The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Connecticut bill expands wildfire prevention powers and raises fines for illegal open burning
Last action · March 17, 2026: File Number 35Sponsors: Pat Boyd and 2 others
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What This Bill Proposed
To augment certain authority of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Governor concerning measures to prevent wildfires.
Residents face significantly higher financial penalties for violating emergency burn bans or entering closed forest lands, and municipal fire departments gain a longer window to submit reimbursement requests for emergency firefighting services.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
residents
Residents face stricter open-burning prohibitions near woodlands and higher financial penalties for violating emergency closure and burning bans.
volunteer fire companies
Volunteer fire departments gain an extended timeline of up to four months to submit reimbursement requests for emergency firefighting services during declared emergencies.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the new fine for violating an emergency burn ban?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · on the House floor.
Procedural history
9 actions- Mar 17, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyFile Number 35
- Mar 17, 2026HouseHouse Calendar Number 53
- Mar 17, 2026HouseFavorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, House
- Mar 17, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyReported Out of Legislative Commissioners' Office
- Mar 10, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyReferred to Office of Legislative Research and Office of Fiscal Analysis 03/16/26 5:00 PM
- Mar 5, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyFiled with Legislative Commissioners' Office
Show 3 earlier actions
- Mar 4, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyJoint Favorable
- Feb 13, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyPublic Hearing 02/20
- Feb 11, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyCommitteeReferred to Joint Committee on Environment
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
cga.ct.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 60)
- Controversy20Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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