Read the full stored bill text
Senate
sSB133 / File No. 71 1
General Assembly File No. 71
February Session, 2026 Substitute Senate Bill No. 133
Senate, March 19, 2026
The Committee on Commerce reported through SEN.
HARTLEY of the 15th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on
the part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE CONNECTICUT-INDIA TRADE
COMMISSION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) ( Effective from passage ) (a) There is established a 1
Connecticut-India Trade Commission, which shall be part of the 2
Legislative Department. 3
(b) The commission shall consist of the following members: 4
(1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives; 5
(2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate; 6
(3) Two appointed by the majority leader of the House of 7
Representatives; 8
(4) Two appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; 9
(5) Two appointed by the minority leader of the House of 10
sSB133 File No. 71
sSB133 / File No. 71 2
Representatives; 11
(6) Two appointed by the minority leader of the Senate; 12
(7) Two members of the joint standing committee of the General 13
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to commerce, one of 14
whom shall be appointed by the Senate chairperson of such committee 15
and one of whom shall be appointed by the House chairperson of such 16
committee; 17
(8) The ranking members of the joint standing committee of the 18
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to commerce, 19
or their designees; 20
(9) Three persons appointed by the Governor; 21
(10) A representative of a public institution of higher education in the 22
state, who shall be appointed by the Governor; 23
(11) A representative of a chamber of commerce in the state, who shall 24
be appointed by the Governor; 25
(12) Two representatives of Indian or Indian-American communities 26
in the state, who shall be appointed by the Governor and shall not be 27
members of the same political party; and 28
(13) Any additional members, as deemed necessary by the 29
chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly 30
having cognizance of matters relating to commerce. 31
(c) The members of the commission shall each have current or past 32
involvement in organizations that promote Indian affairs or are 33
interested in the well -being of trade relations between the state and 34
India. 35
(d) Any member of the commission appointed under subdivisions (1) 36
to (6), inclusive, and (13) of subsection (b) of this section may be a 37
member of the General Assembly. 38
sSB133 File No. 71
sSB133 / File No. 71 3
(e) (1) All initial appointments to the commission shall be made not 39
later than October 1, 2026. Initial appointments made by the Governor, 40
the majority leader of the House of Representatives and the minority 41
leader of the House of Representatives shall terminate on September 30, 42
2029. Initial appointments made by the speaker of the House of 43
Representatives, the president pro tempore of the Senate, the majority 44
leader of the Senate and the minority leader of the Senate shall terminate 45
on September 30, 2030. The initial and subsequent terms of members 46
appointed by the chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the 47
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to commerce 48
shall be coterminous with the terms of the appointing authority for each 49
such member in accordance with the provisions of section 4 -1a of the 50
general statutes. 51
(2) Appointed members of the commission shall serve for four -year 52
terms which shall commence on the date of appointment, except as 53
provided in subdivision (1) of this subsection. Members shall continue 54
to serve until their successors are appointed. 55
(f) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro 56
tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the commission 57
from among the members of the commission. Such chairpersons shall 58
schedule the first meeting of the commission, which shall be held not 59
later than November 1, 2026. 60
(g) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the 61
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to government 62
oversight shall serve as administrative staff of the commission. 63
(h) Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority. Any 64
vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled for the 65
balance of the unexpired term. 66
(i) A majority of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the 67
transaction of any business. 68
(j) The members of the commission shall serve without 69
sSB133 File No. 71
sSB133 / File No. 71 4
compensation, but shall, within the limits of available funds, be 70
reimbursed for expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of 71
their duties. 72
(k) The commission shall have the following powers and duties: (1) 73
To advance bilateral trade and investment between the state and India; 74
(2) to initiate joint action on policy issues of mutual interest to the state 75
and India; (3) to promote business and academic exchanges between the 76
state and India; (4) to encourage mutual economic support between the 77
state and India; (5) to encourage mutual investment in the infrastructure 78
of the state and India; (6) to address such other issues as determined by 79
the commission; (7) to obtain from any executive department, board, 80
commission or other agency of the state such assistance and data as are 81
necessary and available to carry out the purposes of this section; (8) to 82
accept any gift, donation or bequest for the purpose of performing the 83
duties described in this section; and (9) to perform such other acts as 84
may be necessary and appropriate to carry out the duties described in 85
this section. 86
(l) The commission shall meet quarterly, or as often as deemed 87
necessary by the chairpersons or a majority of the commission. Any 88
appointed member who fails to attend three consecutive meetings or 89
who fails to attend fifty per cent of all meetings held during any 90
calendar year shall be deemed to have resigned from the commission. 91
(m) Not later than February 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, the 92
commission shall submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of 93
section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the Governor, the Commissioner 94
of Economic and Community Development and the joint standing 95
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 96
relating to commerce on the activities of the commission during the 97
preceding year, which shall include, but need not be limited to, any 98
recommendations for policy changes and amendments to the general 99
statutes necessary to effectuate the purposes of the commission. 100
sSB133 File No. 71
sSB133 / File No. 71 5
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
CE Joint Favorable Subst.
