Senate Bill No. 1105
Public Act No. 19-43
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E CONFIDENTIALITY OF LAW
ENFORCEMENT RECORDS CONCERNING VICTIMS O F SEXUAL
ASSAULT AND FAMILY V IOLENCE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 1-210 of the general statutes is
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective
October 1, 2019):
(b) Nothing in the Freedom of Information Act shall be construed to
require disclosure of:
(1) Preliminary drafts or notes provided the public agency has
determined that the public interest in withholding such documents
clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure;
(2) Personnel or medical files and similar files the disclosure of
which would constitute an invasion of personal privacy;
(3) Records of law enforcement agencies not otherwise available to
the public which records were compiled in connection with the
detection or investigation of crime, if the disclosure of [said] such
records would not be in the public interest because it would result in
the disclosure of (A) the identity of informants not otherwise known or Senate Bill No. 1105
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the identity of witnesses not otherwise known whose safety would be
endangered or who would be subject to threat or intimidation if their
identity was made known, (B) the identity of minor witnesses, (C)
signed statements of witnesses, (D) information to be used in a
prospective law enforcement action if prejudicial to such action, (E)
investigatory techniques not otherwise known to the general public,
(F) arrest records of a juvenile, which shall also include any
investigatory files, concerning the arrest of such juvenile, compiled for
law enforcement purposes, (G) the name and address of the victim of a
sexual assault under section 53a-70, 53a-70a, 53a-71, 53a-72a, 53a-72b
or 53a-73a, voyeurism under section 53a-189a, [or] injury or risk of
injury, or impairing of morals under section 53-21 or family violence,
as defined in section 46b-38a, or of an attempt thereof, or (H)
uncorroborated allegations subject to destruction pursuant to section 1-
216;
(4) Records pertaining to strategy and negotiations with respect to
pending claims or pending litigation to which the public agency is a
party until such litigation or claim has been finally adjudicated or
otherwise settled;
(5) (A) Trade secrets, which for purposes of the Freedom of
Information Act, are defined as information, including formulas,
patterns, compilations, programs, devices, methods, techniques,
processes, drawings, cost data, customer lists, film or television scripts
or detailed production budgets that (i) derive independent economic
value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to, and not
being readily ascertainable by proper means by, other persons who can
obtain economic value from their disclosure or use, and (ii) are the
subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to
maintain secrecy; and
(B) Commercial or financial information given in confidence, not
required by statute; Senate Bill No. 1105
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(6) Test questions, scoring keys and other examination data used to
administer a licensing examination, examination for employment or
academic examinations;
(7) The contents of real estate appraisals, engineering or feasibility
estimates and evaluations made for or by an agency relative to the
acquisition of property or to prospective public supply and
construction contracts, until such time as all of the property has been
acquired or all proceedings or transactions have been terminated or
abandoned, provided the law of eminent domain shall not be affected
by this provision;
(8) Statements of personal worth or personal financial data required
by a licensing agency and filed by an applicant with such licensing
agency to establish the applicant's personal qualification for the
license, certificate or permit applied for;
(9) Records, reports and statements of strategy or negotiations with
respect to collective bargaining;
(10) Records, tax returns, reports and statements exempted by
federal law or the general statutes or communications privileged by
the attorney-client relationship, marital relationship, clergy-penitent
relationship, doctor-patient relationship, therapist-patient relationship
or any other privilege established by the common law or the general
statutes, including any such records, tax returns, reports or
communications that were created or made prior to the establishment
of the applicable privilege under the common law or the general
statutes;
(11) Names or addresses of students enrolled in any public school or
college without the consent of each student whose name or address is
to be disclosed who is eighteen years of age or older and a parent or
guardian of each such student who is younger than eighteen years of Senate Bill No. 1105
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age, provided this subdivision shall not be construed as prohibiting the
disclosure of the names or addresses of students enrolled in any public
school in a regional school district to the board of selectmen or town
board of finance, as the case may be, of the town wherein the student
resides for the purpose of verifying tuition payments made to such
school;
(12) Any information obtained by the use of illegal means;
(13) Records of an investigation or the name of an employee
providing information under the provisions of section 4-61dd or
sections 4-276 to 4-280, inclusive;
(14) Adoption records and information provided for in sections 45a-
746, 45a-750 and 45a-751;
(15) Any page of a primary petition, nominating petition,
referendum petition or petition for a town meeting submitted under
any provision of the general statutes or of any special act, municipal
