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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5259
February Session, 2020
LCO No. 1721
Referred to Committee on TRANSPORTATION
Introduced by:
(TRA)
AN ACT CONCERNING PE DESTRIAN SAFETY AT CROSSWALKS,
SPEED LIMITS IN MUNICIPALITIES, FINES AND CHARGES FOR
CERTAIN VIOLATIONS AND THE GREENWAYS COM MEMORATIVE
ACCOUNT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (h) of section 14-296aa of the 2020 supplement 1
to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 2
thereof (Effective October 1, 2020): 3
(h) Any person who violates this section shall be fined one hundred 4
[fifty] eighty-seven dollars and fifty cents for a first violation, three 5
hundred seventy-five dollars for a second violation and [five] six 6
hundred twenty-five dollars for a third or subsequent violation. 7
Sec. 2. Subsection (d) of section 51-56a of the general statutes is 8
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 9
1, 2020): 10
(d) Each person who pays in any sum as a fine or forfeiture for any 11
violation of sections 14-218a, 14-219, 14-222, 14-223, 14-227a, 14-227m, 12 Raised Bill No. 5259
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14-227n, sections 14-230 to 14-240, inclusive, sections 14-241 to 14-249, 13
inclusive, section 14-279 for the first offense, sections 14-289b, 14-299, 14
14-300, 14-300d, sections 14-301 to 14-303, inclusive, section 5 of this act 15
or any regulation adopted under said sections or ordinance enacted in 16
accordance with said sections shall pay an additional fee of [twenty] 17
twenty-five dollars. The state shall remit to the municipalities in which 18
the violations occurred the amounts paid under this subsection. Each 19
clerk of the Superior Court or the Chief Court Administrator, or any 20
other official of the Superior Court designated by the Chief Court 21
Administrator, on or before the thirtieth day of January, April, July and 22
October in each year, shall certify to the Comptroller the amount due for 23
the previous quarter under this subsection to each municipality served 24
by the office of the clerk or official. 25
Sec. 3. Section 14-21i of the general statutes is repealed and the 26
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2020): 27
(a) [On and after January 1, 1998, the] The Commissioner of Motor 28
Vehicles shall issue greenways commemorative number plates of a 29
design to enhance public awareness of, [the] and provide funding for, 30
state and local efforts to preserve, restore and protect greenways. The 31
design shall be determined by agreement between the Commissioner of 32
Energy and Environmental Protection and the Commissioner of Motor 33
Vehicles. No use shall be made of such plates except as official 34
registration marker plates. 35
(b) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall establish, by 36
regulations adopted in accordance with chapter 54, a fee to be charged 37
for greenways commemorative number plates in addition to the regular 38
fee or fees prescribed for the registration of a motor vehicle. The fee shall 39
be for such number plates with letters and numbers selected by the 40
Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles 41
may establish a higher fee for: (1) Such number plates which contain 42
letters in place of numbers as authorized by section 14-49, in addition to 43
the fee or fees prescribed for plates issued under said section; and (2) 44
such number plates which are low number plates, in accordance with 45 Raised Bill No. 5259
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section 14-160, in addition to the fee or fees prescribed for plates issued 46
under said section. All fees established and collected pursuant to this 47
section, except moneys designated for administrative costs of the 48
Department of Motor Vehicles, shall be deposited in the greenways 49
commemorative account established pursuant to subsection (d) of this 50
section. 51
(c) No additional renewal fee shall be charged for renewal of 52
registration for any motor vehicle bearing greenways commemorative 53
number plates which contain letters in place of numbers, or low number 54
plates, in excess of the renewal fee for greenways commemorative 55
number plates with letters and numbers selected by the Commissioner 56
of Motor Vehicles. No transfer fee shall be charged for transfer of an 57
existing registration to or from a registration with greenways 58
commemorative number plates. 59
(d) There is established an account to be known as the "greenways 60
commemorative account" which shall be a separate, nonlapsing account 61
within the General Fund. The account shall contain any moneys 62
required by law to be deposited in the account. The funds in the account 63
shall be expended by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental 64
Protection to fund state and local efforts to preserve, restore and protect 65
greenways. 66
[(d)] (e) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, in consultation with 67
