A litany of laws passed during the most recent regular and special sessions of the Connecticut legislature took effect Thursday.

Legislation allowing people 21 or older to legally possess and smoke marijuana, granting tax breaks for data centers, legalizing online gaming and sports betting and ensuring control of variable electric supplier rates are among the measures that promise to have a profound impact on the region and beyond.

Cannabis

Certain aspects of the cannabis bill took effect, enabling people to personally possess up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis and to keep up to 5 ounces in a locked car trunk or glove box or a locked container at home. The retail sale of recreational cannabis by dispensaries still is at least a year away.

Other provisions of the law prohibit police from citing the smell of marijuana as a reason for probable cause to stop or search a person's car. Smoking marijuana is not allowed by either drivers or passengers in a moving vehicle. For the most part, people can smoke cannabis in places where they are allowed to smoke cigarettes.

The legalization of homegrown marijuana and opportunities for those impacted by drug laws and steep licensing fees for existing dispensaries are included in the bill.

The state Department of Consumer Protection will be in charge of awarding licenses to retailers and cultivators. Municipalities can ban dispensaries but they cannot stop cannabis deliveries from outside their jurisdiction. The state's medical marijuana dispensaries will have the opportunity to also sell recreational cannabis.

In addition, an equity applicant program is designed for those who have been disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs, providing them with a separate process for starting a marijuana enterprise that doesn't require them to compete with corporations.

Data centers

H.B. 6514, An Act Concerning Incentives for Qualified Data Centers to Locate in the State, is important to eastern Connecticut, a potential landing spot for such facilities. Officials have said this year that there have been conversations with Groton, Montville, Ledyard and Norwich about considering data centers.

Supporters of the legislation said the two main benefits of developing data centers are growth in a town's grand list and income tax revenue. A qualified data center is defined as a facility that houses networked computer servers in one location, centralizing the storage and dissemination of data.

Opponents felt that a 30-year period is too long for the tax abatement program established by the legislation, though proponents argued that without 30-year agreements, data centers likely won't materialize.

Montville has had plans for a data center in place since 2019, when the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved a site plan for the first phase of the project. Developer Verde Group LLC hopes to build two large data storage buildings — at 87,000 and 166,000 square feet, each with an office, electrical room and data hall with computer and networking equipment — on 65 acres, with room for potential expansion on a 300-acre site.

Town Director of Planning Marcia Vlaun said in March the Verde Group still is ready to develop the data center between Route 32 and the Thames River but hasn't taken the next step.

Gaming

An agreement between Gov. Ned Lamont and the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to legalize online gaming and sports wagering was passed by the legislature. If approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior, the agreement is expected to lead to sports betting during the upcoming NFL season, which begins in September.

The bill allows the tribes to conduct in-person and online sports wagering as well as fantasy contests at their respective casinos, Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun, which are located on the tribes' reservations, and to conduct sports wagering, online gaming and fantasy contests outside their reservations.

It also authorizes the Connecticut Lottery Corp. to conduct retail and online sports wagering, online keno and online lottery draw games. Specifically, it allows the lottery to provide sports wagering at up to 15 locations, including Hartford and Bridgeport, and specifies that any of them may be licensed to the state's off-track betting operator, Sportech Venues.

Energy suppliers

Deals between customers and electric suppliers that include variable rate contracts will no longer be recognized. Legislation also bars suppliers from including early cancellation or termination fees for residential customers, and it compels suppliers to tell customers their estimated average monthly bill when posing a contract.

The bill also gives teeth to the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, which can require suppliers to prove their services are being offered at fair prices and exercise other oversight.

Last year, many Connecticut residents saw higher energy bills. Their outrage caused lawmakers to take notice and prompted a public rift between Millstone Nuclear Power Station and Eversource Energy.

Eversource and Millstone blamed each other for the higher prices, with Eversource putting the onus on a state-mandated agreement, finalized in 2019, for the utility to use power from Millstone for the next 10 years to keep the plant from closing. Millstone and others argued Eversource was being disingenuous, as Eversource controls distribution charges, which have continually gone up in years past.

Budget

The 2021-22 fiscal year began Thursday. The biennial budget was passed on a bipartisan basis. The proposed $46.4 billion, two-year spending plan has been praised by Democrats as one investing in racial equity as well as Connecticut municipalities, nonprofits and schools without accessing the Rainy Day Fund. Republicans, with exceptions, also supported the budget, noting that it does not raise or incorporate new taxes. Lamont held fast to no tax increases or new taxes despite protestations from the progressive wing of his party.

In all, East Lyme, Lyme, Old Lyme, New London, Norwich, Ledyard, Groton, Waterford, Montville, Stonington and North Stonington are set to receive more than $320 million during the next two years. That money is spread throughout payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, funding, annual revenue from the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Fund, Education Cost Sharing and adult education.

New London, Norwich and Groton are the largest beneficiaries.

Self-pour

A new law will allow people in Connecticut to pour their own drinks at certain venues. There is a limit of 32 ounces on beer and cider, as well as other regulations. People will get "pour passes" from establishments that shut off when they've reached the limit.

s.spinella@theday.com