charter or ordinance, until the required processing and certification of
such page has been completed by the official or officials charged with
such duty after which time disclosure of such page shall be required;
(16) Records of complaints, including information compiled in the
investigation thereof, brought to a municipal health authority pursuant
to chapter 368e or a district department of health pursuant to chapter
368f, until such time as the investigation is concluded or thirty days
from the date of receipt of the complaint, whichever occurs first;
(17) Educational records which are not subject to disclosure under
the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 USC 1232g;
(18) Records, the disclosure of which the Commissioner of
Correction, or as it applies to Whiting Forensic Hospital, the
Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, has Senate Bill No. 1105
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reasonable grounds to believe may result in a safety risk, including the
risk of harm to any person or the risk of an escape from, or a disorder
in, a correctional institution or facility under the supervision of the
Department of Correction or Whiting Forensic Hospital. Such records
shall include, but are not limited to:
(A) Security manuals, including emergency plans contained or
referred to in such security manuals;
(B) Engineering and architectural drawings of correctional
institutions or facilities or Whiting Forensic Hospital facilities;
(C) Operational specifications of security systems utilized by the
Department of Correction at any correctional institution or facility or
Whiting Forensic Hospital facilities, except that a general description
of any such security system and the cost and quality of such system
may be disclosed;
(D) Training manuals prepared for correctional institutions and
facilities or Whiting Forensic Hospital facilities that describe, in any
manner, security procedures, emergency plans or security equipment;
(E) Internal security audits of correctional institutions and facilities
or Whiting Forensic Hospital facilities;
(F) Minutes or recordings of staff meetings of the Department of
Correction or Whiting Forensic Hospital facilities, or portions of such
minutes or recordings, that contain or reveal information relating to
security or other records otherwise exempt from disclosure under this
subdivision;
(G) Logs or other documents that contain information on the
movement or assignment of inmates or staff at correctional institutions
or facilities; and Senate Bill No. 1105
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(H) Records that contain information on contacts between inmates,
as defined in section 18-84, and law enforcement officers;
(19) Records when there are reasonable grounds to believe
disclosure may result in a safety risk, including the risk of harm to any
person, any government-owned or leased institution or facility or any
fixture or appurtenance and equipment attached to, or contained in,
such institution or facility, except that such records shall be disclosed
to a law enforcement agency upon the request of the law enforcement
agency. Such reasonable grounds shall be determined (A) (i) by the
Commissioner of Administrative Services, after consultation with the
chief executive officer of an executive branch state agency, with respect
to records concerning such agency; and (ii) by the Commissioner of
Emergency Services and Public Protection, after consultation with the
chief executive officer of a municipal, district or regional agency, with
respect to records concerning such agency; (B) by the Chief Court
Administrator with respect to records concerning the Judicial
Department; and (C) by the executive director of the Joint Committee
on Legislative Management, with respect to records concerning the
Legislative Department. As used in this section, "government-owned
or leased institution or facility" includes, but is not limited to, an
institution or facility owned or leased by a public service company, as
defined in section 16-1, other than a water company, as defined in
section 25-32a, a certified telecommunications provider, as defined in
section 16-1, or a municipal utility that furnishes electric or gas service,
but does not include an institution or facility owned or leased by the
federal government, and "chief executive officer" includes, but is not
limited to, an agency head, department head, executive director or
chief executive officer. Such records include, but are not limited to:
(i) Security manuals or reports;
(ii) Engineering and architectural drawings of government-owned
or leased institutions or facilities; Senate Bill No. 1105
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(iii) Operational specifications of security systems utilized at any
government-owned or leased institution or facility, except that a
general description of any such security system and the cost and
quality of such system may be disclosed;
(iv) Training manuals prepared for government-owned or leased
institutions or facilities that describe, in any manner, security
procedures, emergency plans or security equipment;
(v) Internal security audits of government-owned or leased
institutions or facilities;
(vi) Minutes or records of meetings, or portions of such minutes or
records, that contain or reveal information relating to security or other
records otherwise exempt from disclosure under this subdivision;
(vii) Logs or other documents that contain information on the
movement or assignment of security personnel; and
(viii) Emergency plans and emergency preparedness, response,
recovery and mitigation plans, including plans provided by a person
to a state agency or a local emergency management agency or official;
[.]
