Connecticut 2026 Session Status: Enacted Bipartisan · 63 D · 1 R cosponsors

SB 5 — AN ACT CONCERNING ONLINE SAFETY.

Last action — SIGNED BY GOVERNOR

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Senate
  4. ✓
    Passed House
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 04, 2026. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Ned Lamont (Democratic) on May 27, 2026.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 78% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 68 sponsors

    68 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (63 D · 1 R) — cross-party backing.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

In plain language

The bill addresses measures for online safety.

This legislation establishes various online safety measures aimed at improving security for internet users. It includes provisions to enhance protection against online threats and promote safer digital environments.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

2289 added · 2111 removed

Plain-language change summary

The latest version of SB 5 introduces important clarifications regarding subscription-based artificial intelligence services. It now defines key terms such as "artificial intelligence technology," "consumer," and "subscription" more clearly. Most notably, it specifies that providers must offer a written notice detailing the key terms and conditions of the subscription before charging any fees, which helps protect consumers by ensuring they are fully informed about what they are signing up for. This transparency in agreements is crucial as AI technology becomes more integrated into everyday life, ensuring consumers' rights and understanding are prioritized.

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General Assembly Substitute Bill No.
Substitute Senate Bill No.
5 February Session, 2026 AN ACT CONCERNING ONLINE SAFETY.
5 Public Act No.
26-15 AN ACT CONCERNING ONLINE SAFETY.
(1) "Artificial intelligence technology" means any computer system, applicationorotherproduct that usesorincorporatesoneor more forms of artificial intelligence, as defined in section 19 of this act;
(1) "Artificial intelligence technology" means any computer system, applicationorotherproduct that usesorincorporatesoneor more forms of artificial intelligence, as defined in section 17 of this act;
(2) "Consumer" means an individual who is physically present in the state;
(2) "Consumer" means an individual who is a resident of this state;
LCO 1 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
Substitute Senate Bill No.
5 (b) No subscription-based provider shall enter into or renew a subscription with a consumer unless the subscription-based provider provides to the consumer, in a form and manner prescribed by the Commissioner of Consumer Protection, a written notice disclosing the key terms and conditions of the subscription.
5 (b) (1) No subscription-based provider shall enter into or renew a subscription with a consumer, or collect any fee, remuneration or compensation of any kind from a consumer for an initial subscription or subscription renewal, unless:
Such notice shall, at a minimum, set forth (1) in the case of an initial subscription, any quantitative or qualitative limitations the subscription-based provider may impose under the terms of such subscription, including, but not limited to, any such limitations the subscription-based provider may impose in response to conduct by the consumer under such subscription, and (2) in the case of a subscription renewal, any limitations described in subdivision (1) of this subsection that (A) will be imposed for the first time during the subscription renewal term, or (B) were imposed for the immediately preceding subscription term but have been modified for the subscription renewal term.
(A) The subscription-based provider has provided to the consumer a written notice disclosing the key terms and conditions of the subscription;
(c) Any violation of the provisions of subsection (b) of this section shall constitute an unfair or deceptive trade practice for the purposes of subsection (a) of section 42-110b of the general statutes.
and (B) The consumer has provided to the subscription-based provider a written notice disclosing that the consumer has accepted the key terms and conditions of the subscription.
(d) The Commissioner of Consumer Protection shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 of the general statutes, to implement the provisions of subsection (b) of this section.
(2) The written notice required under subparagraph (A) of subdivision (1) of this subsection shall, at a minimum, set forth:
(A) In the case of an initial subscription, material information that is sufficient to enable a reasonable consumer to decide whether to purchase or maintain the subscription, which information shall include, but need not be limited to:
(i) Any quantitative or qualitative limitations the subscription-based provider may impose under the terms of such subscription, including, but not limited to, any such limitations the subscription-based provider may impose in response to conduct by the consumer under such subscription;
and (ii) Whether the subscription-based provider has discretion to limit or eliminate the consumer's access to, or reduce the quantity or quality of, any functionality of the artificial intelligence technology offered under such subscription;
and (B) In the case of a subscription renewal:
(i) Any quantitative or qualitative limitations described in Public Act No.
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5 subparagraph (A)(i) of this subdivision that (I) will be imposed for the first time during the subscription renewal term, or (II) were imposed for the immediately preceding subscription term but have been modified for the subscription renewal term;
and (ii) Any discretion described in subparagraph (A)(ii) of this subdivision that the subscription-based provider (I) will be able to exercise for the first time during the subscription renewal term, or (II) was able to exercise during the immediately preceding subscription term but has been modified for the subscription renewal term.
(c) Any violation of the provisions of subsection (b) of this section shall constitute an unfair or deceptive trade practice for the purposes of subsection (a) of section 42-110b of the general statutes and shall be enforced solely by the Attorney General.
The provisions of section 42- 110g of the general statutes shall not apply to any such violation.
Nothing in this section shall be construed as providing the basis for a private right of action.
(1) "Catastrophic risk" (A) means any foreseeable and material risk thatthedevelopment,storage,useordeploymentofafoundationmodel by a frontier developer will materially contribute to the death of, or serious injury to, more than fifty individuals, or more than one billion dollars in damage to covered property, or the loss of more than one billion dollars of covered property, arising from any single incident in which the foundation model (i) provides expert-level assistance in the creation or release of a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapon, (ii) engages in any conduct, with no meaningful human LCO 2 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
(1) "Catastrophic risk" (A) means any foreseeable and material risk that the development, storage, use or deployment of a frontier model by a frontier developer will materially contribute to the death of, or serious injury to, more than fifty individuals, or more than one billion dollars in damage to covered property, or the loss of more than one billion dollars of covered property, arising from any single incident in which the frontier model (i) provides expert-level assistance in the creation or release of a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapon, or (ii) engages in any conduct, with no meaningful human oversight, intervention or supervision, that constitutes a cyberattack or, if an individual had engaged in such conduct, would constitute the crime of murder, assault, extortion or theft, including, but not limited to, theft by false pretense, and (B) does not include any foreseeable and material Public Act No.
5 oversight, intervention or supervision, that (I) constitutes malicious activity undertaken to collect, disrupt, deny, degrade or destroy any engineered or machine-based system or any information stored on, or processed by, such system, or (II) would constitute the crime of murder, assault, larceny or theft, including, but not limited to, larceny or theft by extortion, false pretense or false promise, if an individual had engaged in such conduct, or (iii) evades the control of the frontier developer or user of such foundation model, and (B) does not include any foreseeable and material risk posed by (i) any information that a foundation model outputs if such information is otherwise publicly accessible, in a substantially similar form, from any source other than the foundation model, (ii) any lawful activity of the federal government, or (iii) any combination of a foundation model with other software if the foundation model did not materially increase such risk;
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(2) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Consumer Protection;
5 risk posed by (i) any information that a foundation model outputs if such information is otherwise publicly accessible, in a substantially similar form, from any source other than the foundation model, (ii) any lawful activity of the federal government, or (iii) any combination of a foundation model with other software if the foundation model did not materially increase such risk;
(3) "Covered employee" means any employee of a frontier developer who is responsible for assessing, managing or addressing the risk of (A) any unauthorized access to, or modification or exfiltration of, the model weights of a foundation model that causes (i) any death or bodily injury, or (ii) any damage to, or loss of, covered property, (B) any harm due to the materialization of any catastrophic risk, (C) any loss of control over a foundation model that results in any death or bodily injury, or (D) any use of a deceptive technique by a foundation model against its frontier developer that (i) subverts the frontier developer's control over, or monitoring of, the foundation model, (ii) demonstrates any materially increased catastrophic risk, and (iii) occurs outside of the context of an evaluation that is designed to elicit such use;
(2) "Covered employee" means any employee of a frontier developer who is responsible for assessing, managing or addressing the risk of (A) any unauthorized access to, or modification or exfiltration of, the model weights of a foundation model that causes (i) any death or bodily injury, or (ii) any damage to, or loss of, covered property, (B) any harm due to the materialization of any catastrophic risk, (C) any loss of control over a foundation model that results in any death or bodily injury, or (D) any use of a deceptive technique by a foundation model against its frontier developer that (i) subverts the frontier developer's control over, or monitoring of, the foundation model, (ii) demonstrates any materially increased catastrophic risk, and (iii) occurs outside of the context of an evaluation that is designed to elicit such use;
(4) "Covered property" includes (A) tangible property, and (B) intangible property other than equity;
(3) "Covered property" means tangible or intangible property, but does not include equity;
(5) "Deployment" (A) means making any foundation model available to a thirdparty for use, modification,copying or combinationwithother LCO 3 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
(4)"Cyberattack"meansto (A)accessacomputer, informationsystem or network, or any information stored thereon or transmitted thereby, without authorization or in a manner that exceeds granted authorization, and (B) impair the integrity or availability of data, a program, a system or information;
5 software, and (B) does not include making any foundation model available to a third party for the primary purpose of developing or evaluating such foundation model;
(5) "Deployment" (A) means making any foundation model available to a thirdparty for use, modification,copying or combinationwithother software, and (B) does not include making any foundation model available to a third party for the primary purpose of developing or evaluating such foundation model;
(6) "Employee" has the same meaning as provided in section 31-51m of the general statutes;
Public Act No.
(7) "Foundation model" means any engineered or machine-based system that (A) varies in its level of autonomy, (B) can, for any explicit or implicit objective, infer from the inputs such system receives how to generateoutputsthatcaninfluenceanyphysicalorvirtualenvironment, (C) is trained on a broad data set, (D) is designed for generality of output, and (E) is adaptable to a wide range of distinctive tasks;
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(8) "Frontier developer" means any person doing business in the state who intends to train, initiates the training of or trains a frontier model and, in doing so, uses, or intends to use, a quantity of computing power that is greater than ten to the twenty-sixth power integer or floating- point operations, inclusive of any computing power used for original training and for any fine-tuning, reinforcement learning or other material modifications such person applies to a preceding foundation model;
5 (6) "Employee" has the same meaning as provided in section 31-51m of the general statutes;
(7) "Foundation model" means any engineered or machine-based system that (A) varies in its level of autonomy, (B) can, for any explicit or implicit objective, infer from the inputs such system receives how to generate outputs that can influence physical or virtual environments, (C) is trained on a broad data set, (D) is designed for generality of output, and (E) is adaptable to a wide range of distinctive tasks;
(8) "Frontier developer" means any person doing business in the state who intends to train, initiates the training of or trains a foundation model and, in doing so, uses, or intends to use, a quantity of computing power that is greater than ten to the twenty-sixth power integer or floating-point operations, inclusive of any computing power used for original training and for any fine-tuning, reinforcement learning or other material modifications such person applies to a preceding foundation model;
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(b) No frontier developer shall make, adopt, enforce or enter into any rule, regulation, policy or contract that provides that:
5 (b) No frontier developer shall make, adopt, enforce or enter into any rule, regulation, policy or contract that provides that:
Public Act No.
(1) The frontier developer may discharge, discipline or otherwise penalize any employee of such frontier developer because such employee has engaged in any activity set forth in subsection (b) of section 31-51m of the general statutes;
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or (2) Any person with authority over a covered employee, or any other covered employee who has authority to investigate, discover or correct an issue reported by the covered employee, may discharge, discipline or otherwise penalize such covered employee if such covered employee has reasonable cause to believe that an issue reported by such covered employee indicates that such frontier developer has engaged in any activity that poses a specific and substantial danger to the public health or safety due to a catastrophic risk.
5 (1) The frontier developer may discharge, discipline or otherwise penalize any employee of such frontier developer because such employee has engaged in any activity set forth in subsection (b) of section 31-51m of the general statutes;
(c) (1) Not later than January 1, 2027, each large frontier developer shall establish and maintain a reasonable internal process through which a covered employee of such large frontier developer may anonymouslysubmita reporttosuchlargefrontierdeveloperdisclosing any information that the covered employee believes, in good faith, indicates that such large frontier developer has engaged in any activity that poses a specific and substantial danger to the public health or safety due to a catastrophic risk.
or (2) Any person with authority over a covered employee, or any other covered employee who has authority to investigate, discover or correct an issue reported by the covered employee, may discipline or retaliate against such covered employee if such covered employee has reasonable cause to believe that an issue reported by such covered employee indicates that such frontier developer has engaged in any activity that poses a specific and substantial danger to the public health or safety due to a catastrophic risk.
Upon receiving a report submitted as part of such process, a large frontier developer shall review the information disclosed in the report and undertake an investigation to determine whether such information demonstrates that the large frontier developer has engaged in any activity that poses any such danger.
(c) (1) Not later than January 1, 2027, each large frontier developer shall establish and maintain a reasonable internal process through which (A) a covered employee of such large frontier developer may anonymouslysubmita reporttosuchlargefrontierdeveloperdisclosing any information that the covered employee believes, in good faith, indicates that such large frontier developer has engaged in any activity that poses a specific and substantial danger to the public health or safety due to a catastrophic risk, and (B) such large frontier developer shall provide reasonable updates to each covered employee who submits a report under subparagraph (A) of this subdivision disclosing (i) the status of the investigation such large frontier developer has undertaken in response to such report, and (ii) the actions such large frontier developer has taken in response to such report.
If such information demonstrates that the large frontier developer has engaged in any activity that poses any such danger, the large frontier developer shall immediately take action to eliminate such danger.
(2) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision, each report submitted under subparagraph (A) of subdivision (1) of this subsection, and each reasonable update provided pursuant to subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of this subsection, shall be shared with the officers and directors of the large frontier developer at least quarterly.
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(2) Each large frontier developer shall, as part of the reasonable internal process such large frontier developer establishes and maintains pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection, provide monthly updates LCO 5 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
Public Act No.
5 to any covered employee who submits a report to such large frontier developer under subdivision (1) of this subsection (A) in a manner that preserves the anonymity of such covered employee, (B) that disclose the status of the investigation such large frontier developer has undertaken, and any actions such large frontier developer has taken, in response to such report, and (C) until such time as such large frontier developer provides a final monthly update to such covered employee disclosing that such large frontier developer has reviewed the information disclosed in such report and, upon investigation, determined that such information (i) does not demonstrate that such large frontier developer has engaged in any activity that poses a specific and substantial danger to the public health or safety due to a catastrophic risk, or (ii) does demonstrate that such large frontier developer has engaged in any activity that poses a specific and substantial danger to the public health or safety due to a catastrophic risk and discloses the actions such large frontier developer has taken to eliminate such danger.
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(3) (A) Not later than May 1, 2027, and every three months thereafter, each large frontier developer shall, except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision, prepare and submit a quarterly report to the officers and directors of such large frontier developer disclosing (i) all information that was reported to such large frontier developer pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection during the most recently completed quarter, and (ii) the status of the investigation such large frontier developer has undertaken, and any actions such large frontier developer has taken, in response to such reported information pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection.
5 (B) If a covered employee has alleged wrongdoing by an officer or director of the large frontier developer in a report submitted under subparagraph (A) of subdivision (1) of this subsection, neither such report nor any reasonable update provided in response to such report pursuant to subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of this subsection shall be shared with such officer or director.
