The Connecticut State Legislature recently passed Public Act No. 24-121 which among other things, designated the Siberian Husky as the state dog! Jonathon XV, the UConn mascot, shared his own “tail” of representing UConn as the school’s mascot, and why the Siberian Husky should be designated the state dog, when the bill came up before legislature.
After reading about this and the adoption of the lollipop as the state candy in news sources, I wondered, how do I find this canine advocate's "testimony"? Well, the Connecticut General Assembly site should be your first step, and you are able to read most current testimony if you are armed with either the Bill number, Public Act number, or both!
I navigated to the Connecticut General Assembly site. Then I went to the top right hand corner for “Quick Bill Search” - since I had the Public Act Number – I used the drop down and entered it in.
Once I entered this in, I found the Bill number, as well as the history of the bill. Since I was looking for Jonathon’s testimony, I scrolled to the bottom, where I found “Public Hearing Testimony”
From there, I saw all the written testimony, including that of Laura Centanni, Jonathon’s handler, who translated Jonathon’s "Siberian Husky language" of barks, wagging tails and wet noses into English. Jonathon's testimony wasn't delivered in words, since his handler Laura spoke on his behalf, but UConn's canine mascot conveyed his message with his presence and certainly a tail wag or two!
Of course, public testimony is just one part of legislative history.
You can also check out this UConn Law Library Research Guide which discusses researching Connecticut’s legislative history. A great skill to have in your back pocket as a legal researcher in Connecticut, along with a dog treat or two for Jonathon! Go Huskies!!