Current Actions

Oppose Electric Bus Mandate Amendment

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMT

An amendment was raised to prohibit school buses from using alternative fuels like propane, biodiesel, and renewable diesel, as an alternative to the electric school bus mandate scheduled to go into effect in 2035.

Current law would allow these alternative fuels to be used in place of converting to electric buses.

We have done a very good job of defeating electric mandates over the past several years, so we do not want this one to be the first to open the door to reconsidering past proposals.

We understand that many members do not sell these alternative fuels to school districts, but it is a book of business that we will never be able to get as an industry if this amendment makes electricity the only way to power buses in the future.

Please take a minute and send a quick email to your local legislators opposing the amendment.

Thank you.

CEMA

Oppose a Bill that would Require You to Pay Your Subcontractors Employees

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMT

A vote could happen this week on a bill that would require contractors to pay wages to a subcontractor’s employees if that subcontractor fails to pay them. The bill would also allow subcontractor employees to sue the general contractor for unpaid wages.

We’re asking members to contact the Governor and to email your local legislators to oppose this bill. It unfairly shifts responsibility onto contractors, holding you accountable for wage issues you did not cause and cannot control.

It is unfair to hold contractors accountable for wages that another contractor was responsible for.

Please read the summary points below and use these points to call Governor Lamont’s office today - you may also email him and your legislators in addition to calling.

The intent of this legislation is to ensure that all contractors are operating on an equal basis when it comes to paying employees fully for what they legally earn. Unfortunately, that’s not the language that is being added to HB 5003.

If this language is added to HB 5003, any general contractor and other contractors on private construction projects in Connecticut will be liable for any subcontractor's failure to pay wages to workers!

This last-minute attempt to add this language to HB 5003 will dramatically impact CEMA members who use subcontractors.

Please tell Gov. Lamont not to support including the wage theft bill language in HB 5003 by calling him at 860 566-4840 (leave a voice mail message)

The language being added would make the general contractor responsible for its subcontractor's unpaid wages on both public and private HVAC and general construction projects.
This language is impractical and will lead to difficult, if not impossible, efforts to determine the unpaid wages that the general contractor or any other contractor is supposed to pay aggrieved employees of subcontractors when the amount of pay is in dispute.
If the legislation were to pass, there is no way to determine the compensation package in dispute.
If this passes, it will be impossible for the general contractor and all of the affected subcontractors to validate the compensation package between alleged unpaid employees and alleged non-paying subcontractors.

Thank you.

Oppose Legislation that would Allow Customers to Sue You

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

The legislature is considering a bill that would allow private citizens and organizations to sue your company for selling fossil fuels, and we need you to voice your opposition to this proposal before it gets further momentum.

Legislators who support the bill have stated that, since the legislature has not been able to pass any meaningful environmental legislation over the last several years, they need to get the courts involved so that climate change can be addressed.

We killed a similar bill last year, but it is back and is likely to pass out of committee, so we need you to take action as soon as possible.

Please take a minute to send this pre-written email that you may edit to make it more personalized, so that the legislators who represent your business are aware of the danger this bill poses to your business.

Thank you.

Opposes Tobacco Regulation Bill

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

The legislature is considering a bill that would unintentionally create significant burdens for our fully compliant tobacco retailers who consistently follow state and local regulations.

The bill requires substantially more documentation for license applications and renewals and creates a civil penalty structure, as well as the potential seizure and destruction of products at the retailer’s expense.

The bill also requires distributors and retailers to certify that all cigarettes and tobacco products sold comply with all state and federal laws, including the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Product compliance is ordinarily the responsibility of a given manufacturer, yet this bill would shift that responsibility to our members.

Please contact your local legislators by sending this pre-written email to oppose the bill. You may edit the message to just send it as is to make your concerns known.

Thank you for your help with this issue.

Oppose Bill to Impose 5% Surcharge on Your Insurance Premiums

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

The Environment Committee is holding a public hearing on a bill that would impose a 5% surcharge on companies that sell, store, and transport fossil fuels.

This bill will cost our members tens of millions and needs to be defeated.

Please contact your State Representative and State Senator and ask them to oppose the bill.

The pre-written message may be edited - if you like, I would encourage you to personalize the email by expressing how much this would cost your company.

Thank you for your help on this issue.

CEMA

DSS Proposes to Undermined Energy Assistance Vendors

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 05:00:00 GMT

The Department of Social Services (DSS) has asked the legislature to make changes to the energy assistance program that would undermine vendors.

The changes would repeal a law that CEMA asked to be passed several years ago, which added county differential pricing to the margin over rack price (MOR). Despite DSS violating current law by not including county pricing in this year's program, which has cost vendors up to 11.5cpg, DSS is now asking the legislature to repeal the requirement to pay vendors this added compensation. If DSS gets away with this, there will be no hope of restoring this additional compensation

The other change DSS wants to make is to allow the department to change the price vendors are paid from the date of delivery to the date they decide to post the price. Again, this is their current practice, but it violates the law. Many of you have felt the pain this year of multiple upward price moves, only to have DSS not change the price because it was a holiday or a snow day. They are asking for the legislature to bless this practice, and they need to be stopped.

Please email your local legislators and the Governor to oppose this legislation.

Thank you.

