Connecticut 2026 Session Status: In Committee 1 D cosponsors

SB 86 — AN ACT ADDRESSING INNOVATIONS IN AND THE RESPONSIBLE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

Last action — FILE NO. 339

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

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced February 05, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Prognosis

Stalled 16% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (1 D).

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.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

231 added · 46 removed

Plain-language change summary

The latest version of SB 86 has introduced a new requirement for various state commissioners to develop a plan for an artificial intelligence regulatory sandbox program. This change allows businesses to test innovative AI products or services with fewer regulatory hurdles, potentially creating a more competitive environment for AI development in the state. Additionally, the deadline for submitting recommendations has been moved from January 1, 2028, to January 1, 2026, indicating a push for quicker action on these initiatives. This is significant as it aims to accelerate the growth of the AI sector in the state, making it more attractive to businesses and innovators.

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General Assembly Governor's Bill No.
Senate General Assembly File No.
86 February Session, 2026 LCO No.
339 February Session, 2026 Substitute Senate Bill No.
636 Referred to Committee on GENERAL LAW Introduced by:
86 Senate, April 2, 2026 The Committee on General Law reported through SEN.
Request of the Governor Pursuant to Joint Rule 9 AN ACT ADDRESSING INNOVATIONS IN AND THE RESPONSIBLE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
MARONEY of the 14th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT ADDRESSING INNOVATIONS IN AND THE RESPONSIBLE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
The Chief Data Officer shall carry out the responsibilities set forth in subdivisions (1) to (3), inclusive, of this subsection in accordance with the state data plan LCO No.
The Chief Data Officer shall carry out the responsibilities set forth in subdivisions (1) to (3), inclusive, of this subsection in accordance with the state data plan sSB86 / File No.
636 1 of 9 Governor's Bill No.86 created pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.
339 1 sSB86 File No.
339 created pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.
Said board shall hold a public hearing on such draft and shall submit any suggested revisions to the Chief Data LCO No.
Said board shall hold a public hearing on such draft and shall submit any suggested revisions to the Chief Data Officer not later than thirty days after receipt of such draft.
636 2 of 9 Governor's Bill No.86 Officer not later than thirty days after receipt of such draft.
sSB86 / File No.
(e) After the public hearing and if applicable, receiving any recommended revisions from the board, the Chief Data Officer shall finalize such plan and submit the final plan to the board.
339 2 sSB86 File No.
339 (e) After the public hearing and if applicable, receiving any recommended revisions from the board, the Chief Data Officer shall finalize such plan and submit the final plan to the board.
LCO No.
(j) Not later than January 1, 2028, the Chief Data Officer, in consultation with the agency data officers designated pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, shall review the inventory of all high value sSB86 / File No.
636 3 of 9 Governor's Bill No.86 (j) Not later than January 1, 2028, the Chief Data Officer, in consultation with the agency data officers designated pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, shall review the inventory of all high value data collected or possessed by executive branch agencies pursuant to subsection (g) of this section to identify and publish any data that could be useful for artificial intelligence systems, machine learning and other statistical means of data analysis to create economic opportunity and support state economic development goals, through private businesses, nonprofit organizations and other entities that will use such data, consistent with all applicable laws and regulations.
339 3 sSB86 File No.
339 data collected or possessed by executive branch agencies pursuant to subsection (g) of this section to identify and publish any data that could be useful for artificial intelligence systems, machine learning and other statistical means of data analysis to create economic opportunity and support state economic development goals, through private businesses, nonprofit organizations and other entities that will use such data, consistent with all applicable laws and regulations.
[(j)] (k) Any state agency that is not an executive branch agency and any quasi-public agency or municipality may voluntarily opt to comply with the provisions of this section and, upon submission of written notice of the agency's or municipality's decision to the Office of Policy and Management, the provisions of this section shall apply to such LCO No.
