What changed in Connecticut's Good Faith Efforts rules on July 1, 2026

Connecticut's big overhaul happened on October 1, 2025 — Good Faith Efforts plans replaced the old set-aside/AAP regime, and the threshold dropped to $150,000 in state funding. July 1, 2026 is the second wave: smaller, but it changes what you put on the plan you file this summer. Here's the delta.

1. Project-specific Spending Allocation Goals replace 25% / 6.25%

Through June 30, 2026, every covered project carried the same interim goals: 25% of the state-funded value to certified SBEs, of which 6.25% to minority-, women-, and disabled-owned firms (M/W/DisBE). As of July 1, those flat percentages are gone — each project now gets its own Spending Allocation Goals (SAGs), set by the awarding authority and communicated in the bid notification. The plan's cover page asks for your assigned goals as both a percentage and a dollar figure.

Practical consequence: you can no longer assume your goal before the bid documents arrive. You can, however, estimate it — our free SAG estimator follows the official NAICS-and-market-area methodology and converts percentage goals to dollars, no signup.

2. New official form versions (effective 07/01/2026)

CHRO posted refreshed templates for both plan tracks: the Short Form and the Long Form, each filed with the Bid Tabulation Worksheet. If you're working from a template you downloaded last year (stamped "Effective 10/1/2025"), replace it — file on the current version from CHRO's forms page. Not sure which track you're on? The 30-second form picker answers it.

3. The Long Form lost its workforce sections — and gained one attachment

The biggest structural change. Earlier Long Form versions required an organizational chart, a Company Employment Statistics Report, an availability & utilization analysis, and an apprenticeship section. The 07/01/2026 Long Form dropped all of them. It now mirrors the Short Form section-for-section, plus one addition: the Good Faith Efforts Attachment — three written answers about how you broke the work into economically feasible units for S/M/W/DisBE participation, plus yes/no items on pre-bid meetings and CHRO Technical Assistance training. Full section-by-section breakdown here.

What didn't change

• The $150,000 state-funding threshold (in effect since October 1, 2025) — and the Short/Long split: $150k to under $1M files Short; $1M+ or any Construction Manager over $150k files Long.
• The evidence expectations: written solicitations preserved, phone outreach documented in writing, records kept two years after the project file closes.
• Prompt payment: subcontractors paid within 15 days of the due date, absent a bona fide dispute.
• Closeout: payment documentation, lien waivers, and outstanding notifications within 45 days of substantial completion — see the closeout checklist.
• The teeth: withheld payments, disqualification from future bidding, and civil penalties.

What to do on your next bid

1. Find your SAGs in the bid notification — and record where they came from. Want a preview while estimating? Estimate them free.
2. Confirm your form track with the form picker.
3. Solicit certified firms early — the free directory of every currently-certified CT S/M/W/DisBE firm is searchable by trade and town, synced weekly from the state registry.
4. Log outreach as it happens. CHRO evaluates a contemporaneous trail; reconstructing it at filing time is where plans fall apart.
5. Calendar the closeout from substantial completion, not from when the paperwork feels done.