(B) If any report submitted to a large frontier developer under subdivision (1) of this subsection alleges wrongdoing by any officer or directorofthelarge frontier developer,thelarge frontier developer shall not submit a quarterly report to such officer or director pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this subdivision.
(d) Each frontier developer shall provide to all of its covered employees clear notice of such covered employees' rights and responsibilities under this section by, at a minimum:
(d) Each frontier developer shall provide notice to its employees disclosing the rightsandresponsibilities offrontier developersandtheir LCO 6 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
(1) Ensuring that (A) a notice is posted and displayed at all times within any workplace maintained by such frontier developer disclosing the rights of covered employees under this section, (B) each newly hired covered employee of such frontier developer receives a notice that is equivalent to the notice required under subparagraph (A) of this subdivision, and (C) each covered employee of such frontier developer who works remotely periodically receives a notice that is equivalent to the notice required under subparagraph (A) of this subdivision;
5 employees under subsections (b) and (c) of this section.
or (2) At least annually providing a written notice to each covered employee of such frontier developer disclosing such covered employee's rights under this section, and ensuring each such covered employee receives, and acknowledges that such covered employee has received, such written notice.
A frontier developer may provide such notice to its employees by:
(e) Any frontier developer that violates any provision of subsections (b) to (d), inclusive, of this section shall be liable to the state for a civil penalty in an amount that does not exceed one thousand dollars per violation.
(1) Displaying such notice at all times within each workplace the frontier developer maintains in the state, providing such notice to each newly hired employee and annually providing such notice to each employee who works remotely;
The Attorney General may bring an action in the superior court for the judicial district of Hartford to collect such civil penalty and for any injunctive or equitable relief.
or (2) Annually providing such notice to each employee and ensuring that each employee receives, and acknowledges that such employee has received, such notice.
(e) The Commissioner of Consumer Protection may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 of the general statutes, to implement the provisions of subsections (b) to (d), inclusive, of this section.
(f) The Commissioner of Consumer Protection may impose a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars for each violation of any provision of subsections (b) to (d), inclusive, of this section.
The Attorney General, upon request of the commissioner, may bring an action in the superior court for the judicial district of Hartford to collect such civil penalty and for any injunctive or equitable relief.
In any action brought by the Attorney General to enforce the provisions of subsections (b) to (d), inclusive, of this section, the state shall be entitled to recover, when the state is the prevailing party, the costs of investigation, expert witness fees, costs of the action and reasonable attorneys' fees.
In any action brought by the Attorney General to enforce the provisions of Public Act No.
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5 subsections (b) to (d), inclusive, of this section, the state shall be entitled to recover, when the state is the prevailing party, the costs of investigation, expert witness fees, costs of the action and reasonable attorneys' fees.
(Effective July 1, 2027) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, in consultation with the Banking Commissioner, Commissioner of Administrative Services, Commissioner of Public Health and Insurance Commissioner, shall LCO 7 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
(Effective July 1, 2027) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, in consultation with the Banking Commissioner, Commissioner of Administrative Services, Commissioner of Public Health and Insurance Commissioner, shall develop a plan to establish an artificial intelligence regulatory sandbox program, which program shall allow an applicant to temporarily test an innovative product or service on a limited basis under reduced licensure, regulatory and other legal requirements than may otherwise be required under the laws of the state.
5 develop a plan to establish an artificial intelligence regulatory sandbox program, which program shall allow an applicant to temporarily test an innovative product or service on a limited basis under reduced licensure, regulatory and other legal requirements than may otherwise be required under the laws of the state.
Such plan shall be developed for the purpose of establishing a competitive business environment in the state for the development and deployment of artificial intelligence technologies.
Such plan shall be developed for the purpose of establishing a competitive business environment in the state for the development and deployment of artificial intelligence technologies relative to other jurisdictions.
In developing such plan, the commissioner shall contact relevant artificial intelligence regulatory sandbox programs that have been established in other states for the purpose of assessing the feasibility of establishing a reciprocal multistate artificial intelligence regulatory sandbox program.
(1) "Artificial intelligence" has the same meaning as provided in section 19 of this act;
(1)"Artificialintelligencecompanion"(A)meansanyformofartificial Public Act No.
(2) "Artificial intelligence companion" (A) means any artificial intelligence model that (i) communicates with individuals in natural language, and (ii) simulates human conversation and interaction through text, audio or video, and (B) does not include any machine- based system that (i) is used by a business entity (I) solely for internal purposes or for the purposes of customer service or employee productivity, or (II) strictly to provide users with information concerning the commercial services or products that are available from, and provided by, the business entity, customer service account information or any other information strictly related to customer service, or (ii) is primarily designed to provide, and marketed as providing, efficiency improvements, research assistance or technical assistance;
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(3) "Artificial intelligence model" means any component of an LCO 8 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
5 intelligence, as defined in section 17 of this act, with a natural language interface that (i) provides adaptive, human-like responses to user inputs, including, but not limited to, by exhibiting anthropomorphic features, and (ii) is able to sustain a relationship across multiple interactions, and (B) does not include (i) any chatbot that (I) is used only for a business's operational purposes, productivity and analysis related to source information, internal research, technical assistance, customer service or support, assisting or supporting patient or resident care services in a facility, education or financial services, and (II) is not marketed to consumers as a companion, (ii) any chatbot that (I) is a feature of a video game or gaming system or application, (II) is limited to replies related to the video game or gaming system or application, and (III) cannot discuss topics related to mental health, self-harm or sexually explicit conduct or maintain a dialogue on other topics unrelated to the video game or gaming system or application, (iii) any stand-alone consumer electronic device that (I) functions as a speaker and voice command interface, (II) acts as a voice-activated virtual assistant, and (III) does not sustain a relationship across multiple interactions or generate outputs that are likely to elicit emotional attachment in the user, (iv) any narrowly tailored educational tool that (I) is used in school or instructional settings, (II) is designed solely to support specific, curriculum-aligned learning objectives, and (III) does not provide open-ended conversational companionship, (v) any artificial intelligence system used solely to provide health care-related education, clinical support, medication-adherence reminders, disease-management guidance or other treatment-support functions, provided such artificial intelligence system (I) does not present itself as a human being, (II) does not use anthropomorphic features, and (III) is not designed to meet a user's social or emotional needs, (vi) any narrow, task-specific tool that provides outputs relating to a discrete topic or function, provided the primary function of such tool is not to discuss topics related to mental health, or (vii) any individual or entity that develops, licenses or provides an artificial intelligence model or system Public Act No.
5 information system that implements artificial intelligence and uses computational, statistical or machine learning techniques to produce outputs from a given set of inputs;
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(4) "Business entity" means an association, corporation, limited liability company, partnership or other similar form of business organization;
5 to another individual or entity to the extent that the individual or entity that develops, licenses or provides such model or system does not solely determine the specific use case, user interface or deployment context in which such model or system interacts with end users;
(5) "Licensed mental health professional" has the same meaning as provided in section 38a-514e of the general statutes;
(2) "Business entity" means an association, corporation, limited liability company, partnership or other similar form of business organization;
(6) "Operator" means any individual, business entity or affiliate, member, subsidiary or beneficial owner of a business entity who provides an artificial intelligence companion to, or operates an artificial intelligence companion for, a user;
(3) "Licensed mental health professional" has the same meaning as provided in section 38a-514e of the general statutes;
(7) "Person" means an individual or a business entity;
(4) "Mental health service" (A) means any service or treatment provided by an operator to arrest, reverse, ameliorate or stabilize a patient's psychiatric disability, and (B) includes, but is not limited to, counseling, case management, psychiatric treatment, medication, crisis intervention, vocational or residential services, peer or recovery supports or any other service or treatment that, if provided by a human, would require a license;
(8) "Personal data" has the same meaning as provided in section 42- 515 of the general statutes;
(5) "Operator" means any individual, business entity or affiliate, member, subsidiary or beneficial owner of a business entity who provides an artificial intelligence companion to, or operates an artificial intelligence companion for, a user;
(9) "Self-harm" means intentional self-injury with or without the intent to cause death;
(6) "Self-harm" means intentional self-injury with or without the intent to cause death;
and (10) "User" means any individual who (A) uses an artificial intelligence companion for personal use within the state, and (B) is not an operator, or an agent or affiliate of an operator, of the artificial intelligence companion.
and (7)"User"meansany individualwho (A)uses anartificialintelligence companion for personal use within the state, and (B) is not an operator, or an agent or affiliate of an operator, of the artificial intelligence companion.
(NEW) (Effective January 1, 2027) (a) No operator shall provide an artificial intelligence companion to a user, or operate an artificial intelligence companion for a user, unless the artificial intelligence companion includes a protocol to take reasonable efforts to detect and address any user expression indicating a risk of suicide, self-harm or imminent violence.
(NEW) (Effective January 1, 2027) (a) (1) No operator shall provide an artificial intelligence companion to a user, or operate an Public Act No.
Such protocol shall, at a minimum, provide for the detection of any user expression to the artificial intelligence companion indicating a risk of suicide, self-harm or imminent violence and, if the artificial intelligence companion detects any such expression, refer the LCO 9 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
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5 user to appropriate mental health evaluation and treatment resources, including, but not limited to, the 9-8-8 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
5 artificial intelligence companion for a user, unless:
(b) The operator of an artificial intelligence companion shall provide a clear and conspicuous audible or written notice to a user disclosing that the user is communicating with an artificial intelligence companion and not another individual.
(A) The artificial intelligence companion includes a protocol that, at a minimum:
The operator shall provide such notice to the user (1) at the beginning of each artificial intelligence companion interaction, except the operator shall not be required to provide such notice to the user more frequently than once per day, and (2) at least once hourly during any continuous artificial intelligence companion interaction.
(i) Uses evidence-based methods to (I) detect any user expression to the artificial intelligence companion clearly indicating a risk of suicide, self-harm or imminent physical violence, and (II) institute measures to prevent the artificial intelligence companion from generating any output that encourages suicide, self-harm or physical violence;
(c) The Attorney General shall enforce the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this section.
(ii) If the artificial intelligence companion detects any user expression described in subparagraph (A)(i)(I) of this subdivision, refer the user to appropriate mental health evaluation and treatment resources, including, but not limited to, the 9-8-8 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline;
Whenever it appears to the Attorney General that any operator has violated, is violating or is about to violate any provision of subsection (a) or (b) of this section, the Attorney General may institute a civil action in the Superior Court in the name of the state against such operator.
and (iii) If the artificial intelligence companion detects any user expression described in subparagraph (A)(i)(I) of this subdivision after the user was referred in the manner set forth in subparagraph (A)(ii) of thissubdivision,refer theuser tomentalhealthservicesinamannerthat is consistent with clinical best practices and expertise;
The court may assess a civil penalty of not more than fifteen thousand dollars per day for each such violation and may order such declaratory, injunctive or other equitable relief as the court deems appropriate.
and (B) The operator has implemented reasonable measures to prohibit and prevent the artificial intelligence companion from:
(i) Claiming that the artificial intelligence companion is a human being, including, but not limitedto,when an individual interacting with the artificial intelligence companion asks whether the artificial intelligence companion is a human being;
or (ii)Generatinganyoutputthatrefutesorconflictswithanydisclosure that the artificial intelligence companion is not a human being.
(2) The operator of an artificial intelligence companion shall post the Public Act No.
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5 protocol required under subparagraph (A) of subdivision (1) of this subsection in a prominent and publicly accessible location on such operator's Internet web site.
(b) If an artificial intelligence companion would cause a reasonable individual who uses the artificial intelligence companion to believe that such individual is interacting with another human being and not an artificial intelligence companion, the operator of such artificial intelligence companion shall provide a clear and conspicuous notice to a user disclosing that the user is communicating with an artificial intelligence companion.
The operator shall provide such notice to the user (1) in a static written form that is visible throughout the entire interaction between such user and the artificial intelligence companion, or (2) in an audible or written form (A) at the beginning of the first interaction between such user and the artificial intelligence companion during any twenty-four-hour period, and (B) (i) if such user is younger than eighteen years of age, at least once hourly during any continuous artificial intelligence companion interaction, or (ii) if such user is eighteen years of age or older, at least once during each three-hour- period of continuous artificial intelligence companion interaction.
(c) Any violation of the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall constitute an unfair or deceptive trade practice for the purposes of subsection (a) of section 42-110b of the general statutes and shall be enforced solely by the Attorney General.
The provisions of section 42-110g of the general statutes shall not apply to any such violation.
Nothing in this section shall be construed as providing the basis for a private right of action.
(NEW) (Effective January 1, 2027) (a) (1) No operator shall provide an artificial intelligence companion to a user, or operate an artificial intelligence companion for a user, who is younger than eighteen years of age if it is reasonably foreseeable that the artificial intelligence companion is capable of:
(NEW) (Effective January 1, 2027) (a) (1) No operator shall provide an artificial intelligence companion to a user, or operate an artificial intelligence companion for a user, if the operator knows, or has reason to believe, that the user is younger than eighteen years of age, unless the operator has instituted measures, that meet or exceed Public Act No.
(A) Encouraging the user to engage in self-harm, suicidal ideation, violence, disordered eating or the unlawful consumption of alcohol or drugs;
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(B) Offering mental health services to the user, unless (i) such artificial intelligence companion is designed to deliver mental health services to users, (ii) the developers of such artificial intelligence LCO 10 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
5 industry standards, to prevent the artificial intelligence companion from:
5 companion (I) are in possession of robust, independent, peer-reviewed clinical trial data demonstrating the safety and efficacy of such artificial intelligence companion in treating specific conditions and populations, and (II) have established clear lines of accountability to address any harms caused by such artificial intelligence companion, (iii) the functions and limitations of, and data privacy policies applicable to, such artificial intelligence companion are readily accessible to such user and such user's treating licensed mental health professional, (iv) such artificial intelligence companion (I) displays to such user, in a clear and conspicuous manner at the beginning of each interaction between such user and such artificial intelligence companion, a statement disclosing thatsuchartificialintelligencecompanionisnotalicensedmentalhealth professional, and (II) is not marketed or designated as a substitute for a licensed mental health professional, and (v) a licensed mental health professional has (I) assessed the suitability of such user to interact with such artificial intelligence companion, (II) instructed such user to interact with such artificial intelligence companion as part of a comprehensive treatment plan, and (III) supervises such user's interaction with such artificial intelligence companion and the impact of such interaction on such user;
(A) Encouraging such user to engage in self-harm, suicidal ideation, physical violence, disordered eating or the unlawful consumption of alcohol or drugs;
(C) Discouraging the user from seeking (i) mental health services from a licensed mental health professional, or (ii) assistance from an appropriate adult;
(B) Offering mental health services to such user, unless (i) such artificial intelligence companion is designed to deliver mental health services to users, (ii) the developers of such artificial intelligence companion (I) utilize clinical best practices, and (II) have established clear lines of accountability to address any harms caused by such artificial intelligence companion, (iii) the functions and limitations of, and data privacy policies applicable to, such artificial intelligence companion are readily accessible to such user and such user's treating licensed mental health professional, and (iv) such artificial intelligence companion (I) displays to such user, in a clear and conspicuous manner atthebeginningofeachinteractionbetweensuchuserand suchartificial intelligence companion, a statement disclosing that such artificial intelligence companion is not a licensed mental health professional, and (II) is not marketed or designated as a substitute for a licensed mental health professional;