[(j)] (k) Any state agency that is not an executive branch agency and any quasi-public agency or municipality may voluntarily opt to comply with the provisions of this section and, upon submission of written notice of the agency's or municipality's decision to the Office of Policy and Management, the provisions of this section shall apply to such agency or municipality.
636 4 of 9 Governor's Bill No86 agency or municipality.
Any state or quasi-public agency or any municipality that voluntarily opts to comply with the provisions of this section may opt out of complying with this section upon submission of written notice of the agency's or municipality's decision to the Office of sSB86 / File No.
Any state or quasi-public agency or any municipality that voluntarily opts to comply with the provisions of this section may opt out of complying with this section upon submission of written notice of the agency's or municipality's decision to the Office of Policy and Management.
339 4 sSB86 File No.
339 Policy and Management.
(Effective July 1, 2027) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, in consultation with the Banking Commissioner, 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.
(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.
(1) "Artificial intelligence system" (A) means a machine-learning- based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from inputs how to generate outputs, such as content, decisions, predictions or recommendations, capable of influencing physical or virtual LCO No.
(1) "Artificial intelligence system" (A) means a machine-learning- based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from inputs how to generate outputs, such as content, decisions, predictions or recommendations, capable of influencing physical or virtual environments, and(B) doesnot include any rules-basedor deterministic software system, data analytics tool or scripted decision tree;
636 5 of 9 Governor's Bill No86 environments, and(B) doesnot include any rules-basedor deterministic software system, data analytics tool or scripted decision tree;
(2) "Companion chatbot" (A) means an artificial intelligence system with a natural language interface that (i) provides adaptive, human-like responses to user inputs, and (ii) is capable of meeting a user's social sSB86 / File No.
(2) "Companion chatbot" (A) means an artificial intelligence system with a natural language interface that (i) provides adaptive, human-like responses to user inputs, and (ii) is capable of meeting a user's social needs by, among other things, exhibiting anthropomorphic featuresand having the ability to sustain a relationship across multiple interactions, and (B) does not include any chatbot that (i) is used solely for (I) any purpose related to a business's internal operations concerning, for example, productivity, source information analysis, research or technical assistance, or (II) customer service, shopping or product discovery, or (ii) is a feature of a video game, provided such chatbot (I) can only maintain a dialogue concerning topics related to the video game, and (II) cannot maintain a dialogue concerning mental health, self-harm or sexually explicit conduct;
339 5 sSB86 File No.
339 needs by, among other things, exhibiting anthropomorphic featuresand having the ability to sustain a relationship across multiple interactions, and (B) does not include any chatbot that (i) is used solely for (I) any purpose related to a business's internal operations concerning, for example, productivity, source information analysis, research or technical assistance, or (II) customer service, shopping or product discovery, or (ii) is a feature of a video game, provided such chatbot (I) can only maintain a dialogue concerning topics related to the video game, and (II) cannot maintain a dialogue concerning mental health, self-harm or sexually explicit conduct;
and (9) "Video game" means a game that is played on an electronic amusement device that (A) utilizes a computer, microprocessor or LCO No.
and (9) "Video game" means a game that is played on an electronic amusement device that (A) utilizes a computer, microprocessor or similar electronic circuitry, (B) either utilizes an integrated monitor or is designed to be used with a television set or a computer monitor, and (C) interacts with the user of such device.
636 6 of 9 Governor's Bill No86 similar electronic circuitry, (B) either utilizes an integrated monitor or is designed to be used with a television set or a computer monitor, and (C) interacts with the user of such device.
(b) If an operator makes a companion chatbot platform available to a user andthecompanionchatbot platformallowstheuser toengagewith a companion chatbot that would mislead a reasonable person to believe sSB86 / File No.
(b) If an operator makes a companion chatbot platform available to a user andthecompanionchatbot platformallowstheuser toengagewith a companion chatbot that would mislead a reasonable person to believe that the person is interacting with a human, the operator shall issue a clear and conspicuous notice to such user disclosing that the companion chatbot is artificial and not human.
339 6 sSB86 File No.
339 that the person is interacting with a human, the operator shall issue a clear and conspicuous notice to such user disclosing that the companion chatbot is artificial and not human.
