Connecticut lawmakers weigh a bill to study UAP reports
Connecticut lawmakers on Thursday held a hearing in the Appropriations Committee on a bill that would require the University of Connecticut to coordinate with state agencies to study unidentified aerial phenomena reported in Connecticut skies. The legislation, filed by state Rep. Joe Hoxha, seeks to formalize how the state records and analyzes UAP information, including by assessing the merits of a dedicated research program.
Hoxha’s proposal, H.B. 5422, would call on UConn to partner with various state agencies and to explore the potential benefits of establishing a “state center” for further research. In committee testimony and related remarks, Hoxha described the goal as having “a dedicated program that can at least record, study and collect data on UAPs that are seen in Connecticut skies,” framing the work as a way to bring order to a largely decentralized information landscape.
Hoxha argued the focus should remain on objective scientific inquiry rather than turning UAP discussions into a loosely organized community of belief. In comments reported through the Connecticut Mirror, he said he does not want the topic to devolve into “a club” for “crazy and wacky conspiracy theories,” and he presented the bill as an investment he compared against other budget spending.
The bill already has support across party lines. Rep. Aundre Bumgardner, a Democrat from Groton and a cosponsor, told the committee that as a representative of a town that makes submarines for the U.S. Navy, he sees a practical need to better understand what UAP reports could represent. Bumgardner said, “We should know if it’s coming from one of our adversaries,” tying the issue to security questions raised by reports.
In testimony, Sri Tata, a PhD student at Yale, supported the measure and pointed to broader interest in the topic within academic settings. Tata said that the subject draws students and faculty interest and that UAP activity crosses state and international borders. He also cited a reported increase in attention following what he described as the New Jersey drone wave in 2024, arguing that establishing scientific study would support both public policy and “public reporting mechanisms.”
During the hearing, Rep. Martin Foncello, a Republican from Brookfield, said he had a connection to UAP investigation through the U.S. Department of Defense. Foncello told Tata he has a colleague who investigates UAPs for the department, and he described personally seeing “some things out there that need to be explained and haven’t (been),” before asking whether he and Tata could work together further on developing the bill.
The hearing also came as lawmakers considered the broader context of UAP reporting and official efforts to study it. Congress held a hearing on UAPs for the first time in decades in May 2022, and the Department of Defense later established the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office to serve as an “authoritative office” for UAP-related activities, according to a Defense Department memo referenced in the reporting.
While the question of what causes UAP sightings has led to speculation, the reporting on the committee hearing noted that a 2024 report from the U.S. office for UAPs found no evidence that alien technology is involved in any UAP sightings. Hoxha, in turn, said the bill is meant to keep focus on questions that can be investigated through structured collection and analysis.
The committee’s discussion also looked to what other states have already done. New Jersey passed a law last year to establish a UAP study center in collaboration with higher education institutions, and that law took effect in January, providing a model that Connecticut lawmakers are now considering as they weigh H.B. 5422.