“Connecticut Senate Democrats are committed to advancing legislation that responds to the pressing needs of the people of our state,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney. “These bills are the beginning of our efforts this session to drive meaningful change and to create policies that promote fairness, progress, and opportunity in our state.”

“Today’s proposed legislation demonstrates the commitment of the Senate Democratic Caucus to best position Connecticut for a strong economic future,” said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff. “By leveraging artificial intelligence and prioritizing increasing our housing stock, we are investing in the prosperity of our state for years to come. At the same time, we are ensuring Connecticut residents have control over their lives online and laying the foundation for a more equitable and secure digital future for all.”

Senate Bill 2, ‘An Act Concerning Artificial Intelligence’, will build upon the successful artificial intelligence legislation from 2023 by:

1. Protecting the public from the harmful, unintended consequences of artificial intelligence
2. Training Connecticut’s workforce to use artificial intelligence
3. Leveraging artificial intelligence in the medical field and healthcare industry

Senate Bill 2 will create policies that make Connecticut a national leader by creating safety measures against the potential hazards of AI while advancing our economy.

“AI is going to revolutionize the way that we live, work and play,” said Senator James Maroney (D-Milford). “We are in the early stages of this new technological revolution, and we can make Connecticut a leader in AI innovation.  However, we first need to ensure that we are putting in protections to mitigate the potential harms and providing all of our citizens the tools they need to succeed in the new AI economy.” 

In December 2023, Senator Maroney held the fourth Artificial Intelligence Task Force meeting at Yale University. Speakers and panelists discussed strategies to build Connecticut’s health tech economy and growing the AI workforce. Senator Maroney also ran five multi-state working group meetings with legislators from around the country. As AI continues to grow across the U.S., this taskforce will continue to consider strategies for implementing AI safely for people across Connecticut. 

Many of the proposals in Senate Bill 2 are a direct result of these discussions and collaborations. 

Protection from AI’s Harmful Unintended Consequences 
Part 1: Transparency and Accountability

Artificial intelligence is fast becoming a regular part of daily life, shaping the way Americans work, play and receive essential services. A Pew Research Center study finds that many Americans are aware of common ways they might encounter AI but, at the same time, only three in ten U.S. adults are able to correctly identify all six uses of AI asked about in the survey, underscoring the developing nature of the public’s understanding.

Senate Bill 2 will strengthen transparency and accountability surrounding AI in order to ensure people are aware they are interacting with AI.

Part 2: Creating Training Programs

As AI becomes more and more prevalent in our society, Connecticut needs to ensure our labor force and employers are positioned to take advantage of this technology. AI can be very beneficial in the workplace and have a significant impact on Connecticut’s future job creation.

Senate Bill 2 will create training programs for workers and businesses to learn how to utilize AI.

Part 3: Criminalizing Deepfake Porn

In November of 2023, an undisclosed number of girls at a New Jersey high school learned that one or more students at their school had used an artificial intelligence tool to generate what appeared to be nude images of them. Those images were being shared among classmates creating untold pain for those involved.

Currently, there is no law that covers AI-generated nude images, often called deepfake photos. Deepfakes can use the face, voice or partial image of a real person and meld it with other imagery to make it look or sound like a depiction of that person.

Senate Bill 2 will update Connecticut’s revenge porn statutes to include generative AI images & put prohibitions on models on child porn or nonconsensual images. 

Bettering the Workforce with AI

While there is an understandable concern around AI displacing people from their jobs, many experts believe AI will ultimately lead to a net gain in employment. Arvind Krishna, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of IBM, said artificial intelligence will positively impact the workforce and will create more jobs. For example, when the internet was first invented, people worried about job displacement, but there was an increase in jobs. At the time society could not envision the new workforces we would need in web design, IT, online commerce, marketing, and so much more.

Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs for IBM Chris Padilla said upskilling employees to work alongside AI and training new workers to develop new AI use is a priority for Connecticut and for the country. Building these skills will create new economic opportunities and help accelerate growth in the state.

Senate Bill 2 will work to create a CT citizens AI academy so businesses can learn how to use AI to improve efficiency.

Leveraging AI for Healthcare

Healthcare also has the potential to benefit positively from AI. Academic organizations and healthcare organizations are collaborating to create solutions to harness AI in numerous ways.

AI enabled medical devices have become more and more common. There is an opportunity for the government to identify barriers to innovation and provide solutions to those working on the frontlines of the industry.