(1) Prevent each companion chatbot such operator makes available on its companion chatbot platform from engaging with users unless such operator (A) establishes and maintains a protocol to (i) prevent such companion chatbot from providing to users any content concerning suicidal ideation, suicide or self-harm, and (ii) on the basis of evidence-based methods for measuring suicidal ideation or intention toengageinself-harm,referausertoacrisisserviceprovider,including, but not limited to, by way of a suicide hotline or crisis text line, if the user expresses to such companion chatbot any suicidal ideation or intention to engage in self-harm, (B) publishes a description of the protocol established and maintained pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this subdivision at a publicly accessible location on such operator's Internet web site, and (C) discloses to each user of such companion chatbot that companion chatbots may not be suitable for certain minors;
(1) Prevent each companion chatbot such operator makes available on its companion chatbot platform from engaging with users, unless such operator (A) establishes and maintains a protocol to (i) prevent such companion chatbot from providing to users any content concerning suicidal ideation, suicide or self-harm, and (ii) on the basis of evidence-based methods for measuring suicidal ideation or intention toengageinself-harm,referausertoacrisisserviceprovider,including, but not limited to, by way of a suicide hotline or crisis text line, if the user expresses to such companion chatbot any suicidal ideation or intention to engage in self-harm, (B) publishes a description of the protocol established and maintained pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this subdivision at a publicly accessible location on such operator's Internet web site, and (C) discloses to each user of such companion chatbot that companion chatbots may not be suitable for certain minors;
(2) For each user of a companion chatbot such operator makes available on its companion chatbot platform who such operator knows to be a minor, (A) disclose to such user that such user is interacting with an artificial intelligence system, (B) notify such user, in a clear and conspicuous manner and not less frequently than once following each three-hour period of continuous interaction between such user and the companion chatbot, (i) that such user is interacting with an artificial LCO No.
(2) For each user of a companion chatbot such operator makes available on its companion chatbot platform who such operator knows to be a minor, (A) disclose to such user that such user is interacting with an artificial intelligence system, (B) notify such user, in a clear and conspicuous manner and not less frequently than once following each three-hour period of continuous interaction between such user and the companion chatbot, (i) that such user is interacting with an artificial intelligence system, and (ii) to take a break from using such companion chatbot, and (C) institute reasonable measures to prevent the companion chatbot from (i) providing to such user a visual depiction of any sexually explicit conduct, or (ii) directly stating to such user that such user should engage in any sexually explicit conduct;
636 7 of 9 Governor's Bill No86 intelligence system, and (ii) to take a break from using such companion chatbot, and (C) institute reasonable measures to prevent the companion chatbot from (i) providing to such user a visual depiction of any sexually explicit conduct, or (ii) directly stating to such user that such user should engage in any sexually explicit conduct;
and (3) (A) Not later than February 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, prepare and submit a report to the Attorney General, in a form and manner prescribed by the Attorney General, disclosing the following sSB86 / File No.
and (3) (A) Not later than February 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, prepare and submit a report to the Attorney General, in a form and manner prescribed by the Attorney General, disclosing the following information for the immediately preceding calendar year:
339 7 sSB86 File No.
339 information for the immediately preceding calendar year:
(e)Any violationof subsection(b)or (c)of this section shall constitute an unfair trade practice for purposes of section 42-110b of the general statutes and shall be enforced solely by the Attorney General.
(e)Any violationofsubsection(b)or (c)of thissection shall constitute an unfair trade practice for purposes of section 42-110b of the general statutes and shall be enforced solely by the Attorney General.
LCO No.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
636 8 of 9 Governor's Bill No.
86 This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
3 January 1, 2027 New section Statement of Purpose:
3 January 1, 2027 New section GL Joint Favorable Subst.
To implement the Governor's budget recommendations.
sSB86 / File No.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets.
339 8 sSB86 File No.
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Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.] LCO No.
339 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.
636 9 of 9
In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.
Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:
None Municipal Impact:
