About James Maroney
Connecticut State Senator, 14th District
Deputy Majority Leader • Co-Chair, General Law Committee • Author of the Connecticut Data Privacy Act
• Deputy Majority Leader • Co-Chair, General Law Committee • Author of the Connecticut Data Privacy Act
Overview
James Maroney is a Democratic member of the Connecticut State Senate, representing the 14th District, which encompasses Milford, Orange, and portions of West Haven and Woodbridge. First elected to the Senate in 2018, Maroney has built a reputation as one of the legislature's most influential voices on technology policy, serving as the architect of Connecticut's landmark consumer data privacy law and as a leading voice in state-level artificial intelligence regulation. Before entering public service, he founded First Choice College Placement, a Milford-based educational consulting and test-preparation firm that he continues to lead. Maroney currently serves as Deputy Majority Leader and Co-Chair of the General Law Committee.
Representing the 14th District
Senator Maroney was first elected to represent Connecticut’s 14th Senate District in 2018, succeeding retiring Senator Gail Slossberg, and has been re-elected in each subsequent cycle (Connecticut Senate Democrats). The district covers Milford — his lifelong hometown — along with Orange and parts of West Haven and Woodbridge (The Candidate).
A Milford native, Maroney graduated from Jonathan Law High School in 1992 before attending Yale University, where he earned a B.A. in Economics in 1996 and was a three-time varsity letter winner in track and field and cross country (Connecticut Senate Democrats). Prior to his Senate career, he represented the 119th District in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 2013 to 2015, where he served on the Higher Education Committee (CBIA). His local roots run deep: he is a past president and founding member of the Milford Education Foundation and previously served on the Milford Board of Education (Connecticut Senate Democrats).
Legislative Leadership
Deputy Majority Leader
Since 2019, Maroney has served as Deputy Majority Leader of the Connecticut Senate, a role that places him among the chamber’s Democratic leadership team responsible for advancing the majority caucus’s legislative agenda (CBIA).
Co-Chair, General Law Committee
Maroney has led the General Law Committee for several legislative sessions — first as chair and, most recently, as co-chair — after being named to the role in December 2024 alongside a vice chairmanship of the Energy and Technology Committee (Connecticut Senate Democrats). In this capacity, he has shepherded comprehensive consumer data privacy laws, children’s and consumer health data privacy laws, legislation governing the state government’s use of artificial intelligence, and laws modernizing the practice of pharmacy in Connecticut (Connecticut Senate Democrats). He also serves on the Aging, Energy and Technology, Finance Revenue and Bonding, and Higher Education and Employment Advancement committees (CBIA).
Landmark Consumer Data Privacy Legislation
Maroney is best known nationally as the author of the Connecticut Data Privacy Act (Public Act 22-15), enacted in 2022 after he first introduced comprehensive privacy legislation in 2021 (ByteBack Law). The law made Connecticut the fifth state in the nation to enact a comprehensive consumer data privacy statute, giving residents — effective July 1, 2023 — the right to know what personal data companies collect about them, to access and correct that data, to delete it, and to opt out of its sale or use in targeted advertising, with an opt-in requirement for the sale of data belonging to minors under 16 (CT Mirror).
Rather than treating the 2022 law as a finished product, Maroney has continued to expand and strengthen it through successive legislative sessions
Artificial intelligence oversight
Governor Lamont signed Maroney’s SB 1295 in June 2025, amending the Act’s applicability standards, exemptions, data minimization rules, and children’s privacy provisions while adding requirements tied to AI systems (ByteBack Law). He also authored a broader AI accountability bill, SB 2, which — while not enacted in Connecticut — became a framework referenced in Colorado’s AI Act (LinkedIn / Peak Privacy).
Children's and health data protections
Extended the Act to add specific safeguards for children's data and consumer health information (Connecticut Senate Democrats).
Data brokers and online safety
In 2025, Senate Bill 1356 introduced registration and regulation requirements for data brokers and added protections covering social media, youth online monitoring, and connected vehicle data (Connecticut Senate Democrats).
Right to delete
In 2026, the Senate passed Maroney's S.B. 4 by a 31–4 vote, giving consumers the ability to have their personal information removed from data broker databases, tightening data-broker rules, and extending protections to biological and genetic data (CT Mirror).
Youth online safety
Public Act 26-15, developed collaboratively with Governor Lamont and Attorney General William Tong, established new youth online safety protections (Governor Ned Lamont).
Maroney has described the philosophy behind this body of work simply: the goal is to “put people back in control of their own data” (DataGuidance). His sustained leadership on privacy and AI policy has made him a leading voice in state-level technology regulation (Hartford Business Journal).
Entrepreneurial Background: First Choice College Placement
Outside the Capitol, Maroney is the founder and Director of Educational Consulting at First Choice College Placement, a Milford-based college advising and test-preparation company he has run since 1999 (American College Consultants & Financial Specialists). The firm advises high school students and their families through all stages of the college admissions process, with a particular focus on standardized test preparation.
Maroney has said he traces his motivation for founding the company to his own formative experience at Yale, and he continues to lead the business while serving in the state Senate (Yale Daily News). Coverage of his legislative work has repeatedly noted his dual perspective as both a sitting state senator and a small business owner.
At a Glance
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Office
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Connecticut State Senate, 14th District (Milford, Orange, parts of West Haven and Woodbridge)
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Party
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Democratic
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First Elected
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2018 (Senate); previously Connecticut House, 119th District, 2013–2015
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Leadership
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Deputy Majority Leader; Co-Chair, General Law Committee
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Committees
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Aging; Energy and Technology; Finance, Revenue and Bonding; General Law; Higher Education and Employment Advancement
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Signature Legislation
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Connecticut Data Privacy Act (Public Act 22-15) and its subsequent amendments
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Business
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Founder and Director, First Choice College Placement, Milford, CT (est. 1999)
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Education
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B.A., Economics, Yale University (1996); Jonathan Law High School, Milford (1992)
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Hometown
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Milford, Connecticut
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Prepared for informational purposes. Sourced from official legislative records and contemporaneous press coverage; see linked citations above.