Original SB 319 (2026) would have banned sale of gas handheld/backpack blowers January 1, 2029 and use September 1, 2030, funded via the Public Benefits Charge on electric bills. On March 19, 2026, the Environment Committee advanced the bill 26–8 with the ban provisions stripped — leaving only a Connecticut Green Bank loan program for commercial landscapers. The Yankee Institute's "regressive utility-bill funding" framing is widely credited with the removal. Five Connecticut towns (Greenwich, Norwalk, Stamford, Westport, Wallingford) have municipal restrictions in force.