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

William Tong qualifies

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong became the first of the Democratic candidates for statewide office to qualify this year for a public general-election grant of $1,125,750 through the state’s voluntary Citizens’ Election Program. To qualify, he had to raise $100,700 in small-dollar contributions.

The State Elections Enforcement Commission also approved grants for 15 candidates for the General Assembly this week. Legislative grants for major-party candidates are $38,575 for House races and $131,155 for Senate campaigns.

— Mark Pazniokas, Capitol Bureau Chief

Connecticut’s AI legislation

Federal, state and city leaders gathered at the current home of Hartford’s Applied AI Center this week to celebrate the signing of Senate Bill 5, comprehensive artificial intelligence legislation outlining workforce development opportunities and state regulations around the emerging technology.

The bill had been years in the making, and it passed after a compromise was struck between Gov. Ned Lamont and lawmakers on the General Law Committee. A bipartisan group of officials, including members of the legislature’s AI Caucus, argued in recent months that with federal policy stalled, the state needed to take the lead on AI policy.

The bill’s signing comes as the state looks to stake a position as a national leader in responsible AI use, balancing AI adoption and innovation with protections for state residents.

— P.R. Lockhart, Economic Development Reporter

Surveillance pricing

As Connecticut looks to mark its position as a national leader on artificial intelligence regulation and data privacy, the state is also taking the lead on a related issue: the use of personal data to set individualized prices for consumers.

The issue, known as “personalized pricing” or “surveillance pricing”, was a core part of House Bill 5563, which passed on the final day of the legislative session and was signed into law on Thursday. The measure largely restricts the use of surveillance pricing by retailers in the state, with limited exceptions.

Its signing makes Connecticut the second state in the country to pass a surveillance pricing ban. A similar law focused on grocery stores was recently enacted in Maryland, and legislation is being considered in a number of states including California and New York.

— P.R. Lockhart, Economic Development Reporter

The future for FISA

Renewing a controversial surveillance program was already a heavy lift for Congress. President Donald Trump’s appointment of Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence threw a wrench in that.

“At the core of the problem was a trust issue,” Rep. Jim Himes, a proponent of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, said. “Appointing Bill Pulte just makes that exponentially harder.”

That was on display early Friday as Senate Democrats and some Republicans blocked the advancement of a FISA extension.

“It feels to me like there’s not a path without Pulte’s nomination being pulled,” Sen. Chris Murphy said.

FISA 702, which allows the U.S. to monitor foreigners outside of the country without a warrant, expires next Friday.

— Lisa Hagen, Federal Policy Reporter

Funding immigration enforcement

Early Friday, Senate Republicans passed their $70 billion boost for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol after an impasse to fund the agencies and negotiate guardrails sought by Democrats. Connecticut’s senators, Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, voted against the bill.

At a hearing days earlier, Murphy questioned Markwayne Mullin, the head of the Department of Homeland Security, who oversees those agencies. They clashed when Murphy asked if his agency would follow court orders. Mullin called his questions “political theater.”

“Listen, if you’re a Republican or Democrat on this committee, you should be really, really freaked out,” Murphy said.

Mullin responded: “We should be really concerned about the rulings that come out of the courts, and how often they get overturned.”

— Lisa Hagen, Federal Policy Reporter

U.S. Forest Service lab closure

The members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on Thursday objecting to the agency’s plans to shutter a U.S. Forest Service research lab in Hamden.

The lab is one of 57 such facilities that are being evaluated for potential closure as part of cost-cutting efforts, the agency has said. The list also includes a quarantine facility in Ansonia. The move would impact up to nine staffers who would be relocated to an office in Warren, Penn., according to the lawmakers’ letter.

“At a time when our New England trees are under such grave threat, it defies logic that this administration would seek to close a research facility that has a proven track record of successfully responding to invasive species,” the letter said.

The relocation plan would also move the agency’s headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Salt Lake City.

— John Moritz, Energy and Environment Reporter

Revitalizing ‘greyfields’

In recent years, Connecticut’s brownfields revitalization effort has become one of the state’s most high-profile economic development programs, with the state pouring millions into remediating and redeveloping once contaminated sites as housing and new business space.

Now a similar effort seeks to do something similar, transforming old retail and office properties. This week, the state Department of Economic and Community Development launched a new initiative focused on redeveloping spaces that once housed business and commercial activity but are no longer economically viable. Known as “greyfields,” these properties do not carry the same contamination concerns as brownfields, but still require significant redevelopment work and financial support.

DECD will accept proposals for potential remediation sites until Aug. 5, with award announcements to follow in the fall.

— P.R. Lockhart, Economic Development Reporter

Private equity in healthcare

Last week the governor signed a bill that addresses lessons learned from the fallout following private equity ownership of three Connecticut hospitals, which left the facilities bankrupt and on the brink of closure.

Senate Bill 196 prevents private equity investors from owning a majority stake in the main campus operations of a hospital and from participating in a hospital’s clinical decision making. It also prevents the sale of main campus buildings through what’s known as a “sale-leaseback,” where hospital owners sell the underlying real estate to an investor, forcing the hospital to make rent payments to the building’s new owner.

— Katy Golvala, Health Reporter

Scholarships for aspiring teachers

S.B. 220 started out this year as a bill to provide literacy support for students after grade 3. It emerged from the legislative process significantly altered: Now, it has more to do with the state’s Aspiring Educators Scholarship Program than with reading.

The bill, which Lamont signed Thursday, revises who is eligible for what had been a diversity scholarship aimed at incoming college students who graduated from one of the state’s “Alliance” districts. Now, it’s open to any Connecticut high school graduate from a “population subgroup that is underrepresented in the teaching profession.” The word “diversity” has been removed.

— Theo Peck-Suzuki, Education Reporter

Long-term care insurance

Lamont signed a bill that creates safeguards for long-term care insurance policyholders and requires greater financial disclosures from carriers. The measure requires insurers to disclose annually incurred and actual paid losses for policies. It also gives the state attorney general the power to investigate carriers for practices that violate state law, and directs the state’s insurance commissioner to explore a program that would let policyholders obtain full refunds for premiums paid.

The legislation follows reporting in The Connecticut Mirror that found the annual cost of maintaining long-term care coverage has risen sharply for many residents due to miscalculations by insurers on how long people would live, the price of care and how many would need it.

— Jenna Carlesso, Investigative Reporter

Towing law

Late last week, the governor’s office announced that he’d signed a bill into law that aims to ensure residents have the chance to get their towed vehicles back before a sale. Senate Bill 413, which dealt with the state’s motor vehicle laws, provides that towing companies can sell vehicles after 30 days if they are at least 15 years old. Previously, it was 15 days for vehicles worth $1,500 or less.

This was the second year that the legislature changed the towing law following more than a year of reporting by the Connecticut Mirror and ProPublica.

— Ginny Monk, Investigative Reporter

Hartford schools budget

A consulting firm hired by the state to examine Hartford Public Schools’ finances has found the district made multiple mistakes in calculating its projected deficit for fiscal year 2026. As a result, what Hartford thought was a $22 million deficit is actually closer to $29.5 million.

The consultants found the district “significantly exceeded” its budgeted allocation for salaries and overestimated enrollment, among other issues.

They also found other schools may be overcharging the district for special education services. Hartford must pay special education costs for local students who attend school out-of-district.

— Theo Peck-Suzuki, Education Reporter