Kasser practiced
corporate law at the firm of
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. In the 2018 election, Kasser, a political newcomer, defeated five-term
Republican incumbent,
Scott Frantz, becoming the first
Democrat to represent
Greenwich in the
State Senate since 1930, In 2020, Kasser won re-election by about 1,100 votes, nearly doubling her margin of victory from the 2018 election, when she defeated Republican incumbent Scott Frantz by 616 votes. In the Connecticut Senate, Kasser served as Vice Chair of the Judiciary Committee, Co-Chair of the Banking Committee, and Vice Chair of the Transportation Committee. She was also a member of the Public Health Committee, the Environment Committee, the Legislative Regulation Review Committee, and the Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee. She was also a Deputy Majority Leader of the Senate. In the State Senate, Kasser led an effort to reintroduce tolls on Connecticut’s state highways, intended to generate revenue from out-of-state drivers; the proposal ultimately did not pass. She also proposed the creation of an Infrastructure Bank in Connecticut, designed to finance infrastructure projects through public-private partnerships; the legislation passed in the Senate but was not brought to a vote in the House. Kasser introduced a bill providing
tax credits to employers who make payments on employee's
student loans. An amended version of the bill was passed in the State Senate in May 2019, Kasser was a proponent
Paid Family Medical Leave program, that was adopted by the Connecticut legislature in 2019. She also backed efforts to raise the state
minimum wage during her time in office. Additionally, Kasser introduced a bill to eliminate Connecticut’s estate and
gift tax, and advocated for changes to the state’s tax structure. In 2021, Kasser introduced and championed legislation known as
Jennifers’ Law, which legally redefines domestic violence to include
coercive control. The law includes multiple protections for victims of domestic violence and their children, including the ability to access free legal help, change locks in rental units and apply for restraining orders if they’ve experienced coercive control. In a section that addresses custody matters, the law adds “physical and emotional safety of the child” as the first factor to be considered by judges and Guardian Ad Litems. They must also consider “the effect on the child of the actions of an abuser if any domestic violence, as defined in 46b1 (which now includes coercive control) has occurred between the parents." Jennifers’ Law is named in honor of
Jennifer Dulos, a New Canaan woman living in Kasser's district, who disappeared after a dispute with her husband, Fotis Dulos, and Jennifer Magnano, who was shot and killed by her husband in front of her children. In 2021, Kasser introduced legislation known as the Connecticut Parentage Act. The law expanded legal recognition of parentage in Connecticut, extending legal protections to families including same-sex parents, unmarried parents and parents who conceive children through
assisted reproduction. == Divorce and resignation ==