Every legislative cycle brings its own set of priorities, personalities, and political dynamics – and 2025 was no exception. This year’s General Assembly session, which wrapped up on June 6, began at a breakneck pace with more than 2,500 proposals introduced in just the first few weeks. By the end of the session, nearly 4,100 pieces of legislation had been filed, many of which carried potential implications for Connecticut food retailers, wholesalers, and suppliers.
The Connecticut Food Association (CFA) monitored more than 139 bills that could have affected the food industry and the broader business community. Our team worked throughout the session to shape legislation, provide testimony, and ensure that our members’ voices were heard in committee rooms and caucus meetings across the Capitol complex.
Fighting For Business-Friendly Policies
This session’s dominant theme was the rising cost of doing business in Connecticut – an issue CFA consistently elevates with policymakers. Lawmakers focused on cost drivers like electricity, housing, childcare, and healthcare. While these are core concerns for families, they’re also critical to the food sector, which faces mounting operational expenses, labor shortages, and regulatory burdens.
Several proposals – ranging from new labor mandates to increased employer assessments – would have imposed significant costs on food businesses. CFA helped lead efforts to oppose or amend these bills, engaging with legislative leadership, working in coalition with other business associations, and activating member voices when necessary. Ultimately, all of the most burdensome proposals were sidelined.
Budget Tensions And Fiscal Guardrails
Even as policymakers debated new spending initiatives, the backdrop of expiring federal COVID-era funds loomed large. Governor Ned Lamont held firm on maintaining the state’s fiscal guardrails, pushing back on attempts to breach the 2017 bipartisan spending cap. Ultimately, a compromise was reached by making early state employee pension payments, freeing up $200 million in cap space for the biennium without technically violating the cap. Though creative, this workaround highlights the long-term affordability challenges Connecticut still faces.
CFA Engagement In Key Policy Areas
Electricity Costs – We supported efforts to reduce supply costs and improve rate transparency for commercial customers.
Beverage Tax Proposal – In response to a proposal to tax sweetened beverages, floated as a funding mechanism to offset the loss of federal dollars for universal school meals, CFA mounted an aggressive campaign to defeat the measure. Working with coalition partners, we made it clear that such a regressive tax would impose significant economic harm on both consumers and retailers. The proposal was ultimately withdrawn.
Swipe Fee Reform – CFA launched a full-court press in support of federal and state-level swipe fee reform. With Connecticut merchants paying more than $110 million annually in credit card processing fees, we continue to advocate for greater transparency and competition in the payments market to help small businesses lower their costs and keep sales tax merchant fees in the state.
Healthcare for Small Businesses – We emphasized the need for affordable health plan options, particularly for independent grocers and small to mid-size Connecticut companies.
Session Outcomes and What’s Next
In the final days of the session, lawmakers passed a $55.8 billion two-year budget, created a $300 million childcare trust fund, increased special education funding, and enacted legislation on housing development, pharmacy benefit manager oversight, and artificial intelligence governance. While some of these initiatives aim to address long-standing challenges, they also signal a shift toward a more interventionist policy posture in specific sectors.
Still, affordability remains a top concern, especially for small and mid-sized businesses that often bear the brunt of regulatory mandates and inflationary pressures. CFA will continue advocating for policies that enhance Connecticut’s competitiveness while protecting the interests of our members.
As we look ahead to the off-session months, CFA will be meeting with lawmakers, regulatory agencies, and allied business groups to prepare for 2026. Our mission remains clear: to represent Connecticut’s food industry with a strong, unified voice – and to ensure that policy decisions support growth, innovation, and affordability for all.
