HB 5109 Connecticut House · 2026 Regular Session

AN ACT REPLACING THE CANNABIS TOTAL THC TAX WITH AN EXCISE TAX.

HB 5109 replaces Connecticut's existing cannabis tax (based on milligrams of THC per product) with a 10.75% tax on the gross sales revenue of all cannabis products. This affects cannabis retailers, hybrid retailers, and micro-cultivators, who must collect the tax from consumers at point of sale. Excluded from the tax are sales for palliative use, business-to-business transfers, and delivery services. The new tax takes effect October 1, 2026, and replaces the previous THC-milligram-based rates for plant material, edibles, and other cannabis products.

Issues: ✓ Budget & Taxes

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 10, 2026 Last action Apr 20, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Committee Bill → FIN Joint Favorable Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was revised from a 'Committee Bill' to a 'Substitute Bill' following a favorable recommendation by the Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee. The changes primarily involve renumbering sections to accommodate new definitions and reorganizing the tax exemption clauses. No substantive policy changes regarding tax rates, effective dates, or core eligibility criteria were made in this specific diff.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; the revisions are structural and organizational.

TECHNICAL

The bill header was updated from 'Committee Bill No. 5109' to 'Substitute Bill No. 5109' to reflect the committee's approval and the bill's progression to the next legislative stage.

DEFINITION

The numbering of defined terms was adjusted. For example, the definition for 'Cannabis retailer' was renumbered from item (5) to item (2), and 'Product packager' was renumbered from (17) to (14), indicating a reordering of the list rather than a change in meaning.

REQUIREMENT

The text regarding tax exemptions was reorganized. The list of exclusions (such as sales for palliative use or transfers to transporters) was renumbered from (B) through (F) to (B) through (E), shifting the 'additional tax' clause and the 'special fund' clause to different positions in the sequence.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Joint Favorable Substitute

lower

Mar 3, 2026

Committee

REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Finance, Revenue and Bonding

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

DRAFTED BY COMMITTEE

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Committee

REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Finance, Revenue and Bonding

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors