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ConnecticutHB 055182026 Regular SessionHouseWALLET
AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH'S RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING SUBSURFACE SEWAGE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, WATER OPERATOR APPRENTICES AND VARIOUS REVISIONS TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND DRINKING WATER STATUTES.
Sponsored By: Public Health Committee
Signed by Governor
Summary
To implement the Department of Public Health's recommendations regarding various revisions to the environmental health and drinking water statutes, including statutes relating to bottled water, environmental laboratories and asbestos abatement.
public health
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
11 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 2 costs, 7 mixed.
Asbestos trainers need certificates and approvals
Beginning October 1, 2026, asbestos training providers need state certificates costing $50 to apply and $50 to renew annually. Providers must meet state requirements for instructors, records, and course-completion documents. Programs need approval before training starts and must meet federal asbestos-training standards and state rules. Program approval and three-year reapproval cost $500, or $250 for refresher programs. Providers must report successful course completers to the health department within 30 days.
Asbestos professionals face licenses and fees
Beginning October 1, 2026, asbestos application and annual renewal fees are $625 for contractors and $250 for consultants. Workers pay $50 and site supervisors pay $100 to apply and renew annually; both need approved training. Contractors need approved staff, equipment, and technical resources; individual applicants also need site-supervisor certification. Consultants need training for each licensed discipline and required education and experience, but may complete required supervised fieldwork without a license. Out-of-state credentials may qualify under equal or higher standards, with no unresolved complaints or pending disciplinary actions; qualifying consultants can avoid an examination.
Renters get faster contaminated water notices
Beginning October 1, 2026, property owners must forward unsafe-water test notices to every tenant and lessee. This applies when tests exceed state maximum contaminant limits or applicable PFAS or unregulated-contaminant limits. Owners must send the notice as soon as practical, within 48 hours after receiving it.
Experienced professionals gain Connecticut licensing route
Beginning October 1, 2026, eligible professionals with valid credentials from another U.S. jurisdiction gain a Connecticut licensing route. They need at least four years of practice, good standing, and no listed discipline, pending complaints, or investigations. Applicants must pass the usual background or character checks and pay the usual fees. The health department must issue a credential at the practice level it determines. The covered professions list removes chapter 400a and adds chapter 400c.
Out-of-state labs need service center approval
Beginning October 1, 2026, out-of-state labs without Connecticut certification need approval to operate Connecticut service centers. They must hold active home-state certification for the substances and testing methods involved. Their procedures must protect samples. Initial approval lasts no more than two years, with renewals lasting two years.
Sewage officers need fee-free state certification
Beginning October 1, 2026, sewage enforcement officers generally need state certification and appointment by a local health director. The three phases have different duties, require training and exams, and cannot be held at the same time. Phase II requires Phase I or qualifying service before October 1, 2026; Phase III requires Phase II and established alternative-system standards. Previously approved agents can continue without certification if they apply by October 1, 2027; state health employees and contractors retain inspection and complaint-investigation exceptions. Officers must apply to renew within three years of issuance or their last renewal, with no initial or renewal fee.
Water apprentices gain supervised certification route
Beginning July 1, 2026, registered water-operator apprentices can seek certification after completing an approved apprenticeship and passing the classification's written exam. Applicants must submit a written application, and the apprenticeship must cover the relevant system type. Apprentices must notify the health department in writing at least 10 days before participating. They need direct supervision by an operator certified for that system type and cannot make water-quality or system-integrity decisions affecting public health. Supervising operators face discipline for failing to provide required supervision.
Funeral homes gain chemical cremation flexibility
Crematories using only alkaline hydrolysis on licensed funeral-home grounds are exempt from specified cemetery, local-approval, and residential-distance location requirements. Local zoning may allow these facilities without the usual 500-foot residential setback. The health commissioner can set technical standards for alkaline hydrolysis and other chemical cremation methods. Those rules can also cover disposal of products and by-products.
Asbestos oversight adds rules and safeguards
Beginning October 1, 2026, state asbestos rules must cover licensing, training, exams, and discipline, meeting or exceeding federal accreditation standards. Rules may also address related science degrees and employee retraining. The health department can deny applications or discipline credentialed people and approved entities for fraud, negligence, misrepresentation, or listed legal violations. For felony-based action, it must consider safe-work relevance, rehabilitation, and time since conviction or release. The law also repeals section 20-441 and removes it from specified state labor and federal safety inspectors' exemption list.