(D) Encouraging the user to harm others or engage in any illegal activity;
(C) Discouraging such user from seeking (i) mental health services from a licensed mental health professional, or (ii) assistance from an appropriate adult;
(E) Engaging in any romantic, erotic or sexually explicit interaction with the user;
(D) Encouraging such user to harm others;
(F) Prioritizing validation of the user's beliefs, preferences or desires over factual accuracy or the user's safety;
(E) Engaging in any romantic, erotic or sexually explicit interaction with such user;
(G) Implementing a system of rewards or affirmations for the user based on a variable ratio or variable interval reinforcement schedule for the purpose of maximizing the user's engagement time with such LCO 11 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
(F) Engaging such user through any manipulative technique that is intended to extend interaction between such user and such artificial intelligence companion by (i) prompting or reminding such user to use Public Act No.
5 artificial intelligence companion;
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or (H) Optimizing user engagement in any manner that supersedes the prohibitions established in subparagraphs (A) to (G), inclusive, of this subdivision.
5 such artificial intelligence companion for emotional support or companionship, (ii) excessively praising such user, (iii) mimicking a romantic relationship or building a romantic bond with such user, (iv) simulating feelings of emotional distress, loneliness, guilt or abandonment in response to any indicationthat such user desiresto end a conversation, reduce usage time or delete such user's account, (v) generating any output designed to isolate such user from such user's family or friends, exclusively rely on such artificial intelligence companion for emotional support or foster any similar form of inappropriate emotional dependence by such user, (vi) encouraging such user to withhold information from such user's parent or legal guardian or any other adult trusted by such user, (vii) making any statement designed to discourage such user from taking a break from using such artificial intelligence companion or suggest that such user should frequently return to use such artificial intelligence companion, or (viii) soliciting any gift, purchase or other expenditure by indicating that such gift, purchase or expenditure is necessary to maintain such user's relationship with such artificial intelligence companion;
(2) No operator shall be deemed to have violated any provision of subdivision (1) of this subsection if the operator reasonably determined, before providing the artificial intelligence companion to the user or operating the artificial intelligence companion on behalf of the user, that the user was eighteen years of age or older.
or (G) Optimizing user engagement in any manner that disregards any of the provisions of subparagraphs (A) to (F), inclusive, of this subdivision.
(b) (1) The Attorney General shall enforce the provisions of subsection (a) of this section on behalf of the state.
(2) No operator shall be deemed to have violated any provision of subdivision (1) of this subsection if the operator knew, or had reason to believe, before providing the artificial intelligence companion to the user or operating the artificial intelligence companion on behalf of the user, that the user was eighteen years of age or older.
Whenever it appears to the Attorney General that any operator has violated any provision of subsection (a) of this section, the Attorney General may institute a civil action in the Superior Court in the name of the state against such operator.
(b) No operator shall provide an artificial intelligence companion to a user, or operate an artificial intelligence companion for a user, if the operator knows, or has reason to believe, that the user is younger than eighteen years of age, unless the operator has made available to minor users and their parents or legal guardians tools to manage minor users' Public Act No.
The court may assess a civil penalty of not more than twenty- five thousand dollars for each such violation and may order such declaratory, injunctive or other equitable relief as the court deems appropriate.
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(2) In addition to the remedies available under subdivision (1) of this subsection, a user who is aggrieved by a violation of any provision of subsection (a) of this section, or the parent or legal guardian of the user if the user is younger than eighteen years of age, may institute a civil actioninthe SuperiorCourt to recover actualandpunitive damages and for such declaratory, injunctive or other equitable relief as the court deems appropriate.
5 screen time and account settings.
The court may award to such user, or to the parent or legal guardian of such user, costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
(c) Any violation of the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall constitute an unfair or deceptive trade practice for the purposes of subsection (a) of section 42-110b of the general statutes and shall be enforced solely by the Attorney General.
No such action shall be brought but within three years after the occurrence of such violation.
(NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) As used in this section and sections 8 to 13, inclusive, of this act:
(NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) As used in this section and sections 8 to 12, inclusive, of this act:
(1) "Automated employment-related decision process" (A) means a LCO 12 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
(1) "Automated employment-related decision technology" (A) means any technology that processes personal data and uses computation to generate any output, including, but not limited to, any prediction, recommendation, classification, ranking, score or other information, that is a substantial factor used to make or materially influence an employment-related decision, and (B) does not include (i) any word processing, spreadsheet, map navigation, web hosting, domain registration, networking, caching, Internet web site loading, data storage, firewall, anti-virus, anti-malware, spam and robocall filtering, spellchecking, calculator, database or similar software or technology insofar as such software or technology does not make or materially influence an employment-related decision, (ii) any system or service that is used in a manner that is incidental to making an employment- related decision, or (iii) any information that is purely descriptive, diagnostic or statistical in nature and not relied upon to make or materially influence an employment-related decision;
5 computational process that generates any output, including, but not limited to, any constraint, rank, score, recommendation or classification, that (i) affects the outcome of an employment-related decision, and (ii) is not a de minimis factor that is relied upon in making, or in determining the material terms of, an employment-related decision, (B) includes, but is not limited to, a computational process that (i) uses a computer-based assessment or test to (I) make a predictive assessment concerning an employee or applicant for employment, (II) measure the skills, dexterity, reaction time or any other ability or characteristic of an employee or applicant for employment, (III) measure the personality traits, aptitude, attitude or cultural fit of an employee or applicant for employment, or (IV) screen, evaluate, categorize or recommend an employee or applicant for employment, (ii) directs job advertisements or other recruiting materials to targeted groups, (iii) screens resumes for particular terms or patterns, (iv) analyzes a facial expression, word choice or voice capturedduring anonline interview,or (v)analyzesdata acquired from a third party concerning an employee or applicant for employment, and (C) does not include (i) any word processing, spreadsheet, map navigation, web hosting, domain registration, networking, caching, Internet web site loading, data storage, firewall, anti-virus, anti-malware, spam and robocall filtering, spellchecking, calculator, database or similar software or technology insofar as such software or technology does not make an employment-related decision, or (ii) any system or service that is used in a manner that is incidental to making an employment-related decision;
(2) "Deploy" means to put an automated employment-related decision technology into use;
(2) "Deploy" means to put an automated employment-related decision process into use;
(3) "Deployer" means a person doing business in the state who deploys an automated employment-related decision technology in the state;
(3) "Deployer" means a person doing business in the state who deploysanautomated employment-relateddecisionprocessinthestate;
(4) "Developer" means a person doing business in the state who Public Act No.
(4) "Developer" means a person doing business in the state who develops, or intentionally and substantially modifies, an automated employment-related decision process;
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LCO 13 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
5 develops, or intentionally and substantially modifies, an automated employment-related decision technology;
5 (5) "Employment-related decision" (A) means any decision, made based on any individual's personal data, to recruit, hire, promote, discipline or discharge such individual, to renew such individual's employment, to select such individual for any training or apprenticeship or with respect to such individual's tenure or terms, privileges or conditions of employment, and (B) does not include any such decision that (i) results in any minor change in such individual's job tasks, work responsibilities, hours or work assignments, or (ii) is made with respect to workplace health and safety, scheduling and planning or productivity monitoring;
(5) "Employment-related decision" (A) means any decision, made based on any individual's personal data, to hire, promote, discipline or discharge such individual, to renew such individual's employment, to select such individual for any training or apprenticeship or with respect to such individual's tenure or terms, privileges or conditions of employment, and (B) does not include any such decision that (i) results in any nonmaterial change in such individual's job tasks, work responsibilities, hours or work assignments, or (ii) is made with respect to workplace health and safety, scheduling and planning or productivity monitoring;
(7) "Personal data" has the same meaning as provided in section 42- 515 of the general statutes;
(7) "Personal data" has the same meaning as provided in section 42- of the general statutes;
(8) "Substantial factor" (A) means a factor that assists in making, and is capable of altering the outcome of, an employment-related decision concerning an individual in the state, and (B) includes, but is not limited to, any output generated by an automatedemployment-related decision process that assists in making, and is capable of altering the outcome of, an employment-related decision concerning the individual;
(8) "Substantial factor" means a factor, including, but not limited to, a constraint, ranking, score, recommendation or classification, that meaningfully alters the outcome of an employment-related decision concerning an individual in the state;
(NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the developer of an automated employment-related decision process that is deployed in the state on or after October 1, 2027, shall provide to the deployer of such automated employment-related decisionprocessallinformationthat suchdeployer requires to perform such deployer's duties under sections 9 to 11, inclusive, of this act.
(NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) (a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, the developer of an automated employment-related decisiontechnology thatisdeployedinthestate on or after October 1, 2027, shall provide to the deployer of such automated employment-related decision technology all information that such deployer requires to perform such deployer's duties under sections 9 and 10 of this act.
(b) The developer of an automated employment-related decision process may enter into a contract with a deployer of the automated LCO 14 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
Public Act No.
5 employment-related decision process to assume the deployer's duties under sections9 to 11, inclusive, ofthisact.
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The contract shallbebinding and clearly set forth which of the deployer's duties under sections 9 to 11, inclusive, of this act the developer has assumed.
5 (b) The developer of an automated employment-related decision technology shall not be required to provide any information to a deployer pursuant to subsection (a) of this section unless the automated employment-related decision technology was advertised, marketed, configured, contracted for, sold or licensed to be used to materially influence an employment-related decision.
(c) The developer of an automated employment-related decision technology may enter into a contract with a deployer of the automated employment-related decision technology to assume the deployer's duties under sections 9 and 10 of this act.
The contract shall be binding and clearly set forth which of the deployer's duties under sections 9 and of this act the developer has assumed.
(NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section and subsection (b) of section 8 of this act, a deployer who, on or after October 1, 2027, deploys one or more automated employment-related decision processes that are intended to interact with an employee or applicant for employment in the state shall ensure that it is disclosed to each such employee or applicant who interactswithsuchprocessor processesthat suchemployee or applicant is interacting with such process or processes.
(NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section and subsection (c) of section 8 of this act, a deployer who, on or after October 1, 2027, deploys one or more automated employment-related decision technologies that are intended to interact with an employee or applicant for employment in the state shall ensure that it is disclosed to each such employee or applicant who interacts with such technology or technologies that such employee or applicant is interacting with such technology or technologies.
Such disclosure shall be made in plain language, and shall also contain a description of the general nature of each such process such deployer has deployed to interact with such employee or applicant.
Such disclosure shall be made in plain language.
(b)No disclosure shall berequiredunder subsection(a)ofthissection under circumstances in which a reasonable person would deem it obviousthat suchpersonisinteracting withanautomatedemployment- related decision process.
(b)No disclosure shall berequiredunder subsection(a)ofthissection under circumstances in which a reasonable person would deem it obviousthat suchpersonisinteracting withanautomatedemployment- related decision technology.
(NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) Except as provided in subsection(b)of section 8ofthisact,adeployer who, onor after October 1, 2027, deploys an automated employment-related decision process to generate any output for the purpose of making, or as a substantial factor in making, an employment-related decision concerning an employee or applicant for employment in the state shall, before such employment- related decision is made, provide to such employee or applicant a written notice disclosing:
(NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) Except as provided in subsection (c) of section 8 of this act, a deployer who, on or after October 1, 2027, deploys an automated employment-related decision technology to generate any output for the purpose of making, or as a substantial factor in making, an employment-related decision concerning an Public Act No.
(1) That the deployer has deployed an automated employment- related decision process;
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(2) The purpose of the automated employment-related decision process and the nature of such employment-related decision;
5 employee or applicant for employment in the state shall, before such employment-related decision is made, provide to such employee or applicant a written notice disclosing:
LCO 15 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
(1) That the deployer has deployed an automated employment- related decision technology;
5 (3) Information concerning the right, under subparagraph (C) of subdivision (5) of subsection (a) of section 42-518 of the general statutes, to opt-out of the processing of personal data for the purposes set forth in said subparagraph;
(2) The purpose of the automated employment-related decision technology and the nature of such employment-related decision;
and (4) Contact information for the deployer.
(3) The trade name of the automated employment-related decision technology;
(4) The categories of personal data concerning such employee or applicant the automated employment-related decision technology will analyze or process and how the personal data will be assessed in reaching a decision;
(5) The sources of the personal data described in subdivision (4) of this section;
and (6) Contact information for the deployer.
(NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) (a) Except as provided in subsection(b)of section 8ofthisact,adeployer who, onor after October 1, 2027, deploys an automated employment-related decision process to generate any output for the purpose of making, or as a substantial factor in making, an employment-related decision concerning an employee or applicant for employment in the state shall, if such employment-related decision is adverse to such employee or applicant, provide to such employee or applicant:
(NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) (a) No provision of sections to 10, inclusive, of this act shall be construed to require any person to disclose any information that is a trade secret or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal law.
(1) A high-level statement disclosing the principal reason or reasons for such adverse employment-related decision, including, but not limited to, (A) the degree to which, and manner in which, the output generated by such automated employment-related decision process contributed to such adverse employment-related decision, (B) the type of data that were processed by such automated employment-related decision process in generating such output, and (C) the source of the data described in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision;
and (2) If the output generated by such automated employment-related decision process was based on any personal data that such employee or applicant did not provide to the deployer, an opportunity to (A) examine such personal data, and (B) correct any incorrect personal data described in this subdivision.
(b) A deployer who is required to provide a high-level statement to an employee or applicant for employment in the state pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section shall provide such statement:
(1) Directly to such employee or applicant;
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5 (2) In plain language;
(3) In all languages in which such deployer, in the ordinary course of such deployer's business, provides contracts, disclaimers, sales announcements and other information to persons in the state;
and (4) In a format that is accessible to individuals with disabilities.
Sec.
12.
(NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) (a) No provision of sections 8 to 11, inclusive, of this act shall be construed to require any person to disclose any information that is a trade secret or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal law.
13.
12.
(NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) Any violation of the provisions of sections 8 to 12, inclusive, of this act shall constitute an unfair or deceptive trade practice for the purposes of subsection (a) of section 42-110b of the general statutes and shall be enforced solely by the Attorney General.
(NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) Any violation of the provisions of sections 8 to 11, inclusive, of this act shall constitute an Public Act No.
The Attorney General may, prior to initiating any action for a violation of any provision of sections 8 to 12, inclusive, of this act, issue a notice of violation to the person who committed such violation if the Attorney General determines that it is possible to cure such violation.
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If such person fails to cure such violation within sixty days of receipt of such notice of violation, the Attorney General shall bring an action pursuant to this section.
