2025 State Legislative Session Addresses Many of AARP Connecticut’s Priorities

Energy Affordability, Access and Accountability (Senate Bill 4)

AARP has been at the forefront of advocacy in support of policy and regulations that are in the best interest of Connecticut’s consumers of energy. With a focus on improving energy affordability, access, and accountability for electricity ratepayers, this legislation aims to reduce costs and improve service. Key provisions include:

• Cost Relief: Proponents estimate the bill will save utility customers between $325 million and $350 million annually, potentially reducing monthly bills by 1 to 2 cents per kilowatt-hour.
• Energy Policy Changes: The bill includes provisions to promote grid-enhancing technologies, lower subsidies for renewable energy, and provide utilities with more flexibility in purchasing power.

Net Equity Program (Senate Bill 1295, section 1)

AARP supports the section of this legislation requiring the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) commissioner to develop, establish, and start administering the Net Equality Program by September 30, 2026. As part of the program, a qualified broadband Internet access service provider must allow eligible individuals to request to subscribe to affordable broadband Internet access service, make a commercially reasonable effort to raise public awareness on the availability of affordable broadband, and have enrollment procedures for affordable broadband on its website and advertisements. The bill generally limits the maximum monthly charge for affordable broadband to $40 and requires certain minimum speeds to be 100 megabits per second (Mbps) download speed and 5 Mbps upload speed in the program’s first year and 20 Mbps upload speed afterwards.

Seizure and Forfeiture of Virtual Currency and Virtual Currency Wallets (House Bill 6990)

According to a 2022 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report, consumers lost more money in scams through cryptocurrency than any other payment method in recent years. AARP supports this bill that establishes a comprehensive legal framework in Connecticut for the seizure and forfeiture of virtual currency and virtual currency wallets in connection with certain criminal offenses effective July 1, 2026. The legislation amends multiple sections of the general statutes to explicitly include virtual currency and virtual currency wallets as types of property subject to seizure and forfeiture, aligning their treatment with that of cash and other tangible assets. The policy applies to virtual currency and wallets used in, or derived from, violations of specified theft, fraud, drug, and child exploitation statutes, among others. It sets forth procedures for the state to petition for forfeiture within ninety days of seizure, requires clear and convincing evidence in civil proceedings, and mandates notice to owners and interested parties, allowing for electronic notification in cases involving virtual assets. The act protects innocent owners and lienholders from forfeiture if they were unaware of the criminal use, and exempts property intended for legitimate attorney’s fees from forfeiture. Proceeds from forfeited virtual assets are directed to compensate victims or, in some cases, to designated state funds.

Veterans Affairs (House Bill 6438, section 18)

AARP supports the section of this legislation requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner, in consultation with others, to conduct a study on unaccredited businesses or agents that assist or advise on veteran benefit matters and report to the Veterans’ and Military Affairs Committee and the governor by February 1, 2026. Veterans, active-duty service members and their families are targeted by scammers significantly more than civilians, and this study is to see if veterans are being defrauded from services.

Earned but Unpaid Wage or Salary Income Advances (Senate Bill 1396)

Connecticut passed the strongest Earned Wage Access law in the country to protect consumers. The bill mandates that providers making advances of unpaid wages be licensed and adhere to specific requirements including offering at least one no-cost advance option, disclosing all finance charges, and ensuring that advances do not exceed the borrower's earned but unpaid income. Providers are also prohibited from sharing finance charges with employers, using credit reports to determine eligibility, and charging late fees or penalties. This legislation sets a cap on finance charges for these advances, outlines conditions under which small loans can be voided if they contain inconsistent provisions and imposes caps of $4 per transaction and $30 per month. This applies for an advance to a Connecticut borrower that is (1) less than $750 and (2) made by an earned but unpaid wage or salary income advance provide. But the amount advanced cannot exceed the amount of unpaid income the consumer earned in a particular pay period.

Connecticut Retirement Security Program (Senate Bill 1221)

AARP supports the implementations in this bill to the Connecticut Retirement Security Program, a program the Office of the State Comptroller administers to establish a retirement program with Roth individual retirement accounts (IRAs) for eligible private-sector employees. The legislation primarily extends the program to cover certain personal care attendants (PCAs) who provide personal care assistance under a state-funded program (such as the Connecticut Home Care Program for Elders) starting July 1, 2026; ties the program’s default contribution rate to federal law for participants who enroll on or after July 1, 2025; allows the comptroller to provide an applicable retirement saving vehicle for participants who receive a federal Saver’s Match contribution; and creates a notice requirement and financial penalty for noncompliant employers rather than allowing the labor commissioner or comptroller to sue them as current law does.

