Lamont budget would eliminate fees for occupational licenses

HARTFORD – Gov. Ned Lamont wants to eliminate the fees workers in certain professions are required to pay when initially applying for occupational licenses, as well as the fees associated with renewing them.

In a bill he has included in the fiscal year 2026/2027 biennial budget proposal, the governor hopes to remove a barrier and encourage jobseekers to pursue careers within in-demand fields in which employers have indicated a need to hire skilled workers.

“Workers in certain skilled professions are required to obtain licenses for understandable reasons, but we should be doing more to encourage jobseekers to enter these fields, and that is why I want to eliminate all of the costs associated with applying for and renewing these licenses,” Lamont said. “Over the last several years, we’ve enacted more than $840 million in permanent tax cuts, most of which are specifically targeted at providing relief to middle-class taxpayers, and I am asking the legislature to continue on this path by eliminating these occupational license fees.”

Impacted professions under the governor’s proposal include nurses, dental hygienists, mental health professionals, occupational therapists, paramedics, physical therapists, physician assistants, electricians, HVAC workers, plumbers, sheet metal workers, and teachers.

Fees for these licenses range in cost from $50 to $375 per year, depending on the license. The proposal will benefit nearly 180,000 workers, saving them approximately $18.8 million in fiscal year 2026 and $25 million in fiscal year 2027.

These licenses are administered by the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, the Connecticut Department of Public Health, and the Connecticut State Department of Education. Under Governor Lamont’s proposal, workers in these professions will still be required to obtain and renew licenses, however there will be no costs associated with applying for them.

“For several years it has been my top priority to pass legislation to cut burdensome fees on Connecticut’s workers, including our great teachers, nurses, mental health professionals, electricians, plumbers, and hundreds of thousands of other licensed professionals,” said state Senator Ryan Fazio (R-Greenwich). “I appreciate the governor’s leadership in making it a priority this year. Workers shouldn’t have to pay this tax just for the right to work in our state. Let’s come together to cut licensing fees on workers and send a signal that we want to make it easier to work, live, and succeed in Connecticut.”

Eliminating these fees builds on Lamont’s track record of reducing taxes to make Connecticut more affordable for middle-class workers. Since taking office in 2019, he has enacted more than $840 million in permanent tax cuts. This includes $500 million in income tax cuts for middle-class filers that was enacted in 2023 and became the largest income tax cut made in Connecticut history; increases in the Earned Income Tax Credit that have essentially eliminated income taxes for low-income filers; the elimination of taxes on pensions and Social Security for most seniors; and the creation of a cap on motor vehicle property taxes.

The proposal is included in Senate Bill 1246, the legislation that concerns revenue in the proposed budgets. It is under consideration in the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee following a long public hearing.