Sine Die in Connecticut 2025

At midnight Wednesday night, the Connecticut General Assembly adjourned Sine Die and the 2025 Legislative Session came to a close.

The Connecticut Restaurant Association represented our industry across many pieces of proposed legislation. With the support of our members, we successfully supported legislation to ensure the strength and prosperity of restaurants and hospitality businesses across the state, while also successfully stopping numerous bills that would have harmed our member businesses.

Huge thank you to our CRA Members for your strategic engagement that helped advance key legislation and stop harmful proposals in their tracks—proof of the power of an informed and united industry voice.

Members will receive further details from the 2025 Legislative Session via our Member Exclusive Emails and can register now for the upcoming Session Summary Webinar next Thursday! (Details below).

For now, here are some highlights:

DID NOT PASS

Unfortunately, the state’s tourism budget will be cut down to only $4.5 Million, from more than $12 million just two years ago. The CRA will continue to fight on this issue, as we are extremely disappointed with the decision that may negatively impact the hospitality industry.

DID NOT PASS

This bill would have prohibited credit card companies from including sales tax in the calculation of interchange fees. The CRA is committed to bringing back this legislation in 2026.

DID NOT PASS

The CRA fought against this bill that would have required employers to post employees schedules two weeks ahead of time and face penalties if changes are made to those schedules.

DID NOT PASS

The CRA fought against this bill that would have lowered the state’s blood alcohol level for driving under the influence from .08 to .05. The CRA is committed to ensuring the highest quality of employee alcohol service training and certification. More information here. 

DID NOT PASS

The CRA fought against this bill that would have required an additional $0.28 tax on all food deliveries, as well as other deliveries in the state.

DID NOT PASS

The clock ran out on a proposal which would have initially banned single use plastics, including straws and utensils and also ban the use of polystyrene. The bill was eventually changed to a study but in the waning hours of session was not taken up for a vote. The CRA remains committed to working with our members to help provide options for environmentally sustainable products.

DID NOT PASS

The CRA fought against this bill that would have added a $0.02 per ounce tax on sweetened beverages, syrups and powders.

DID NOT PASS

The CRA fought against this bill that would have prohibited noncompete agreements.

PASSED

The CRA fought to support this bill which now exempts restaurants from needing to obtain a bait dealer’s license to purchase and prepare bait species for public consumption, which includes Green Crabs.

2025 Legislative Session Summary Webinar
🗓️ Thursday, June 12, 2025
🕘 9:30AM - 11AM
👉 Registration Required
💸 Free for CRA Members

CRA President & CEO, Scott Dolch, will be joined by CRA Lobbyist, Nicole Griffin of Powers, Griffin & Hill, and Attorney, Ryan O’Donnell of Pullman & Comley, for this end-of-session summary webinar, covering all you need to know from the 2025 Legislative Session.

Register Here

Thank You!

Thank you to our CRA Members for using your voice to help shape legislation, protect our industry, and make a real difference. Your presence drove meaningful change and protected what matters most to our industry. 

This included testifying at the Capitol - thank you Grecia Ludena, Jacob Rodriguez and David Standridge - to speaking at press events - thank you Olivia Formica and Scott Miller - to attending advocacy events such as Night at the Capitol, Women in Hospitality and press events across the state.

A special thank you to our contract lobbyist Nicole Griffin and her team from Powers, Griffin & Hill for all of their efforts at the Capitol this session and throughout the year.

In addition, thank you to the National Restaurant Association team for supporting us in our advocacy efforts, and for providing resources throughout session and beyond.

Bill Tracker

The Connecticut Restaurant Association actively monitored a wide range of legislation throughout the 2025 legislative session. The CRA Bill Tracker gives you a sense of the breadth and variety of legislation we tracked throughout this session, as well as an overview on the status of each bill.

Bill Tracker

Advocacy in Action Archive

Curious about the Connecticut Restaurant Association’s efforts during the 2025 Legislative Session? Explore our Advocacy in Action archive to see how your voice helped shape policy this year.

We’ll continue to keep you informed with monthly Advocacy in Action bulletins throughout the year—ramping up to weekly updates once the 2026 Legislative Session begins.

View Archive