Sen. Martin Looney

Maddy summarySB 366 standardizes reporting requirements for motor vehicle accidents and medical emergencies involving peace officers. It requires police to complete accident reports within five days for incidents causing injury, death, or over $1,000 property damage, and make them available to involved parties within thirty days. For medical emergencies where a person is unstable while under a peace officer's custody or in contact with them, the officer must create a report within five days and provide a copy to the person upon request within five days. This bill directly affects police departments, peace officers, and individuals involved in accidents or medical emergencies.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires employers in retail, food services, hospitality, and long-term health care to provide employees with advance notice of their work schedules. It applies to larger employers, such as those with 500 or more employees globally or food service businesses with 500+ employees and 30+ locations. The law mandates that employers give employees at least 14 days' notice of their scheduled shifts, with exceptions for new hires and last-minute changes that must be communicated as soon as possible. Employers must also obtain written statements from new employees about their availability and desired work hours, and they must pay overtime if schedule changes result in additional hours worked beyond the original estimate.

Maddy summarySB 299 requires redemption centers in Connecticut to obtain a license from the Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner starting July 1, 2026, with a $2,500 application fee. It restricts centers from accepting containers that were previously redeemed, damaged, not originally sold in Connecticut, or listed as unavailable by deposit initiators. Centers must track redemptions over 1,000 containers per person daily (or 4,000 for nonprofits), keep records for two years, and submit quarterly reports to the state. This bill directly affects redemption center operators, beverage dealers (who must accept eligible containers), and consumers redeeming containers.

Maddy summaryHB 5258 protects tenant organizing rights by requiring landlords to permit specific activities related to tenant organizations. The bill mandates that landlords allow tenants, tenant organizers, and their agents to distribute materials, conduct door-to-door surveys, hold meetings in common areas, and post information - without requiring prior permission - provided these activities are reasonable and lawful. It directly affects tenants seeking to form or join tenant organizations and landlords managing residential properties. Key provisions define "tenant organization" as tenant-led groups addressing housing issues and prohibit landlords from blocking these activities, except for standard community space reservation rules. The law takes effect October 1, 2026.

Maddy summarySB 284 requires privately owned senior housing buildings (15+ stories, age-restricted, and federally mortgaged) in cities with 130,000-140,000 residents to install emergency power generators. These generators must provide 4-12 hours of electricity for heating, water, lighting, medical equipment in each unit, and passenger elevators during outages. The law applies specifically to multifamily housing projects meeting all three criteria: age-restricted, high-rise, and federally insured. It takes effect October 1, 2026, aiming to improve safety during power disruptions for vulnerable residents.

Maddy summarySB 8 creates a new Supplemental Graduate Student Loan Program administered by Connecticut's Higher Education Supplemental Loan Authority. It provides state-funded loans to graduate students enrolled in eligible programs (requiring a bachelor's degree) starting July 1, 2026, with funding secured through a $10 million state bond issue. The program uses a dedicated account to issue loans for graduate education, with repayment terms established by the loan authority. This directly affects Connecticut graduate students seeking financial support for advanced degree programs.

Maddy summaryHB 5202 allocates $1.5 million from the state General Fund to Continuum of Care, Inc. for its emergency housing program during the 2026-2027 fiscal year. The bill directly supports the organization's operations in providing immediate shelter and housing services to individuals experiencing homelessness or housing crises. This funding is specifically designated to sustain existing emergency housing services without altering program eligibility or service standards.

Maddy summaryHB 5398 requires Connecticut's state government to review healthcare entity transactions (like hospital mergers or partnerships) that could reduce competition. It expands antitrust enforcement tools under the Connecticut Antitrust Act and mandates hospitals disclose additional pricing details in their public "price master" filings. The bill directly affects hospitals, hospital systems, medical foundations, and other healthcare organizations that form affiliations or partnerships. Key provisions include new state review requirements for transactions and specific pricing transparency rules for hospital billing.

Maddy summaryHB 5144 appropriates funds to cover the cost difference between federal reimbursement rates for reduced-price school meals and full-price meals. It directly affects public school districts participating in federal meal programs by allowing them to provide free breakfasts to all students and free lunches to students already eligible for reduced-price meals. The bill’s key mechanism is reimbursing districts for the gap between what the federal government pays and the actual cost of serving these meals. This policy change ensures schools can maintain these meal programs without charging eligible students, as specified in the bill’s purpose statement.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes the "Federal Cuts Response Fund" to help the state address reductions in federal funding for state programs. It transfers $330,811,954 from the state's Budget Reserve Fund into this new fund, which can be used by the Office of Policy and Management to respond to federal policy changes (like P.L. 119-21) that reduce funding for state programs. Unspent funds can carry over to the next fiscal year, but the state legislature must be notified of all spending or transfers and has 24 hours to disapprove any action. Any remaining balance in the fund must be returned to the Budget Reserve Fund by June 30, 2027, ending the fund's operation.