The Christmas bill

How can you talk about reindeer in the state Senate with a straight face?

Sen. Edward Meyer managed to stay serious when he deemed Senate Bill 262 the Christmas bill. It would allow for the importation of reindeer between Thanksgiving Day and New Year's Day. Under the bill, reindeer would have to be exported from the state by Jan. 8 of that year.

I did not know this, but apparently Connecticut is one of several states that ban captive members of the Cervidae family, including reindeer, because of the threat of Chronic Wasting Disease.

Anyway, I am not sure why this bill was drafted, but from the very limited conversation in the Senate on the bill, I know that it has something to do with Torrington. It was a bill pushed by Sen. Andrew Roraback.

I've never heard a bill being discussed in the legislature before about reindeer, and I'm going to assume that it is not a common bill topic. As a result, I just had to share.

For those keeping track, Senate Bill 262 was put on the Senate's consent calendar. Vote will be determined shortly.