Consumer Protection Safety (Senate Bill 3, sections 1, 3, 4, 5 to 6, 7, and 8 to 10)

AARP advocates and champions policies that protects consumers, including many elements of this legislation.

• Total Price Disclosure, section 1: Generally, prohibits businesses that offer to sell, lease, or provide any goods or services to any individual or entity from advertising, displaying, or offering them for a price that does not include all fees, charges, and costs, excluding applicable taxes.
• Right-to-Repair, section 3: Requires certain electronic or appliance manufacturers to make available, on fair and reasonable terms, a products’ repair manuals, functional parts, and tools (i.e. right-to-repair).
• Municipal Internet Websites, section 4: Requires all municipalities to maintain a “.gov” Internet domain and redirect other domains they use to that website or stop using them by July 1, 2027.
• Price Gouging, sections 5 & 6: Defines price gouging as charging an unconscionably excessive price during certain declared emergencies; expands the price gouging law’s application during certain declared emergencies beyond the retail sale of consumer goods to other supply chain transactions (e.g., wholesale) and to rental and lease transactions; and gives the attorney general exclusive authority to enforce this law.
• Automatic Renewals and Continuous Services, section 7: Requires each business that enters into a consumer agreement that includes an automatic renewal or continuous services provision to send consumers an annual reminder with certain information and enable consumers to stop the renewal or services through a website, email, or telephone.
• Rental Prices, sections 8 to 10: Generally, requires a landlord advertising, displaying, or offering a dwelling unit for rent to include any fee, charge, or cost that the tenant is required to pay on a periodic basis.

Statutes Concerning Consumer Protection (Senate Bill 1357, sections 19 to 21, 36 to 39, and 41)

AARP is at the forefront of advocacy in support of policy and regulations that are in the best interest of Connecticut’s consumers, including the following sections of this legislation.

• The bill imposes certain requirements on a mobile manufactured home park owner related to the park’s tenants, such as complying with relevant codes and laws; exterminating pests; and maintaining common areas, any utilities provided, and water and sewer lines. It also requires the owner to maintain septic systems, leaching fields, and septic lines and connections in good working order and to make necessary arrangements for temporary septic service if there is an emergency. As with certain other owner obligations, the law specifies that a rental agreement cannot permit receipt of rent for any period when the park owner fails to comply with the requirements related to septic systems and it materially affects the health and safety of residents or materially affects habitability, and a tenant can file a lawsuit based on 2025SB-01357-R02-BA.DOCX Researcher: CR Page 13 5/23/25 the owner’s failure to perform his or her legal duties.
• The law redefines “business day” for provisions on the right to cancel a home solicitation sale within three business days and seller obligations within 10 business days after cancellation. Currently, a business day excludes Sundays, New Year’s Day, Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. The bill also excludes Saturdays, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Lincoln Day, Juneteenth Independence Day, and any day the governor or U.S. president appoints or recommends as a day of thanksgiving, fasting, or religious observance. The bill increases, from 10 to 12 point, the type required for the right to cancel statement that must be included in home solicitation sale contracts and the notice of cancellation form. It revises the contents of the form to describe much of the same information in a different way. The bill adds, as a condition of an effective home solicitation sale agreement, that the seller provide a business email address and include the following statement if the seller emails or uses another electronic delivery method to provide a digital copy of the agreement: “PLEASE REVIEW IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR RIGHT TO CANCEL THIS AGREEMENT IN THE ‘NOTICE OF CANCELLATION’ BEING PROVIDED TO YOU.”
• The law prohibits a business that enters a consumer agreement with automatic renewal or continuous service from charging a credit or debit card or other account unless the consumer affirmatively consents to the renewal or continuous service. The bill requires a court or agency to consider whether the business produced a record of consent that complied with the law on recording phone calls and eavesdropping when considering whether a business obtained the required consent. The bill also excludes agreements with entities regulated by DCP as home improvement contractors from these provisions governing automatic renewal or continuous service.

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