General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 150
February Session, 2010 *_____SB00150PS____022510____*
General Assembly
Substitute Bill No. 150
February Session, 2010
*_____SB00150PS____022510____*
AN ACT CONCERNING REPEATED FALSE ALARMS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 29-6c of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2010):
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Alarm system" means an assembly of equipment and devices arranged to signal the presence of a hazard such as unauthorized intrusion into a premises, an attempted robbery or a fire or smoke condition at a premises requiring urgent attention and to which the Division of State Police or a constable under the supervision of the Division of State Police is expected to respond, including, but not limited to: Automatic holdup alarm systems, burglary alarm systems, holdup alarm systems, manual holdup alarm systems, audible alarm systems and fire alarm systems. "Alarm system" does not mean a system that monitors temperature or is designed solely for notification of medical emergencies.
(2) "False alarm" means the activation of any alarm system including circumstances occurring off the protected property and within the control of either the subscriber, [his] the subscriber's alarm business or [his] answering service to which the Division of State Police or a constable under the supervision of the Division of State Police responds, but does not include any such activation caused by fire, a criminal act, emergency, or an act of nature such as an earthquake, tornado, hurricane or storm.
(3) "Subscriber" means an individual who buys, leases or otherwise acquires an alarm system and thereafter installs it or has it installed, including an individual who has control of the premises in which an operable alarm system exists.
(b) The subscriber of an alarm system shall be fined for each emergency police response to a false alarm, except that such fine shall be [automatically] waived for the first three false alarm responses in a calendar year. State, federal and municipal buildings or properties shall be exempt from such fine. The subscriber of an alarm system shall be fined for each emergency police response to a false alarm in a calendar year not more than: (1) Twenty-five dollars for a fourth offense, which shall be an infraction, (2) fifty dollars for a fifth offense, which shall be an infraction, (3) seventy-five dollars for a sixth offense, which shall be an infraction, and (4) one hundred dollars for the seventh and each subsequent offense within a calendar year, which shall be a violation. [Such fine shall be used for the administrative costs of administering this section, and for training and educational materials of the state police. If the subscriber is not the owner of the property in which the alarm system is located, the state police trooper shall give the property owner notice of the occurrence of the second alarm generated by the alarm system of the property.]
[(c) Any subscriber who has received notification from the state police informing such subscriber that a fine is being imposed for a false alarm may appeal the fine not later than seven days after the receipt of notification by filing an appeal with the Division of State Police. The Division of State Police shall review the appeal and make a determination as to whether or not the circumstances surrounding the false alarms justify a waiver of the fine. The Division of State Police shall notify the subscriber, in writing, of its final decision.
(d) All fines imposed pursuant to this section shall be payable to the Division of State Police and shall be due not later than thirty days after the date of notification, or in the case of an appeal, not later than thirty days after the date of the decision on the appeal. A subscriber who fails to pay the fine within the designated time period shall be fined not more than two hundred dollars.]
Sec. 2. Section 51-164m of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2010):
(a) The judges of the Superior Court shall establish and maintain a schedule of fines to be paid for the violation of the sections of the general statutes deemed to be infractions and shall establish and maintain a separate sliding scale of fines for speeding infractions committed under section 14-219 with a minimum fine of thirty-five dollars and the fine increasing in proportion to the severity of the violation. The fines may be modified as the judges of the Superior Court deem advisable.
(b) The judges of the Superior Court shall establish and maintain a schedule of fines to be paid for those violations of section 14-219 specified in subsection (e) of said section, with such fines increasing in proportion to the severity of the violation and for violations under subsection (b) of section 51-164n, as amended by this act. The fines may be modified as the judges of the Superior Court deem advisable.
(c) No fine established in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) of this section may be less than thirty-five dollars or in excess of ninety dollars, except that fines established for (1) parking tag violations, [and] (2) violations of subsection (c) of section 14-100a, and (3) violations of subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section 29-6c, as amended by this act, may be less than thirty-five dollars.
(d) No fine established in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of this section may be in an amount in excess of the maximum amount specified by statute for such violation.
(e) Any infraction for which a fine has not been established pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall carry a fine of thirty-five dollars until such time as the judges of the Superior Court may establish a different fine for such infraction.
(f) Any violation for which a fine has not been established pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall carry a fine of one hundred dollars or the maximum fine specified by statute for such violation, whichever is less.
