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Read. Follow. Verify.Connecticut grants consumers property rights over genetic data and restricts direct-to-consumer testing companies
Last action · March 30, 2026: File Number 233
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What This Bill Proposed
Effective October 1, 2026, direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies in Connecticut must obtain explicit consumer consent before collecting, sharing, or using genetic data, and are prohibited from disclosing DNA results to employers, insurers, or marketers.
Residents retain legal ownership of their biological samples and test results, preventing companies from selling genetic information to third-party advertisers, life insurers, or employers without explicit, separate authorization.
- The General Law Committee in the Connecticut General Assembly is responsible for reporting legislation concerning consumer protection, trade practices, and professional licensing. context
- The Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA) serves as the primary state legal mechanism for policing deceptive or unfair commercial conduct against residents. context
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.
Consumers
Consumers gain legal property rights and exclusive control over their biological samples and genetic test results, along with new rights to delete data and restrict sharing.
Direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies
Companies must alter their consent-gathering practices, privacy disclosures, data retention protocols, and security measures, and face legal liability under CUTPA for non-compliance.
Key Facts
- Consumers hold a property right and exclusive control over biological samples and genetic test results provided to direct-to-consumer testing companies.
- Companies must provide clear privacy policies and obtain a consumer's express consent prior to collecting, using, or disclosing genetic data.
- Separate express consent is required to transfer data to non-vendors, use data for secondary purposes, or retain biological samples after testing is complete.
- Companies are explicitly prohibited from disclosing genetic test results or data to employers, life or health insurers, and marketers.
Show all 8 facts
- Informed consent under federal human subjects research regulations is required before transferring genetic data for research purposes.
- Companies must implement reasonable security measures and provide processes for consumers to access, delete, or destroy their data and samples, or revoke research consent.
- Any violation of these provisions is treated as an unfair or deceptive trade practice under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA).
- Licensed health care providers ordering genetic testing for medical purposes within their scope of practice are exempt from these requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can genetic testing companies share my data with my employer or health insurance company?
What control do I have over my biological sample after testing is finished?
Who enforces these new rules if a company breaks them?
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 30, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyFile Number 233
- Mar 30, 2026HouseHouse Calendar Number 189
- Mar 30, 2026HouseFavorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, House
- Mar 30, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyReported Out of Legislative Commissioners' Office
- Mar 23, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyReferred to Office of Legislative Research and Office of Fiscal Analysis 03/30/26 12:00 PM
- Mar 12, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyFiled with Legislative Commissioners' Office
Show 3 earlier actions
- Mar 11, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyJoint Favorable Substitute
- Feb 13, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyPublic Hearing 02/18
- Feb 10, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyCommitteeReferred to Joint Committee on General Law
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.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Creation of Consumer Property Rights in DNA
The bill shifts legal ownership framing by formally declaring that consumers hold property rights over biological materials and raw genetic data once provided to commercial entities.
Connected Entities
Sources
cga.ct.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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