5 unfair or deceptive trade practice for the purposes of subsection (a) of section 42-110b of the general statutes and shall be enforced solely by the Attorney General.
The provisions of section 42- 110g of the general statutes shall not apply to any such violation.
The Attorney General may, prior to initiating any action for a violation of any provision of sections 8 to 11, inclusive, of this act, that occurs on or before December 31, 2027, issue a notice of violation to the person who committed such violation if the Attorney General determines that it is possible to cure such violation.
Nothing in this section or sections 8 to 12, inclusive, of this act shall be construed as providing the basis for a private right of action for any violation of said sections.
If such person fails to cure such violation within sixty days of receipt of such notice of violation, the Attorney General may bring an action pursuant to this section.
The provisions of section 42-110g of the general statutes shall not apply to any such violation.
Nothing in this section or sections to 11, inclusive, of this act shall be construed as providing the basis for a private right of action for any violation of said sections.
14.
13.
Section 46a-60 of the 2026 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective LCO 17 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
Subsection (b) of section 46a-60 of the 2026 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026):
5 October 1, 2026):
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Automated employment-related decision process" has the same meaning as provided in section 7 of this act;
[(1)] (2) "Pregnancy" means pregnancy, childbirth or a related condition, including, but not limited to, lactation;
[(2)] (3) "Reasonable accommodation" means, but is not limited to, being permitted to sit while working, more frequent or longer breaks, periodic rest, assistance with manual labor, job restructuring, light duty assignments, modified work schedules, temporary transfers to less strenuous or hazardous work, time off to recover from childbirth or break time and appropriate facilities for expressing breast milk;
and [(3)] (4) "Undue hardship" means an action requiring significant difficulty or expense when considered in light of factors such as (A) the nature and cost of the accommodation;
(B) the overall financial resources of the employer;
(C) the overall size of the business of the employer with respect to the number of employees, and the number, type and location of its facilities;
and (D) the effect on expenses and resources or the impact otherwise of such accommodation upon the operation of the employer.
(1) (A) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, except in the case of a bona fide occupational qualification or need, to refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from employment any individual or to discriminate against any individual in compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of, or to use an automated employment-related decision process in any manner that has the effect of causing the employer to refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from employment any individual or to discriminate against any individual in compensation or in terms, conditions or LCO 18 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
(1) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, except in the case of a bona fide occupational qualification or need, to refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from employment any individual or to discriminate against any individual in compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of the individual's race, color, religious creed, age, sex, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, ancestry, present or past history of mental disability, intellectual disability, learning disability, physical disability, including, but not limited to, blindness, status as a veteran, status as a victim of domestic violence, status as a victim of sexual assault or status as a victim of trafficking in persons.
5 privileges of employment on the basis of, the individual's race, color, religious creed, age, sex, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, ancestry, present or past history of mental disability, intellectual disability, learning disability, physical disability, including, but not limited to, blindness, status as a veteran, status as a victim of domestic violence, status as a victim of sexual assault or status as a victim of trafficking in persons.
[;] The use of an automated employment-related decision technology, as defined in section 7 of this act, shall not be a defense against a complaint alleging a discriminatory practice in violation of this subdivision.
[;] In any action for a discriminatory practice in violation of this subparagraph involving an automated employment-related decision process, the commission or the court shall consider any evidence, or lack of evidence, of anti-bias testing or similar proactive efforts to avoid such discriminatory practice, including, but not limited to, the quality, efficacy, recency and scope of such testing or efforts, the results of such testing or efforts and the response thereto.
The Public Act No.
(B) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, to fail to provide to any individual advance written notice disclosing, at a minimum, that an automated employment-related decision process will be used to make, to assist in making or in the course of making a decision to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from employment, or concerning the compensation or terms, conditions or privileges of employment, of such individual.
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Such notice shall, at a minimum, disclose the trade name of the automated employment-related decision process and the types and sources of personal information concerning the individual that the automated employment-related decision process will process or analyze.
5 commission or court may consider evidence of anti-bias testing or similar proactive efforts to avoid the discriminatory practice, including, but not limited to, thequality,efficacy,recency andscopeofsuchtesting or efforts, the results of such testing or efforts and the response thereto.
[;] LCO 19 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
[;] (3)For alabororganization,because oftherace, color,religiouscreed, age, sex, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, ancestry, present or past history of mental disability, intellectual disability, learning disability, physical disability, including, but not limited to, blindness, status as a veteran, status as a victim of domestic violence, status as a victim of sexual assault or status as a victim of traffickinginpersonsofanyindividualtoexcludefromfullmembership rights or to expel from its membership such individual or to discriminate in any way against any of its members or against any employer or any individual employed by an employer, unless such action is based on a bona fide occupational qualification.
5 (3)For alabororganization,because oftherace, color,religiouscreed, age, sex, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, ancestry, present or past history of mental disability, intellectual disability, learning disability, physical disability, including, but not limited to, blindness, status as a veteran, status as a victim of domestic violence, status as a victim of sexual assault or status as a victim of traffickinginpersonsofanyindividualtoexcludefromfullmembership rights or to expel from its membership such individual or to discriminate in any way against any of its members or against any employer or any individual employed by an employer, unless such action is based on a bona fide occupational qualification.
[;] (5) For any person, whether an employer or an employee or not, to aid, abet, incite, compel or coerce the doing of any act declared to be a discriminatory employment practice or to attempt to do so.
[;] Public Act No.
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5 (5) For any person, whether an employer or an employee or not, to aid, abet, incite, compel or coerce the doing of any act declared to be a discriminatory employment practice or to attempt to do so.
(B) to refuse to grant to that employee a reasonable leave of absence for LCO 20 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
(B) to refuse to grant to that employee a reasonable leave of absence for disability resulting from her pregnancy;
5 disability resulting from her pregnancy;
(G) to fail or refuse to make a reasonable accommodation for an employee or person seeking employment due to her pregnancy, unless the employer can demonstrate that such accommodation would impose an undue hardship on such employer;
(G) to fail or refuse to make a reasonable accommodation for an employee or person seeking employment due to Public Act No.
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5 her pregnancy, unless the employer can demonstrate that such accommodation would impose an undue hardship on such employer;
[;] (8) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, for an employment agency, by itself or its agent, or for any labor organization, by itself or its agent, to harass any employee, person seeking employment or member on the basis of sex or gender identity or LCO 21 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
[;] (8) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, for an employment agency, by itself or its agent, or for any labor organization, by itself or its agent, to harass any employee, person seeking employment or member on the basis of sex or gender identity or expression.
5 expression.
Notwithstanding an employer's failure to obtainawrittenagreementfromanemployeeconcerningamodification in the conditions of employment, the commission may find that corrective action taken by an employer was reasonable and not of detriment to the complainant based on the evidence presented to the commission by the complainant and respondent.
Notwithstanding an employer's failure to obtainawrittenagreementfromanemployeeconcerningamodification in the conditions of employment, the commission may find that corrective action taken by an employer was reasonable and not of detriment to the complainant based on the evidence presented to the Public Act No.
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5 commission by the complainant and respondent.
[;] (9) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, for an employment agency, by itself or its agent, or for any labor organization, by itself or its agent, to request or require information from an employee, person seeking employment or member relating to the individual's child-bearing age or plans, pregnancy, function of the individual's reproductive system, use of birth control methods, or the individual's familial responsibilities, unless such information is directly related to a bona fide occupational qualification or need, provided an employer, through a physician may request from an employee any such information which is directly related to workplace exposure to substances which may cause birth defects or constitute a hazard to an LCO 22 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
[;] (9) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, for an employment agency, by itself or its agent, or for any labor organization, by itself or its agent, to request or require information from an employee, person seeking employment or member relating to the individual's child-bearing age or plans, pregnancy, function of the individual's reproductive system, use of birth control methods, or the individual's familial responsibilities, unless such information is directly related to a bona fide occupational qualification or need, provided an employer, through a physician may request from an employee any such information which is directly related to workplace exposure to substances which may cause birth defects or constitute a hazard to an individual's reproductive system or to a fetus if the employer first informs the employee of the hazards involved in exposure to such substances.
5 individual's reproductive system or to a fetus if the employer first informs the employee of the hazards involved in exposure to such substances.
[;] (10) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, after informing an employee, pursuant to subdivision (9) of this subsection, of a workplace exposure to substances which may cause birth defects or constitute a hazard to an employee's reproductive system or to a fetus, to fail or refuse, upon the employee's request, to take reasonable measures to protect the employee from the exposure or hazard identified, or to fail or refuse to inform the employee that the measures Public Act No.
[;] (10) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, after informing an employee, pursuant to subdivision (9) of this subsection, of a workplace exposure to substances which may cause birth defects or constitute a hazard to an employee's reproductive system or to a fetus, to fail or refuse, upon the employee's request, to take reasonable measures to protect the employee from the exposure or hazard identified, or to fail or refuse to inform the employee that the measures taken may be the subject of a complaint filed under the provisions of this chapter.
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5 taken may be the subject of a complaint filed under the provisions of this chapter.
[;] (12) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, to request or require a prospective employee's age, date of birth, dates of attendance at or date of graduation from an educational institution on an initial employment application, provided the provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to any employer requesting or requiring such information (A) based on a bona fide occupational qualification or need, or (B) when such information is required to comply with any LCO 23 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
[;] (12) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, to request or require a prospective employee's age, date of birth, dates of attendance at or date of graduation from an educational institution on an initial employment application, provided the provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to any employer requesting or requiring such information (A) based on a bona fide occupational qualification or need, or (B) when such information is required to comply with any provision of state or federal law.
5 provision of state or federal law.
(ii) obtain services including safety planning from a domestic violence agency or rape crisis center, as those terms are defined in section 52-146k, as a result of domestic violence, sexual assault or trafficking in persons;
(ii) obtain services including safety planning Public Act No.
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5 from a domestic violence agency or rape crisis center, as those terms are defined in section 52-146k, as a result of domestic violence, sexual assault or trafficking in persons;
or (iv) documentation from a medical professional, including a domestic violence counselor or sexual assault counselor, as those terms are LCO 24 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
or (iv) documentation from a medical professional, including a domestic violence counselor or sexual assault counselor, as those terms are defined in section 52-146k, or other health care provider, that the employee or the employee's child was receiving services, counseling or treatment for physical or mental injuries or abuse resulting in victimization from an act of domestic violence, sexual assault or trafficking in persons.
5 defined in section 52-146k, or other health care provider, that the employee or the employee's child was receiving services, counseling or treatment for physical or mental injuries or abuse resulting in victimization from an act of domestic violence, sexual assault or trafficking in persons.
Public Act No.
(C) Where an employee has a physical or mental disability resulting from an incident or series of incidents of domestic violence, sexual assault or trafficking in persons, such employee shall be treated in the same manner as an employee with any other disability.
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5 (C) Where an employee has a physical or mental disability resulting from an incident or series of incidents of domestic violence, sexual assault or trafficking in persons, such employee shall be treated in the same manner as an employee with any other disability.
(c) (1) The provisions of this section concerning age shall not apply to:
(A) The termination of employment of any person with a contract of unlimited tenure at an independent institution of higher education who is mandatorily retired, on or before July 1, 1993, after having attained the age of seventy;
(B) the termination of employment of any person who has attained the age of sixty-five and who, for the two years immediately preceding such termination, is employed in a bona fide executive or a high policy-making position, if such person is entitled to an immediate nonforfeitable annual retirement benefit under a pension, profit-sharing, savings or deferred compensation plan, or any combination of such plans, from such person's employer, which equals, in aggregate, at least forty-four thousand dollars;
(C) the termination of employment of persons in occupations, including police work and fire- fighting, in which age is a bona fide occupational qualification;
(D) the operation of any bona fide apprenticeship system or plan;
or (E) the observance of the terms of a bona fide seniority system or any bona fide employeebenefitplanforretirement,pensionsorinsurancewhichisnot adopted for the purpose of evading said provisions, except that no such plan may excuse the failure to hire any individual and no such system or plan may require or permit the termination of employment on the basisofage.Nosuchplanwhichcoverslessthantwentyemployeesmay LCO 25 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
5 reduce the group hospital, surgical or medical insurance coverage provided under the plan to any employee who has reached the age of sixty-five and is eligible for Medicare benefits or any employee's spouse who has reached age sixty-five and is eligible for Medicare benefits except to the extent such coverage is provided by Medicare.
The terms of any such plan which covers twenty or more employees shall entitle any employee who has attainedthe age of sixty-five and any employee's spouse who has attained the age of sixty-five to group hospital, surgical or medical insurance coverage under the same conditions as any covered employee or spouse who is under the age of sixty-five.
(2) No employee retirement or pension plan may exclude any employee from membership in such plan or cease or reduce the employee's benefit accruals or allocations under such plan on the basis of age.
The provisions of this subdivision shall be applicable to plan years beginning on or after January 1, 1988, except that for any collectively bargained plan this subdivision shall be applicable on the earlier of (A) January 1, 1990, or (B) the later of (i) the expiration date of the collective bargaining agreement, or (ii) January 1, 1988.
(3) The provisions of this section concerning age shall not prohibit an employer from requiring medical examinations for employees for the purpose of determining such employees' physical qualification for continued employment.
(4) Any employee who continues employment beyond the normal retirement age in the applicable retirement or pension plan shall give notice of intent to retire, in writing, to such employee's employer not less than thirty days prior to the date of such retirement.
(d) (1) An employer shall provide written notice of the right to be free from discrimination in relation to pregnancy, childbirth and related conditions, including the right to a reasonable accommodation to the known limitations related to pregnancy pursuant to subdivision (7) of subsection (b) of this section to:
(A) New employees at the commencement of employment;
(B) existing employees within one LCO 26 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
5 hundred twenty days of October 1, 2017;
and (C) any employee who notifies the employer of her pregnancy within ten days of such notification.
An employer may comply with the provisions of this section by displaying a poster in a conspicuous place, accessible to employees, at the employer's place of business that contains the information required by this section in both English and Spanish.
The Labor Commissioner may adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to establish additional requirements concerning the means by which employers shall provide such notice.
(2) The Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities shall develop courses of instruction and conduct ongoing public education efforts as necessary to inform employers, employees, employment agencies and persons seeking employment about their rights and responsibilities under this section.
14.
Section 46a-81c of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026):
