New CT laws taking effect Jan. 1: Housing, solar panels, driving

Connecticut will kick off 2026 with nearly two dozen new laws that are slated to wholly or partially take effect on Jan 1.

The laws touch a range of areas in the state, from farming to pharmaceuticals to housing to the justice system.

Connecticut laws are passed by the General Assembly during the legislative session each year — this year’s ran from Jan. 8 to June 4 — or in a special session. They typically take effect on Jan. 1, July 1 or Oct. 1.

Here’s a look at some of the laws that will be implemented on day one of the new year.

Wide-ranging housing bill

Most of H.B. 8002, a sweeping, contentious housing bill, will take effect on Jan. 1.

The bill’s major goal is to make it easier to build more housing in Connecticut. It requires towns to create housing growth plans with goals on how many units they’ll plan and zone for, changes minimum off-street parking requirements and incentivizes towns to take steps to allow more housing, among other measures.

It also expands the number of fair rent commissions — a government body that can hear complaints about rent increases and make decisions on whether to change that rental increase number — and bans “hostile architecture,” or the use of things like armrests in the middle of benches or spikes to make it harder for people experiencing homelessness to lie down.

The bill was a modified version of H.B. 5002, which Gov. Ned Lamont vetoed during the 2025 legislative session, saying he wanted to get local leaders on board with the measure. Behind the scenes, he and advisors fretted over the political implications of signing the measure as they received thousands of calls from opponents and Lamont considered a third-term run next year.

Lawmakers passed H.B. 8002 during a two-day special session from Nov. 13-14, and Lamont signed it into law on Nov. 26.

Solar panels on condo units

Condo complexes can no longer enforce provisions in their bylaws that “prohibit or unreasonably restrict” owners of single-family detached units from putting solar panels on their roofs under a new bill that also creates a solar panel approval process for condo unit owners and their associations to follow.

Existing condo associations can opt out of these requirements if at least 75% of their board of directors votes to do so. However, that vote would need to occur by Jan. 1, 2028.

Connecticut already restricts planned community associations from prohibiting solar panels. The new law is essentially an expansion to include condos as well.

Driver's license applications

Learner’s permit holders must take an eight-hour course prior to getting their driver’s license under existing law, and Connecticut currently allows students to take it both in-person and through distance learning. Beginning Jan. 1, anyone taking the class remotely must keep their camera on, and driving schools can now charge up to $200 for it (the previous limit was $150).

Under that same law, as of Jan. 1 many applicants for a driver’s license or learner’s permit — as well as drivers convicted of violating highway worker safety laws — must complete a program administered by the Department of Motor Vehicles on highway work zone and roadside vehicle safety awareness.

All 16- and 17-year-old driver’s license applicants who get a learner’s permit beginning Jan. 1, 2026 must take the program, as well as adult driver’s license applicants who meet certain requirements (like having not previously held a Connecticut license or not currently holding a valid license issued by another state, territory or country).

Minimum wage increase

On Jan. 1, Connecticut’s minimum wage will increase by $0.59, from $16.35 per hour to $16.94 per hour.

That increase comes from a law signed by Gov. Ned Lamont in 2019 that, as of 2023, pegs the state’s minimum wage to the federal employment cost index.

Connecticut currently has the fourth highest state minimum wage, behind $16.66 in Washington and $16.50 in California and most of New York. Massachusetts and Rhode Island require a minimum wage of $15.

The Borinqueneeres

The Connecticut DMV will begin issuing commemorative license plates that recognize “The Borinqueneers,” the U.S. Army’s 65th Infantry Regiment made up largely of Puerto Rican servicemembers who served with distinction in the Korean War.

The plates will cost $60. They will be designed in consultation with the Hispanic-American Veterans of Connecticut Inc., and that group will receive $45 from the sale of each plate for bilingual services and assistance to the state’s veterans and current servicemembers.