These news briefs are part of The Connecticut Mirror’s 2026 political coverage. For more Connecticut political news, sign up here for The Issue, the CT Mirror’s weekly politics newsletter.

PURA approves new solar tariffs

The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority on Wednesday approved new compensation rates, or tariffs, for owners of residential rooftop solar systems.

Beginning next year, most Eversource customers who participate in the state’s residential renewable energy solutions, or RRES, program will pay 3.25 cents for every kilowatt-hour of electricity produced by their solar panels. UI customers will pay 6.57 cents per kWh. Those “netting” charges are deducted from the excess electricity that solar customers sell back to the utility. In 2026, PURA set the rate for both utilities at 4.02 cents per kWh.

As part of a bipartisan bill passed last year to address utility costs, lawmakers ordered a steep increase in netting tariffs to lower the cost of solar incentives that are passed on to other customers. 

— John Moritz, Energy & Environment Reporter

Murphy talks Middle East policy

Following his trip to the Middle East, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., continues to raise concerns about the Trump administration’s plans regarding Iran.

Murphy said he sat in on a briefing to learn what the plan may look like if the U.S. restarts military operations. “It will lead to devastating escalation and the likely destruction of our commitment to the rule of the law,” Murphy said during a Wednesday discussion at the Middle East Institute.

Recent reports show the administration is weighing more attacks against Iran following the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

— Lisa Hagen, Federal Policy Reporter

Briefs filed in support of CT’s assault weapons ban

As the Supreme Court weighs assault weapons bans in Connecticut and Illinois, gun violence prevention groups and Democratic lawmakers are filing amicus briefs in support of those laws.

Some of the groups include Sandy Hook Promise and Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence. The latter was co-founded by Abbey Clements, a teacher who survived the Sandy Hook school shooting. Clements said “it’s critical that teachers and school staff have a voice in these cases.”

Connecticut’s congressional delegation and Attorney General William Tong filed briefs to defend the constitutionality of Connecticut’s ban, which was updated in 2013. The court will hear oral arguments on Dec. 2 about whether bans in Connecticut and Cook County, Illinois, violate the Second Amendment.

— Lisa Hagen, Federal Policy Reporter

CT to receive $6M in GM data privacy settlement

Connecticut will receive part of a $220 million multistate deal with General Motors to settle allegations that the automotive manufacturer improperly sold drivers’ private data, Attorney General William Tong announced this week.

In 2024, The New York Times reported that GM’s now-defunct Smart Driver program, which was pitched as a way to promote safer driving habits, was sharing users’ driving data with third party brokers. Brokers passed the data to insurance companies, who often hiked rates for Smart Driver participants.

An investigation into the program’s use in Connecticut was one of the first launched under the Connecticut Data Privacy Act. According to Tong’s office, some 123,000 residents were affected. 

— P.R. Lockhart, Economic Development Reporter

Danbury legislator supports call for statewide moratorium

Residents in Danbury shared their concerns over a proposal to redevelop part of the former Union Carbide world headquarters into a data center this week.

As in other parts of the state, residents said they are anxious about noise, environmental impacts and property values. The developer behind the proposal intends to conduct a sound study to determine how a potential data center could impact the area. A formal application for a data center has not been submitted at this time.

Earlier this week, Rep. Raghib Allie-Brennan, who represents part of Danbury, said that he does not support data centers in the city, adding that he plans to introduce legislation to repeal the state’s tax incentives for data centers. The lawmaker also said that he would support passing a temporary statewide moratorium on large-scale data centers.

— P.R. Lockhart, Economic Development Reporter

Judge strikes down “medical frailty” rule

A federal judge in Boston struck down an interim final rule from the Trump administration that critics warned would have made it more difficult for people with certain disabilities to qualify for an exemption to Medicaid work requirements going into effect on Jan. 1.

The interim rule would have required people claiming an eligibility through “medical frailty” to not only prove their diagnoses, but also demonstrate that their conditions would “significantly impair” their ability to comply with work requirements. Attorney General William Tong called the decision a victory over the federal government’s attempt “to deny millions of Americans access to healthcare.”

— Katy Golvala, Health Reporter

CT veteran files new legal action over VA claim denial

Ron Christoforo, a Connecticut Vietnam veteran, and his daughter Michele filed a new legal action in the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims over the denial of her claim.

They’re challenging a federal statute that says children who have certain birth defects are eligible for VA benefits if their mother served in Vietnam. Michele was born with a genetic disorder that causes dwarfism, but she doesn’t qualify since her father was the one who served.

The Christoforos previously filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in April. But the case has been on hold because of a pending case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

— Lisa Hagen, Federal Policy Reporter

Lamont scores endorsement from climate group

Gov. Ned Lamont earned a reelection endorsement on Monday from one of the state’s largest environmental groups, the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters.

“These next four years will require our state leaders to make difficult decisions not only to meet our climate and clean energy goals, but to deliver the affordable, local and reliable energy that Connecticut voters deserve,” the group’s executive director, Lori Brown, said in a statement. “We have no question that Governor Lamont is prepared to deliver for our state and continue making progress in moving Connecticut towards a cleaner and more sustainable future.”

The CTLVC endorsed Lamont in each of his prior two general election campaigns, in 2018 and 2022. However, the group and its members have also clashed with Lamont over some of his policies, most notably his support for an expansion of natural gas infrastructure.

— John Moritz, Energy & Environment Reporter