There are 107 bills — 82 in the Senate, 25 in the House — already proposed by legislators as the state General Assembly convenes its 2026 session on Wednesday.
A $2,080 tax credit for small businesses for each worker they employ. Exempting tips and overtime pay from the state income tax. Supporting apprenticeship programs.
Those are just some of the 107 bills —
82 in the Senate,
25 in the House — already proposed by legislators as the state General Assembly convenes its 2026 session on Wednesday.
Both houses convened at 10 a.m., with Gov. Ned Lamont set to address the combined assembly at noon.
The bills already proposed address a wide range of topics, many that directly affect businesses. They include proposals on taxes, workforce development and the cost of doing business that affect sectors ranging from manufacturing to trucking to bioscience and hospitality.
Many seek to address the theme of affordability that is one of the main areas of focus for this short legislative session, which runs just 13 weeks and ends on May 6.
Tax proposals
In the House, the bills include
HB 5008, which proposes a $2,080 tax credit for small businesses for each full-time equivalent worker they employ. The bill is co-sponsored by seven Republican legislators, including House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora (R-North Branford).
Lawmakers in both chambers —
HB 5010 and
SB 47 — have also proposed exempting tips and gratuities from the state income tax, with versions that cap the deductible amount. Those bills could affect hospitality employers and workers in tip-based occupations.
A separate Senate proposal,
SB 61, would create a voluntary employer payroll tax paired with a personal income tax credit for certain employees, offering companies another way to structure compensation and tax liabilities.
Several other bills would reduce or restructure state taxes in ways that could alter the business climate.
In the Senate,
SB 60 would lower the statewide sales-and-use tax rate to 6% and eliminate the additional 1% meals tax, a move with significant implications for retailers, restaurants and state revenues.
Lawmakers also propose multiple changes to the higher sales tax rate on certain motor vehicles, including raising the price threshold or eliminating the higher rate for many vehicles.
On the corporate side,
SB 43 would overhaul the state’s machinery and equipment tax credit by replacing the current structure with a credit equal to 50% of the amount a corporation spends on machinery and equipment installed in Connecticut, along with recapture provisions. The proposal seeks to encourage in-state capital investment, particularly in manufacturing and industrial facilities.
R&D tax credit
Another major business-focused measure,
SB 51, would increase to 100% the exchange rate for research and development tax credits for biotechnology companies, making it easier for early-stage firms to monetize credits. That bill will be closely watched by Connecticut’s bioscience sector and investors, and follows last year’s approval to expand the R&D tax credit exchange rate for bioscience companies from 65% to 90%.
Lawmakers also have introduced bills seeking to restore a cap on combined group tax liability for corporations filing on a unitary basis and to index personal income tax thresholds to inflation, both of which could affect workforce retention and corporate tax planning.
Workforce proposals
Lawmakers also have introduced bills targeting workforce development and talent retention.
Measures would expand the “Learn Here, Live Here” program, which offers student loan relief tied to living and working in Connecticut, and increase bond funding for the Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund.
Other bills focus on apprenticeship programs, with
SB 11 seeking to provide $800,000 for the high school pre-apprenticeship grant program and
HB 5014 seeking to establish a tax credit for apprenticeships in information technology fields.
Two bills in the Senate also seek to reduce occupational licensing fees (
SB 37 and
SB 82), steps supporters say could lower barriers to entering certain professions.
Other bills
The trucking and logistics industries will closely watch efforts to eliminate the state’s highway use tax.
Bills in both houses —
HB 5011 and
SB 49 — would repeal the tax, which applies to certain heavy trucks using Connecticut roads. Supporters say repeal would lower operating costs for carriers and reduce pass-through costs in supply chains, while opponents raise concerns about lost transportation revenue.
Other proposals address electric vehicles, including new registration fees or taxes tied to EV charging, as lawmakers weigh how to fund transportation infrastructure as fuel tax revenues change.
One House proposal,
HB 5028, would remove the public benefits charge from electric bills and shift those costs to the state’s General Fund, something Lamont has said he opposes. In the Senate,
SB 56 would instead allow taxpayers to claim a personal income tax deduction for the public benefits charges they pay on utility bills.
Both approaches are part of a broader debate over electric rates, affordability and how to fund energy and social programs.
All of the bills proposed in both houses must be raised by the legislature’s various committees and approved before they can be voted on in each house.
