What happened to the most talked about bills this session?

CT Examiner – Thursday, May 7, 2026
By Eric Obernauer, Ally LeMaster

State Sen. Doug McCrory, D-Hartford, delivered a fiery speech on the Senate floor in the waning hours of the 2026 legislative session Wednesday night, decrying what he described as yet another legislative “compromise” needed to pass an economic development bill before the legislature’s self-imposed midnight deadline.

Senate Bill 307 unanimously cleared both chambers in the nick of time, but not before lawmakers approved an amendment removing all race-specific language and references to “minority”-owned businesses. The amendment instead authorized the state Department of Economic and Community Development to provide loans and other economic assistance to “historically underserved communities” so long as the assistance is not conditioned on race.

The change was made in response to the Trump administration’s crackdown on DEI programs and other initiatives that discriminate on the basis of race or gender.

McCrory — who has been under investigation by the FBI and was asked by Gov. Ned Lamont to step down from his Senate leadership position earlier this year for allegedly steering millions of dollars to a politically favored nonprofit in his district — recounted the lasting impact of Jim Crow laws on Black communities.

“I’m sick and tired of always having to compromise to make other people happy,” McCrory said, his voice rising at times. “For 400 years, we’ve been compromising, compromising and compromising to make others happy.”

The speech reflected broader frustration among lawmakers scrambling to move legislation before the midnight adjournment deadline, often at the cost of scaling back or watering down bills to secure passage. While Senate Bill 307 passed, other measures from tenant rights to animal protections didn’t fare as well after getting picked apart by amendments, delays and procedural hurdles.

With Democrats holding a supermajority in the House and Senate, here is a rundown of where some of the other most talked-about proposals — from bans on convertible pistols to homeschool regulation and student use of cellphones — ended up.

Homeschool Oversight

The House and Senate passed a scaled-back version of a homeschool oversight bill, despite strong opposition from the GOP and homeschool families.

The bill requires local school districts to conduct a check with the Department of Family and Children’s Services before a parent is allowed to withdraw their child to homeschool. If there is an open investigation with DCF, or if a member of the household is on the child abuse registry, a child cannot be withdrawn from public school.

Language in the bill would also require all parents — including parents of children who attend public and nonpublic schools — to annually notify the local district of where they are planning on sending their child starting in 2028.

A push for this legislation comes in the wake of high profile child-abuse cases in Waterbury and New Britain, where police say parents took their children out of public school to hide abuse.

But pushback from lawmakers and homeschool families led lawmakers to water down the original bill, which required homeschool children to annually demonstrate they were receiving equivalent instruction to local school districts — something superintendents told CT Examiner was not feasible.

Status: On the governor’s desk

Convertible Pistol Ban

Lamont proposed a bill at the beginning of the session that would make the sale, import or advertisement of “convertible pistols” — any semi-automatic pistols that can be readily altered into a machine gun by installing a pistol converter — a class D felony starting Oct. 1.

This bill would primarily impact the sale of Glock pistols, one of the most popular handguns sold in the country.

The legislation faced major opposition from Republicans, gun owners and Second Amendment activists who criticized the bill for criminalizing the sale of popular handguns and the “broad and vague” language regarding the term.

But proponents said this measure would put pressure on gun manufacturers to add safeguards to guns and noted the ease in which pistols can be converted.

With just hours left in the session, the Senate passed the bill during a marathon session Wednesday morning.

Since this bill is the governor’s proposal, it will almost certainly be signed into law. But opponents of the bill signaled in public testimony that the law would face a legal challenge in court.

Status: On the governor’s desk.

Vaccine Schedule

Another bill introduced by the governor gives the commissioner of the state Department of Public Health the authority to establish a vaccine schedule for children and adults, requires insurance companies to cover these vaccinations and expressly states that Connecticut’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not apply to school immunization requirements.

Proponents of the bill said this legislation was in response to potential changes to vaccine requirements on the federal level with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. casting doubt on the efficacy of vaccines.

Hundreds of people signed up to speak against this bill, and Republican lawmakers claimed the legislation was being pushed through to dismiss an ongoing lawsuit that is attempting to reinstate a religious exemption for school vaccinations.

Passed by both chambers, Lamont signed the bill into law on April 26.

Status: Signed into law

ICE Restrictions

On Monday, Lamont signed S.B. 397, a law that requires the Office of the Inspector General to conduct an investigation into lethal use of force cases by federal law enforcement officers.

The law also prohibits federal law enforcement agencies from wearing facial coverings while conducting law enforcement activities with limited exemptions, and requires officers to identify themselves when making an arrest or face a misdemeanor charge.

In addition, language in the bill prohibits officers from taking a person into custody for a civil offense on state or municipal land, schools, hospitals or places of worship.

Status: Signed into law

Marijuana and Freedom of Information

The legislature passed two omnibus bills relating to the state marijuana industry, H.B. 5350 and H.B. 5222.