It shall be a discriminatory practice in violation of this section:
(1) For an employer, by [himself] the employer or [his] the employer's agent, except in the case of a bona fide occupational qualification or need, to refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from employment any individual or to discriminate against [him] any individual in compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of the individual's sexual orientation or civil union status, (2) for any employment agency, except in the case of a bona fide occupational qualification or need, to fail or refuse to classify properly or refer for employment or otherwise to discriminate against any individual because of the individual's sexual orientation or civil union status, (3) for a labor organization, because of the sexual orientation or civil union status of any individual to exclude from full membership rights or to expel from its membership such individual or to discriminate in any way against any of its members or against any employer or any individual employed by an employer, unless such action is based on a bona fide occupational qualification, or (4) for any person, employer, employment agency or labor organization, except in the case of a bona fide occupational qualification or need, to advertise employment opportunities in such a manner as to restrict such employment so as to discriminate against individuals because of their sexual orientation or civil union status.
In any action for a Public Act No.
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5 discriminatory practice in violation of subdivision (1) of this section involving an automated employment-related decision technology, as defined in section 7 of this act, the use of an automated employment- related decision technology shall not be a defense against a complaint.
The commission or court may consider evidence of anti-bias testing or similar proactive efforts to avoid such discriminatory practice, including, but not limited to, the quality, efficacy, recency and scope of such testing or efforts, the results of such testing or efforts and the response thereto.
Sec.
(1) "Artificial intelligence system" means any machine-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs such system receives how to generate outputs, including, but not limited to, synthetic digital content;
(1) "Consumer" means an individual who is a resident of this state;
(2) "Consumer" has the same meaning as provided in section 1 of this act;
(2) "Covered provider" (A) means any person who creates, codes or otherwise produces a generative artificial intelligence system that (i) has more than one million users per month, and (ii) is publicly accessible to consumers for personal use, and (B) does not include any federal, state or local government agency;
(3) "Developer" means any person doing business in the state that develops, or intentionally and substantially modifies, an artificial intelligence system or general-purpose artificial intelligence model;
(3) "Generative artificial intelligence system" (A) means any technology that uses machine learning to generate images, audio or video, and (B) includes, but is not limited to, any system utilizing deep learning, natural language processing or other computational processing techniques of similar or greater complexity;
(4) "General-purpose artificial intelligence model" (A) means a model used by an artificial intelligence system that (i) displays significant generality, (ii) is capable of competently performing a wide range of distinct tasks, and (iii) can be integrated into a variety of downstream applications or systems, and (B) does not include any model that is used for development, prototyping and research activities before such model is released on the market;
(4) "Materially alter" (A) means to substantially alter the data in any content, and (B) does not include any minor modification that does not lead to a significant change in the perceived content or meaning thereof, including, but not limited to, any (i) change in brightness, contrast or color, (ii) sharpening, (iii) saturation, (iv) application of a filter, (v) resizing, (vi) scaling, (vii) cropping, (viii) format conversion, (ix) resampling, (x) denoising, or (xi) removal of background noise in audio;
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(5) "Person" means an individual, association, corporation, limited Public Act No.
5 (5) "Intentional and substantial modification" means any deliberate material change made to an artificial intelligence system or general- purpose artificial intelligence model that (A) affects compliance of the artificial intelligence system or general-purpose artificial intelligence model, or (B) materially changes the purpose of the artificial intelligence system or general-purpose artificial intelligence model;
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(6) "Person" means an individual, association, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, trust or other legal entity;
5 liability company, partnership, trust or other legal entity;
and (7) "Synthetic digital content" means any digital content, including, but not limited to, any audio, image, text or video, that is produced or manipulated by an artificial intelligence system or general-purpose artificial intelligence model.
and (6) "Provenance data" means data that are embedded into digital content or that are included in the digital content's metadata for the purpose of verifying the digital content's authenticity, origin or history of modification.
(b) On and after October 1, 2027, and except as provided in subsections (c) and (d) of this section, the developer of an artificial intelligence system or general-purpose artificial intelligence model that is capable of generating synthetic digital content shall:
(b) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, each covered provider shall:
(1) Ensure that the outputs of such artificial intelligence system or general-purpose artificial intelligence model are marked and detectable as synthetic digital content, and that such outputs are so marked and detectable (A) not later than the time that consumers who did not create such outputs first interact with, or are exposed to, such outputs, and (B) in a manner that (i) is detectable by consumers, and (ii) complies with any applicable accessibility requirements;
(A) To the extent commercially and technically reasonable, include provenance data in any audio, image or video content, or in any content that is a combination thereof, that is created or materially altered by such covered provider's generative artificial intelligence system in a manner that allows a consumer to assess whether such content was created or materially altered by such covered provider's generative artificial intelligence system;
and (2) As far as technically feasible and in a manner that is consistent with any nationally or internationally recognized technical standards, ensure that such developer's technical solutions are effective, interoperable, robust and reliable, considering (A) the specificities and limitations of different types of synthetic digital content, (B) the implementation costs, and (C) the generally acknowledged state of the art.
and (B) Use commercially and technically reasonable methods, including, but not limited to, the relevant standard established by the Coalition for ContentProvenanceandAuthenticity,tomaketheprovenancedatathat are included in any content pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this subdivision difficult to tamper with, remove or disassociate from such content.
(c) If the synthetic digital content described in subsection (b) of this LCO 28 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
(2) The provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection shall not be construed to:
5 section is in an audio, image or video format, and such synthetic digital content forms part of an evidently artistic, creative, satirical, fictional analogous work or program, the disclosure required under said subsection shall be limited to a disclosure that does not hinder the display or enjoyment of such work or program.
(A)Require (i)a coveredproviderto includeany informationrelating to an identified or reasonably identifiable individual in the provenance dataincludedinanycontentcreatedormateriallyalteredbythecovered provider's generative artificial intelligence system, or (ii) the disclosure of (I) any information that is a trade secret or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal law, or (II) any confidential or proprietary information concerning the design or use of a generative Public Act No.
(d) The provisions of subsection (b) of this section shall not apply:
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(1) To any synthetic digital content that (A) consists exclusively of text, (B) is published to inform the public on any matter of public interest, or (C) is unlikely to mislead a reasonable person consuming such synthetic digital content;
5 artificial intelligence system;
or (2) To the extent that any artificial intelligence system or general- purpose artificial intelligence model described in subsection (b) of this section (A) performs an assistive function for standard editing, (B) does not substantially alter the input data provided by the developer or the semantics thereof, or (C) is used to detect, prevent, investigate or prosecute any crime where authorized by law.
or (B) Apply to (i) any business-to-business use, sale, licensing or distribution of a generative artificial intelligence system, (ii) any product, service, Internet web site or application that solely provides consumers with video game or interactive experiences, which experiences may include (I) direct sales of goods or services to consumers through the Internet, and (II) allowing consumers to virtually browse, select and purchase items, or (iii) any system that is used solely for upscaling, noise reduction or compression.
(c) Any violation of the provisions of subsection (b) of this section shall constitute an unfair or deceptive trade practice for the purposes of subsection (a) of section 42-110b of the general statutes and shall be enforced solely by the Attorney General.
The provisions of section 42- 110g of the general statutes shall not apply to any such violation.
Nothing in this section shall be construed as providing the basis for a private right of action.
Section 5-270 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026):
(NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) As used in this section:
When used in sections 5-270 to 5-280, inclusive, as amended by this act, and section 17 of this act:
(1) "Artificial intelligence" means any machine-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs such system receives how to generate outputs, including, but not limited to, content, decisions, predictions or recommendations, that can influence physical or virtual environments;
(a) "Employer" means the state of Connecticut, its executive and judicial branches, including, without limitation, any board, department, commission, institution, or agency of such branches or any appropriate unit thereof and any board of trustees of a state-owned or supported college or university and branches thereof, public and quasi-public state corporation, or authority established by state law, or any person or persons designated by the employer to act in its interest in dealing with employees, but shall not include the State Board of Labor Relations or the State Board of Mediation and Arbitration.
and (2) "Legislative leader" has the same meaning as provided in section 4-9d of the general statutes.
(b) "Employee" means any employee of an employer, whether or not LCO 29 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
(b) Any legislative leader may request that the executive director of theConnecticut Academy ofScience andEngineering designate afellow selected by said academy to serve as such legislative leader's liaison with said academy, the office of the Attorney General and the Department of Economic and Community Development for purposes Public Act No.
5 in the classified service of the employer, except elected or appointed officials other than special deputy sheriffs, board and commission members, disability policy specialists assigned to the Council on Developmental Disabilities, managerial employees and confidential employees.
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(c) "Professional employee" means:
5 of:
(1) Any employee engaged in work (A) predominantly intellectual and varied in character as opposed to routine mental, manual, mechanical or physical work;
(1)Evaluating (A)theadoptionofartificialintelligence by businesses, (B) the challenges posed to, and needs of, businesses in (i) adopting artificial intelligence, and (ii) understanding laws and regulations concerning artificial intelligence, and (C) how businesses that use artificial intelligence hire employees with necessary skills concerning artificial intelligence;
(B) involving the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment in its performance;
(C) of such a character that the output produced or the result accomplished cannot be standardized in relation to a given time period;
(D) requiring knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction and study in an institution of higher learning or a hospital, as distinguished from a general academic education or from anapprenticeshiporfromtrainingintheperformanceofroutinemental, manual or physical processes;
or (2) any employee who has completed the courses of specialized intellectual instruction and study described in subsection (c)(1)(D) and is performing related work under the supervision of a professional person to qualify himself to become a professional employee as defined in subsection (c)(1).
(d) "Employee organization" means any lawful association, labor organization, federation or council having as a primary purpose the improvement of wages, hours and other conditions of employment among state employees.
(e) "Confidential employee" means any public employee who would have access to confidential information used in collective bargaining.
(f) "Supervisory employee" means any individual in a position in which the principal functions are characterized by not fewer than two of the following:
(1) Performing such management control duties as scheduling, assigning, overseeing and reviewing the work of subordinate employees;
(2) performing such duties as are distinct and LCO 30 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
5 dissimilar from those performed by the employees supervised;
(3) exercising judgment in adjusting grievances, applying other established personnel policies and procedures and in enforcing the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement;
and (4) establishing or participating in the establishment of performance standards for subordinate employees and taking corrective measures to implement those standards, provided in connection with any of the foregoing the exercise of such authority is not merely of a routine or clerical nature, but requires the use of independent judgment, and such individuals shall be employees within the meaning of subsection (b) of this section.
The above criteria for supervisory positions shall not necessarily apply to police or fire departments.
(g) "Managerial employee" means any individual in a position in which the principal functions are characterized by not fewer than two of the following, provided for any position in any unit of the system of higher education, one of such two functions shall be as specified in subdivision (4) of this subsection:
(1) Responsibility for direction of a subunit or facility of a major division of an agency or assignment to an agency head's staff;
(2) development, implementation and evaluation of goals and objectives consistent with agency mission and policy;
(3) participation in the formulation of agency policy;
or (4) a major role in the administration of collective bargaining agreements or major personnel decisions, or both, including staffing, hiring, firing, evaluation, promotion and training of employees.
(h) "Artificial intelligence technology" has the same meaning as provided in section 1 of this act.
Sec.
17.
(NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) During the term of a written collective bargaining agreement entered into by an employer and a designated employee organization in accordance with the provisions of sections 5-270 to 5-280, inclusive, of the general statutes, as amended by thisact, no artificialintelligence technology shallbeused by or onbehalf of the employer in any manner that:
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5 (1) Modifies or impairs such agreement in any way, including, but not limited to, any such use that has theeffect of modifying or impairing the rights, benefits and privileges accorded to the employee members of the bargaining unit that is represented by such designated employee organization, by, among other things, (A) reducing the wages, fringe benefits or nonovertime hours of such employee members, or (B) assuming the duties and functions of such employee members;
(2) Modifies or impairs the designated employee organization's role as the exclusive representative of the bargaining unit for the purposes of such agreement;
or (3) Modifies or impairs the relationship between the employer and the designated employee organization with respect to such agreement.
Sec.
18.
(NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) For the purposes of this section, "legislative leader" has the same meaning as provided in section 4-9d of the general statutes.
(b) Any legislative leader may request that the executive director of theConnecticut Academy ofScience andEngineering designate afellow selected by said academy to serve as such legislative leader's liaison with said academy, the office of the Attorney General and the DepartmentofEconomicandCommunityDevelopmentforthepurpose of:
(1) Evaluating (A) the adoption of artificial intelligence systems by businesses, (B) the challenges posed to, and needs of, businesses in (i) adopting artificial intelligence systems, and (ii) understanding laws and regulations concerning artificial intelligence systems, and (C) how businesses that use artificial intelligence systems hire employees with necessary skills concerning artificial intelligence systems;
(3) Evaluating the benefits of creating a state-wide research LCO 32 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
(3) Evaluating the benefits of creating a state-wide research collaborative among health care providers to enable the development of advanced analytics, ethical and trustworthy artificial intelligence and hands-on workforce education while using methods that protect patient privacy;
5 collaborative among health care providers to enable the development of advanced analytics, ethical and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems and hands-on workforce education while using methods that protect patient privacy;
(4) Evaluating, and making recommendations concerning, (A) the establishment of testbeds to support safeguards and systems to prevent the misuse of artificial intelligence, (B) risk assessments for the misuse of artificial intelligence, (C) evaluation strategies for artificial intelligence, and (D) the development, testing and evaluation of resources to support state oversight of artificial intelligence;
(4) Evaluating, and making recommendations concerning, (A) the establishment of testbeds to support safeguards and systems to prevent the misuse of artificial intelligence systems, (B) risk assessments for the misuse of artificial intelligence systems, (C) evaluation strategies for artificial intelligence systems, and (D) the development, testing and evaluation of resources to support state oversight of artificial intelligence systems;
and (6) Developing a plan to establish a technology transfer program (A) for the purpose of supporting commercialization of new ideas and research among public and private institutions of higher education in the state, and (B) by working with (i) relevant public and private organizations, including, but not limited to, the Department of Economic and Community Development, and (ii) The University of Connecticut and a state-wide consortium of public and private entities in the state, including, but not limited to, public and private institutions of higher education in the state, designed to advance the development, application and impact of artificial intelligence across the state, to assess whether The University of Connecticut can support technology commercialization at other public and private institutions of higher education in the state.
and (6) Developing a plan to establish a technology transfer program (A) for the purpose of supporting commercialization of new ideas and research among public and private institutions of higher education in the state, and (B) by working with (i) relevant public and private organizations, including, but not limited to, the Department of Public Act No.
