Connecticut Enacts Comprehensive AI Responsibility and Transparency Act

Governor Ned Lamont signed Senate Bill 5, the Connecticut Artificial Intelligence Responsibility and Transparency Act, into law in early June 2026. The legislation creates a wide-ranging regulatory framework covering workplace automation, consumer protections, and public education. A central component of the law regulates automated employment-related decision technology, requiring employers to provide written notice to applicants and employees if AI is a substantial factor in a decision. It also mandates that employers disclose to the Department of Labor whether mass layoffs are related to AI adoption starting October 1, 2026.

The Act explicitly prevents employers from using AI as a defense against discrimination claims, though the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities may consider proactive anti-bias testing as evidence. Enforcement of notice violations falls exclusively under the Connecticut Attorney General via the state's unfair trade practices framework.

Beyond employment, the law introduces safety protocols for AI companion chatbots, protects frontier AI whistleblowers, and requires provenance metadata for synthetic digital content by October 1, 2027. In education, the law makes computer science a required part of the public school curriculum and mandates AI training for teachers. Additionally, the Department of Economic and Community Development will establish a regulatory sandbox to allow the state to test AI models with fewer restrictions to determine their potential benefit to the government.