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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 689
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 6175
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E ISSUANCE OF EX PARTE RESTRAINING
ORDERS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 46b-15 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 2
October 1, 2019): 3
(b) The application form shall allow the applicant, at the applicant's 4
option, to indicate whether the respondent holds a permit to carry a 5
pistol or revolver, an eligibility certificate for a pistol or revolver, a 6
long gun eligibility certificate or an ammunition certificate or possesses 7
one or more firearms or ammunition. The application shall be 8
accompanied by an affidavit made under oath which includes a brief 9
statement of the conditions from which relief is sought. Upon receipt 10
of the application the court shall order that a hearing on the 11
application be held not later than fourteen days from the date of the 12
order except that, if the application indicates that the respondent holds 13
a permit to carry a pistol or revolver, an eligibility certificate for a 14
pistol or revolver, a long gun eligibility certificate or an ammunition 15
certificate or possesses one or more firearms or ammunition, and the 16
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court orders an ex parte order, the court shall order that a hearing be 17
held on the application not later than seven days from the date on 18
which the ex parte order is issued. The court, in its discretion, may 19
make such orders as it deems appropriate for the protection of the 20
applicant and such dependent children or other persons as the court 21
sees fit. In making such orders ex parte, the court, in its discretion, may 22
consider relevant court records if the records are available to the public 23
from a clerk of the Superior Court or on the Judicial Branch's Internet 24
web site. In addition, at the time of the hearing, the court, in its 25
discretion, may also consider a report prepared by the family services 26
unit of the Judicial Branch that may include, as available: Any existing 27
or prior orders of protection obtained from the protection order 28
registry; information on any pending criminal case or past criminal 29
case in which the respondent was convicted of a violent crime; any 30
outstanding arrest warrant for the respondent; and the respondent's 31
level of risk based on a risk assessment tool utilized by the Court 32
Support Services Division. The report may also include information 33
pertaining to any pending or disposed family matters case involving 34
the applicant and respondent. Any report provided by the Court 35
Support Services Division to the court shall also be provided to the 36
applicant and respondent. Such orders may include temporary child 37
custody or visitation rights, and such relief may include, but is not 38
limited to, an order enjoining the respondent from (1) imposing any 39
restraint upon the person or liberty of the applicant; (2) threatening, 40
harassing, assaulting, molesting, sexually assaulting or attacking the 41
applicant; or (3) entering the family dwelling or the dwelling of the 42
applicant. Such order may include provisions necessary to protect any 43
animal owned or kept by the applicant including, but not limited to, an 44
order enjoining the respondent from injuring or threatening to injure 45
such animal. If an applicant alleges an immediate and present physical 46
danger to the applicant or that the respondent could pose a physical 47
danger to the applicant prior to the opportunity for a hearing, the court 48
may issue an ex parte order granting such relief as it deems 49
appropriate. If a postponement of a hearing on the application is 50
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requested by either party and granted, the ex parte order shall not be 51
continued except upon agreement of the parties or by order of the 52
court for good cause shown. If a hearing on the application is 53
scheduled or an ex parte order is granted and the court is closed on the 54
scheduled hearing date, the hearing shall be held on the next day the 55
court is open and any such ex parte order shall remain in effect until 56
the date of such hearing. If the applicant is under eighteen years of age, 57
a parent, guardian or responsible adult who brings the application as 58
next friend of the applicant may not speak on the applicant's behalf at 59
such hearing unless there is good cause shown as to why the applicant 60
is unable to speak on his or her own behalf, except that nothing in this 61
subsection shall preclude such parent, guardian or responsible adult 62
from testifying as a witness at such hearing. As used in this subsection, 63
"violent crime" includes: (A) An incident resulting in physical harm, 64
bodily injury or assault; (B) an act of threatened violence that 65
constitutes fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury or assault, 66
including, but not limited to, stalking or a pattern of threatening; (C) 67
verbal abuse or argument if there is a present danger and likelihood 68
that physical violence will occur; and (D) cruelty to animals as set forth 69
in section 53-247. 70
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2019 46b-15(b)
Statement of Purpose:
To permit the court to issue ex parte restraining orders when the
respondent could pose a physical danger to the applicant prior to the
opportunity for a hearing.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline,
except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is
not underlined.]
Co-Sponsors: SEN. LOONEY, 11th Dist.; SEN. DUFF, 25th Dist.
SEN. FONFARA, 1st Dist.; SEN. MCCRORY, 2nd Dist.
SEN. CASSANO, 4th Dist.; SEN. LESSER, 9th Dist.
SEN. COHEN, 12th Dist.; SEN. ABRAMS, 13th Dist.
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SEN. MARONEY, 14th Dist.; SEN. MOORE, 22nd Dist.
SEN. BRADLEY, 23rd Dist.; SEN. KUSHNER, 24th Dist.
SEN. HASKELL, 26th Dist.; SEN. FLEXER, 29th Dist.
SEN. NEEDLEMAN, 33rd Dist.; REP. ELLIOTT, 88th Dist.
S.B. 689