AI has also revolutionized cancer research and treatment by identifying intricate patterns in medical data. According to the Pharmacy Times, in today’s complex terrain of available medical data, AI can play a crucial role in enhancing traditional data analysis methods. Through the use of AI algorithms in image analysis and radiology, oncology professionals can detect subtle nuances in medical images, leading to early cancer detection and accurate diagnoses.

AI can help involve diagnosis and treatment recommendations, patient engagement and adherence, and administrative activities, according to the National Library of Medicine. These technologies have the potential to transform many aspects of patient care.

Senate Bill 2 will work to bring together industry, academia, and government for the purpose of using AI to improve the health of individuals and populations.

Senate Bill 3

Senate Bill 3, An Act Concerning Consumer Protection, is focused on protecting consumer rights and data, enhancing privacy, and giving residents more power as Big Tech plays an ever-greater role in our lives. The bill’s seven points address expanded and accessible broadband internet service, force transparency of junk fees, support net neutrality, support the right to repair electronic devices, prevent smart devices from eavesdropping on users, prorate streaming service final bills upon cancellation, and take action against foreign drones’ use in Connecticut.

Senate Bill 3’s focuses are wide-ranging and include:

• The development and establishment of a Net Equality Program, which would require the state and certain state agencies to do business only with internet service providers offering affordable home internet service to households participating in public assistance programs.

  • Such a program would be modeled around providing strong internet service, a necessity in the modern day, to groups including low-income households, aging populations, people with disabilities, underserved demographics and rural communities.

• The bill would also announce the state’s principle to ensure digital equity for all residents, that residents will have access to broadband meeting specific requirements, and that broadband internet subscribers would benefit from equal access to broadband internet service within broadband providers’ service area.

  • As of 2023, more than 10,000 homes and small businesses in Connecticut, and up to hundreds of thousands of residents, do not have access to high-speed internet. These efforts would further the effectiveness of federal funding received by the state to support broadband development last year.

• Junk fees would be directly addressed by making it an unfair trade practice to advertise, display or offer a price for goods and services not including all mandatory fees and charges other than government-imposed taxes. It would also make it an unfair trade practice to charge excessive or deceptive mandatory fees.

  • This would act and expand on federal actions to cut down on junk fees, which are hidden or surprise fees companies place on customer bills. In 2023, Connecticut legislators banned these fees on tickets to events, requiring ticket sellers to disclose “all-in” ticket prices from time of selection; that bill went into effect in 2023.

• Internet Service Providers would be required to register with the Department of Consumer Protection, which would apply net neutrality principles to those ISPs and enforce civil penalties upon violations.

  • In autumn 2023, the Federal Communications Commission voted to begin reinstating net neutrality rules, which were repealed in 2017. Such rules prevent ISPs from blocking access, throttling access or accepting paid prioritization for internet service – for instance, making service slower to websites that do not pay for access – and promote more equitable and fair provision of services to customers.

• The “right to repair” would be enshrined, requiring electronic and appliance manufacturers to make documentation, parts and tools needed to maintain, modify or repair devices to owners and independent repair service providers.

  • States including California have already passed bills supporting Right to Repair, which prevent electronics and appliance manufacturers from monopolizing the repair markets of their products. In addition to providing small businesses and members of the public with easier access to repair their consumer products, research also shows it can reduce waste and carbon emissions.

• A new standard would target smart devices with built-in microphones, for instance Amazon Echo and Google home devices, requiring them to notify users with a privacy notice before turning on or enabling their microphones; preventing the sale or use of recordings collected for advertising purposes; and require anyone who collects information through those devices’ microphones to use security measures that protect that information from unauthorized access and use.

  • Research in recent years found that Amazon and other smart speaker producers have, in the past, used voice data collected by those speakers to sell to other producers and inform advertising approaches, including with customized advertisements tailored to listening data. In 2023, Amazon was fined $30 million for “spying” on customers.

• Streaming service providers will be required to prorate final bills once a customer cancels a subscription to the service.

  • In 2023, legislators passed a bill to require cable companies to pro-rate customer refunds for canceled subscriptions made mid-month. With the continued increased popularity of streaming services, including many consumers cutting cable and switching to streaming, this makes that standard for content service providers.

• Finally, this legislation would ban state offices, municipal offices and state contractors from purchasing and operating drones manufactured in China and Russia.