Sec. 3. Subsection (b) of section 51-164n of the 2010 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2010):
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, any person who is alleged to have committed (1) a violation under the provisions of section 1-9, 1-10, 1-11, 4b-13, 7-13, 7-14, 7-35, 7-41, 7-83, 7-283, 7-325, 7-393, 8-25, 8-27, 9-63, 9-296, 9-305, 9-322, 9-350, 10-193, 10-197, 10-198, 10-230, 10-251, 10-254, 12-52, 12-170aa, 12-292 or 12-326g, subdivision (4) of section 12-408, subdivision (3), (5) or (6) of section 12-411, section 12-435c, 12-476a, 12-476b, 12-487, 13a-71, 13a-107, 13a-113, 13a-114, 13a-115, 13a-117b, 13a-123, 13a-124, 13a-139, 13a-140, 13a-143b, 13a-247 or 13a-253, subsection (f) of section 13b-42, section 13b-90, 13b-221, 13b-292, 13b-336, 13b-337, 13b-338, 13b-410a, 13b-410b or 13b-410c, subsection (a), (b) or (c) of section 13b-412, section 13b-414, subsection (d) of section 14-12, section 14-20a or 14-27a, subsection (e) of section 14-34a, subsection (d) of section 14-35, section 14-43, 14-49, 14-50a or 14-58, subsection (b) of section 14-66, section 14-66a, 14-66b or 14-67a, subsection (g) of section 14-80, subsection (f) of section 14-80h, section 14-97a, 14-100b, 14-103a, 14-106a, 14-106c, 14-146, 14-152, 14-153 or 14-163b, a first violation as specified in subsection (f) of section 14-164i, section 14-219 as specified in subsection (e) of said section, subdivision (1) of section 14-223a, section 14-240, 14-249, 14-250 or 14-253a, subsection (a) of section 14-261a, section 14-262, 14-264, 14-267a, 14-269, 14-270, 14-275a, 14-278 or 14-279, subsection (e) of section 14-283, section 14-291, 14-293b, 14-296aa, 14-319, 14-320, 14-321, 14-325a, 14-326, 14-330 or 14-332a, subdivision (1), (2) or (3) of section 14-386a, section 15-33, subsection (a) of section 15-115, section 16-256, 16-256e, 16a-15 or 16a-22, subsection (a) or (b) of section 16a-22h, section 17a-24, 17a-145, 17a-149, 17a-152, 17a-465, 17a-642, 17b-124, 17b-131, 17b-137 or 17b-734, subsection (b) of section 17b-736, section 19a-30, 19a-33, 19a-39 or 19a-87, subsection (b) of section 19a-87a, section 19a-91, 19a-105, 19a-107, 19a-215, 19a-219, 19a-222, 19a-224, 19a-286, 19a-287, 19a-297, 19a-301, 19a-309, 19a-335, 19a-336, 19a-338, 19a-339, 19a-340, 19a-425, 19a-502, 20-7a, 20-14, 20-158, 20-231, 20-257, 20-265 or 20-324e, subsection (a) of section 20-341, section 20-341l, 20-597, 20-608, 20-610, 21-30, 21-38, 21-39, 21-43, 21-47, 21-48, 21-63, 21-76a, 21a-21, 21a-25, 21a-26 or 21a-30, subsection (a) of section 21a-37, section 21a-46, 21a-61, 21a-63 or 21a-77, subsection (b) of section 21a-79, section 21a-85, 21a-154, 21a-159, 22-13, 22-14, 22-15, 22-16, 22-29, 22-34, 22-35, 22-36, 22-38, 22-39, 22-39a, 22-39b, 22-39c, 22-39d, 22-39e, 22-49, 22-54, 22-61, 22-89, 22-90, 22-98, 22-99, 22-100, 22-111o, 22-279, 22-280a, 22-318a, 22-320h, 22-324a, 22-326 or 22-342, subsection (b) or (e) of section 22-344, section 22-359, 22-366, 22-391, 22-413, 22-414, 22-415, 22a-66a or 22a-246, subsection (a) of section 22a-250, subsection (e) of section 22a-256h, section 22a-381d, 22a-449, 22a-461, 23-37, 23-38, 23-46 or 23-61b, subsection (a) or (b) of section 23-65, section 25-37, 25-40, 26-19, 26-21, 26-31, 26-40, 26-40a, 26-49, 26-54, 26-59, 26-61, 26-64, 26-79, 26-89, 26-97, 26-107, 26-117, 26-128, 26-131, 26-132, 26-138, 26-141, 26-207, 26-215, 26-224a, 26-227, 26-230, 26-294, 28-13, 29-6a, subdivision (4) of subsection (b) of section 29-6c, as amended by this act, section 29-109, 29-143o, 29-143z or 29-156a, subsection (b), (d), (e) or (g) of section 29-161q, section 29-161y, 29-161z, 29-198, 29-210, 29-243, 29-277, subsection (c) of section 29-291c, section 29-316, 29-318, 29-381, 30-48a, 30-86a, 31-3, 31-10, 31-11, 31-12, 31-13, 31-14, 31-15, 31-16, 31-18, 31-23, 31-24, 31-25, 31-28, 31-32, 31-36, 31-38, 31-38a, 31-40, 31-44, 31-47, 31-48, 31-51, 31-51k, 31-52, 31-52a or 31-54, subsection (a) or (c) of section 31-69, section 31-70, 31-74, 31-75, 31-76, 31-76a, 31-89b or 31-134, subsection (i) of section 31-273, section 31-288, 36a-787, 42-230, 45a-450, 45a-634 or 45a-658, subdivision (13) or (14) of section 46a-54, section 46a-59, 46b-22, 46b-24, 46b-34, 46b-38dd, 46b-38gg, 46b-38kk, 47-34a, 47-47, 49-8a, 49-16 or 53-133, or section 53-212a, 53-249a, 53-252, 53-264, 53-302a, 53-303e, 53-311a, 53-321, 53-322, 53-323, 53-331, 53-344 or 53-450, or (2) a violation under the provisions of chapter 268, or (3) a violation of any regulation adopted in accordance with the provisions of section 12-484, 12-487 or 13b-410, or (4) a violation of any ordinance, regulation or bylaw of any town, city or borough, except violations of building codes and the health code, for which the penalty exceeds ninety dollars but does not exceed two hundred fifty dollars, unless such town, city or borough has established a payment and hearing procedure for such violation pursuant to section 7-152c, shall follow the procedures set forth in this section.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2010 29-6c
Sec. 2 October 1, 2010 51-164m
Sec. 3 October 1, 2010 51-164n(b)
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2010
29-6c
Sec. 2
October 1, 2010
51-164m
Sec. 3
October 1, 2010
51-164n(b)
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
Subsection (b) of section 1 was reworded for accuracy and to reflect the committee's intent, in subsection (b) of section 2, ", as amended by this act" was added for clarity, and references in subsection (c) of section 2 and section 3 were clarified for accuracy.
PS Joint Favorable Subst.-LCO
PS
Joint Favorable Subst.-LCO