There has been a lot of anticipation ahead of today's Judiciary Committee public hearing at the Legislative Office Building, Room 2C.

Grassroots groups and the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, ACLU, have been organizing around bills related to civil rights. Of particular interest today are Senate Bill 245, "An Act Concerning the Recording of Police Activity by the Public"; and Senate Bill 364, "An Act Concerning Traffic Stop Information."

Senate Bill 245 would codify the right of citizens to videotape police activity without the threat of an interference charge. Click headlines below to read the proposed bill and submitted testimonies from many points of view.




Senate Bill 364 would address data collection during traffic stops and require police departments to adopt a written policy that "prohibits the stopping, detention or search of any person when such action is solely motivated by considerations of race, color, ethnicity, age, gender or sexual orientation." Again, click the headlines to read the bill language and people's testimony.



Ed and I will be sharing updates on the discussion during the Judiciary Committee hearing via our "Your Open Newsroom" page on Facebook and our @nhrvoices Twitter handle. If you follow hashtags, look for: #ctleg, #sunshineweek and #ctfoia.

If you are testifying and we do not yet have a copy of the comments you will share, please email a copy to us at voices@nhregister.com.

Our sharing of the testimony submitted to the Judiciary Committee is one way we are celebrating Sunshine Week, a time that journalists and organizations dedicated to transparency annually highlight your rights to access public records and promote dialogue on open government.

Unidad Latina en Acción (ULA) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are offering a Legislative Advocacy Training Tuesday, March 6 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the New Haven People's Center, 37 Howe St.

The organizations will give participants background on five bills being considered by the Connecticut General Assembly that affect civil rights, and teach people how to prepare and give testimony before a legislative committee.

Here the bills that will be addressed Tuesday:

¡La legislatura de Connecticut está considerando cambios de ley que afecten nuestros derechos humanos! Aprenda sobre propuestas de ley sobre: Racial Profiling by The Police - Discriminación racial por la policía Right to Record The Police - Nuestro derecho de grabar video de la policía Abolishing the Death Penalty - Aboliendo la pena de muerte Red Light Cameras & Surveillance - Uso de cámaras de vigilancia por la policía Medical Use of Marijuana - Uso medicinal de marijuana Pizza will be served. For more information, contact (para mas informacion, puedes llamar) Unidad Latina en Acción (ULA) at (203) 479-2959. For those who may be reading this from the Hartford area, the University of Connecticut's Urban Community Studies Program will be sponsoring two events this week. On Wednesday, March 7 there will be a discussion at 7 p.m. on economic individuality and social activism. On Thursday, March 8 local community activists and organizers will share experiences and tools that can be used to create change. Both events will be held at the UConn Greater Hartford campus, Room 104 in the Information Technology Building, 1796 Asylum St., West Hartford. Special thanks to the the sponsors of the New Haven and West Hartford gatherings. Feel free to send community news to Angi Carter or Ed Stannard via email at voices@nhregister.com. We're also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Your Open Newsroom and on Twitter @nhrvoices.