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HB05223 • 2026

AN ACT ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE TO STUDY ISSUES CONCERNING GROCERY STORE BEER PERMITS.

AN ACT ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE TO STUDY ISSUES CONCERNING GROCERY STORE BEER PERMITS.

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
General Law Committee
Last action
2026-03-26
Official status
File Number 184
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official bill text states the task force terminates on the date it submits its report OR January 1, 2027, whichever is later. The candidate explanation phrased this as 'or', which could be misinterpreted; however, the meaning remains consistent with the source that the group ends no earlier than Jan 1, 2027 if they finish early.

Task Force to Study Grocery Store Beer Permits

This law creates a task force to study rules about selling beer in grocery stores and report its findings by January 1, 2027.

What This Bill Does

  • Creates a task force to study issues concerning grocery store beer permits.
  • Requires the group to examine if it is possible to limit how many beer permits one town can have based on its population.
  • Asks the group to review the rules used to decide which grocery stores get these permits.
  • Sets a deadline of January 1, 2027, for the task force to send a report with findings and suggestions.
  • Ends the work of the task force once it submits its final report or on January 1, 2027.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Members appointed by state leaders in the House and Senate
  • Leaders from committees that handle consumer protection issues
  • The Commissioner of Consumer Protection
  • People who run grocery stores or apply for beer permits

Terms To Know

Task Force
A temporary group created to study a specific problem and make recommendations.
Per Capita Cap
A limit on the number of permits allowed based on how many people live in an area.
Grocery Store Beer Permit
Official permission for a grocery store to sell beer.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law does not say what the final rules will be, only that they should be studied.
  • It is unknown if any changes to current laws will happen after the report is finished.
  • The text does not list specific grocery stores or towns involved in this study.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-26 LCO

    Reported Out of Legislative Commissioners' Office

  2. 2026-03-26 Connecticut General Assembly

    Favorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, House

  3. 2026-03-26 Connecticut General Assembly

    House Calendar Number 150

  4. 2026-03-26 LCO

    File Number 184

  5. 2026-03-20 LCO

    Referred to Office of Legislative Research and Office of Fiscal Analysis 03/25/26 5:00 PM

  6. 2026-03-12 LCO

    Filed with Legislative Commissioners' Office

  7. 2026-03-11 GL

    Joint Favorable

  8. 2026-02-27 Connecticut General Assembly

    Public Hearing 03/04

  9. 2026-02-18 Connecticut General Assembly

    Referred to Joint Committee on General Law

Official Summary Text

To establish a task force to study issues concerning grocery store beer permits.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
House of Representatives
sHB5223 / File No. 184 1

General Assembly File No. 184
February Session, 2026 Substitute House Bill No. 5223

House of Representatives, March 26, 2026

The Committee on General Law reported through REP. LEMAR
of the 96th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of
the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE TO STUDY ISSUES
CONCERNING GROCERY STORE BEER PERMITS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. ( Effective from passage) (a) There is established a task force 1
to study issues concerning grocery store beer permits. Such study shall 2
include, but need not be limited to, an examination of (1) the feasibility 3
of establishing a per capita cap on the number of grocery store beer 4
permits that may be issued within a municipality, and (2) the criteria 5
applied to assess eligibility for a grocery store beer permit. 6
(b) The task force shall consist of the following members: 7
(1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives; 8
(2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate; 9
(3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of 10
Representatives; 11
sHB5223 File No. 184

sHB5223 / File No. 184 2

(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; 12
(5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of 13
Representatives; 14
(6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate; 15
(7) One appointed by the House chairperson of the joint standing 16
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 17
relating to consumer protection; 18
(8) One appointed by the Senate chairperson of the joint standing 19
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 20
relating to consumer protection; 21
(9) One appointed by the House ranking member of the joint standing 22
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 23
relating to consumer protection; 24
(10) One appointed by the Senate ranking member of the joint 25
standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 26
matters relating to consumer protection; 27
(11) The Commissioner of Consumer Protection, or the 28
commissioner's designee; and 29
(12) Two appointed by the Governor. 30
(c) Any member of the task force appointed under subdivision (1), 31
(2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9) or (10) of subsection (b) of this section may 32
be a member of the General Assembly. 33
(d) All initial appointments to the task force shall be made not later 34
than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall 35
be filled by the appointing authority. 36
(e) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro 37
tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force from 38
among the members of the task force. Such chairpersons shall schedule 39
sHB5223 File No. 184

sHB5223 / File No. 184 3

the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than sixty 40
days after the effective date of this section. 41
(f) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the 42
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to consumer 43
protection shall serve as administrative staff of the task force. 44
(g) Not later than January 1, 2027, the task force shall submit a report 45
on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committee of 46
the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to 47
consumer protection, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a 48
of the general statutes. The task force shall terminate on the date that it 49
submits such report or January 1, 2027, whichever is later. 50
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 from passage New section

Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Subsec. (c), "subdivisions (1) to (10), inclusive," was changed to
"subdivision (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9) or (10)" for accuracy.

GL Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO

sHB5223 File No. 184

sHB5223 / File No. 184 4

The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill creates a task force to study issues concerning grocery store
beer permits resulting in no fiscal impact to the state as the task force
has the expertise to meet the requirements of the bill.
The Out Years
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None

sHB5223 File No. 184

sHB5223 / File No. 184 5

OLR Bill Analysis
HB 5223

AN ACT ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE TO STUDY ISSUES
CONCERNING GROCERY STORE BEER PERMITS.

SUMMARY
The Office of Legislative Research does not analyze Special Acts.
COMMITTEE ACTION
General Law Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 20 Nay 0 (03/11/2026)