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SB00392 • 2026

AN ACT CONCERNING RULES OF MINOR POLITICAL PARTIES.

AN ACT CONCERNING RULES OF MINOR POLITICAL PARTIES.

Children Elections
Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor
Government Administration and Elections Committee
Last action
2026-04-08
Official status
File Number 496
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not provide specific details on the consequences for minor political parties that do not follow their rules.

Rules for Minor Political Parties

This act requires minor political parties to follow their own rules when nominating candidates and selecting town committee members or convention delegates.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the law so that minor political parties must follow their party rules in making nominations for public office.
  • Requires minor political parties to select town committee members according to their rules.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Minor political parties in Connecticut
  • People who run for office under minor political party nominations

Terms To Know

minor political parties
Political groups that are not one of the major national parties like Democrats or Republicans.
town committee members
People who represent their town in a political party's local organization.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if minor political parties do not follow their rules.
  • It is unclear how this change will affect the operations of minor political parties beyond January 1, 2027.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-08 LCO

    Reported Out of Legislative Commissioners' Office

  2. 2026-04-08 Connecticut General Assembly

    Favorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, Senate

  3. 2026-04-08 Connecticut General Assembly

    Senate Calendar Number 308

  4. 2026-04-08 LCO

    File Number 496

  5. 2026-03-31 LCO

    Referred to Office of Legislative Research and Office of Fiscal Analysis 04/07/26 5:00 PM

  6. 2026-03-23 GAE

    Joint Favorable

  7. 2026-03-23 LCO

    Filed with Legislative Commissioners' Office

  8. 2026-03-09 Connecticut General Assembly

    Public Hearing 03/13

  9. 2026-03-02 Connecticut General Assembly

    Referred to Joint Committee on Government Administration and Elections

Official Summary Text

To provide that minor political parties are required, and not merely allowed, to abide by their party rules in making nominations for public office and selecting town committee members or convention delegates.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Senate
SB392 / File No. 496 1

General Assembly File No. 496
February Session, 2026 Senate Bill No. 392

Senate, April 8, 2026

The Committee on Government Administration and Elections
reported through SEN. FLEXER of the 29th Dist., Chairperson
of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the bill ought to
pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING RULES OF MINOR POLITICAL PARTIES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 9 -451 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 1, 2027): 2
The nomination by a minor party of any candidate for office, 3
including an office established after the last-preceding election, and the 4
selection in a municipality by a minor party of town committee 5
members or delegates to conventions [may] shall be made in the manner 6
prescribed in the rules of such party, or alterations or amendments 7
thereto, filed with the Secretary of the State in accordance with section 8
9-374. 9
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 January 1, 2027 9-451

GAE Joint Favorable

SB392 File No. 496

SB392 / File No. 496 2

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 requires minor parties to select candidates and delegates in
accordance with their party rules, resulting in no fiscal impact to the
state or municipalities.
The Out Years
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None

SB392 File No. 496

SB392 / File No. 496 3

OLR Bill Analysis
SB 392

AN ACT CONCERNING RULES OF MINOR POLITICAL PARTIES.

SUMMARY
This bill requires nominations of minor party candidates, convention
delegates, or town committee members to be made as prescribed by the
minor party’s rules filed with the secretary of the state. A 2022 Superior
Court decision held that this was not strictly required under current law.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2027
BACKGROUND
Related Case
In 2022, a gubernatorial candidate sued a minor party, alleging the
minor party did not follow the party’s rules in nominating its candidate
for governor. The Superior Court ruled that minor parties did not need
to strictly adhere to the party rules as lon g as their actions were not
unlawful or irrational ( Stefanowski v. Kohler, No. HDD-CV-22-6160145-
S, 2022 WL 21825675 (Sep. 15, 2022)).
COMMITTEE ACTION
Government Administration and Elections Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 19 Nay 0 (03/23/2026)