Representative Jeff Currey

Jeff Currey, a lifelong resident of East Hartford by way of County Limerick, and a proud son, brother, and uncle, is currently serving a fifth term representing the 11th Assembly District, which is made up of parts of East Hartford and Manchester. Jeff, a former Deputy Majority Leader who chaired the Screening Committee on behalf of Majority Leader Rojas, currently serves on the Appropriations, Commerce, and Judiciary Committees. Starting in the 2023 legislative session, Jeff shifted leadership roles to take on the House Chair of the Education Committee, which he has served on since joining the legislature in 2015.

Legislative Accomplishments

Addressing Education Inequities:

• Co-chaired the country’s first legislatively created 2-Generational Workforce and School Readiness/Success Advisory Council, working to change Connecticut’s cycle of poverty to one of prosperity.
• Reformed the state education funding system to ensure all students can access enriching, high-quality educational experiences.
• Led the fight for a fair and equitable student-centered state education funding system, successfully advocating for an updated Education Cost Sharing (ECS) formula in 2017.
• Supported legislation updating the ECS formula in 2021 to provide additional resources to communities with higher needs.
• Advocated to expand access to childcare services for parents pursuing education.

LGBTQ+ Legislative Priorities:

• Developed and updated Connecticut’s Parentage Act to guarantee equal access to legal parentage and to protect Connecticut’s diversity of family structures regardless of circumstances of birth, marital status, gender, or sexual orientation. Signed into law in 2021, effective January 1, 2022.
• Co-sponsored Public Act 21-79 providing state benefits to LGBTQ+ veterans discharged under the former “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
• Championed passage of a ban on the gay and transgender panic defense in 2019.
• Expanded LGBTQ+ youth access to HIV prevention medication.
• Created an LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network with an additional $500,000 in funding secured in 2021.
• Led passage of legislation banning conversion therapy.
• Established legislation ensuring fair treatment of trans inmates within the Department of Corrections.
• Expanded the definition of family in the state’s Paid Family and Medical leave program.
• Updated the state Military Department’s nondiscrimination laws to prohibit denial of membership or promotion based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

Healthcare and Social Services:

• Bolstered protections for living organ donors as a kidney transplant recipient himself, introducing legislation in 2020 and 2021 to prohibit insurance discrimination against living organ donors.
• Strengthened Connecticut’s Safe Haven Law allowing individuals to leave newborns with hospital emergency room staff with no questions asked, preventing infant abandonment and death.

Housing and Infrastructure:

• Led a coalition of legislators to pass historic legislation addressing crumbling concrete foundations throughout northeastern Connecticut, providing financial assistance to homeowners while taking preventative measures.

Education and Professional Background

Jeff graduated from the East Hartford Public School System and received his B.A. in Theater from Wagner College in New York City. After college, he returned to his community commitment to public service.

He is employed full-time with Goodwin University in East Hartford where he oversees the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) Employment & Training division, which provides free certification and associate degree programs to residents receiving SNAP benefits. Prior to joining Goodwin, Jeff worked for the CT Department of Labor overseeing the Jobs First Employment Services Program for those on cash assistance.

Previous Public Service

Before serving as state representative, Jeff was the Chairman of the East Hartford Board of Education (elected 2009). Additionally, he served on the board of the East Hartford Community Resource Center and CABE (Connecticut Association of Boards of Education) as Area Director.

Organizational Memberships

Jeff is a current or past member of several organizations:

• East Hartford Adult Education Advisory Committee
• Y.E.D.S. (Young. Educated. Determined to Succeed)
• Little Theatre of Manchester
• Lutz Children’s Museum
• CTGLC (CT Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce)
• Foodshare, Strategic Planning & Program Development Committee
• CCEH (Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness)
• Hartford Gay Men’s Chorus
• Friends of the Wood Memorial Library and Museum, Board of Directors
• Trans Formation Project, Board of Directors
• Donate Life Connecticut

In his free time, besides long walks on the beach, he enjoys trying to keep up with his six nieces and nephews, as well as taking in the many sights and trails that our beautiful state has to offer.