Report by Paula Antolini, September 20, 2019, 2:58PM EDT
(BETHEL ADVOCATE file photo ©2019 Paula Antolini / Bethel Advocate)
September 19, 2019 – (HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he received a revised policy statement from the Department of Revenue Services (DRS) updating its guidance of the recently adopted law on prepared foods sold in grocery stores in order to better reflect the intention of the legislature when it was adopted as part of the state budget earlier this year.
As a matter of routine practice, DRS creates policy statements like these whenever new laws the agency is responsible for enforcing are adopted so that residents and businesses can have a better understanding of how it recommends the statute be applied. Earlier this week, the governor directed DRS to review its guidance on the prepared foods law, expressing his concern that the agency’s initial interpretation of the statute exceeded the scope of the legislature’s action.
“The original guidance created by DRS was too broadly interpreted and not reflective of what was intended when the budget was passed. Businesses and residents depend on the guidance from these policy statements to better understand the real-world impact of legislation, and the update provided today gives a more accurate indication of how the statute on prepared foods should be applied,” Governor Lamont said. “I felt it important to act swiftly, but thoughtfully and thoroughly to ensure that what was enacted was implemented.”
**Download: Letter from Commissioner Jackson and revised DRS policy statement on prepared foods law
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