AskAI Legislative Snapshot &#8211; Connecticut, Feb 12 &#8211; 19, 2026

The summary below was generated by AskAI, an artificial intelligence tool from FastDemocracy, trained on transcripts generated from publicly-available video and audio recordings of official government debate, made using TranscriptAI.

To learn more about AskAI and Transcript AI, or any of FastDemocracy’s other legislative tracking tools, reach out to nicole@fastdemocracy.com or click here.

Here are the most discussed topics in Connecticut this week:

Reproductive Rights and Gender-Affirming Care: Legislative priorities were announced to strengthen Connecticut’s Reproductive Freedom Defense Act, including protections for telehealth providers, financial safeguards for Planned Parenthood, patient data privacy, and enhancing the state’s EMTALA law for emergency abortion care. Discussions also covered ensuring access to the full spectrum of reproductive healthcare, including fertility coverage, and protecting gender-affirming care. This agenda was rolled out by the Reproductive Rights Caucus, including Rep. Jillian Gilchrist, Rep. Matt Blumenthal, Rep. Caitlin Stakes, Rep. Anne Hughes, Rep. Sarah Kitt, Rep. Moira Rader, Rep. Simon Constantine, Rep. Iris Sanchez, and Rep. Lori Sweet, during a Capitol News Briefing on February 18, 2026, with specific points discussed from 00:44, 01:40, 04:59, 10:15, 11:29, and 12:29.
Healthcare and Social Services Funding: Public hearings in the Appropriations Committee’s Human Services Subcommittee addressed critical funding needs for Medicaid and social services. Key concerns included increasing the hospital tax dish payment for Connecticut Children’s, restoring funding for CANS services for deafblind individuals, opposing the elimination of the Community First Choice (CFC) program, increasing Medicaid physician payment rates, and resolving payroll issues for personal care attendants (PCAs). There were also calls for increased funding for behavioral health services and the Birth to Three program, with the governor’s proposed $6.2 million increase for Birth to Three for FY27 noted as progress but insufficient. These issues were discussed in the Appropriations Committee APP Human Services Subcommittee Public Hearing and the Appropriations Committee Public Hearing on the Governor’s Proposed FY 2027 Budget Adjustments for Human Services Agencies on February 18, 2026, with the Birth to Three program specifically mentioned at 523:45.
Education Funding and Equity: The Appropriations Committee held public hearings on the Governor’s proposed FY27 budget adjustments for Elementary and Secondary Education. Testimonies strongly opposed the proposed removal of $12 million for Regional Education Service Center (RESC) Magnet Schools, advocated for increasing the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) foundation amount (which has not been adjusted for inflation since 2013), and highlighted the need for equitable funding for schools, particularly in districts like New Haven and Bridgeport. Funding for apprenticeship programs and a stipend program for student teachers were also discussed. These topics were covered in the Appropriations Committee Public Hearing on the Governor’s Proposed FY 2027 Budget Adjustments for Elementary and Secondary Education State Agencies on February 17, 2026, with magnet school funding and ECS formula discussed at 429:33, and in the Appropriations Committee APP Elementary and Secondary Ed Public Hearing on February 17, 2026, where the Birth to Three program was mentioned at 519:09.
Data Privacy and Consumer Protection Legislation: The General Law Committee held a public hearing discussing several bills presented by Nate Kalishman from the Attorney General’s office. These included enhancing a social media bill by adding a warning label for minors accessing apps (HB 5037), amending ticketing laws to include amusement parks in the definition of entertainment events and requiring ticket resellers to display original ticket prices (HB 5125), protecting genetic data by requiring consent for its transfer or sale and barring targeted ads based on this data (HB 5128), streamlining data breach reporting and mandating forensic reports for breaches affecting 100,000 or more users (SB 117), and updating used car warranty laws (SB 119) by increasing the age threshold for cars sold “as is” from seven to ten years and extending warranty coverage. These topics were discussed during the General Law Committee Wednesday 2.18.2026 Public Hearing on February 18, 2026.