2026 Legislative Session Wrap Up
Sierra Club Connecticut Statement on the 2026 Legislative Session
The Connecticut Legislature wrapped up its 2026 session on Wednesday. Thank you to everyone who sent an email, made a phone call, testified at a hearing, written a letter to the editor, and talked about the issues with your friends and neighbors. We are so grateful for your advocacy. We are happy to report that the legislature passed a solar bill that reauthorizes solar programs, streamlines solar permitting, enables plug in solar, creates a new battery storage incentive and more. The solar bill placed new restrictions that we opposed; we will monitor how they impact the programs. We are disappointed that the state legislature failed to act on the Climate Superfund, a comprehensive waste bill and many other environmental issues were watered down or saw no action. Despite this, we know that together we laid a lot of groundwork for action on these key issues for next year.
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Bills that Passed
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H.B. 5340 – An Act Concerning Renewable Power Generation. House Bill 5340, aka “the solar bill,” reauthorizes our existing solar programs with numerous changes and establishes several new initiatives. The bill will streamline solar permitting, expand battery storage, and study agrovoltaics for solar on farms. It establishes safety standards for the use of plug-in, or portable, solar devices. For the first time ever, it places caps on residential solar, and creates a moratorium on solar siting in certain towns. Overall, while the bill makes progress on solar and battery, these restrictions on residential solar growth and access are unprecedented setbacks.
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S.B 1 – An Act Concerning Affordability. Sierra Club Connecticut secured a key win in the budget allowing existing bond funds for the Capitol Area System heating and cooling loop in Hartford’s Capitol Area to be used for decarbonization planning, including geothermal exploration and other study needed to determine the feasibility of a thermal energy network for this system.
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S.B 452 – An Act Concerning The Release Of Lighter-Than-Air Balloons. Lighter-than-air balloons can travel long distances before returning to the ground, where they contribute to litter and pose serious risks to wildlife and marine ecosystems. This bill prohibits the intentional release of such balloons in Connecticut and requires retailers to attach weights to prevent accidental releases.
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H.B. 5155 – An Act Concerning Pesticide Reporting Modernization. H.B. 5155 started out as a strong bill requiring DEEP to update its eLicense platform of handwritten pesticide use reports to a digital one. The updated database would collect and organize information already reported by the state's commercial pesticide applicators and farmers and requires no new information from them. Pesticide use in Connecticut is not always easy to track, making it harder to understand impacts on public health, pollinators, and the environment. This bill establishes a working group to evaluate the creation of a searchable database that can collect, organize, and store data on pesticide sales and use.
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S.B. 457– An Act Concerning The State's Bottle Bill. This bill addresses Connecticut's bottle bill by establishing a stewardship organization, tightening anti-fraud measures, adjusting financial remittance requirements based on redemption rates, and setting new operational standards to improve recycling outcomes and program integrity.
H.B. 5525 – An Act Concerning A Rapid Response Program For Certain Aquatic Invasive Species. H.B. 5525 creates a rapid response program to detect and contain hydrilla and other aquatic invasive species in Connecticut. It directs the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station to identify qualifying species, maintain a public list, and coordinate with DEEP, which must expedite permitting for rapid response actions.
S.B.147 – An Act Concerning a Study on the Need for Extended Producer Responsibility for Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems and Vapor Products and Including Aerosol Paints Under the Paint Stewardship Program. This bill requires a state study on extended producer responsibility for electronic nicotine and vapor products and expands Connecticut's paint stewardship program to include aerosol paints, mandating producer participation and consumer education without fiscal impact to the state or municipalities.
Bills that Passed - Sierra Club Opposed these Bills
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H.B 5464 – An Act Implementing Recommendations From The Department Of Transportation … This bill passed both chambers. H.B. 5464 is a major transportation bill, but Sierra Club Connecticut opposes Sections 2 and 3 due to their harmful impacts on public health and climate progress. Section 2 eliminates the state’s prohibition on purchasing diesel transit buses, reversing a key clean transportation policy. Diesel exhaust contains toxic pollutants linked to respiratory illness, heart disease, and cancer, and its continued use undermines Connecticut’s Global Warming Solutions Act emissions targets. Section 3 weakens EV infrastructure requirements by reducing the number of parking spaces required to have charging stations, slowing the transition to electric vehicles.
SB 317 – Concerning Resource Recovery Facility in Bristol. This bill creates a working group within the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to study the potential suspension of Waste Assessment Fee for Connecticut resource recovery facilities for up to five fiscal years. The group will evaluate the feasibility and impacts of suspending these fees and submit findings and recommendations by January 1, 2027.
What Didn't Pass
H.B. 5156 – An Act Concerning A Climate Change Superfund. This bill passed the Environment Committee but was not called for a vote in the House. It also had the highest number of cosponsors in the committee and received significant public support. H.B. 5156 creates a climate superfund program requiring major fossil fuel companies to pay for the state's climate adaptation costs based on their historical greenhouse gas emissions, with funds dedicated to infrastructure projects, with 40% investment in environmental justice communities.
H.B. 5524 – An Act Concerning The State's Materials Management System. This bill passed out of the Environment Committee but was not taken up for a vote after a hard fight from advocates to get it voted on. H.B. 5524 reduces waste and expands food recovery in Connecticut by requiring single-use food service items (like utensils, straws, and napkins) to be provided only upon request starting in 2027. It also establishes a food waste hierarchy that prioritizes donating surplus edible food, requires large food generators to adopt donation policies and partner with food relief organizations, and expands state grants to support composting, food recovery, and recycling infrastructure. Overall, the bill focuses on reducing waste, increasing food donation, and strengthening organics management systems.
S.B. 319 – An Act Concerning The Use Of Battery-Powered Leaf Blowers And Similar Equipment By The State And Municipalities. This bill was passed out of the Environment Committee and got a vote in the Senate. The House failed to bring this bill up for a vote. S.B. 319 supports the transition from gas-powered to battery-powered lawn equipment by expanding voluntary, cost-saving programs rather than mandating change.The bill reactivates DEEP’s lawn equipment exchange program to help municipalities voluntarily replace end-of-life gas equipment with battery alternatives. It also directs the Connecticut Green Bank to create a loan program for commercial landscapers, allowing them to finance battery equipment and repay it through fuel and maintenance savings.
S.B. No. 453 – An Act Concerning A Climate Change Related Surcharge On Certain Insurance Policies. This bill was passed out of the Environment Committee but failed to be called for a vote. S.B. 453 imposes a 5% surcharge on insurance policies for fossil fuel infrastructure in Connecticut, with the proceeds funding flood risk data dissemination, public awareness, and climate-resilient infrastructure grants in high-risk communities.
S.J. No. 37 – Resolution Proposing An Amendment To The State Constitution Concerning Environmental Rights. This resolution passed out of the Government Administrations and Elections Committee and failed to be called for a vote in the Senate. S.J 37 proposes a constitutional amendment to guarantee every Connecticut resident an enforceable right to a clean and healthy environment, require the state to equitably protect natural resources, and prohibit diversion of environmental protection funds, with the amendment subject to voter approval in a future general election.