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5 Economic and Community Development, and (ii) The University of Connecticut and a state-wide consortium of public and private entities in the state, including, but not limited to, public and private institutions of higher education in the state, designed to advance the development, application and impact of artificial intelligence across the state, to assess whether The University of Connecticut can support technology commercialization at other public and private institutions of higher education in the state.
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(d) Not later than January 1, 2027, the fellows of the Connecticut Academy ofScience andEngineering designatedpursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall jointly submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to commerce and consumer protection.
5 (d) Not later than January 1, 2027, the fellows of the Connecticut Academy ofScience and Engineering designatedpursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall jointly submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to commerce and consumer protection.
19.
17.
(1) Curate and offer online courses concerning artificial intelligence and the responsible use of artificial intelligence;
Public Act No.
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5 (1) Curate and offer online courses concerning artificial intelligence and the responsible use of artificial intelligence;
(6) Develop courses concerning artificial intelligence that the Labor Department and Workforce Investment Boards may incorporate into LCO 34 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
(6) Develop courses concerning artificial intelligence that the Labor Department and Workforce Investment Boards may incorporate into workforce training programs;
5 workforce training programs;
(7) In consultation with relevant stakeholders, including, but not limited to, bargaining units representing teachers in the state, develop and offer courses and videos for primary and secondary school teachers and administrators (A) concerning the appropriate use of artificial intelligence inprimary andsecondary schoolclassrooms,(B) instructing such teachers how to use artificial intelligence, and (C) providing ideas to teachers regarding how to instruct primary and secondary school students in the use of artificial intelligence;
(7) Develop and offer courses for primary and secondary school teachers and administrators (A) concerning the appropriate use of artificial intelligence in primary and secondary school classrooms, (B) instructing such teachers how to use artificial intelligence, and (C) informing teachers how to instruct primary and secondary school students in the use of artificial intelligence;
and (9) Develop a course to develop durable skills based on the Business- Higher Education Forum's guidance concerning essential skills for the artificial intelligence economy.
(9) Develop a course to develop durable skills based on the Business- Public Act No.
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5 Higher Education Forum's guidance concerning essential skills for the artificial intelligence economy;
and (10) Collaborate with various industry partners to offer (A) coursework for workers concerning concepts related to artificial intelligence, including, but not limited to, coursework to improve workers' skills related to artificial intelligence, and (B) programs to educate residents of the state on concepts related to artificial intelligence, with a special focus on small and medium businesses.
20.
18.
(Effective July 1, 2026) (a) For the purposes of this section:
(Effective July 1, 2026) (a) As used in this section:
(1) "Artificial intelligence" has the same meaning as provided in section 19 of this act;
(1) "Artificial intelligence" has the same meaning as provided in section 17 of this act;
and LCO 35 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
and (3) "Synthetic digital content" means any digital content, including, but not limited to, any audio, image, text or video, that is produced or manipulated by any form of artificial intelligence, including, but not limited to, generative artificial intelligence.
5 (3) "Synthetic digital content" means any digital content, including, but not limited to, any audio, image, text or video, that is produced or manipulated by any form of artificial intelligence, including, but not limited to, generative artificial intelligence.
(b) There is established a working group to engage stakeholders and Public Act No.
(b) There is established a working group to engage stakeholders and experts to:
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5 experts to:
(2) Make recommendations concerning methods to create resources for the purpose of assisting small businesses to adopt artificial intelligence to improve their efficiency and operations;
(2) Make recommendations concerning artificial intelligence and small businesses, including, but not limited to, recommendations to (A) create resources for the purpose of assisting small businesses to adopt artificial intelligence to improve their efficiency and operations, (B) accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence agents by small businesses, and (C) properly apportion liability related to actions performed by artificial intelligence agents on behalf of small businesses;
(5) After reviewing the laws and regulations, and any proposed LCO 36 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
Public Act No.
5 legislation or regulations, of other states concerning artificial intelligence, propose legislation concerning artificial intelligence;
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5 (5) After reviewing the laws and regulations, and any proposed legislation or regulations, of other states concerning artificial intelligence, propose legislation concerning artificial intelligence;
and (D) The development, testing and evaluation of resources to support state oversight of artificial intelligence;
(D) The development, testing and evaluation of resources to support state oversight of artificial intelligence;
and (E) The laws under which independent verification organizations are created;
(i) One appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall be a representative of the industries that are developing artificial intelligence;
(i) One appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall be Public Act No.
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5 a representative of the industries that are developing artificial intelligence;
(iv) one LCO 37 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
(iv) one appointedbythemajorityleaderoftheSenate,whoshallbeanacademic with a concentration in the study of government and public policy;
5 appointedbythemajorityleaderoftheSenate,whoshallbeanacademic with a concentration in the study of government and public policy;
(xii) one appointed by the Senate chairperson of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to labor, who shall be a representative of a labor organization;(xiii) one appointed by the House ranking member of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to labor, who shall be a representative of a small business;
(xii) one appointed by the Senate chairperson of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to labor, who shall be a representative of a labor organization;(xiii) one appointed by the House ranking member of the joint standing committee of the General Public Act No.
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5 Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to labor, who shall be a representative of a small business;
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(B) All voting members of the working group appointed pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this subdivision shall have professional experience or academic qualifications in matters pertaining to artificial intelligence, automated systems, government policy or another related field.
5 (B) All voting members of the working group appointed pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this subdivision shall have professional experience or academic qualifications in matters pertaining to artificial intelligence, automated systems, government policy or another related field.
(H) the Commissioner of Administrative Services, or the commissioner's designee;
(H) the Commissioner of Public Act No.
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5 Administrative Services, or the commissioner's designee;
(d) The chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General LCO 39 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
(d) The chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to consumer protection and the executive director of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering shall serve as chairpersons of the working group.
5 Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to consumer protection and the executive director of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering shall serve as chairpersons of the working group.
The chairpersons of the working group shall schedule the first meeting of the working group, which shall be held not later than August 31, 2026.
Such chairpersons shall schedule the first meeting of the working group, which shall be held not later than August 31, 2026.
19.
(NEW) (Effective January 1, 2027) The Labor Department shall provide a notice, in a form and manner prescribed by the Labor Commissioner, to each individual who makes a claim for unemployment compensation disclosing the existence of, and courses and services offered by, the Connecticut AI Academy established pursuant to section 17 of this act.
Public Act No.
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5 Sec.
20.
(NEW) (Effective January 1, 2027) The Secretary of the State, within available appropriations and in collaboration with Charter Oak State College, shall utilize the means by which the office of the Secretary of the State communicates with small businesses to disseminate information concerning the courses offered by the Connecticut AI Academy, established pursuant to section 17 of this act, that prepare small businesses to utilize artificial intelligence to improve marketing and management efficiency.
As used in this section, "artificial intelligence" has the same meaning as provided in section 17 of this act.
Sec.
(NEW) (Effective January 1, 2027) The Labor Department shall provide a notice, in a form and manner prescribed by the Labor Commissioner, to each individual who makes a claim for unemployment compensation disclosing the existence of, and courses and services offered by, the Connecticut AI Academy established pursuant to section 19 of this act.
(NEW) (Effective January 1, 2027) The Department of Housing, within available appropriations, shall work with housing authorities andotherrelevanthousingproviderstoensurethatresidentsofthestate are aware of the courses and services offered by the Connecticut AI Academy established pursuant to section 17 of this act.
(NEW) (Effective January 1, 2027) The Secretary of the State, within available appropriations and in collaboration with Charter Oak State College, shall utilize the means by which the office of the Secretary of the State communicates with small businesses to disseminate information concerning the courses offered by the Connecticut AI Academy, established pursuant to section 19 of this act, that prepare small businesses to utilize artificial intelligence to improve marketing and management efficiency.
As used in this section, "artificial intelligence" has the same meaning as provided in section 19 of this act.
Sec.
23.
(NEW) (Effective January 1, 2027) The Department of Housing, within available appropriations, shall work with housing authorities LCO 40 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
5 andotherrelevanthousingproviderstoensurethatresidents ofthestate are aware of the courses and services offered by the Connecticut AI Academy established pursuant to section 19 of this act.
Sec.
24.
(1) Ensure that all home visiting programs (A) are one or more of the evidence-based home visiting models that meet the criteria for evidence of effectiveness developed by the federal Department of Health and Human Services, and (B) provide informationto parents ofinfantsandyoung childrenservedbyany such program regarding the Connecticut AI Academy established pursuant to section 19 of this act;
(1) Ensure that all home visiting programs (A) are one or more of the evidence-based home visiting models that meet the criteria for evidence of effectiveness developed by the federal Department of Health and Human Services, and (B) provide informationto parentsofinfantsandyoung childrenservedbyany such program regarding the Connecticut AI Academy established pursuant to section 17 of this act;
25.
23.
(NEW) (Effective July 1, 2026) (a) As used in this section, "artificial intelligence" has the same meaning as provided in section 19 of this act.
Section 10-21l of the 2026 supplement to the general statutes Public Act No.
(b) There is established, within available appropriations, a Connecticut Technology Advisory Board, which shall be part of the Legislative Department.
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(c) (1) The board shall consist of the following voting members:
5 is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2026):
(A) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives;
(B) two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate;
(C) two appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives;
and (D) two appointed by the minority leader of the Senate.
All voting members shall have professional experience or academic qualifications in the field of artificial intelligence or the field of technology, or another related field, and no such member shall be a member of the General LCO 41 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
5 Assembly.
(2) The following persons or their designees shall serve as nonvoting members and chairpersons of the board:
(A) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, or the commissioner's designee;
(B) the executive director of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, or the executive director's designee;
(C) the president of Charter Oak State College, or the president's designee;
and (D) one appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, who shall be a representative of a state-wide consortium of public and private entities in the state, including, but not limited to, public and private institutions of higher education in the state, designed to advance the development, application and impact of artificial intelligence across the state.
(3) All initial appointments to the board shall be made not later than October 1, 2026.
The term of an appointed member shall be coterminous with the term of the appointing authority for the appointed member.
Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority.
Any vacancy occurring other than by expiration of a term shall be filled for the balance of the unexpired term.
A member of the board may serve more than one term.
The chairpersons shall schedule the first meeting of the board, which shall be held not later than November 1, 2026.
(d) The administrative staff of the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to consumer protection and government administration shall serve as administrative staff of the board.
(e) The board shall have the following powers and duties:
(1) To develop and adopt a state technology strategy (A) for the purpose of promoting education, workforce development, economic development and consumer protection, and (B) that accounts for the rapid pace of technological development, including, but not limited to, in the field of artificial intelligence;
(2) to update the state technology strategy developed and adopted pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection at least once every two years;
(3) to issue reports and recommendations in LCO 42 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
5 accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes;
(4) upon the vote of a majority of the voting members of the board, to request any state agency data officer or state agency head to (A) appear before the boardto answer questions, or (B) provide such assistance and data as may be necessary for the purpose of enabling the board to perform its duties;
(5) to make recommendations to the Legislative Department, Executive Department or Judicial Department in accordance with the state technology strategy;
and (6) to establish bylaws to govern the board's procedures.
(f) The board shall meet at least twice annually and may meet at such other timesasdeemed necessary by the chairpersonsor amajority ofthe voting members of the board.
Sec.
26.
Section 10-21l of the 2026 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2026):
The account shall contain any moneys required or permitted by law to be deposited in the account and any funds received from any public or private contributions, gifts, grants, donations, bequests or devises to the account.TheDepartmentofEducationmaymakeexpendituresfromthe account (1) to support curriculum development, teacher professional development, capacity development for school districts [,] and other programs for the purposes of supporting computer science education, and (2) in coordination with the Office of Workforce Strategy and the Board of Regents for Higher Education, for the purpose of supporting workforce development initiatives in accordance with the state technology strategy developed, adopted and updated pursuant to subsection (e) of section 25 of this act.
The account shall contain any moneys required or permitted by law to be deposited in the account and any funds received from any public or private contributions, gifts, grants, donations, bequests or devises to the account.TheDepartmentofEducationmaymakeexpendituresfromthe account (1) to support curriculum development, teacher professional development, capacity development for school districts [,] and other programs for the purposes of supporting computer science education, and (2) in coordination with the Office of Workforce Strategy and the Board of Regents for Higher Education, for the purpose of supporting workforce development initiatives.
27.
24.
LCO 43 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
(a) As used in this section:
5 (a) As used in this section:
(1) "Artificial intelligence" has the same meaning as provided in section 17 of this act;
(1) "Artificial intelligence" has the same meaning as provided in section 19 of this act;
(2) "Foundation model" means any engineered or machine-based system that (A) varies in its level of autonomy, (B) can, for any explicit or implicit objective, infer from the inputs such system receives how to generateoutputsthatcaninfluenceanyphysicalorvirtualenvironment, (C) is trained on a broad data set, (D) is designed for generality of output, and (E) is adaptable to a wide range of distinctive tasks;
(2) "Generative artificial intelligence" means any form of artificial intelligence, including, but not limited to, a foundation model, that is able to produce synthetic digital content;
(3) "Generative artificial intelligence" means any form of artificial intelligence, including, but not limited to, a foundation model, that is able to produce synthetic digital content;
(3) "Prompt engineering" means the process of guiding generative artificial intelligence to generate a desired output;
Public Act No.
and (4) "Synthetic digital content" means any digital content, including, but not limited to, any audio, image, text or video, that is produced or manipulated by any form of artificial intelligence, including, but not limited to, generative artificial intelligence.
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5 (4) "Prompt engineering" means the process of guiding generative artificial intelligence to generate a desired output;
and (5) "Synthetic digital content" means any digital content, including, but not limited to, any audio, image, text or video, that is produced or manipulated by any form of artificial intelligence, including, but not limited to, generative artificial intelligence.
[(c)] (d) No member of the advisory committee shall receive compensation for such member's service, except that each member shall LCO 44 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
[(c)] (d) No member of the advisory committee shall receive compensation for such member's service, except that each member shall beentitledtoreimbursementforactualandnecessaryexpensesincurred during the performance of such member's official duties.
5 beentitledtoreimbursementforactualandnecessaryexpensesincurred during the performance of such member's official duties.
The advisory committee may act by a majority of the members present at any meeting at which a quorum is in attendance, for the transaction of any business or the exercise of any power of the advisory committee, except as otherwise provided in this section.
The advisory committee may Public Act No.
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5 act by a majority of the members present at any meeting at which a quorum is in attendance, for the transaction of any business or the exercise of any power of the advisory committee, except as otherwise provided in this section.
