State agencies would coordinate police training and cash totals could be rounded

The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection would coordinate with a West Haven college or university to establish a statewide, one-day police training program. The program would cover police officers in Connecticut and include expert instruction, practice scenarios, de-escalation skills, and planning. The department must consult with the Police Officer Standards and Training Council. The program must be available online. Police officers would not have to attend the training at the West Haven campus. The section would take effect October 1, 2026. The program must be established by January 1, 2028. Beginning January 1, 2029, the commissioner must report on the program each year.

Merchants would calculate an in-person retail purchase total after adding fees and taxes and subtracting discounts, then may round certain cash totals to the nearest five cents. The rules would cover merchants selling goods or services at retail in Connecticut and customers paying with cash in person. Totals ending in one, two, six, or seven cents may be rounded down. Totals ending in three, four, eight, or nine cents may be rounded up. The rounding rules would not apply when the total is four cents or less or when the customer uses a noncash payment method. A retailer may not refuse cash, advertise that cash is not accepted, or charge a cash customer more than another customer, except as allowed by the rounding rule. The cash-pricing and rounding provisions would take effect January 1, 2027.