Now that voters of eastern Connecticut have agreed to send Andrew Maynard back to the state Senate, despite a serious head injury that prevented him from appearing in public to campaign, what happens next?

What if Maynard, still hospitalized in a New Britain long-term care facility, is not able to take the oath of office at the opening of the new session of the General Assembly on Jan. 7?

I put that question to some people in Hartford who might know, or at least suggest a scenario of what will happen, and didn't get too far.

Maybe the most direct answer to this conundrum came from a spokesman for Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, who said it is "unchartered territory."

The secretary of the state, her spokesman noted, has accepted the results from voter registrars that show Maynard was re-elected. Beyond that, it is not really a legal issue for that office to resolve, the spokesman added.

A spokesman for the attorney general acknowledged that the Maynard swearing-in question is possibly going to come his way in some official manner. But it hasn't yet. And, until then, it has no answer.

"Our office has not received a request from an appropriate agency or official for an opinion on this matter, although it is possible that we will," the spokesman for Attorney General George Jepsen said in an email response.

"Because we have not, in the absence of an opinion request, undertaken an analysis of the law and facts - we are not in a position to publicly comment at this time."

We might all hope that someone official asks soon, since - tick tock, tick tock - Jan. 7 will be upon us in no time.

I didn't check with Senate Democrats this week because I figured I would get more of the same sunny optimism about the situation that the party was sharing from Maynard's family during the election season.

Maynard's family members have provided little detail about the senator's condition except to say that they have no reason to believe he will not be able to serve out his new term. They have not allowed a reporter to visit the senator and will not share any medical reports or make his doctors available for comment.

I did ask Senate Republicans for an opinion about what will happen if Maynard cannot take the oath of office and got back a bland salute optimistically suggesting they expect to see him Jan. 7.

I think a lot of people voted for Maynard because they like him, respect the work he's done for them in Hartford and would like to believe that, as his family suggests, he will be able to recover enough to serve again.

And yet I also think many voters, in casting a yes for Maynard, are realistic enough to understand he may not make it back to the Senate this session. I also think many of his constituents were sympathetic to the fact that he needs to work two more years as a legislator to be able to collect early-retirement benefits and lifetime medical coverage.

So how can that be accomplished?

Rob Simmons, a former Republican U.S. congressman from Stonington and a friend of Maynard's, has suggested lawmakers could wave a magic legislative wand over the Maynard problem and craft a law that would secure his medical benefits and order a special election to fill his seat.

There are some problems with that idea, one of the more significant being that the state Constitution seems to suggest you can't write new laws to benefit specific individuals. Also, a person-specific law conveying state benefits can't be politically easy, no matter how expedient for all.

Evidently the only existing laws that would allow for Maynard's colleagues to remove him from office are specific that he be accused of wrongdoing.

Maynard could resign, although it is not clear from what his family has said about his condition that he is capable of making that decision. In fact, if he is not competent over a long period of time, someone might go to court to take authority over such decisions.

I wonder, too, if Maynard does not take the oath of office Jan. 7, whether he is still a member of the Senate and eligible for the continuing medical benefits that I think most of the voters who reelected him this month want him to have.

These are questions that need answers. I hope some official puts them to the attorney general soon.

This is the opinion of David Collins

d.collins@theday.com

Twitter: @DavidCollinsct