The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Connecticut speeds up bank branch approvals and exempts banks with satisfactory CRA ratings from community needs plans
Last action · March 23, 2026: File Number 126Sponsors: Fred Gee and 1 other
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Proposed
Connecticut Senate Bill 302 cuts the branch application review timeline from 12 business days down to 5 and removes community banking plan requirements for banks holding a satisfactory Community Reinvestment Act rating, effective October 1, 2026.
- The Banking Committee introduced Senate Bill 302 during the 2026 legislative session to modify state banking law provisions. 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.
Connecticut state-chartered banks
Banks with satisfactory CRA ratings face fewer regulatory planning hurdles when opening or converting branches, and all applicants experience a shortened review timeline.
Department of Banking
The department must process branch application reviews and notify applicants under a tighter 5-day window instead of 12 days.
Key Facts
- Exempts banks with a 'satisfactory' CRA rating from submitting a community banking needs plan when applying to establish or convert a branch location.
- Shortens the timeframe for unacted branch applications to be deemed approved from the twelfth business day to the fifth business day after the comment period expires.
- Retains community banking plan requirements for entities receiving ratings other than 'outstanding' or 'satisfactory', such as 'needs to improve' or 'substantial noncompliance'.
- Requires the commissioner to publish weekly bulletin notices of branch applications and determine whether applicants are eligible entities.
Show all 5 facts
- Allows the commissioner to halt automatic approval by notifying the applicant in writing of adverse comments, significant supervisory concerns, or the need for additional information.
Frequently Asked Questions
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · on the Senate floor.
Procedural history
9 actions- Mar 23, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyFile Number 126
- Mar 23, 2026SenateSenate Calendar Number 99
- Mar 23, 2026SenateFavorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, Senate
- Mar 23, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyReported Out of Legislative Commissioners' Office
- Mar 16, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyReferred to Office of Legislative Research and Office of Fiscal Analysis 03/23/26 12:00 PM
- Mar 10, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyFiled with Legislative Commissioners' Office
Show 3 earlier actions
- Mar 10, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyJoint Favorable Substitute
- Feb 27, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyPublic Hearing 03/03
- Feb 26, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyCommitteeReferred to Joint Committee on Banking
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 40)
- Controversy10Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz15Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools