CT lawmaker wants Halloween on Saturday

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) - Everyone knows that October 31 is Halloween, but one State Representative wants to change that.

Rep. Tim Larson is suggesting that the legislature designate the last Saturday in October as Halloween to ensure that Halloween always falls on a weekend.

"Halloween is fun night for the whole family, but not so much when you have to race home from work, get the kids ready for trick or treating, welcome the neighborhood children, and then try to get everyone to bed for an early school and work morning," Larson said.

In a written statement, he explained that changing Halloween permanently to a weekend day would make the holiday safer for trick-or-treaters and boost the economy.

Halloween isn't an official state holiday, but Larson cited the government proclamation that Thanksgiving be celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.

"While well-intentioned, this proposal symbolizes what's wrong with Connecticut government," said State Sen. Rob Kane, a small business owner and lead Republican on the legislature's Appropriations Committee.

Governor Dannel Malloy's office has issued a statement rejecting the idea as too confusing for witches and ghouls who are accustomed to always being out on October 31.

Larson hopes the issue will come up in the 2012 legislative session.