Connecticut SB 302: AN ACT CONCERNING THE USE OF CONNECTICUT HIGHER EDUCATION TRUST FUNDS FOR FIRE SCHOOLS AND OTHER TRAINING PROGRAMS.

Bill Text

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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 302
February Session, 2026

AN ACT REVISING VARIOUS PROVISIONS RELATING TO CERTAIN
APPROVALS BY THE BANKING COMMISSIONER AND
CONNECTICUT BANK BRANCH APPLICATIONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 36a-34 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 2
1, 2026): 3
(b) The commissioner shall not grant any approval under section 36a-4
125, subsections (b), (c) and (d) of section 36a-145, as amended by this 5
act, section 36a-181, section 36a-411 or subdivisions (1) and (2) of 6
subsection (a) of section 36a-412 unless the commissioner finds, in 7
accordance with regulations adopted pursuant to chapter 54, that (1) 8
based on the most recent applicable performance evaluation and any 9
related information required by the commissioner, the entity has a 10
record of compliance with the requirements of federal CRA, sections 11
36a-30 to 36a-33, inclusive, to the extent applicable, and applicable 12
consumer protection laws; and (2) except as otherwise provided in this 13
subsection, if the entity, and in the case of an approval pursuant to 14
section 36a-411, the bank or any subsidiary bank of the Connecticut 15
holding company, received any overall rating other than an assigned 16
rating of "outstanding" on its most recent applicable community 17
reinvestment performance evaluation, or, in the case of an approval 18

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under subsection (b), (c) or (d) of section 36a-145, as amended by this 19
act, if the entity received an overall rating of "needs to improve" or 20
"substantial noncompliance" on its most recent applicable community 21
reinvestment performance evaluation, the resulting entity will provide 22
adequate services to meet the banking needs of all community residents, 23
including low-income residents and moderate-income residents to the 24
extent permitted by its charter, in accordance with a plan submitted by 25
the applicant to the commissioner, in such form and containing such 26
information as the commissioner may require, or, if acceptable to the 27
commissioner, in accordance with an approved strategic plan prepared 28
under federal CRA, or the relevant portion thereof, that is submitted by 29
the applicant to the commissioner. Upon receiving any such plan, the 30
commissioner shall make the plan available for public inspection and 31
comment at the Department of Banking and cause notice of its 32
submission and availability for inspection and comment to be published 33
in the department's weekly bulletin. With the concurrence of the 34
commissioner, the applicant or applicants shall publish, in the form of a 35
legal advertisement in a newspaper having a substantial circulation in 36
the area, notice of such plan's submission and availability for public 37
inspection and comment. The notice shall state that the inspection and 38
comment period will last for a period of thirty days from the date of 39
publication. The commissioner shall not make such finding until the 40
expiration of such thirty-day period. In making such finding, the 41
commissioner shall, unless clearly inapplicable, consider, among other 42
factors, whether the plan identifies specific unmet credit and consumer 43
banking needs in the local community and specifies how such needs will 44
be satisfied, provides for sufficient distribution of banking services 45
among branches or satellite devices, or both, located in low-income 46
neighborhoods, contains adequate assurances that banking services will 47
be offered on a nondiscriminatory basis and demonstrates a 48
commitment to extend credit for housing, small business and consumer 49
purposes in low-income neighborhoods. The submission of such plan 50
shall not be required in the case of an approval under subsection (d) of 51
section 36a-145, provided, the commissioner may require the filing of 52
such information in lieu of a plan as the commissioner deems 53

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appropriate. If the commissioner determines that an applicant is an 54
eligible entity, the commissioner may (A) exempt such applicant from 55
the requirement that such applicant file a plan, or (B) require such 56
information in lieu of a plan as the commissioner deems appropriate. 57
Except with respect to an approval pursuant to section 36a-145, as 58
amended by this act, and section 36a-181, the commissioner shall not 59
approve the transaction if the transaction would result in a monopoly, 60
or would be in furtherance of any combination or conspiracy to 61
monopolize or attempt to monopolize the business of banking in this 62
state or if the commissioner determines that the effect of the proposed 63
transaction may be to substantially lessen competition, or would tend to 64
create a monopoly, or would be in restraint of trade, unless the 65
commiss