Members: [[Eric Berthel]] (R-[[Connecticut's 32nd State Senate district|S32]]) and [[Lezlye Zupkus]] (R-[[Connecticut's 89th House of Representatives district|89]])
* Energy and Technology Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/ET/ Energy and Technology Committee]</ref>
* Environment Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/ENV/ Environment Committee]</ref>
* Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/EXN/ Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee]</ref>
* Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/FIN/ Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee]</ref>
* General Law Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/GL/ General Law Committee]</ref>
* Government Administration and Elections Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/GAE/ Government Administration and Elections Committee]</ref>
* Government Oversight Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/GOS/ Government Oversight Committee]</ref>
* Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/HED/ Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee]</ref>
* Housing Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/HSG/ Housing Committee]</ref>
* Human Services Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/HS/ Human Services Committee]</ref>
* Insurance and Real Estate Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/INS/ Insurance and Real Estate Committee]</ref>
* Internship Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/ISC/ Internship Committee]</ref>
* Judiciary Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/JUD/ Judiciary Committee]</ref>
* Labor and Public Employees Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/LAB/ Labor and Public Employees Committee]</ref>
* Joint Committee on Legislative Management<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/LM/ Joint Committee on Legislative Management]</ref>
* Planning and Development Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/PD/ Planning and Development Committee]</ref>
* Public Health Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/PH/ Public Health Committee]</ref>
* Public Safety and Security Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/PS/ Public Safety and Security Committee]</ref>
* Regulation Review Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/RR/ Regulation Review Committee]</ref>
* Transportation Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/TRA/ Transportation Committee]</ref>
* Veterans' Affairs Committee<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/VA/ Veterans' Affairs Committee]</ref>

Of those, the Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee, Internship Committee, Joint Committee on Legislative Management, and Regulation Review Committee are considered bi-partisan and feature leadership from each party.

===Select committees===
Some committees are select committees, authorized to only function for a set number of years before being brought up for review.  Most select committees deal with issues of major importance during a particular time period and are created in response to specific problems facing the state. As of the 2025 legislative session, there is one active select committee, the Select Committee on Special Education.<ref>[http://www.cga.ct.gov/SED/ Select Committee on Special Education]</ref>

===Leadership and staff===
Most committee chair positions are held by the ruling party, but committees considered officially bi-partisan have chairs from both the Republican and Democratic [[caucus]]es.  Bi-partisan committees are ones that are mostly administrative in nature, such as the Legislative Internship Committee.  Most committees have [[ranking member]]s, or leaders from the minority party who serve as the leaders of their party on each committee.

All committees have their own staff members.  The four largest committees (Appropriations, Finance, Judiciary, and Public Health) are led by non-partisan senior committee administrators. The rest are led by a committee [[clerk (position)|clerk]] appointed by the majority party. The majority and minority party appoint assistant clerks.

Each committee is assigned additional non-partisan staffers from the Office of Legislative Research, the Office of Fiscal Analysis, and the Legislative Commissioners' Office who, respectively, research legislation and issues, assess fiscal impacts, and draft legislation.