Major 2025 Legislative Win: HB 5004 Passes in Connecticut
HB5004 – AN ACT CONCERNING THE PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES AND ASSOCIATED JOB SECTORS (LCO No. 4924)
Overview
After more than two years of sustained advocacy by the Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs (CRCJ) and our partners, HB 5004 passed in the 2025 legislative session—a pivotal step toward climate justice, clean energy growth, and economic resilience. While not a comprehensive climate mitigation bill, HB 5004 lays critical groundwork for transitioning Connecticut to a clean energy economy.
CRCJ was proud to lead advocacy efforts on this legislation alongside our coalition of labor, faith, environmental, and community partners. Our work included grassroots mobilization, direct lobbying, legislative testimony, and communications campaigns that centered the voices of workers and frontline communities.
Why It Matters
Connecticut must act now to protect ratepayers and capture the economic opportunity of the clean technology sector. This bill accelerates state-led action, strengthens workforce pathways, and expands equitable access to energy efficiency programs, particularly in communities overburdened by pollution and energy insecurity.
Key Provisions of HB 5004
Energy Efficiency to Reduce Costs
HB5004 incentivizes investment in energy-efficient infrastructure for homes and businesses, creates an Affordable Heat Pump Program and allows school districts to receive state construction reimbursements for installing heat pumps, and updates efficiency standards for electrical appliances and water fixtures.
Workforce Development & Green Jobs
HB5004 establishes the Connecticut Clean Economy Council to guide the just transition from fossil fuels to clean energy jobs, expands training programs and resources for workers and youth, and creates incentives for sustainable businesses, including reduced fees and priority in the JobsCT tax credit program.
Fosters Clean, Affordable Energy Independence
HB5004 increases the supply of in-state clean energy to reduce dependence on volatile fossil fuel markets, develops a plan for solar canopies at schools, parking lots, and public buildings, and integrates the social cost of greenhouse gas emissions into state agency decision-making.
Environmental Justice & Public Health
HB5004 supports nature-based solutions like reforestation, coastal restoration, and cover crops, strengthens efforts to reduce pollution and address environmental health disparities in overburdened communities, and requires state agencies to reduce emissions in line with Connecticut’s economy-wide climate goals.
CRCJ’s Role in Advancing HB 5004
The Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs (CRCJ) played a central role in shaping and advancing HB 5004—from vision to passage. For more than two years, our team led the charge to develop the policy framework, draft legislative language, and build the public and political momentum necessary to move this bill forward.
Working closely with coalition partners and legislative allies, CRCJ helped craft the language that became the foundation of HB 5004. We drew on our deep experience across labor, climate, and justice movements to ensure that the bill reflected a bold, equitable vision for Connecticut’s clean energy transition—one that centers working people, environmental justice communities, and sustainable economic development.
But we didn’t stop at the drafting table.
To generate grassroots support, we organized town halls, coalition briefings, and legislative education sessions, connecting everyday people to the policies that shape their lives. We developed and distributed accessible fact sheets that broke down the bill’s key provisions—and created advocacy and social media toolkits that empowered partners to take action across the state.
Our communications strategy helped shape public perception and media coverage. CRCJ organized press events that brought together union leaders, youth activists, faith voices, environmental advocates, and elected officials—all united in a call for a just transition. As the bill moved through the legislature, we issued real-time action alerts that drove hundreds of constituent calls, emails, and in-person meetings with lawmakers.
This is what movement leadership looks like: informed, strategic, and grounded in community power.
As we celebrate this legislative win, we also recognize that this is only the beginning. Our work continues—to hold agencies accountable, to secure funding for implementation, and to ensure that the promises of HB 5004 translate into real outcomes for workers and frontline communities.
Thanks to the Relentless Advocates Behind HB 5004
This moment belongs to all of us.
Over the past two years, the Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs (CRCJ) has worked alongside an incredible network of advocates, organizers, and community leaders to build the grassroots power behind HB 5004. From hosting town halls and coalition briefings to coordinating direct advocacy at the Capitol, your efforts helped shape a bill rooted in equity, climate justice, and a just transition for workers.
This victory was powered by collective action—through fact sheets, advocacy toolkits, press events, and real-time action alerts that mobilized communities across Connecticut. You showed up, spoke out, and stood strong until the very last day of session.
To every individual who made a call, shared a post, attended a hearing, or stood on those Capitol steps: thank you. This win is yours.
More 2025 Legislative Wins & Losses
– HB 6922 (Passed) – The language of this bill was enacted through HB 7288, providing long-term funding for school HVAC upgrades through the existing state school construction grant program, improving school indoor air quality for students and staff.
– SB 4 (Passed) – Advocates successfully blocked the most harmful proposals to clean energy, energy efficiency, and customer hardship programs that were introduced into a working draft of SB 4 from SB 1560. The final version advances energy conservation and protects clean energy programs.
– SB 8 (Passed) – This bill providing unemployment insurance for striking workers passed, but Governor Lamont has stated his intent to veto the bill. Please urge Gov. Lamont to sign SB 8.