None Explanation The bill makes various changes to statutes regarding artificial intelligence resulting in no fiscal impact to the state.
Section 1 requires the chief data officer within the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) to review an inventory of certain high value data and complete other requirements.
This does not result in a fiscal impact as OPM has the resources necessary to meet these requirements.
Section 2 has no fiscal impact by requiring the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) to develop a plan to establish an artificial intelligence regulatory sandbox program.
It is anticipated that DECD will consult with the state agencies outlined in the bill in order to develop the plan within existing resources.
Section 3 makes various requirements of companion chatbot operators and makes violations an unfair trade practice enforced solely bytheOfficeoftheAttorneyGeneral(OAG)resultinginnofiscalimpact to the state.
The OAG has the resources and expertise to meet the requirements of the bill.
The Out Years State Impact:
None Municipal Impact:
None sSB86 / File No.
339 9 sSB86 File No.
339 OLR Bill Analysis sSB 86 AN ACT ADDRESSING INNOVATIONS IN AND THE RESPONSIBLE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
SUMMARY This bill requires:
1.
the state’s chief data officer to review executive branch agencies’ inventory of high value data and identify and publish any that could be useful for artificial intelligence (AI) systems, machine learning, and other statistical means of data analysis;
2.
the economic and community development (DECD) commissioner to develop a plan to establish an AI regulatory sandbox program (one that allows for temporary testing of products or services with fewer legal requirements);
and 3.
companion chatbot operators to establish protocols to prevent certain outcomes, make related disclosures, and have additional safeguards when the operator knows the user is a minor.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
July 1, 2027, except that the chatbot provision is effective January 1, 2027.
§ 1 — HIGH VALUE DATA ANALYSIS FOR AI USE By January 1, 2028, the bill requires the chief data officer, in consultation with executive branch agency data officers, to review the inventory of all highvalue data that these agencies have or collect under existing law.
Under existing law, “high value data” is any data that the department head determines:
1.
can increase an agency’s accountability and responsiveness, improve public knowledge about an agency and its operations, further its core mission, or create economic opportunity;
sSB86 / File No.
339 10 sSB86 File No.
339 2.
is critical to the agency’s operation or used to satisfy any legislative or other reporting requirements;
or 3.
is frequently requested by the public or responds to a need and demand identified through public consultation.
Under the bill, the chief data officer must identify and publish any of this data that could be useful for AI systems, machine learning, and other statistical means of data analysis.
He must do so to create economic opportunity and support state economic development goals, through private businesses, nonprofit organizations, and other entities that will use the data, consistent with applicable laws and regulations.
In reviewing the data, the chief data officer and agency data officers must:
1.
identify appropriate data to make available for use by AI systems, machine learning, and other statistical means of data analysis;
2.
develop policies and procedures for data quality and governance to ensure data are appropriate for the intended purpose and do not lead to any unlawful discrimination against any person or group of people, or disparate impact on any individual or group, based on any actual or perceived differentiating characteristic (such as age, race, disability);
3.
determine any needed aggregation, redaction of individually identifiable information, or use of other techniques needed to ensure and preserve privacy and to satisfy all applicable state or federal laws and regulations for publicly disclosing data;
and 4.
determine the procedures for agencies to publish their data on the online repository that the Office of Policy and Management operates and maintains under existing law.
§ 2 — AI REGULATORY SANDBOX PROGRAM The bill requires the DECD commissioner, in consultation with the sSB86 / File No.
339 11 sSB86 File No.
339 banking, administrative services, public health, and insurance commissioners, to develop a plan to establish an AI regulatory sandbox program.
The program must allow an applicant to temporarily test an innovative product or service on a limited basis under reduced licensure, regulatory, and other legal requirements.
The plan must be developed to make Connecticut’s business environment competitive, relative to other places, for developing and deploying AI technologies.
By January 1, 2028, the DECD commissioner must submit recommendations for any required legislative proposals for implementing the plan to the governor and the Banking, Commerce, Insurance and Real Estate, and Public Health committees.
§ 3 — COMPANION CHATBOT The bill generally requires a companion chatbot operator to disclose to in-state users that the chatbot is not human and to have certain protocols to prevent certain content.