CEMA

Action Needed on $13 Billion Superfund Tax

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 05:00:00 GMT

The legislature's Environment Committee will hold a public hearing on Friday (Feb. 20) on this year's version of the Climate Superfund.

In New York, a similar proposal became law, costing fossil fuel companies $75 billion. We estimate that if this proposal passes in Connecticut, it will cost our members $13 billion.

On a cents-per-gallon basis, $13 billion would equate to a 33-cent-per-gallon increase in the cost of gasoline, heating oil, propane, and natural gas over the next nine years (based on a similar bill that we killed last year in CT).

Please take a minute to email your local legislators to voice your concerns about this bill, so they know when we testify that the bill has ample opposition.

Oppose Heat Pump Funding

Wed, 28 May 2025 04:00:00 GMT

The Connecticut General Assembly is considering a budget proposal to include $15 million to subsidize the installation of electric heat pumps.

Governor Lamont recently rescinded a $25 million heat pump subsidy in his budget, so the disagreeing proposals will need to be negotiated in the final days of the legislative session that ends on June 4th.

CEMA has consistently asked that our members be included in the state's efforts to conserve fuel and lower emissions, but this proposal leaves low-carbon liquid fuels out.

Please contact your legislators and ask them to oppose heat pump funding that supports electric utilities over local, family-owned heating fuel companies.

Don't Let the Government Control your AC & Heat

Wed, 14 May 2025 04:00:00 GMT

The legislators who represent your town are being asked ot consider a proposal that would allow your utility to control your home's temperature when they need to reduce electricity demand.

In the heat and humidity of the summer, utilities would be able to turn the temperature up when you want your AC to cool your home, and in the winter, when it gets too cold, they could turn the heat down in response to high electricity usage in the state.

Ironically this proposal also incentivizes the use of electric heat pumps and electric vehicle (EV) chargers which would increase electric usage necessitating the control of your thermostat to prevent brownouts or blackouts.

Finally, the bill would also allow homes that have EV chargers and battery power walls which store electricity to draw the electricity that you already paid for out of your EV battery or your power wall to feed the grid when electricity demand is putting a strain on supply.

Please send an email to your legislators today telling them to oppose this proposal. It will only take you a few minutes to make your feeling known about this horrible legislation.

Oppose Electric Conversion BIll

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 04:00:00 GMT

The legislature is considering a bill that in part promotes conversion to heat pumps and electric vehicles (EVs). The bill also replaces the funding mechanism that funds programs like the smart-e loan and other energy efficiency programs. Specifically, the bill creates an “energy infrastructure transition fund” to adopt EV infrastructure and increase the electrification of heating and cooling systems.

Additionally, the bill would create a plan to develop and implement a “smart meter infrastructure” that will include smart thermostats and EVs that can “shift or pause” electricity usage. The bill specifically states that electricity stored by EVs can be used to dispatch power back to the grid during peak electricity demand periods.

All of this would be accomplished by a new fee on ratepayers' electric bills.

We need you to contact your local legislators to voice your opposition to these sections of the bill.

Please take a moment to contact your State Representative and State Senator by sending the pre-written message contained in this email. You may edit the email to make it more personal and to add any additional points you would like to make or just send it as is.

Thank you.

Oppose a State Mandate for you to Disclosure Proprietary Information to the State

Mon, 24 Mar 2025 04:00:00 GMT

I am writing to express my strong opposition to HB 6780 and SJ 36, as both measures would have a significant negative impact on my business and our industry.

HB 6780 would require my company to disclose the type of heating system our customers use, with this information then being made publicly available on a state-run website. This mandate raises serious concerns for small businesses like ours.

Disclosing such proprietary information could allow competitors, including utilities, to unfairly target our customers, putting us at a competitive disadvantage. Additionally, this requirement infringes on consumer privacy, as many homeowners may not want this information publicly accessible. Given that heating system data is already available in aggregate through the U.S. Census and the U.S. Department of Energy, this bill creates an unnecessary administrative burden that would cost businesses both time and money.

SJ 36 also raises significant concerns by granting Connecticut citizens a constitutional right to clean air. While this may sound beneficial in theory, similar provisions in other states have led to costly litigation. Fuels such as gasoline, heating oil, diesel, propane, and natural gas are already highly regulated and taxed. Allowing lawsuits based on perceived violations of a vague constitutional right could open the door to excessive and frivolous legal challenges, further harming businesses and consumers.

Neither HB 6780 nor SJ 36 directly addresses emissions reductions, yet both measures would impose financial and legal risks on businesses like mine. I urge you to oppose these bills and protect local businesses from unnecessary and harmful regulations.

Opposition Needed on Climate Bills that will Cost Consumers Billions in New Fuel Taxes

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 05:00:00 GMT

The Environment Committee is considering two bills that will cost our customers billions of dollars in new "taxes".

One bill would create a "Climate Superfund" that we calculate will add $13 billion to the cost of gasoline, heating oil, propane, and natural gas.

Another bill would set a precedent by allowing the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to create “social cost” guidelines to offset harms to human health and property damage caused by climate change. Once calculated, these social costs would translate into a new tax on fossil fuels.

Both bills are designed to drive up the cost of the fuels you sell so that expensive wind and solar electricity artificially becomes less expensive to use, thus driving consumers to switch to EVs and heat pumps.

Please send a message to your local State Representative and Senator opposing these punishing proposals, which will hurt your customers and devastate your businesses.