CT laws taking effect July 1: School lessons, e-books, budget

The House of Representatives in session on February 24, 2025, at the state Capitol in Hartford.
Credit: Shahrzad Rasekh / CT Mirror
The House of Representatives in session on February 24, 2025, at the state Capitol in Hartford.
Over six dozen Connecticut laws, including the state’s next budget and bond package, will wholly or partially take effect on July 1.
Here’s a look at some of the dozens of laws that will be implemented next month.
New biennial budget
Now with Gov. Ned Lamont’s signature, Connecticut’s next biennial state budget will take effect at the beginning of the state’s next fiscal year, which is July 1.
The budget prioritizes children, would boost funds for nonprofit social service agencies two years from now, and would increase taxes on corporations. It also dramatically scales back a pledged boost to health care providers who treat the poor and relies on accounting maneuvers to comply with the state’s constitutional spending cap.
$9.7B bond package
A $9.7B bond package to finance school construction, transportation upgrades and other capital projects for the next two fiscal years will take effect on July 1.
The borrowing plan would expand non-education aid for cities and towns, increase affordable housing and combat homelessness, bolster security at places of worship and support construction and renovation of child care facilities.
It recommends new capital investments in higher education — including $5 million to advance the planned renovation of Gampel Pavilion at the University of Connecticut — and a new $60 million program to help K-12 school districts fund small-scale renovation projects.
Education requirements in public schools
Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, Connecticut public schools will be required to add two units to their social studies curriculum: Asian American and Pacific Islander history and civics and media literacy.
The AAPI studies provision, part of a bill that lawmakers passed in 2022, requires schools to teach the history of Asian American and Pacific Islanders in the state, region and country, including the contributions of AAPI individuals and communities to the United States’ arts, sciences, government, economy and civil rights advancements.
A separate law that passed in 2023 requires the civics and media literacy lessons. Civics is defined in the bill as “the study of the rights and obligations of citizens” and media literacy will cover the role of all forms of media in society and how to use, evaluate and analyze the media that a person consumes or creates.
Absentee ballot drop box recordings
As of July 1, municipalities are required to have implemented video recording technology, complete with date and time evidence, at each of their absentee ballot drop boxes. They will be required to start recording the boxes on the first day absentee ballots are issued for an election or primary and continue recording until the town clerk retrieves the last ballots.
The law also requires that the recordings be made available to the public as soon as possible — and no later than five days after the town clerk’s last ballot retrieval — and that they keep the recordings for at least a year.
Legislators approved that requirement in the wake of an absentee ballot abuse scandal in Bridgeport, where a court ordered a re-do of the city’s 2023 Democratic primary after a video surfaced of Democratic Town Committee vice chairwoman Wanda Geter-Pataky appearing to place multiple absentee ballots into a Bridgeport absentee ballot drop box.
Five people, including Geter-Pataky and three Bridgeport council members, have been charged with election-related crimes as part of a sprawling investigation into that primary.
Limits on library e-book contracts
This year, lawmakers gave full passage to a bill designed to address the high costs libraries incur when buying electronic and audiobooks by banning them from entering into contracts with e-book publishers that contain terms that some lawmakers call restrictive.
E-book contracts for libraries often come with terms that mean the library has to re-purchase the book after it’s been borrowed 26 times or every couple of years, whichever comes first. The law prohibits libraries from contracting with publishers that place simultaneous restrictions on the loan period of an e-book and the number of times people can borrow it.
Though the law takes effect on July 1, it will only be implemented if one or more states with a total or combined population of 7 million enact similar laws, and mandates that the state librarian check quarterly whether any other states have passed a similar law.
While playing outside in the early post-pandemic days, Berkshire Busk! founder Eugene Carr had an epiphany: why not expand the idea of performing on the street (aka busking)into a full-fledged festival in Great Barrington?
As an entrepreneur and cellist, Carr envisioned a well-organized jamboree featuring regional talent, including musicians, acrobats, storytellers, fire-eaters, and more. He formed a team, connected with local businesses and the town of Great Barrington, and launched Berkshire Busk! in 2021. Since then, Berkshire Busk! has grown into a summer staple for Great Barrington.
In the summer of 2024, over 25,000 people experienced Berkshire Busk!. The festival is free to the public, provides a big boost to local businesses, and spectators can tip performers.
Busking takes place all over the world, either organized by individual performers or via busking festivals. Artists like The Roots, Tracy Chapman, Phoebe Bridgers, and Old Crow Medicine Show have all cut their teeth performing on the street.
General Manager Carli Scolforo is a Berkshire native with a love of music and writing. She can often be seen roaming the streets of Great Barrington, making sure everything’s in order, and serves as the festival’s face on social media.
“This year is the fifth anniversary of Berkshire Busk!, and it’s been an amazing summer,” said Scolforo. “We were able to welcome back a lot of our favorite performers, and bring in some new experiences as well. After getting rained out last year, we were able to host our first outdoor movie night in partnership with The Triplex Cinema and the Boondocks Film Society.”
Scolforo added, “This summer, we also introduced our first Open Mic Night, hosted by local recording artist and music producer Jackson Whalan. We were really pleased with the turnout of talent. The sheer amount of talent that’s hidden within an hour or so drive of Great Barrington always astounds us.”
Local businesses sponsor various busking spots, like the Berkshire Money Management Stage in the parking lot between the Triplex Cinema and Mama Lo’s BBQ. Typically, buskers bring their own amplification, while there are few spots — such as Berkshire Mountain Distillery in Sheffield — provide power.
Berkshire Busk! will end its season with a fireworks display on its last night on Saturday, Aug. 30.
