This year, Connecticut lawmakers approved free child care, sweeping zoning changes and a plan to lower electric bills.

But thousands of bills did not pass – because they ran out of time or ran into too many roadblocks.

Here’s a look at what won’t become law.

The quiet town of Bethany was rocked last summer when police charged a youth camp counselor with sexually molesting five young girls.

First Selectman Paula Cofrancesco recently resigned after an outside review found she knew about the allegations, but let Anthony Mastrangelo continue working at the town’s summer camps while an investigation was underway.

Amy Lestinsky’s daughter was one of the victims.

“He worked at our Parks and Rec Department and was also a student teacher and substitute teacher at our elementary school,” she said.

Lestinsky lobbied state lawmakers to license municipal camps, like private camps already are.

But the bill died after towns warned that it could make camps more expensive – and even force some to close altogether.

“We already provide safe camps,” said Liz Gambacorta, the town of Glastonbury’s recreation supervisor. “We do background checks. We have multiple layers of oversight. Significant staff training and require our staff to hold certifications.”

Top lawmakers are promising to try again next year.

“We’re trying to protect children, and we’re saying that we’re not going to do it because there’s a cost to that?” said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk).

Lawmakers didn’t tackle lions and tigers, but they did try to pave the way for a bear hunt. The effort was shot down on the final day.

“That’s not the right step for us right now,” said state Rep. John Michael Parker (D-Madison).

The legislation was amended to include a bear management study, but it ran out of time before lawmakers adjourned Thursday morning.

Another bill required companies to tell you when artificial intelligence is making major decisions, like whether you qualify for a mortgage or get an apartment. It passed the state Senate, but the House dropped the proposal after Gov. Ned Lamont threatened a veto.

He worried it would scare off a rapidly growing industry.

“I just worry about every state going out, doing their own thing, a patchwork quilt of regulations,” Lamont said. “Connecticut being probably stricter and broader than most.”

But Duff said the time to act is now.

“It’s coming; it's here,” he said. “It’s going to be a big part of our lives. We’ve got to put more guardrails around AI.”

Once again, lawmakers also failed to pass new protections for warehouse workers. Some claim that dangerous productivity quotas prevent them from going to bathroom.

“If they are not moving their bodies as fast as they possibly can at all moments, they might fall below that threshold,” said Irene Tung with the National Employment Law Project.

Other bills that didn’t make it include a crackdown on dangerous, roaming dogs, “safe injection” sites for drug addiction and decriminalizing psilocybin, better known as “magic mushrooms.”

In small doses, psilocybin is used to treat severe depression and addiction.

“I tried everything to stop – detoxes, rehabs, going to meetings,” recovery coach Mark Guckel told lawmakers in 2024. “My life was pretty much over with, so I was desperate and willing to try anything.”

Homeschooling advocates defeated a bid for more state oversight – at least for now.

The push came after a Waterbury man was allegedly held captive for 20 years. His stepmother falsely claimed that he was being homeschooled.

Nearly 2,000 parents packed a tense hearing last month.

“We will not allow the failures of state agencies to become an excuse for over-regulation and scapegoating of responsible families,” said Sheila Matthews, a Westport mother who co-founded the group AbleChild.

But homeschoolers’ victory may be short-lived. Top lawmakers are promising a bill to provide more state oversight next year.

“There will be a hearing,” said Connecticut House Speaker Matt Ritter (D-Hartford). “People can testify and the chairs of the Education Committee will listen to all sides, put a bill forth, and we'll see where it goes with the caucus.”

Lawmakers are likely to return to Hartford later this year to adjust the state budget.