sSB133 File No. 71
sSB133 / File No. 71 6
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:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
Legislative Mgmt. GF - Potential
Cost
Minimal Minimal
Note: GF=General Fund
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill establishes a Connecticut-India Trade Commission resulting
in a potential minimal cost to the Office of Legislative Management. The
bill specifies that commission members serve without compensation but
can be reimbursed for necessary expenses resulting in a potential cost to
the extent reimbursements occur.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to inflation.
sSB133 File No. 71
sSB133 / File No. 71 7
OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 133
AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE CONNECTICUT -INDIA TRADE
COMMISSION.
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a Connecticut -India Trade Commission within
the Legislative Department to do the following between Connecticut
and India:
1. advance bilateral trade and investment,
2. initiate joint action on policy issues of mutual interest,
3. promote business and academic exchanges,
4. encourage mutual economic support and infrastructure
investment, and
5. address other issues the commission determines.
To carry out its duties, the bill also authorizes the commission to (1)
get necessary help and data from any executive department, board,
commission, or agency of the state; (2) perform necessary and
appropriate acts; and (3) accept gifts, donations, or bequests.
Under the bill, the commission’s membership includes 23 appointed
members, and any other members the Commerce Committee chairs
determine are necessary.
The bill requires the commission, starting by February 1, 2028, to
annually report to the governor, Department of Economic and
Community Development, and Commerce Committee on its activities
during the prior year. At a minimum, the report must include
recommendations for policy and legislative changes needed to carry out
its duties.
sSB133 File No. 71
sSB133 / File No. 71 8
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
MEMBERSHIP AND MEETINGS
Members
Under the bill, the commission includes the following 23 appointed
members, and any additional members the Commerce Committee
chairpersons determine are necessary:
1. two members each appointed by the six top legislative leaders;
2. two Commerce Committee members, one each appointed by the
committee chairpersons;
3. two Commerce Committee ranking members, or their designees;
4. three members appointed by the governor;
5. one representative of a Connecticut public college or university,
appointed by the governor;
6. one Connecticut chamber of commerce representative, appointed
by the governor; and
7. two representatives of Indian or Indian-American communities in
the state from different political parties, appointed by the
governor.
Under the bill, commission members must be (1) currently or
formerly involved in organizations promoting Indian affairs or (2)
interested in trade relations between Connecticut and India.
Appointments
The bill requires appointing authorities to make their initial
appointments by October 1, 2026, and fill any vacancies. Vacancies
occurring other than by term expiration must be filled for the remainder
of the unexpired term. All members, except those appo inted by the
governor, may be legislators.
sSB133 File No. 71
sSB133 / File No. 71 9
Terms
Under the bill, members generally serve four -year terms, until their
successors are appointed, except as follows:
1. initial gubernatorial and House majority and minority leader
appointments terminate on September 30, 2029;
2. initial House speaker, Senate president pro tempore, and Senate
majority and minority leader appointments terminate on
September 30, 2030; and
3. initial and subsequent Commerce Committee chairperson
appointments are coterminous with appointing committee
chairperson.
Under the bill, members serve without compensation but are
reimbursed, within available funds, for necessary expenses incurred
performing their duties.
Leadership and Meetings
The bill requires the House speaker and Senate president pro
tempore to select the commission’s chairpersons from among its
members. The chairpersons must schedule and hold the commission’s
first meeting by November 1, 2026.
Under the bill, the commission must meet quarterly or as often as the
chairpersons or a majority of the members deem necessary. Members
who miss three consecutive meetings or 50% of the meetings in a
calendar year are deemed to have resigned. A majority of members is a
quorum for conducting business.
The bill requires the Government Oversight Committee’s
administrative staff to serve in this capacity for the commission.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Commerce Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 20 Nay 0 (03/05/2026)