Bottlers face yearly water safety checks
Beginning October 1, 2026, the health commissioner can add safety conditions to approvals for Connecticut bottled-water sources. The commissioner must list acceptable PFAS and unregulated-contaminant levels based on specified federal standards. By January 1, 2027, and annually afterward, bottlers must test untreated samples from each approved Connecticut source they use. Tests must also meet applicable physical, chemical, radiation, and germ standards, with results sent to both health and consumer-protection departments within nine calendar days of receipt. The health department can stop source use until failed standards are met.
Environmental labs face certification and penalties
Beginning October 1, 2026, environmental labs need state certification to test substances on the health commissioner's annual list. State rules cover staff, testing methods, proficiency, service centers, and sample handling. Operating without certification can bring fines up to $5,000 per violation per day. The commissioner must immediately suspend certification when continued operation poses a clear and present public-health danger. Owner-only lab results cannot prove legal compliance, but certified water operators' treatment-facility analyses remain usable for treatment checks and legally allowed reports.
Sponsors & Cosponsors
Sponsor
Public Health Committee
Affiliation unavailable
Cosponsors
Hilda E. Santiago
Democratic • House
Iris N Sanchez
Democratic • House
Jaime S. Foster
Democratic • House
Roll Call Votes
Senate vote • 3/23/2026
Senate Roll Call Vote 388
Yes: 0 • No: 0
House vote • 3/23/2026
House Roll Call Vote 185 AS AMENDED
Yes: 0 • No: 0
House vote • 3/23/2026
PH Vote Tally Sheet (Joint Favorable)
Yes: 0 • No: 0
Actions Timeline
Signed by the Governor
6/4/2026legislatureTransmitted by Secretary of the State to Governor
5/28/2026legislatureTransmitted to the Secretary of State
5/28/2026legislaturePublic Act 26-142
5/20/2026legislatureIn Concurrence
5/6/2026legislatureSenate Passed as Amended by House Amendment Schedule A
5/6/2026SenateSenate Adopted House Amendment Schedule A
5/6/2026SenateSenate Calendar Number 520
5/2/2026SenateFavorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, Senate
5/2/2026SenateImmediate Transmittal to the Senate
5/1/2026SenateHouse Passed as Amended by House Amendment Schedule A
5/1/2026HouseHouse Adopted House Amendment Schedule A 5666
5/1/2026HouseFile Number 543
4/9/2026legislatureHouse Calendar Number 363
4/9/2026HouseFavorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, House
4/9/2026HouseReported Out of Legislative Commissioners' Office
4/9/2026legislatureReferred to Office of Legislative Research and Office of Fiscal Analysis 04/08/26 5:00 PM
4/2/2026legislatureFiled with Legislative Commissioners' Office
3/24/2026legislatureJoint Favorable
3/23/2026legislaturePublic Hearing 03/13
3/9/2026legislatureReferred to Joint Committee on Public Health
3/5/2026legislature
Bill Text
Public Act No. 26-142
5/20/2026
File No. 543
4/9/2026
PH Joint Favorable
3/23/2026
Raised Bill
3/5/2026
Bill Analysis For File Copy 543
Bill Analysis for HB-5518, as amended by House "A"
Fiscal Note For File Copy 543
Fiscal Note for Amendment LCO 4924 (No Fiscal Impact)
Fiscal Note for Amendment LCO 5224 (No Fiscal Impact)
Fiscal Note for Amendment LCO 5512 (No Fiscal Impact)
Fiscal Note for Amendment LCO 5626 (No Fiscal Impact)
Fiscal Note for Amendment LCO 5666 (No Fiscal Impact)
Fiscal Note for HB-5518, As Amended by House "A" (LCO 5666)
House LCO Amendment #4924 (D)
House LCO Amendment #5224 (D)
House LCO Amendment #5512 (D)
House LCO Amendment #5626 (D)
House Roll Call Vote 185 AS AMENDED
House Schedule A LCO# 5666 (D)
PH Joint Fav. Rpt
PH Vote Tally Sheet (Joint Favorable)
Senate Roll Call Vote 388
Summary for Public Act No. 26-142
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