Among the changes, the legislation would increase the THC limit in infused drinks from 3 mg to 5 mg, and allow dispensaries and retailers to sell beverages containing up to 10 mg of THC. It also reinstated a cap on THC for cannabis flower after lawmakers previously raised it earlier in the session and enables out-of-state medical marijuana patients to buy in the state.

Proponents argued these changes were necessary to compete with out-of-state markets.

The first bill passed by the legislature would have shielded the Statewide Cannabis, Hemp and Controlled Substances Enforcement Board’s meetings from public disclosure, but the second bill restored most transparency requirements.

These transparency exemptions still drew criticism from cannabis industry reform activists.

Status: On the governor’s desk

Parole Eligibility Under 26

One of the biggest criminal justice reform bills introduced this session would have broadened early parole eligibility for individuals who committed serious crimes when they were under 26 years old.

Advocates estimated that the bill could have impacted the sentences of hundreds of inmates.

Proponents of the bill argued that the decision-making part of the brain doesn’t fully develop until a person reaches the age of 25, and that the bill would help address racial inequities in the state’s prison system. Imprisoned individuals would have to serve 60% of their sentence and it is still the parole board’s decision on whether to release an individual or not.

The bill passed the Senate with GOP opposition, but was stopped during a debate before the House. Several representatives teared up while speaking about losing their loved one to murder, including State Reps. Travis Simms of Norwalk and Larry Butler of Waterbury.

“How would you feel about the person that murdered your loved one, your mother, father, sister, brother, child?” Butler said during the debate. “Does it make a difference if they were 19 or 20 or 22?”

The bill was shelved Tuesday night.

Status: Dead.

Labor reform

The legislature passed a wide-ranging labor bill impacting both the public and private sectors, including provisions that would enhance pay transparency, expand worker’s compensation for health care providers, teachers and public works employees, as well as make contractors liable for any unpaid wages owed to a subcontractor’s employees.

The bill, which is over 100 pages and has 75 different sections, also includes measures relating to the sale of out-of-state lobsters and double utility poles.

It was the amount of sections addressing different issues in the bill that drew criticism for Republicans. GOP senators argued for hours about certain provisions of the bill they claim were thrown in at the 11th hour without a public hearing.

Status: On the governor’s desk

‘Just Cause’ Tenant Protections

Legislation to prohibit no-fault evictions died in the Senate after being favorably reported out of the legislature’s Housing Committee in March.

S.B. 257 sought to prohibit most no-fault evictions for tenants living in apartment buildings with five or more units, extending protections currently reserved for seniors and disabled renters.

The proposal, which garnered a combined 72 co-sponsors in the House and Senate, would have required landlords to cite a specific reason for evicting tenants at the end of their lease — such as nonpayment of rent, property damage, nuisance behavior or other illegal activity. Landlords still would have retained the ability to reclaim units for personal occupancy.

Supporters argued that with an ongoing shortage of affordable housing, renters are more vulnerable than ever and in need of protection from predatory landlord practices.

Landlord groups and other opponents argued the measure would discourage investment in housing and limit property owners’ ability to manage buildings effectively. Similar legislation advanced out of committee last year but likewise never reached a full vote.

Status: Dead.

Phone-free Schools

House Bill 5035, aimed at eliminating classroom distractions caused by cellphones, failed to reach the Senate floor despite receiving backing from Gov. Ned Lamont and passing 117-31 in the House last week.

The bill would have added Connecticut to a growing list of states prohibiting students from having or using cellphones during the school day and requiring them to store the devices in lockers, pouches or other designated areas. Other internet-enabled devices — including tablets, laptops, gaming devices, and smart watches — also would have been banned, with exceptions permitted for school-issued devices used for educational purposes.

Additional exceptions would have been allowed for students who require the devices for medical reasons or under an individualized education program.

Students also would have been prohibited from accessing social media during the school day except for instructional purposes, and districts could no longer rely exclusively on social media to communicate important information to students and parents.

Nearly half of all states have enacted phone-free schools legislation amid growing concerns about the impact of excessive social media and cellphone use on academic performance and youth mental health.

Similar legislation had previously been championed by State Rep. Jennifer Leeper, D-Fairfield.

Status: Dead

Pet Shops/Puppy Mills

A bill to allow cities and towns to ban the retail sale of commercially bred puppies, kittens and rabbits ran out of time in the House after getting bogged down in a series of disputed amendments.

H.B. 5283 was introduced after Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons vetoed an ordinance in December seeking to prohibit pet shops from selling animals sourced from large-scale commercial breeders, known as puppy and kitty mills.

Animal advocates have long accused such operations — concentrated in parts of rural Pennsylvania and the Midwest — of prioritizing profit over animal welfare. Simmons argued that pet shop licensing and regulation were the exclusive purview of the state Department of Agriculture. She said any attempt to regulate the pet trade on a local level could invite lawsuits.

The proposed legislation stopped short of endorsing a statewide ban on pet sales like the one neighboring New York enacted last year, but would have authorized cities and towns to enact their own local bans. Support for the legislation fractured over a controversial grandfather clause that critics said would have defeated the entire purpose of the bill.

Status: Dead.

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