In The Loop- February 14, 2025
What “Consumer Protections” Are on the Table in Connecticut
A huge priority for the legislature and the Governor this year has been enacting more legislation surrounding consumer protection when it comes to transactions.
Here are the main topics on tap:
Prohibition of mandatory credit card storage. A bill has been filed and raised by the General Law Committee this year that would prohibit any company from requiring a credit card to be stored to have an account with any company doing business in Connecticut. The thought process is that there are circumstances where inaccurate charges are applied, and the consumer now has the burden to go and advocate for charges to be reversed.
Phase Out of Foreign-Based Drones from Russia and China.
Legislation was filed last session as a priority by Senator Duff that would outlaw any drone built in China or Russia from being operated by law enforcement in the state. The bill fell short last year when it was passed in the Senate and debated into the late hours in the House and expired.
“Click to Cancel”
Legislation was filed two years ago by Representative Turco that would have required all consumer contracts enrolled online to be able to be cancelled online. This model, which passed on automatic renewals with specific exemptions, is now being proposed by Governor Lamont and is being considered at today’s General Law Committee public hearing.
Junk Fee Regulation
Every consumer has dealt with seeing a price listed and then seeing that price dramatically increase after other fees excluding taxes are included. Many states have passed legislation on this topic and this year both the Governor and Senate Democrats are pursuing this topic where all fees would need to be disclosed upfront to the purchaser.