Berkshire Busk! is endorsed by the Select Board of the Town of Great Barrington and is entirely supported by sponsorship fees from companies and organizations, as well as philanthropic donations from granting organizations, individuals and the Town of Great Barrington.
It operates under a fiscal sponsorship agreement with the Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires and participates in Mass Cultural Council’s Card to Culture program — in collaboration with the Department of Transitional Assistance, the Department of Public Health’s WIC Nutrition Program, the Massachusetts Health Connector, and hundreds of organizations — by making cultural programming accessible to those for whom cost is a participation barrier.
For more information, visit: berkshirebusk.com
What if the dog onstage was played by a person? That’s the delightful twist in A.R. Gurney’s “Sylvia,” opening at the Sharon Playhouse on Aug. 29. In this clever and heartfelt comedy, the title character — a stray pup who disrupts the lives of a married couple — is portrayed not in costume but by an actor who brings insight, charm, and chaos to the role.
Stepping into Sylvia’s paws is Jen Cody, who is returning to the Sharon Playhouse in a starring role for her third year in a row, ready to bring this spirited dog to life. She’s joined by Jonathan Walker as Greg, the middle-aged man smitten with his new four-legged friend, and Jennifer Van Dyck as Kate, his wife, whose patience and identity are tested by Sylvia’s sudden presence in their home.
Directed by Colin Hanlon, this production balances elements of comedy and emotional depth. Gurney’s script may be filled with laughs but at its core, “Sylvia” explores loyalty, companionship, and how love sometimes arrives in unexpected forms. The play premiered Off-Broadway in 1995 and has since become an audience favorite for its wit, warmth, and originality.
Rounding out the cast is Sienna Brann, taking on a trio of roles that highlight the play’s comic versatility. The design team includes Christopher and Justin Swader (scenic), Kathleen DeAngelis (costumes), Bobbie Zlotnik (wigs), Wheeler Moon (lighting), and Graham Stone (sound), ensuring the story is grounded in a fully realized world, albeit one occasionally seen from a dog’s point of view.
Performances run through Sept. 7 at the Sharon Playhouse. For tickets and more information, visit sharonplayhouse.org.
Paul Chaleff’s exhibit at Mad Rose Gallery in Millerton.
The unofficial end of summer is here, and while some of us may mourn the shortening days and cooler nights, the culturally-inclined denizens of the Litchfield Hills, Berkshires and Taconics have plenty to look forward to.
During Labor Day weekend, visit one of the offerings below, and maybe even take home a watercolor, rug, or locally-crafted wooden bowl to ready your home for the indoor season ahead.
Kick off the weekend with libations and bites from legendary New York City importer Rosenthal Wine Merchant at Mad Rose Gallery (5916 North Elm Ave., Millerton). The evening will mark the end of Paul Chaleff’s ceramics exhibition, which closes at the end of the weekend. Ashley Gilbertson and Franco Pagetti’s photography exhibition “Fragments in Time,” which has been extended through Sept. 21, will also be on display.RSVP by emailing info@madrosegallery.com.
Head to the Cornwall Library (30 Pine St., Cornwall) for its seventh annual weekend-long Art Sale, and peruse an endless supply of prints, posters, watercolors, photos, paintings and more, with price tags ranging from a very reasonable $20 to much greater sums.
The Library has announced that this year’s selection will “run the gamut from the antique to the contemporary, from the jazzy and colorful to the classic black and white, from realistic to abstract.” Thanks to generous donors, the sale will feature works from notable artists such as Amedeo Modigliani, Enrique Chagoya, Marc Simont, Leonard Baskin, Ruth Gannett, Robert Andrew Parker, Nicole Eisenman, R. H. Quaytman, and others, as well as a special exhibition of vintage photos, paintings and posters from late artist Duncan Hannah.
For more information and hours, visit cornwalllibrary.org/labor-day-art-sale/.
Visit the Barn at the Pine Plains location of beloved antiques and décor purveyor Hammertown (3201 NY-199, Pine Plains) and find the coffee table of your vintage dreams this weekend. Up to 75% off home goods and furniture of all kinds will be available.
This year’s iteration of the biannual tent sale features a “Makers Market” with local artisans, craftspeople and food vendors.
Visit https://shop.hammertown.com/blogs/journal/hammertown-labor-day-tent-sale for additional details and hours.
The Berkshire Woodworkers Guild, a coalition of local woodworkers that supports the local industry and its craftspeople, is hosting its 25th Fine Woodwork Show at the Berkshire Botanical Garden (5 West Stockbridge Rd., Stockbridge) this weekend. Attendees will have the chance to watch 32 masters from around the Tri-Corner region demonstrate their trades, from woodturning and Chinese joinery to boat building and French polishing.
The event will also announce the allocation of $32,000 from its scholarship fund to support 9 aspiring woodworkers, and host a silent auction of guild member-crafted pieces to support next year’s fund. Works from the artisans will also be available for viewing and sale.
Pittsfield, Massachusetts’ Hot Plate Brewing will provide frothy, local ales for swilling, while SoCo Creamery of Great Barrington will be pedaling its handcrafted ice cream for sweeter options for the whole family. Great Cape Baking Co., from Dover Plains will offer a full breakfast and lunch menu, including donuts, while Pleasant & Main from Housatonic will be providing the caffeine and crepes.Further details can be found at berkshirewoodworkers.org.
Artists across Cornwall will fling open their studio and gallery doors to welcome Labor Day culture ramblers on Saturday afternoon. An eclectic lineup of ten participating artists will show their work, ranging from pottery to sculpture paths, allowing participants a chance to enjoy the fresh late-summer weather as they meander through Cornwall’s green valleys from studio to studio.For a list of the artists, a map, and directions to each studio, visit ornwallct.org/event/cornwall-open-studio-2025/.