The Senate just voted 28-8 to allow Sunday bow hunting on certain private properties, to be determined by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Previously approved in the House, it now heads to the governor for final review. The DEEP would post the eligible areas of the free-fire zones in August, in plenty of time for the fall deer season. It’s an attempt to control burgeoning deer populations, including sections of Fairfield and Litchfield counties. In past years, the proposal had been blocked in the Senate, but Senate President Don Williams of Brooklyn retired from the Legislature last year. The bill would create demilitarized zones abutting nature and hiking trails.
Eight Democrats voted against the bill, including Sen. Ted Kennedy Jr. of Branford, co-chairman of the Environment Committee, Sen. Marilyn Moore of Bridgeport and Sen. Carlo Leone of Stamford.