General Law
research guide
- Table of contents
The Office of Legislative Research writes nonpartisan reports for legislators on various topics. Recent reports related to the General Law Committee’s subject areas include:
Criminal Penalties for Alcohol Possession by Minors – 2023-R-0288
“Do Not Call” Registries – 2023-R-0300
Connecticut Craft Café Permit – 2023-R-0263
Waiving a Home Inspection – 2023-R-0200
Notice to Consumer When Trial Offer Ends – 2023-R-0203
Connecticut Drug Advertisement Restrictions – 2023-R-0171
Home Improvement and New Home Construction Guaranty Fund Statistics – 2023-R-0170
High-THC Products – 2023-R-0169
New Requirements for Disclosing the Price of Entertainment Event Tickets – 2023-R-0184
Cannabis Advertising – 2023-R-0167
State agencies
State boards, commissions, and task forces
Alcohol and Drug Policy Council
Medical Marijuana Program Board of Physicians
Mobile Manufactured Home Advisory Council
Federal government
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Other organizations
Consumer Federation of America
National Consumer Law Center – nonprofit that focuses on consumer credit, banking, debt collection, and other consumer protection issues
Other online resources
Medical marijuana statistics – by the Dept. of Consumer Protection. Includes data on the number of registered patients, dispensaries, producers, and physicians. Updated weekly.
Nolo consumer protection guide
Research guides by the Judicial Branch Law Libraries:
Connecticut law about gift certificates
Connecticut law about identity theft
Connecticut law about recreational marijuana
Connecticut law about the three day right of rescission for certain types of consumer contracts
CBIA News – CT Business and Industry Association; print subscription.
Cannabis Zoning – from the Dept. of Consumer Protection; shows which municipalities have approved, prohibited, or placed a moratorium on recreational cannabis establishments.
National Consumer Law Center Digital Library – “full text of 20 consumer law treatises covering debtor rights, deception and warranties, consumer litigation, credit and banking” (Connecticut State Library). Access from anywhere with a Connecticut State Library card.
NCSL Autonomous Vehicles Bill Tracking Database – from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Tracks legislation in 50 states and the District of Columbia from 2017-present.
NCSL Cannabis Policy Enactment Database – from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Tracks enacted legislation from 2022-present.
NCSL Occupational Licensing Legislation Database – from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Tracks legislation from 2017-present.
Please note this is not an exhaustive list. Contact the library for these and other reports.
Apprentices, Journeymen, and Contractors Task Force (Hiring Ratio Task Force) annual report – pursuant to CGS 20-332c
Complaints concerning work and practice of persons licensed, registered or certified by boards and commissions specified in 21a-6(1) and 21a-6(3) – annual report by the Dept. of Consumer Protection; pursuant to CGS 21a-8
Deteriorating concrete in residential foundations – by the Dept. of Consumer Protection; pursuant to PA 16-45 s.3
Fair sale of tickets to entertainment eventsFair sale of tickets to entertainment events – by the Dept. of Consumer Protection; pursuant to SA 15-12
Home improvement contractors studyHome improvement contractors study – by the Dept. of Consumer Protection; pursuant to SA 13-18
Homemaker Companion Task Force final reportHomemaker Companion Task Force final report – pursuant to SA 22-12
Municipal notice of alcoholic liquor permit renewalsMunicipal notice of alcoholic liquor permit renewals – by the Dept. of Consumer Protection; pursuant to PA 14-48 s.1(b)
Occupational licensing enforcement annual report – by the Dept. of Consumer Protection; pursuant to CGS 21a-8(b)
Uniform procedures regarding home construction contractor and home improvement contractor and salesman-related complaints, report of findings and progressUniform procedures regarding home construction contractor and home improvement contractor and salesman-related complaints, report of findings and progress – by the Dept. of Consumer Protection; pursuant to PA 10-149 s.2
Working Group to Develop a Model Quality Control Plan for Quarries and to Study the Workforce of Contractors Repairing and Replacing Crumbling Concrete Foundations final reportfinal report – pursuant to PA 19-192 s.15
For OLR Reports and other materials related to the General Law Committee’s work, index headings include:
Age of Majority
Alcoholism
Computer Crime
Consumer Credit
Consumer Protection
Consumer Protection-(subtopic folders for Charities, CT Dept. of, Contracts, Motor Vehicles, Unfair Trade Practices)
Food Products-(subtopic folders for Labeling and Pricing)
Gasoline Dealers
Marijuana
Mobile Homes
Lemon Law
Licensing
Liquor
Price Maintenance
Privatization
Retail Trade
Unit Pricing
The library assigns topical index headings to all OLR Reports and keeps hard copies of the reports organized by these index headings. Reports from 1994 to the present are in the library’s file cabinets (aka the “vertical files”) in the red-tabbed folders, as well as online in full text. Older reports are in two sets of bound volumes (one set for the 1970s, and one for 1980-1993) on the library’s shelves.
The same index headings the library uses for OLR Reports have been used to organize over 600 subject files of materials such as newspaper clippings, court decisions, press releases, pamphlets, and other resources that would be more difficult to locate if they were dispersed throughout the library’s general collection. The subject files are in the blue-tabbed folders in the file cabinets. (Many of the items in these folders have also been digitized by the library, and their electronic versions can be found in the library’s intranet catalog.)
Consumer Action Handbook – by the U.S. General Services Administration
For the past several years, almost all newly published items added to the library’s collection have been in electronic format only. These items are accessible in full text through the library’s intranet catalog. Many old print materials have also been digitized and uploaded to the library’s catalog.
To get a general sense of a subject’s history, however, you may find it useful to browse the library stacks in certain locations to see print copies of older publications (and the occasional newer item that was published both electronically and in print). For publications related to consumer protection and the General Law Committee’s other areas of jurisdiction, call number ranges include, but are not limited to:
333.8232 economics of land and energy – gasoline
348 laws, regulations, and cases
381 commerce
Hard copies of mandated reports that were produced only once or as a limited series are shelved by the number of the act that required the report. Hard copies of mandated reports produced regularly with no set end date (for example, state agencies’ annual reports) are shelved in the stacks by subject.
Occupational licensing final report: assessing state policies and practices: project overview and lessons learned from the occupational licensing learning consortiumOccupational licensing final report: assessing state policies and practices: project overview and lessons learned from the occupational licensing learning consortium – published by the National Conference of State Legislatures, 2020
Performance audit compliance report: CT Prescription Monitoring ProgramPerformance audit compliance report: CT Prescription Monitoring Program – by the Auditors of Public Accounts, 2022
Performance audit compliance report: oversight of pre-need funeral service contractsPerformance audit compliance report: oversight of pre-need funeral service contracts – by the Auditors of Public Accounts, 2020
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