(20) Records of standards, procedures, processes, software and
codes, not otherwise available to the public, the disclosure of which
would compromise the security or integrity of an information
technology system;
(21) The residential, work or school address of any participant in the
address confidentiality program established pursuant to sections 54-
240 to 54-240o, inclusive;
(22) The electronic mail address of any person that is obtained by
the Department of Transportation in connection with the Senate Bill No. 1105
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implementation or administration of any plan to inform individuals
about significant highway or railway incidents;
(23) The name or address of any minor enrolled in any parks and
recreation program administered or sponsored by any public agency;
(24) Responses to any request for proposals or bid solicitation issued
by a public agency or any record or file made by a public agency in
connection with the contract award process, until such contract is
executed or negotiations for the award of such contract have ended,
whichever occurs earlier, provided the chief executive officer of such
public agency certifies that the public interest in the disclosure of such
responses, record or file is outweighed by the public interest in the
confidentiality of such responses, record or file;
(25) The name, address, telephone number or electronic mail
address of any person enrolled in any senior center program or any
member of a senior center administered or sponsored by any public
agency;
(26) All records obtained during the course of inspection,
investigation, examination and audit activities of an institution, as
defined in section 19a-490, that are confidential pursuant to a contract
between the Department of Public Health and the United States
Department of Health and Human Services relating to the Medicare
and Medicaid programs;
(27) Any record created by a law enforcement agency or other
federal, state, or municipal governmental agency consisting of a
photograph, film, video or digital or other visual image depicting the
victim of a homicide, to the extent that such record could reasonably
be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of the personal
privacy of the victim or the victim's surviving family members;
(28) Any documentation provided to or obtained by an executive Senate Bill No. 1105
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branch agency, including documentation provided or obtained prior to
May 25, 2016, relating to claims of faulty or failing concrete
foundations in residential buildings by the owners of such residential
buildings, and documents prepared by an executive branch agency
relating to such documentation, for seven years after the date of receipt
of the documentation or seven years after May 25, 2016, whichever is
later.
Sec. 2. Subsection (b) of section 1-215 of the general statutes is
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective
October 1, 2019):
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, and
except as otherwise provided in this section, any record of the arrest of
any person shall be a public record from the time of such arrest and
shall be disclosed in accordance with the provisions of section 1-212
and subsection (a) of section 1-210. No law enforcement agency shall
redact any record of the arrest of any person, except for (1) the identity
of witnesses, (2) the name, address or other identifying information of
any victim of sexual assault under section 53a-70, 53a-70a, 53a-71, 53a-
72a, 53a-72b or 53a-73a, voyeurism under section 53a-189a, injury or
risk of injury, or impairing of morals under section 53-21 or family
violence, as defined in section 46b-38a, or of an attempt thereof, (3)
specific information about the commission of a crime, the disclosure of
which the law enforcement agency reasonably believes may prejudice
a pending prosecution or a prospective law enforcement action, or [(3)]
(4) any information that a judicial authority has ordered to be sealed
from public inspection or disclosure. Any personal possessions or
effects found on a person at the time of such person's arrest shall not
be disclosed unless such possessions or effects are relevant to the crime
for which such person was arrested.