This bill imposes a 5% surcharge on insurance policies covering fossil fuel infrastructure such as oil wells, pipelines, refineries, and coal facilities, effective January 1, 2027. The collected funds will be deposited into a new climate resilience account managed by state officials. These funds will be used to provide flood risk data to communities, run public awareness campaigns about flooding risks, and offer grants for building climate-resilient infrastructure to reduce flood damage. The policy directly affects insurance companies issuing policies for fossil fuel operations and communities that may receive funding for flood mitigation projects.
This bill allows property owners in the towns of Berlin, Lebanon, and West Hartford to request property tax exemptions for 2025 and 2021 even if they missed the original filing deadline. To qualify, eligible individuals must submit their exemption applications within 30 days of the bill's effective date on July 1, 2026, and pay the required late filing fee. Once the assessor verifies eligibility and receives payment, the exemption will be approved and any previously paid taxes, interest, or penalties will be reimbursed to the property owner. The legislation applies only to these three specific towns and does not change the general rules for property tax exemptions elsewhere in Connecticut.
HB 5085 removes a 1% additional sales tax on meals sold by restaurants, caterers, and grocery stores. This change directly affects businesses in these sectors and their customers by reducing the tax burden on food purchases. The bill amends existing tax law to eliminate this specific surcharge, applying to all qualifying meal sales. It does not alter the standard sales tax rate but removes an extra 1% charge currently applied to these transactions.
HB 5130 would remove a 1% additional sales tax on meals sold by restaurants, caterers, and grocery stores. The bill amends tax code to eliminate this specific surcharge, which currently applies to food purchased for immediate consumption at these businesses. This change directly affects establishments that serve prepared meals, reducing their tax burden on qualifying sales. The policy shift would lower costs for these businesses without altering the standard sales tax rate.
HB 5079 repeals a $5 annual fee called the "Passport to the Parks" that was added to motor vehicle registrations. This change directly affects all vehicle owners in the state who previously paid this fee when registering their cars. The bill simply removes the fee from the law, eliminating the charge without creating new programs or requirements. It does not alter park access or funding mechanisms, only eliminating the registration fee. The bill is procedural and focuses solely on removing this specific fee from statute.
SB 72 would eliminate state taxes or fees where the cost to collect them exceeds the revenue they generate. This applies directly to specific taxes or fees meeting this cost-revenue threshold, affecting taxpayers subject to those eliminated charges. The bill’s key mechanism requires automatic removal of such taxes/fees from state statutes through statutory amendment. It does not target specific existing taxes but establishes a general rule for eliminating inefficient revenue streams.
HB 5028 removes the "Combined Public Benefits Charge" from electricity bills for residential and business customers of electric distribution companies. This bill directly affects all end-use electricity customers in the state by eliminating this specific fee from their monthly bills. The key mechanism shifts the funding source for these public benefits programs from customer bills to the state General Fund. The bill does not change existing public benefits programs but changes how their costs are paid. This is a direct billing change with no impact on program eligibility or service levels.
HB 5013 establishes a registration fee for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and imposes a per-kilowatt-hour tax on electricity purchased at public electric vehicle charging stations. This bill directly affects EV owners through the new registration fee and charging station operators through the electricity tax. Revenue from both the fee and tax must be deposited into the Special Transportation Fund. The legislation aims to generate dedicated funding for transportation infrastructure without specifying how the money will be spent beyond this allocation.
HB 5024 eliminates a 1% sales tax on meals sold by restaurants, caterers, and grocery stores in Connecticut. The bill amends state law to remove this additional tax from the standard sales tax rate applied to qualifying food purchases. This change directly affects businesses operating as eating establishments, caterers, or grocery stores that sell prepared meals. The legislation aims to reduce the tax burden on these specific food service providers by removing the separate 1% surcharge. The bill is currently under review by the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee.
HB 5129 would require owners of high-value recreational vessels (such as expensive boats and yachts) to pay an additional surcharge. The revenue generated from this surcharge would be dedicated to reducing and eliminating the property tax on motor vehicles, including cars and trucks. This bill directly affects vessel owners through a new fee and vehicle owners through potential tax relief, creating a funding mechanism to lower vehicle taxes by taxing a specific category of recreational boats.