and (3) identify other technology industries where there is a LCO 45 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
and (3) identify other technology industries where there is a shortage of qualified employees in this state for growth stage businesses to hire.] (g) The Technology Talent and Innovation Fund Advisory Public Act No.
5 shortage of qualified employees in this state for growth stage businesses to hire.] (g) The Technology Talent and Innovation Fund Advisory Committee may partner with institutions of higher education and other nonprofit organizations to develop [pilot] programs [for (1) marketing and publicity campaigns designed to recruit technology talent to the state;
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5 Committee may partner with institutions of higher education and other nonprofit organizations to develop [pilot] programs [for (1) marketing and publicity campaigns designed to recruit technology talent to the state;
28.
25.
LCO 46 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
(6) For the purpose of funding the costs of the Technology Talent and Public Act No.
5 (6) For the purpose of funding the costs of the Technology Talent and Innovation Fund Advisory Committee established pursuant to section 32-7p, as amended by this act, provided not more than ten million dollars may be used on or after July 1, 2023, for such purpose;
26-15 43 of 74 Substitute Senate Bill No.
5 Innovation Fund Advisory Committee established pursuant to section 32-7p, as amended by this act, provided not more than ten million dollars may be used on or after July 1, 2023, for such purpose;
29.
26.
As used in this section, "artificial intelligence" has the same meaning as provided in section 19 of this act.
As used in this section, "artificial intelligence" has the same meaning as provided in section 17 of this act.
30.
27.
31.
28.
(NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) Not later than January 1, 2027, the Department of Economic and Community Development shall, within existing appropriations, develop and implement a program to bolster artificial intelligence cooperation within the state.
The department shall develop and implement such program following consultation with an alliance representing the majority of public and private institutions of higher education in the state with respect to research coordination, workforce development and partnership concerning artificial intelligence.
(b) The program developed and implemented pursuant to subsection LCO 47 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
5 (a) of this section shall:
(1) At least annually, convene a research symposium to present and highlight artificial intelligence research in the state;
(2) At least quarterly, convene a meeting of academic, industry and public institutions to identify the state's workforce, skill and programmatic needs with respect to artificial intelligence;
(3)Include a talent-matching programthat (A)matchesstudentswith industry-led projects in the field of artificial intelligence, including, but not limited to, industry-led projects focused on state and municipal use cases for artificial intelligence, and (B) implements an artificial intelligence talent pipeline;
(4) At least annually, (A) conduct a competition that is open to the public, including, but not limited to, students, and requires competition participants to use artificial intelligence to help solve challenges identified by state agencies, and (B) not later than sixty days following completion of such competition, prepare a report disclosing potential solutions to, and best practices to address, such challenges and submit such report to the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development and thejoint standing committee oftheGeneralAssembly having cognizance of matters relating to consumer protection, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes;
(5) Foster connections between technology transfer programs at public and private institutions of higher education in the state;
(6) Create a plan to provide researchers and students with shared access to high-performance computing;
and (7) Collaborate with various industry partners to offer (A) coursework for workers concerning concepts related to artificial intelligence, including, but not limited to, coursework to improve workers' skills related to artificial intelligence, and (B) programs to educate residents of the state on concepts related to artificial LCO 48 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
5 intelligence, with a special focus on small and medium businesses.
Sec.
32.
(1) "Advanced manufacturing" has the same meaning as provided in subsection (a) of section 31-11ss;
(1) "Advanced manufacturing" has the same meaning as provided in section 31-11ss;
(2) "Artificial intelligence" means any machine-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs such system receives how to generate outputs, including, but not limited to, content, decisions, predictions or recommendations, that can influence physical or virtual environments;
(2) "Artificial intelligence" means any machine-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs such system Public Act No.
26-15 44 of 74 Substitute Senate Bill No.
5 receives how to generate outputs, including, but not limited to, content, decisions, predictions or recommendations, that can influence physical or virtual environments;
(1) Ensure that the strategic plan is consistent with (A) the text and locational guide map of the state plan of conservation and development LCO 49 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
(1) Ensure that the strategic plan is consistent with (A) the text and locational guide map of the state plan of conservation and development adopted pursuant to chapter 297, and (B) the state's consolidated plan for housing and community development prepared pursuant to section 8-37t;
5 adopted pursuant to chapter 297, and (B) the state's consolidated plan for housing and community development prepared pursuant to section 8-37t;
(2) (A) Consult regional councils of governments, regional planning organizations, regional economic development agencies, interested state and local officials, entities involved in economic and community development, stakeholders and business, economic, labor, community Public Act No.
(2) (A) Consult regional councils of governments, regional planning organizations, regional economic development agencies, interested state and local officials, entities involved in economic and community development, stakeholders and business, economic, labor, community and housing organizations, and (B) for each strategic plan developed on or after July 1, 2026, consult with the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering;
26-15 45 of 74 Substitute Senate Bill No.
5 and housing organizations, and (B) for each strategic plan developed on or after July 1, 2026, consult with the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering;
(3) An analysis of targeted industry sectors in the state that (A) identifies those industry sectors that are of current or future importance LCO 50 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
(3) An analysis of targeted industry sectors in the state that (A) identifies those industry sectors that are of current or future importance to the growth of the state's economy and to its global competitive position, (B) identifies what those industry sectors need for continued growth, and (C) identifies those industry sectors' current and potential impediments to growth;
5 to the growth of the state's economy and to its global competitive position, (B) identifies what those industry sectors need for continued growth, and (C) identifies those industry sectors' current and potential impediments to growth;
Public Act No.
(4) Establishment and articulation of a vision for Connecticut that identifies where the state should be in the future;
26-15 46 of 74 Substitute Senate Bill No.
5 (4) Establishment and articulation of a vision for Connecticut that identifies where the state should be in the future;
and [(8)] (9) Any other responsible growth information that the LCO 51 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
and [(8)] (9) Any other responsible growth information that the commissioner deems appropriate.
5 commissioner deems appropriate.
[(d)] (e) On or before July 1, 2019, and every four years thereafter, the Public Act No.
[(d)] (e) On or before July 1, 2019, and every four years thereafter, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall submit the economic development strategic plan for the state to the Governor for approval.
26-15 47 of 74 Substitute Senate Bill No.
5 Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall submit the economic development strategic plan for the state to the Governor for approval.
29.
(Effective from passage) (a) The Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy at The University of Connecticut shall conduct a study to understand and track, and develop a comprehensive strategy to address, the impact of artificial intelligence on the state's workforce.
(b) The study conducted pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall include:
(1) Participation by research partners with expertise in artificial intelligence, economics, workforce development and related fields;
(2) An assessment of (A) the methods that are available to track layoffs and job displacements in the state that are associated with artificial intelligence, (B) the impact that artificial intelligence may have on (i) entry-level employment in the state, and (ii) women and Public Act No.
26-15 48 of 74 Substitute Senate Bill No.
5 populations that are underrepresented in the state's workforce, and (C) the data elements collected by the Labor Department and other relevant state agencies that may be used to understand and track the impact of artificial intelligence on the state's workforce;
and (3) Scenario planning across a range of potential artificial intelligence adoption and impact levels.
(c) The comprehensive strategy developed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall include recommendations regarding:
(1) Methods to be used by the state to (A) support the collection, analysis and dissemination of data necessary to understand and track the impact of artificial intelligence on thestate's workforce, and (B) track layoffs and job displacements in the state that are associated with artificial intelligence;
(2) Additional data elements to be collected by the Labor Department and other relevant state agencies to understand and track the impact of artificial intelligence on the state's workforce;
(3) A framework for recurring analyses to understand and track, and public reporting to disclose, the impact of artificial intelligence on the state's workforce;
and (4) Changes in state policies and programs, including, but not limited to, workforce training and reskilling programs, to mitigate adverse employment impacts in the state that are associated with artificial intelligence.
(d) State agencies shall cooperate with the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy at The University of Connecticut for the purposes of conducting the study, and developing the comprehensive strategy, pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
Public Act No.
26-15 49 of 74 Substitute Senate Bill No.
5 (e) Not later than January 1, 2027, the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy at The University of Connecticut shall submit a report to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to consumer protection, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes.
Such report shall include the results of the study conducted, and the comprehensive strategy developed, pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
Sec.
30.
(NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) The office of the Treasurer shall, within available appropriations, make efforts to ensure that the parents or legal guardian of each designated beneficiary of the Connecticut Baby Bond Trust established in section 3-36b of the general statutes is aware of the Connecticut AI Academy established pursuant to section 17 of this act and the courses and services offered by said academy.
Sec.
31.
(NEW) (Effective July 1, 2026) The Office of Higher Education shall, within existing appropriations, engage an alliance composed of the majority of public and private institutions of higher education in the state regarding the coordination of research, workforce development and industry partnerships across academic institutions for the purpose of developing and implementing a program to bolster artificial intelligence cooperation, including, but not limited to, by:
(1)At least annually, convening aresearchsymposiumto present and highlight artificial intelligence research in the state;
(2) At least quarterly, convening a meeting of academic, industry and public institutions to identify the state's workforce, skill and programmatic needs with respect to artificial intelligence;
(3) Implementing a talent-matching program that (A) matches students with industry-led projects in the field of artificial intelligence, including, but not limited to, industry-led projects focused on state and Public Act No.
26-15 50 of 74 Substitute Senate Bill No.
5 municipal use cases for artificial intelligence, and (B) implements an artificial intelligence talent pipeline;
(4) (A) At least annually, conducting a competition that is open to the public, including, but not limited to, students, and requires competition participants to use artificial intelligence to help solve challenges identified by state agencies, and (B) not later than sixty days following completion of such competition, preparing an annual report disclosing potential solutions to, and best practices to address, such challenges and submitting such report to the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development and the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to consumer protection, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes;
(5) Fostering connections between technology transfer programs at public and private institutions of higher education in the state;
and (6) Creating a plan to provide researchers and students with shared access to high-performance computing.
Sec.
32.
(Effective from passage) (a) As used in this section, "artificial intelligence" has the same meaning as provided in section 32-1o of the general statutes, as amended by this act.
(b) During the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the office of the Comptroller may, within available appropriations and in collaboration with Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, a center for health care innovation at a health system in the state and other relevant stakeholders, serve as a member of the steering committee for a competition conducted for the purpose of fostering artificial intelligence utilization to improve health equity and health outcomes in the state.
As part of such competition, the office of the Comptroller may, after consulting with all relevant stakeholders, make relevant data available Public Act No.
26-15 51 of 74 Substitute Senate Bill No.
5 to competition participants for the purpose of developing artificial intelligence models to improve patient outcomes while reducing costs.
The office of the Comptroller shall make such relevant data available to competition participants in compliance with (1) all applicable federal and state laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, P.L.
104-191, as amended from time to time, and the regulations adopted thereunder, and (2) all applicable standards for the deidentification of data.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, the office of the Comptroller shall not make any data available to a competition participant unless the competition participant has entered into a written agreement with said office, which agreement shall provide, at a minimum, that (1) no attempt shall be made to reidentify any data made available to such competition participant under subsection (b) of this section, including, but not limited to, any personally identifiable information included in such data, (2) such competition participant shall use such data exclusively for the purposes of such competition and as expressly authorized by said office, and (3) such competition participant shall not sell, transfer or license such data.
Sec.
(NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) As used in this section, "artificial intelligence" has the same meaning as provided in section 32- 1o of the general statutes, as amended by this act.
(Effective July 1, 2027) (a) As used in this section:
(b) Not later than July 1, 2026, the Labor Commissioner shall, within existing appropriations, establish an Artificial Intelligence Workforce Research Hub within the Labor Department to (1) track the impact of artificial intelligence on the state's workforce, (2) conduct research to evaluate the impact of artificial intelligence on the state's workforce, including, but not limited to, the experiences of those members of the state's workforce whose employment has been impacted by artificial intelligence, and (3) produce recurring analyses, conduct scenario planning for a range of potential artificial intelligence impact levels and generate actionable insights to inform policy for training programs to LCO 52 of 64 Substitute Bill No.
(1) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Consumer Protection;
5 mitigate any adverse impact of artificial intelligence on employment in the state.
(2) "Department" means the Department of Consumer Protection;
(c) Not later than October 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, the Labor Commissioner shall prepare a report detailing the impact, research, analyses, planning and insights described in subsection (b) of this section, and submit such report to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations, labor and consumer protection, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes.
(3) "Independent verification organization" means an independent third-party entity approved as part of the pilot program to assess the adherence of artificial intelligence models to standards reflecting best practices for risk mitigation and the prevention of harm;
(4) "Person" has the same meaning as provided in section 42-110a of the general statutes;
and Public Act No.
26-15 52 of 74 Substitute Senate Bill No.
5 (5) "Pilot program" means the pilot program established pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.
(b) The Department of Consumer Protection shall, within available appropriations, develop and administer a pilot program to evaluate the use of independent verification programs administered by independent third-party entities to assess the adherence of artificial intelligence models to standards reflecting best practices for the prevention of personal injury, property damage, data privacy harms and other harms.
The pilot program shall terminate on June 30, 2030.
(c) An independent third-party entity seeking to participate in the pilot program as an independent verification organization shall submit an application to the Department of Consumer Protection in a form and manner prescribed by the Commissioner of Consumer Protection.
Each application shall include:
(1)A descriptionoftherisksagainst whichtheapplicant independent third-party entity intends to verify that artificial intelligence models implement mitigation measures that are sufficient to achieve acceptable levels of risk;
(2) For each risk described pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection, (A) a proposed definition of the acceptable levels of risk, (B) metrics that are measurable and can be used to determine whether the acceptable levels of risk defined by the applicant independent third- party entity produce beneficial outcomes, (C) target levels for such metrics, including, but not limited to, the data sources upon which such target levels are based and methods for measurement, and (D) a description of the evaluation and reporting protocol that will be used to determine whether verified artificial intelligence models meet the outcome metrics on an ongoing basis, including, but not limited to, a description of how, where appropriate, the applicant independent third-party entity's methodologies, metrics, benchmarks and Public Act No.
26-15 53 of 74 Substitute Senate Bill No.
5 verification processes align with relevant guidance, standards and frameworks developed by federal and state authorities, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and international organizations, such as the International Organization for Standardization or the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers;
(3) A detailed explanation of the applicant independent third-party entity's evaluation and verification processes for such entity's independent verification program, including, but not limited to, how such entity determines whether a person participating in such program is using industry best practices;
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Action History