  • Reports found that many drones made in these countries have tracking technology built into them that relays data back to the country manufacturing them, which allegedly has been used to even track location and usage. The FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has even warned that Chinese-made drones represent a “significant risk” to critical infrastructure in the United States.

Senate Bill 6

Senate Bill 6, ‘An Act Concerning Housing’, will work to make housing more affordable and accessible for Connecticut residents.

“Affordable housing in Connecticut promotes economic stability, social equity, health and education outcomes, community development, and overall well-being for residents,” said State Senator Marilyn Moore, Senate Chair of the Housing Committee. “We must continue to address the housing crisis and its causes in order to provide low- and moderate-income individuals and families with access to safe, stable housing options, regardless of their socio-economic background. We all have a collective responsibility to our most vulnerable populations and those experiencing homelessness.”

Currently in Connecticut, the lack of affordable housing is due to several issues including high cost of living, shortage of affordable units, and income inequality. Connecticut has one of the highest costs of living in the U.S. The combination of high property values, limited housing supply, and high incomes can create affordability challenges for many residents, particularly low-and moderate-income individuals and families.

Additionally, there is a shortage of affordable housing units in Connecticut, especially in urban areas where demand is high. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, there is a shortage of rental homes affordable and available to extremely low-income households whose incomes are at or below the poverty guideline or 30% of their area median income. Many of these households are severely cost burdened, spending more than half of their income on housing. These households are more likely than other renters to sacrifice other necessities like healthy food and healthcare to pay the rent, and to experience unstable housing situations like evictions.

Furthermore, income inequality in Connecticut contributes to housing affordability problems. The gap between wages and housing costs can make it difficult for many households to find affordable housing options. income inequality has a significant effect on housing affordability as it increases housing costs as a share of income.

In September 2023, the annual “State of Working Connecticut” report released by CT Voices for Children stated that making housing more affordable will make it easier both for existing workers to stay in the state and for potential workers to move to the state, which will increase the labor force and job growth and that in turn will increase personal income growth and GDP growth. At the same time, it will help to offset in part the negative impact of wage inequality and wage gaps by reducing the percentage of income that workers spend on housing.

In the state of Nevada, funding from the American Rescue Plan Act was used to help individuals acquire a home. $500 million was used for placed into a program that will help with down payment assistance. Nevada also used private activity bonds for housing instead of industrial use. In order to preserve affordable housing, homeowners were approached to get them to make sure homes were well maintained as affordable.

Nevada has three regional housing authorities. Each regional housing authority can better coordinate projects that cross municipal lines. They direct capital to where zoning isn’t an issue.

According to a National Conference of State Legislature Housing Policy Specialist, there is a shortage of housing for extremely low-income families, about 7 million homes. Currently, there are 37 homes available for every 100 families living in an extremely low-income household and 13% of middle-income households are cost burdened.

Affordable housing in Connecticut, like in many other regions, is a significant concern. Senate Bill 6 will work to fund programs furthering strategies and resources individuals and families can use to help afford to live in Connecticut. It is essential to work together to implement a comprehensive approach to address affordable housing challenges in Connecticut.

Under Senate Bill 6, the Housing Committee is proposing to:

• Appropriate $20 million to address homelessness through funding for shelters and financial assistance for families facing homelessness

  • In December 2022, the Connecticut State Department of Housing said homelessness had surged with 76% more people without a place of their own compared to November 2020

• Require “Just Cause” evictions to prevent unfair removals of renters. Currently, “Just Cause” evictions only apply to seniors

• Establish a 10% state tax credit for the conversion of commercial property into residential property, provided that said property shall create at least 50 new residential units with at least 20% for deed restricted affordable housing

• Cut the state sales tax to 3% on goods purchased for new residential housing developments that create a minimum of 50 new affordable units

• Provide $25 million from the General Fund to the Department of Housing for the Rental Assistance Program to expand the program to address increased rents and increased demand

• Allow for Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8) administered by the Department of Housing and the Rental Assistance Program vouchers to access to all housing markets in the state

  • This change will require an annual study by the Department of Housing of rents across every zip code to ensure that real time market conditions are considered for the vouchers

  • With that information the value of the rental assistance vouchers would then be adjusted according to the zip code in which they are used on a yearly basis

• Increase the state conveyance tax by 1% for sales of homes where the buyer is an institution and not an individual