| 17 | 17 | | |
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| 18 | 18 | | Referred to Committee on AGING |
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| 19 | 19 | | |
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| 20 | 20 | | Introduced by: |
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| 21 | 21 | | |
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| 22 | 22 | | (AGE) |
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| 23 | 23 | | |
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| 24 | 24 | | AN ACT PROTECTING SENIOR CITIZENS FROM SEXUAL OFFENDERS. |
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| 25 | 25 | | |
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| 26 | 26 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened: |
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| 27 | 27 | | |
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| 28 | 28 | | Section 1. Section 54-258 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015): |
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| 29 | 29 | | |
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| 30 | 30 | | (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of the general statutes, except subdivisions (3), (4) and (5) of this subsection, the registry maintained by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall be a public record and shall be accessible to the public during normal business hours. The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall make registry information available to the public through the Internet. Not less than once per calendar quarter, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall issue notices to all print and electronic media in the state regarding the availability and means of accessing the registry. Each local police department and each state police troop shall keep a record of all registration information transmitted to it by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, and shall make such information accessible to the public during normal business hours. |
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| 31 | 31 | | |
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| 32 | 32 | | (2) (A) Any state agency, the Judicial Department, any state police troop or any local police department may, at its discretion, notify any government agency, private organization or individual of registration information when such agency, said department, such troop or such local police department, as the case may be, believes such notification is necessary to protect the public or any individual in any jurisdiction from any person who is subject to registration under section 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254. |
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| 33 | 33 | | |
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| 34 | 34 | | (B) [(1)] Whenever a registrant is released into the community, or whenever a registrant changes such registrant's address and notifies the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection of such change pursuant to section 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall, by electronic mail, notify (i) the superintendent of schools for the school district, (ii) the chief executive officer of the municipality, and (iii) the senior center director in the municipality in which the registrant resides, or plans to reside, of such release or new address, and provide such superintendent, chief executive officer and senior center director with the same registry information for such registrant that the department makes available to the public through the Internet under subdivision (1) of this subsection. |
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| 35 | 35 | | |
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| 36 | 36 | | [(2) Whenever a registrant is released into the community, or whenever a registrant changes such registrant's address and notifies the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection of such change pursuant to section 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall, by electronic mail, notify the chief executive officer of the municipality in which the registrant resides, or plans to reside, of such release or new address, and provide such chief executive officer with the same registry information for such registrant that the department makes available to the public through the Internet under subdivision (1) of this subsection.] |
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| 37 | 37 | | |
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| 38 | 38 | | (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, state agencies, the Judicial Department, state police troops and local police departments shall not disclose the identity of any victim of a crime committed by a registrant or treatment information provided to the registry pursuant to sections 54-102g and 54-250 to 54-258a, inclusive, except to government agencies for bona fide law enforcement or security purposes. |
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| 39 | 39 | | |
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| 40 | 40 | | (4) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, registration information the dissemination of which has been restricted by court order pursuant to section 54-255 and which is not otherwise subject to disclosure, shall not be a public record and shall be released only for law enforcement purposes until such restriction is removed by the court pursuant to said section. |
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| 41 | 41 | | |
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| 42 | 42 | | (5) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, a registrant's electronic mail address, instant message address or other similar Internet communication identifier shall not be a public record, except that the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection may release such identifier for law enforcement or security purposes in accordance with regulations adopted by the department. The department shall adopt regulations in accordance with chapter 54 to specify the circumstances under which and the persons to whom such identifiers may be released including, but not limited to, providers of electronic communication service or remote computing service, as those terms are defined in section 54-260b, and operators of Internet web sites, and the procedure therefor. |
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| 43 | 43 | | |
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| 44 | 44 | | (6) When any registrant completes the registrant's term of registration or is otherwise released from the obligation to register under section 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall notify any state police troop or local police department having jurisdiction over the registrant's last reported residence address that the person is no longer a registrant, and the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, state police troop and local police department shall remove the registrant's name and information from the registry. |
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| 45 | 45 | | |
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| 46 | 46 | | (b) Neither the state nor any political subdivision of the state nor any officer or employee thereof, shall be held civilly liable to any registrant by reason of disclosure of any information regarding the registrant that is released or disclosed in accordance with subsection (a) of this section. The state and any political subdivision of the state and, except in cases of wanton, reckless or malicious conduct, any officer or employee thereof, shall be immune from liability for good faith conduct in carrying out the provisions of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section. |
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| 47 | 47 | | |
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| 48 | 48 | | Sec. 2. (Effective July 1, 2015) The Commissioner on Aging, in consultation with the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection, the Connecticut Elder Justice Coalition Coordinating Council, Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services, Inc. and the Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman, shall develop an informational campaign to expand best practices to protect senior citizens from sexual offenders. Such campaign shall be directed toward senior centers, and shall, within available resources: (1) Provide information about the availability of public information regarding violent sexual offenders pursuant to section 54-252 of the general statutes; (2) encourage senior centers to work with local law enforcement to develop security plans to protect senior citizens from sexual offenders; and (3) provide informational resources and training opportunities to raise awareness among senior citizens about how to protect themselves from sexual assault and how to report such crimes or threats to commit such crimes. Not later than January 1, 2016, the commissioner shall report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, on the progress of the informational campaign to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to aging. For purposes of this section, "senior citizens" means persons sixty years of age and older. |
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| 49 | 49 | | |
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| 50 | 50 | | |
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| 51 | 51 | | |
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| 52 | 52 | | |
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| 53 | 53 | | This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: |
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| 54 | 54 | | Section 1 October 1, 2015 54-258 |
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| 55 | 55 | | Sec. 2 July 1, 2015 New section |
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| 56 | 56 | | |
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| 57 | 57 | | This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: |
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| 58 | 58 | | |
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| 59 | 59 | | Section 1 |
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| 60 | 60 | | |
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| 61 | 61 | | October 1, 2015 |
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| 62 | 62 | | |
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| 63 | 63 | | 54-258 |
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| 64 | 64 | | |
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| 65 | 65 | | Sec. 2 |
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| 66 | 66 | | |
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| 67 | 67 | | July 1, 2015 |
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| 68 | 68 | | |
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| 69 | 69 | | New section |
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| 70 | 70 | | |
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| 71 | 71 | | |
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| 72 | 72 | | |
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| 73 | 73 | | AGE Joint Favorable |
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| 74 | 74 | | PS Joint Favorable |
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