the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, shall adopt 68
regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to establish 69
standards and procedures for the issuance, renewal and replacement of 70
greenways commemorative number plates. 71
Sec. 4. Section 14-311 of the general statutes is repealed and the 72
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2020): 73
(a) No person, firm, corporation, state agency, or municipal agency 74
or combination thereof shall build, expand, establish or operate any 75
open air theater, shopping center or other development generating large 76
volumes of traffic that substantially affect state highway traffic within 77 Raised Bill No. 5259
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this state, as determined by the Office of the State Traffic 78
Administration, until such person, firm, corporation, or agency has 79
procured from said office a certificate that the operation thereof will not 80
imperil the safety of the public, except that any development, including 81
any development to be built in phases, without regard to when such 82
phases are approved by the municipal planning and zoning agency or 83
other responsible municipal agency, that contains a total of one hundred 84
or fewer residential units shall not be required to obtain such certificate 85
if such development is a residential-only development and is not part of 86
a mixed-use development that contains office, retail or other such 87
nonresidential uses, provided if any future development increases the 88
total number of residential units to more than one hundred, and such 89
total substantially affects state highway traffic within the state as 90
determined by the Office of the State Traffic Administration, a certificate 91
shall be procured from said office. 92
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, no local building 93
official shall issue a building or foundation permit to any person, firm, 94
corporation, state agency or municipal agency to build, expand, 95
establish or operate such a development until the person, firm, 96
corporation or agency provides to such official a copy of the certificate 97
issued under this section by the office. If the office determines that any 98
person, firm, corporation, or state or municipal agency has (1) started 99
building, expanding, establishing or operating such a development 100
without first obtaining a certificate from said office, or (2) has failed to 101
comply with the conditions of such a certificate, it shall order the person, 102
firm, corporation or agency to (A) cease constructing, expanding, 103
establishing or operating the development, or (B) comply with the 104
conditions of the certificate within a reasonable period of time. If such 105
person, firm, corporation or agency fails to (i) cease such work, or (ii) 106
comply with an order of the office within such time as specified by the 107
office, the office may make an application to the superior court for the 108
judicial district of Hartford or the judicial district where the 109
development is located enjoining the construction, expansion, 110
establishment or operation of such development. Notwithstanding the 111 Raised Bill No. 5259
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provisions of this subsection, for single family home building lots within 112
a subdivision of land, for which a certificate is required and which do 113
not have a direct exit or entrance on, or directly abut or adjoin any state 114
highway, no local building official shall issue a certificate of occupancy 115
to any person, firm, corporation, state agency or municipal agency to 116
occupy homes on such lots until the person, firm, corporation or agency 117
provides to such official a copy of the certificate issued under this 118
section by the office and such official confirms that the certificate 119
conditions have been satisfied. 120
(c) The Office of the State Traffic Administration, to the extent 121
practicable, shall begin its review of an application prior to final 122
approval of the proposed activity by the municipal planning and zoning 123
agency or other responsible municipal agency. 124
(d) In determining the advisability of such certification, the Office of 125
the State Traffic Administration shall include, in its consideration, 126
highway safety, bicycle and pedestrian access and safety, the width and 127
character of the highways affected, the density of traffic thereon, the 128
character of such traffic and the opinion and findings of the traffic 129
authority of the municipality wherein the development is located. The 130
Office of the State Traffic Administration may require improvements to 131
be made by the applicant to the extent that such improvements address 132
impacts to highway safety or bicycle and pedestrian access and safety 133
created by the addition of the applicant's proposed development or 134
activity. If the Office of the State Traffic Administration determines that 135
