2025 Legislative Session Overview

by Taylor Adams, Policy Fellow

The 2025 legislative session had its share of challenges and opportunities for Connecticut municipalities. This year approximately 4,000 bills were filed, which certainly kept the policy department busy and on its toes. Throughout the legislative process, CCM’s public policy team played a vital role in championing legislation that supports local governments and defending against problematic proposals that would have been harmful to towns and cities, but they could not have done it without the input from municipal leaders to help guide them.

Housing: A Call for Collaboration Over Mandates

This year, housing took center stage and was the subject of serious debate between the various housing stakeholders, including CCM. We emphasized that municipalities are committed to continuing to address Connecticut’s housing needs and expand not only affordable housing stock, but market rate units as well.

HB 5002 An Act Concerning Housing and the Needs of the Homeless became the vehicle for the omnibus housing bill, incorporating 22 different concepts and policy measures, including the controversial “Fair Share” methodology of allocating affordable housing unit targets to municipalities.

Municipalities prefer to work in a collaborative manner in order to meet the state’s housing goals, but unfortunately HB 5002 undermined this approach by mandating that towns and cities plan for and accommodate 25% of their affordable housing allocation, as determined by the ECONorthwest Report (May 2025) commissioned by the state Office of Policy and Management (OPM), regardless of local infrastructure, planning, or community input.

Instead, CCM advocated for the regional council of governments (COG) conduct a housing needs assessment of all types of housing, not just housing for those making 0-30% of the area median income (AMI), which HB 5002 focused on, and a build out analysis. This analysis would contemplate existing water and sewer infrastructure as well as established and future transit hubs and job centers, which the Fair Share allocation methodology does not consider.

HB 5002 imposed new planning and zoning burdens and required many municipalities to submit additional “priority affordable housing plans,” and amend zoning ordinances to accommodate their suggested allocation—without assurance of state support or infrastructure funding. In fact, there is language that specifically deprioritizes municipal grant funding for municipalities that have not had their affordable housing plans approved by OPM or have not enacted transit-oriented development (TOD) ordinances.

Other key concerns with HB 5002 included state overrides of local zoning, prohibition of minimum off-street parking standards for housing developments of 1-24 units, the deprioritization of key discretionary funding such as STEAP grants, Urban Action Bonds, Clean Water Funds and Main Street Investment grants and potential court costs imposed on towns and cities that lose in court on an affordable housing appeals (8-30g) case.

The mandates and arbitrary allocations cited in HB 5002 unfairly place the blame for the lack of housing development on municipalities and their planning and zoning commissions when there are significantly more impactful reasons for the lack of housing development, not only in Connecticut, but nationwide.

Thankfully, Governor Lamont vetoed the measure affording another opportunity to enact meaningful housing legislation that will make a difference in fulfilling the housing needs of Connecticut. As we engage with the Governor’s Office, legislators and the various stakeholders, CCM is hopeful that this will be achieved.

Big Strides in Education and Special Education Support

The other issue that received a lot of attention was education funding, with an emphasis on special education. This remains a top priority for towns and cities across the state of Connecticut and the FY26 budget reflects this with a $94 million increase in Education Cost Sharing (ECS) to execute the plan to provide adequate resources to underfunded school districts. To offset the potential reductions towns and cities face under the current ECS layout, the legislature also appropriated $8 million in hold-harmless aid to 81 communities.

Additionally, in an action aligned with CCM-backed legislation, SB 1511 AAC Disconnected Youth, the budget established the Special Education Expansion and Development (SEED) Fund. With $30 million allocated, this fund aims to support students with disabilities through a mechanism similar to the ECS grant, which will positively contribute to equity in educational opportunity. While just a start, CCM is optimistic the General Assembly will continue to focus its attention on special education funding.

Legislative Support for Firefighters and Workers’ Compensation Reform

In the budget, the legislature established a funding mechanism for the Firefighter Cancer Relief Fund through a $0.05 monthly surcharge on cell phone bills. This will help provide sustainable long-term funding support for firefighters battling cancer.

In the realm of municipal finance and employee protection, CCM successfully advocated for the repeal of the negative impacts stemming from the Gardiner v. DEMHS Supreme Court decision, which had threatened to spike municipal workers’ compensation premiums by up to 40%. Enactment of this legislation protects local budgets and maintains equitable protections for employees injured in the line of duty.