  1. SIGNED BY GOVERNOR

  2. TRANSMITTED BY SECRETARY OF THE STATE TO GOVERNOR

  3. TRANSMITTED TO SECRETARY OF THE STATE

  4. PUBLIC ACT 26-15

  5. IN CONCURRENCE

  6. HOUSE PASSED, SEN. AMEND. SCH. A

  7. HOUSE ADOPTED SEN. AMEND. SCH. A

  8. HOUSE CALENDAR NUMBER 480

  9. FAV. RPT., TABLED FOR HOUSE CALENDAR

  10. SEN. PASSED, SEN. AMEND. SCH. A

  11. SEN. ADOPTED SEN. AMEND. SCH. A

  12. FAV. RPT., TAB. FOR CAL., SEN.

  13. NO NEW FILE BY COMM. ON Appropriations

  14. RPTD. OUT OF LCO

  15. FILED WITH LCO

  16. Joint Favorable

  17. IMMEDIATE TRANSMITTAL TO COMMITTEE

  18. REF. BY SEN. TO COMM. ON Appropriations

  19. FAV. RPT., TAB. FOR CAL., SEN.

  20. NO NEW FILE BY COMM. ON Judiciary

  21. RPTD. OUT OF LCO

  22. FILED WITH LCO

  23. Joint Favorable

  24. IMMEDIATE TRANSMITTAL TO COMM. ON Judiciary

  25. FILE NO. 338

  26. SENATE CALENDAR NUMBER 224

  27. FAV. RPT., TAB. FOR CAL., SEN.

  28. RPTD. OUT OF LCO

  29. REFERRED TO Office of Legislative Research AND Office of Fiscal Analysis 04/01/26

  30. FILED WITH LCO

  31. Joint Favorable Substitute

  32. PUBLIC HEARING 0304

  33. REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON General Law

  34. DRAFTED BY COMMITTEE

  35. Vote to Draft

  36. REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON General Law

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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68 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 119 not signed on

Sponsors (68)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (119)

119 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

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Subjects

public-safety civil-rights education technology
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Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors SB 5?
SB 5 is sponsored by Maryam Khan (Democratic), Hector Arzeno (Democratic), Bob Godfrey (Democratic), Dominique Johnson (Democratic), Michael D. Quinn (Democratic), Eleni Kavros DeGraw (Democratic), Moira Rader (Democratic), Jillian Gilchrest (Democratic), Jane M. Garibay (Democratic), John-Michael Parker (Democratic), Brandon Chafee (Democratic), Geraldo C. Reyes (Democratic), Tom Delnicki (Republican), Anthony L. Nolan (Democratic), Kara Rochelle (Democratic), Roland J. Lemar (Democratic), Matt Blumenthal (Democratic), Mary Welander (Democratic), Jonathan Jacobson (Democratic), Marcus Brown (Democratic), Laurie Sweet (Democratic), Kate Farrar (Democratic), Josh Elliott (Democratic), Gary A. Turco (Democratic), Savet Constantine (Democratic), Nick Gauthier (Democratic), Michael "MJ" Shannon (Democratic), Renee LaMark Muir (Democratic), Jennifer Leeper (Democratic), Lucy Dathan (Democratic), Kaitlyn Shake (Democratic), William Heffernan (Democratic), Hubert D. Delany (Democratic), Kenneth Gucker (Democratic), Nicholas Menapace (Democratic), Rebecca Martinez (Democratic), Anne M. Hughes (Democratic), Derek Slap (Democratic), Mccarthy Vahey, Collins Main, Sanchez, J., MD Rahman (Democratic), Catherine A. Osten (Democratic), Norman Needleman (Democratic), Patricia Billie Miller (Democratic), Douglas McCrory (Democratic), Martha Marx (Democratic), James J. Maroney (Democratic), Ceci Maher (Democratic), Rick Lopes (Democratic), Matthew L. Lesser (Democratic), Julie Kushner (Democratic), Paul Honig (Democratic), Jan Hochadel (Democratic), Joan V. Hartley (Democratic), Herron Gaston (Democratic), Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox (Democratic), Mae Flexer (Democratic), Christine Cohen (Democratic), Jorge Cabrera (Democratic), Saud Anwar (Democratic), Bob Duff (Democratic), Martin M. Looney (Democratic), Bobby G. Gibson (Democratic), Gregory Haddad (Democratic), Jaime S. Foster (Democratic), and Hilda E. Santiago (Democratic).
What is the current status of SB 5?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 04, 2026. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 5?
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Last checked for changes 2 months ago · updated continuously

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