such improvements, including traffic signals, pavement markings, 136
channelization, pavement widening or other changes or traffic control 137
devices, are required to handle traffic safely and efficiently, one 138
hundred per cent of the cost thereof shall be borne by the person 139
building, establishing or operating such open air theater, shopping 140
center or other development generating large volumes of traffic, except 141
that such cost shall not be borne by any municipal agency. The 142
Commissioner of Transportation may issue a permit to said person to 143
construct or install the changes required by the Office of the State Traffic 144
Administration. 145 Raised Bill No. 5259
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(e) Any person aggrieved by any decision of the Office of the State 146
Traffic Administration hereunder may appeal therefrom in accordance 147
with the provisions of section 4-183, except venue for such appeal shall 148
be in the judicial district in which it is proposed to operate such 149
establishment. The provisions of this section except insofar as such 150
provisions relate to expansion shall not apply to any open air theater, 151
shopping center or other development generating large volumes of 152
traffic in operation on July 1, 1967. 153
(f) Before submitting an application for any development generating 154
large volumes of traffic pursuant to subsection (a) of this section to the 155
Office of the State Traffic Administration, the individual or entity 156
submitting such application shall attend a mandatory meeting with the 157
Office of the State Traffic Administration and other staff from the 158
Department of Transportation. At such meeting, such individual or 159
entity shall present the applicant's proposed development to such 160
department staff and receive feedback, including, but not limited to, 161
information as to what needs to be submitted for an application to be 162
considered complete. 163
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2020) No person shall open a door 164
of a motor vehicle, unless the door can be opened with reasonable safety 165
and will not impede the travel of a pedestrian or a person riding a 166
bicycle, as defined in section 14-286 of the general statutes, on a 167
highway, as defined in section 14-1 of the general statutes. Any person 168
who violates a provision of this section shall be subject to a fine of ninety 169
dollars in accordance with the provisions of section 51-164n of the 170
general statutes, as amended by this act. 171
Sec. 6. Subsection (b) of section 51-164n of the 2020 supplement to the 172
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 173
thereof (Effective October 1, 2020): 174
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, any person 175
who is alleged to have committed (1) a violation under the provisions of 176
section 1-9, 1-10, 1-11, 4b-13, 7-13, 7-14, 7-35, 7-41, 7-83, 7-283, 7-325, 7-177 Raised Bill No. 5259
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393, 8-12, 8-25, 8-27, 9-63, 9-322, 9-350, 10-193, 10-197, 10-198, 10-230, 10-178
251, 10-254, 12-52, 12-170aa, 12-292, 12-314b or 12-326g, subdivision (4) 179
of section 12-408, subdivision (3), (5) or (6) of section 12-411, section 12-180
435c, 12-476a, 12-476b, 12-487, 13a-71, 13a-107, 13a-113, 13a-114, 13a-115, 181
13a-117b, 13a-123, 13a-124, 13a-139, 13a-140, 13a-143b, 13a-247 or 13a-182
253, subsection (f) of section 13b-42, section 13b-90, 13b-221, 13b-292, 183
13b-336, 13b-337, 13b-338, 13b-410a, 13b-410b or 13b-410c, subsection 184
(a), (b) or (c) of section 13b-412, section 13b-414, subsection (d) of section 185
14-12, section 14-20a or 14-27a, subsection (f) of section 14-34a, 186
subsection (d) of section 14-35, section 14-43, 14-49, 14-50a or 14-58, 187
subsection (b) of section 14-66, section 14-66a or 14-67a, subsection (g) 188
of section 14-80, subsection (f) of section 14-80h, section 14-97a, 14-100b, 189
14-103a, 14-106a, 14-106c, 14-146, 14-152, 14-153 or 14-163b, a first 190
violation as specified in subsection (f) of section 14-164i, section 14-219 191
as specified in subsection (e) of said section, subdivision (1) of section 192
14-223a, section 14-240, 14-250 or 14-253a, subsection (a) of section 14-193
261a, section 14-262, 14-264, 14-267a, 14-269, 14-270, 14-275a, 14-278 or 194
14-279, subsection (e) or (h) of section 14-283, section 14-291, 14-293b, 14-195
296aa, as amended by this act, 14-300, 14-300d, 14-319, 14-320, 14-321, 196
14-325a, 14-326, 14-330 or 14-332a, subdivision (1), (2) or (3) of section 197
14-386a, section 5 of this act, section 15-25 or 15-33, subdivision (1) of 198
section 15-97, subsection (a) of section 15-115, section 16-44, 16-256e, 199
16a-15 or 16a-22, subsection (a) or (b) of section 16a-22h, section 17a-24, 200
17a-145, 17a-149, 17a-152, 17a-465, 17b-124, 17b-131, 17b-137, 19a-30, 201
19a-33, 19a-39 or 19a-87, subsection (b) of section 19a-87a, section 19a-202