– SB 9 (Passed) – Passed with strong bipartisan support, this bill ensures the impacts of climate change will be factored into state and local planning processes. It also includes flood insurance disclosures and other important climate resiliency measures.
– SB 830 (Not Passed) – This language creating heat protections for outdoor workers was voted out of committee but never made it to a vote in either chamber. A related study was included in the Senate-passed version of SB 1274, but that bill never received a vote in the House.
– SB 1243 (Not Passed) – While free fares for high school students and veterans did not pass this session, we got one step closer through SB 1377, which provides half-price fares for veterans and youth. School districts can opt in to purchase discounted bus passes for students.
Other notable bills include:
– SB 1370 (Passed) – The language was included in CT’s budget bill, HB 7287. This language closes a loophole for wage standards on public works projects.
– SB 1404 (Passed) – Updates to Connecticut’s Transfer Act will enable the re-use of previously developed properties. By reducing longstanding regulatory hurdles, the state hopes to ease housing costs, limit sprawl, and support more efficient, climate-resilient land use.
– HB 5002 (Passed) – Narrowly passed by both chambers, this housing bill includes climate-resilient provisions promoting transit-oriented development, “missing middle” housing, and modernized parking minimums. These policies support denser development, better land use, and lower greenhouse gas emissions from transportation.
Thank you to the co-sponsors of HB 5004.
House Bill 5004 garnered substantial support from Connecticut legislators, with 59 co-sponsors backing the bill at the time of its passage.
This bipartisan endorsement underscores the state’s commitment to advancing climate action and fostering a clean energy economy
This extensive list of co-sponsors reflects a broad consensus among Connecticut legislators on the importance of addressing climate change and investing in renewable energy and associated job sectors.
For more detailed information on HB 5004 and its legislative journey, you can visit the Connecticut General Assembly’s official page for the bill.
Rep. Matthew Ritter (1st District)
Rep. Jason Rojas (9th District)
Rep. Joseph P. Gresko (121st District)
Rep. Aundre Bumgardner (41st District)
Rep. Geraldo C. Reyes (75th District)
Rep. Hector Arzeno (151st District)
Rep. Nick Gauthier (26th District)
Rep. Rebecca Martinez (95th District)
Rep. Michael Shannon (115th District)
Rep. Marcus Brown (127th District)
Rep. Anthony Nolan (39th District)
Rep. Lucy Dathan (142nd District)
Rep. Sarah Keitt (134th District)
Rep. Mary Mushinsky (85th District)
Rep. Laurie Sweet (30th District)
Rep. Joshua Elliott (88th District)
Sen. Jan Hochadel (13th District)
Rep. Steven Winter (112th District)
Rep. Dominique Johnson (143rd District)
Rep. Nick Menapace (45th District)
Sen. Rick Lopes (6th District)
Rep. Kate Farrar (20th District)
Rep. Bobby Gibson (15th District)
Sen. Herron Gaston (23rd District)
Rep. Brandon Chafee (33rd District)
Rep. Jillian Gilchrest (18th District)
Rep. Aimee Berger-Girvalo (111th District)
Rep. Jennifer Leeper (132nd District)
Rep. Renee LaMark Muir (22nd District)
Rep. Henry Genga (10th District)
Rep. Hubert Delany (144th District)
Rep. Travis Simms (140th District)
Sen. Christine Cohen (12th District)
Rep. Robin Comey (102nd District)
Rep. James Sanchez (6th District)
Rep. Patricia Dillon (92nd District)
Rep. Corey Paris (145th District)
Rep. Frank Smith (118th District)
Rep. Kevin Brown (56th District)
Rep. Kadeem Roberts (137th District)
Rep. Amy Morrin Bello (28th District)
Rep. Eleni Kavros DeGraw (17th District)
Sen. Ceci Maher (26th District)
Rep. Kaitlyn Shake (120th District)
Rep. Eilish Collins Main (93rd District)
Sen. MD Rahman (4th District)
Rep. Anne Hughes (135th District)
Rep. Kerry Szeps Wood (29th District)
Rep. Mary Fortier (79th District)
Rep. Gregory Haddad (54th District)
Rep. Jane Garibay (60th District)
Rep. Jason Doucette (13th District)
Rep. John-Michael Parker (101st District)
Rep. Kevin Ryan (139th District)
Sen. Derek Slap (5th District)
Sen. Martha Marx (20th District)
Rep. Moira Rader (98th District)
Rep. Matt Blumenthal (147th District)
Sen. Martin Looney (11th District)
Rep. Jonathan Jacobson (115th District)
Rep. Bob Godfrey (110th District)
Rep. Tammy Exum (19th District)
Rep. Daniel Gaiewski (27th District)
Rep. Fred Gee (126th District)
Rep. Roland Lemar (96th District)
Rep. Hilda Santiago (84th District)
Rep. Susan Johnson (49th District)
Rep. Kenneth Gucker (138th District)
Sen. Julie Kushner (24th District)