HB 5349 — AN ACT CONCERNING A POLICE OFFICER TRAINING PROGRAM AND THE ROUNDING OF CERTAIN CASH PURCHASES.

House ofBill Representatives General Assembly File No.

1645349 FebruaryPublic Session,Act 2026 House Bill No.

534926-128 HouseAN ofACT Representatives,CONCERNING MarchA 25,POLICE 2026OFFICER TheTRAINING CommitteePROGRAM onGeneralLawreportedthroughAND REP.LEMARTHE ofROUNDING theOF 96thCERTAIN Dist.,CASH ChairpersonPURCHASES. of the Committee on the part of the House, that the bill ought to pass.

AN ACT ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE TO STUDY THE OPERATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER PROTECTION.

(NEW) (Effective fromOctober passage)1, 2026) (a) ThereNot islater establishedthan aJanuary task1, force2028, tothe studyDepartment of Emergency Services and Public Protection, in consultation with the operationsPolice Officer Standards and Training Council, shall coordinate with an independent institution of higher education with a campus located in the Departmentcity of ConsumerWest Protection.Haven to establish a state- wide, one-day training program for police officers in the state in order to increase law enforcement retention and readiness.

(b)Such Thetraining taskshall forceinclude, shallbut consistneed ofnot thebe followinglimited members:to, expert instruction, scenario-based exercises, de-escalation skills and practical planning, and be available on an online technology platform.

(1)Nothing Twoin appointedthis bysection theshall speakerbe construed to require a police officer to attend such training at an independent institution of higher education in the Housecity of Representatives;West Haven.

(2)For Twopurposes appointedof bythis section, "police officer" has the presidentsame promeaning temporeas provided in section 7-294a of the Senate;general statutes.

(3)(b) OneNot appointedlater bythan January 1, 2029, and annually thereafter, the majorityCommissioner leaderof Emergency Services and Public Protection shall submit a report, inaccordance withthe provisionsofsection11-4aof the general statutes, on the status of the program to the joint standing House ofBill Representatives;No.

(4)5349 Onecommittees appointedof by the majorityGeneral leaderAssembly having cognizance of thematters Senate;relating to public safety and labor.

(5)Sec. One appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives;

(6)2. One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate;

HB5349(NEW) /(Effective FileJanuary No.1, 2027) (a) As used in this section:

164(1) 1"Cash" HB5349has Filethe No.same meaning as provided in section 21a-434 of the general statutes, as amended by this act;

164(2) (7)The"Merchant" Commissionermeans ofConsumera Protection,orthecommissioner'sperson designee;engaged in the business of selling goods or services at retail on an in-person basis;

and (8)(3) Two"Person" personsmeans appointedan byindividual, theassociation, Governor.corporation, limited liability company, partnership, trust or other legal entity.

(c)(b)Notwithstandinganyprovisionofthegeneralstatutes,amerchant Anydoing memberbusiness ofin thethis taskstate forceshall appointeddetermine underthe subdivisiontotal (1),price (2),for (3),a (4),good (5) or (6)service ofsuch subsectionmerchant (b)sells, ofat thisretail, sectionon mayan bein-person abasis memberin of the Generalfollowing Assembly.manner:

(d)(1) AllThe initialtotal appointmentsprice toof thesuch taskgood forceor service shall beinclude madeall notservice laterand thanthirtymerchant daysafterfees theeffectivecharged datefor ofthissuch section.Anygood vacancyor shallservice, beand filledall bytaxes imposed on the appointingpurchase authority.of such good or service under title 12 of the general statutes, less any discount or deduction made therefrom;

(e)Theand speaker(2) oftheHouse(A) ofRepresentativesandthepresidentIf prothe temporetotal ofprice thedetermined Senatein shallaccordance selectwith the chairpersonsprovisions of thesubdivision task(1) forceof fromthis amongsubsection theends membersin ofone cent, two cents, six cents or seven cents, such total price may be rounded down to the tasknearest force.amount divisible by five cents for an individual seeking to purchase such good or service by cash;

Suchor chairpersons(B) shallIf schedulethe thefirsttotal meetingprice ofthedetermined taskin force,accordance whichshallwith beheldthe notprovisions laterof thansixtysubdivision days(1) afterof this subsection ends in three cents, four cents, eight cents or nine cents, such total price may be rounded up to the effectivenearest dateamount ofdivisible thisby section.five cents for an individual seeking to purchase such good or service by cash.

(f)Public TheAct administrativeNo. staff of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to consumer protection shall serve as administrative staff of the task force.

(g)26-128 Not2 later than January 1, 2027, the task force shall submit a report on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committee of the3 GeneralHouse AssemblyBill havingNo. cognizance of matters relating to consumer protection, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes.

The5349 task(c) forceThe shallprovisions terminateof onsubsection the(b) dateof thatthis itsubsection submitsshall suchnot reportapply orto Januaryany 1,transaction 2027,in whicheverwhich: is later.

This(1) actThe shalltotal takeprice effectdetermined asin followsaccordance andwith shallthe amendprovisions theof followingsubdivision sections:(1) of subsection (b) of this section is four cents or less;

Sectionor 1(2) fromPayment passageis Newmade sectionby GLany Jointdemand Favorableor HB5349negotiable /instrument, Fileelectronicfundstransfer, No.moneyorder,creditcard,debit card,electronic payment or similar instrument.

164Sec. 2 HB5349 File No.

1643. 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.

InSubsection general,(b) fiscalof impactssection are21a-434 basedof uponthe a2026 varietysupplement ofto informationalthe sources,general includingstatutes is repealed and the analyst’sfollowing professionalis knowledge.substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 1, 2027):

Whenever(b) applicable,Except agencyas dataprovided isin consultedsubsection as(c) partor (d) of thethis analysis,section, howevera finalperson productsselling door notoffering necessarilyfor reflectsale angoods assessmentor fromservices anyat specificretail department.in this state shall not:

OFA(1) FiscalRefuse Noteto Stateaccept Impact:cash as a form of payment for such goods or services, (2) post signs stating that cash payment is not accepted, or (3) except asprovidedinsection2ofthisact, charge acustomerpaying cash a higher price than such customer would pay using any other form of payment.

NoneGovernor's MunicipalAction: Impact:

NoneApproved ExplanationJune The4, bill2026 establishesPublic aAct taskNo. force to study the operations of the Department of Consumer Protection resulting in no fiscal impact to the state as the task force has the expertise to meet the requirements of the bill.

The26-128 Out3 Yearsof State3 Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None HB5349 / File No.

164 3 HB5349 File No.

164 OLR Bill Analysis HB 5349 AN ACT ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE TO STUDY THE OPERATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER PROTECTION.

SUMMARY The Office of Legislative Research does not analyze Special Acts.

COMMITTEE ACTION General Law Committee Joint Favorable Yea 19 Nay 1 (03/11/2026) HB5349 / File No.

164 4