91, 19a-105, 19a-107, 19a-113, 19a-215, 19a-219, 19a-222, 19a-224, 19a-286, 203
19a-287, 19a-297, 19a-301, 19a-309, 19a-335, 19a-336, 19a-338, 19a-339, 204
19a-340, 19a-425, 19a-502, 20-7a, 20-14, 20-158, 20-231, 20-249, 20-257, 20-205
265, 20-324e, subsection (b) of section 20-334, 20-341l, 20-366, 20-597, 20-206
608, 20-610, 21-1, 21-38, 21-39, 21-43, 21-47, 21-48, 21-63 or 21-76a, 207
subsection (c) of section 21a-2, subdivision (1) of section 21a-19, section 208
21a-21, subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section 21a-25, section 21a-26 209
or 21a-30, subsection (a) of section 21a-37, section 21a-46, 21a-61, 21a-63 210
or 21a-77, subsection (b) of section 21a-79, section 21a-85 or 21a-154, 211
subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 21a-159, subsection (a) of 212 Raised Bill No. 5259
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section 21a-279a, section 22-12b, 22-13, 22-14, 22-15, 22-16, 22-26g, 22-29, 213
22-34, 22-35, 22-36, 22-38, 22-39, 22-39a, 22-39b, 22-39c, 22-39d, 22-39e, 214
22-49 or 22-54, subsection (d) of section 22-84, section 22-89, 22-90, 22-215
98, 22-99, 22-100, 22-111o, 22-167, 22-279, 22-280a, 22-318a, 22-320h, 22-216
324a, 22-326 or 22-342, subsection (b), (e) or (f) of section 22-344, section 217
22-359, 22-366, 22-391, 22-413, 22-414, 22-415, 22a-66a or 22a-246, 218
subsection (a) of section 22a-250, subsection (e) of section 22a-256h, 219
section 22a-363 or 22a-381d, subsections (c) and (d) of section 22a-381e, 220
section 22a-449, 22a-461, 23-38, 23-46 or 23-61b, subsection (a) or 221
subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of section 23-65, section 25-37 or 25-40, 222
subsection (a) of section 25-43, section 25-43d, 25-135, 26-18, 26-19, 26-223
21, 26-31, 26-40, 26-40a, 26-42, 26-49, 26-54, 26-55, 26-56, 26-58 or 26-59, 224
subdivision (1) of subsection (d) of section 26-61, section 26-64, 225
subdivision (1) of section 26-76, section 26-79, 26-87, 26-89, 26-91, 26-94, 226
26-97, 26-98, 26-104, 26-105, 26-107, 26-117, 26-128, 26-131, 26-132, 26-138 227
or 26-141, subdivision (1) of section 26-186, section 26-207, 26-215, 26-228
217 or 26-224a, subdivision (1) of section 26-226, section 26-227, 26-230, 229
26-232, 26-244, 26-257a, 26-260, 26-276, 26-284, 26-285, 26-286, 26-288, 26-230
294, 28-13, 29-6a, 29-25, 29-143o, 29-143z or 29-156a, subsection (b), (d), 231
(e) or (g) of section 29-161q, section 29-161y or 29-161z, subdivision (1) 232
of section 29-198, section 29-210, 29-243 or 29-277, subsection (c) of 233
section 29-291c, section 29-316, 29-318, 29-381, 30-48a, 30-86a, 31-3, 31-234
10, 31-11, 31-12, 31-13, 31-14, 31-15, 31-16, 31-18, 31-23, 31-24, 31-25, 31-235
32, 31-36, 31-38, 31-40, 31-44, 31-47, 31-48, 31-51, 31-52, 31-52a or 31-54, 236
subsection (a) or (c) of section 31-69, section 31-70, 31-74, 31-75, 31-76, 237
31-76a, 31-89b or 31-134, subsection (i) of section 31-273, section 31-288, 238
subdivision (1) of section 35-20, section 36a-787, 42-230, 45a-283, 45a-239
450, 45a-634 or 45a-658, subdivision (13) or (14) of section 46a-54, section 240
46a-59, 46b-22, 46b-24, 46b-34, 47-34a, 47-47, 49-8a, 49-16, 53-133, 53-199, 241
53-212a, 53-249a, 53-252, 53-264, 53-280, 53-302a, 53-303e, 53-311a, 53-242
321, 53-322, 53-323, 53-331 or 53-344, subsection (c) of section 53-344b, or 243
section 53-450, or (2) a violation under the provisions of chapter 268, or 244
(3) a violation of any regulation adopted in accordance with the 245
provisions of section 12-484, 12-487 or 13b-410, or (4) a violation of any 246
ordinance, regulation or bylaw of any town, city or borough, except 247 Raised Bill No. 5259
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violations of building codes and the health code, for which the penalty 248
exceeds ninety dollars but does not exceed two hundred fifty dollars, 249
unless such town, city or borough has established a payment and 250
hearing procedure for such violation pursuant to section 7-152c, shall 251
follow the procedures set forth in this section. 252
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2020 14-296aa(h)
Sec. 2 October 1, 2020 51-56a(d)
Sec. 3 October 1, 2020 14-21i
Sec. 4 October 1, 2020 14-311
Sec. 5 October 1, 2020 New section
Sec. 6 October 1, 2020 51-164n(b)
Statement of Purpose:
To (1) require motorists to grant the right-of-way to pedestrians who
affirmatively indicate their intention to cross the road in a crosswalk; (2)
allow local traffic authorities to establish lower speed limits on streets
under their jurisdiction by holding a public hearing regarding such
speed limits and providing notification of such speed limits to the Office
of the State Traffic Administration; (3) increase the fine for operating a
motor vehicle while using a hand-held mobile telephone or electronic
device; (4) increase the additional fee provided to municipalities for
certain traffic violations; and (5) establish the greenways
commemorative account.
[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.]