The bill also requires an operator to have additional safeguards when it knows the user is a minor.
Under the bill, a “companion chatbot” is an AI system with a natural language interface that gives adaptive, human-like responses to user inputs, and can meet a user’s social needs by, among other things, exhibiting anthropomorphic features and having the ability to sustain a relationship across multiple interactions.
It does not include any chatbot that is used solely for (1) a business’ internal operations for matters such as productivity, source information analysis, research, or technical assistance, or (2) customer service, shopping, or product discovery.
It also does not include a chatbot in a video game, as long as it (1) can only maintain a dialogue about topics related to the game and (2) cannot maintain a dialogue on mental health, self-harm, or sexually explicit conduct.
An “AI system” is a machine-learning-based system that, for any explicitorimplicitobjective,infersfrominputshowtogenerateoutputs, such as content, decisions, predictions, or recommendations, capable of sSB86 / File No.
339 12 sSB86 File No.
339 influencing physical or virtual environments.
It does not include any rules-based or deterministic software system, data analytics tool, or scripted decision tree.
Disclosure The bill generally requires an operator (individual or entity) that makes a companion chatbot platform available to a user to clearly disclose to the user that the chatbot is artificial and not human.
The operator must do this if it allows the user to engage a chatbot in a way thatwouldmisleadareasonablepersoninto believingthatheorshewas interacting with a human.
Protocols Additionally, the bill requires operators to establish and maintain protocols to prevent the companion chatbot from giving users any content about suicidal ideation, suicide, or self-harm.
The protocols must also, using evidence-based methods for measuring suicidal ideation or intention to perform self-harm, refer a user to a crisis service provider, including a suicide hotline or crisis text line, if the user expresses to the chatbot any suicidal ideation or intent of self-harm.
The operator must (1) publish a description of its protocol at a publicly accessible location on the operator’s website and (2) disclose to each companion chatbot user that these chatbots may not be suitable for certain minors.
Operator Requirements When User is a Minor Under the bill, when the operator makes a companion chatbot available to a user it knows is a minor, the operator must:
1.
disclose to theuserthatheor sheisinteractingwithanAI system;
2.
notify the user, in a clear and conspicuous manner at least once every three continuous hours of interaction with the chatbot, that he or she is interacting with an AI system and to take a break from using the companion chatbot;
and 3.
institute reasonable measures to prevent the chatbot from giving sSB86 / File No.
339 13 sSB86 File No.
339 the user a visual depiction of any sexually explicit conduct, or directly stating to the user that he or she should engage in any sexually explicit conduct.
Report StartingbyFebruary1,2028,thebillrequireseachoperatortoprepare and submit an annual report to the attorney general, in a way he prescribes, disclosing the following information for the prior calendar year:
(1) the protocols the operator established and maintained and (2) how often the operator referred a user to a crisis service provider as the bill requires.
The bill prohibits these reports from including any (1) information other than what is required under the bill or (2) personal data (non- public information that is linked or reasonably linkable to an identified or identifiable individual).
The attorney general must post each submitted report on the office’s website.
Penalty Under the bill, an operator’s violation of the chatbot provisions is considered a Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act violation, solely enforced by the attorney general (and not by a private right of action or class action).
BACKGROUND Related Bill sSB 2, favorably reported by the General Law Committee, has an identical regulatory sandbox provision and similar AI companion provisions.
COMMITTEE ACTION General Law Committee Joint Favorable Substitute Yea 20 Nay 1 (03/16/2026) sSB86 / File No.
339 14
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Action History

  1. FILE NO. 339

  2. SENATE CALENDAR NUMBER 225

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

  4. RPTD. OUT OF LCO

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

  6. FILED WITH LCO

  7. Joint Favorable Substitute

  8. PUBLIC HEARING 0304

  9. REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON General Law

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 186 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (186)

186 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 186 →

"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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Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors SB 86?
SB 86 is sponsored by Anthony L. Nolan (Democratic).
What is the current status of SB 86?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced February 05, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track SB 86?
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