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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 353
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 3559
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)
AN ACT CONCERNING MU NICIPAL ELECTIONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 9-164 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 2
1, 2022): 3
(a) (1) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, there shall be 4
held in each municipality, biennially, a municipal election [on the first 5
Monday of May or the Tuesday after the first Monday of November, of 6
the odd-numbered years, whichever date the legislative body of such 7
municipality determines, provided, if no action is taken by the 8
legislative body to so designate the date of such election, such election 9
shall be held] on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November of the 10
odd-numbered years, except that such municipal election may be held 11
on the first Monday of May of the odd-numbered years if the legislative 12
body of such municipality so determines by a two-thirds vote. 13
(2) After January 1, 2022, in any municipality where such municipal 14
election is held on the first Monday of May of the odd-numbered years, 15
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in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection, 16
the legislative body of such municipality may determine by a majority 17
vote to hold such municipal election on the Tuesday after the first 18
Monday of November of the odd-numbered years. 19
(3) In any municipality where the term of any elected official would 20
expire prior to the next regular election held under the provisions of this 21
section, the term of such official shall be extended to the date of such 22
election. 23
Sec. 2. Section 9-164a of the general statutes is repealed and the 24
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 25
Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, in any municipality 26
in which the date of the municipal election has been, or will be, changed 27
under section 9-164, as amended by this act, and in which the terms of 28
office of one or more elected municipal officers had not, or will have not, 29
expired at the time of the holding of the first municipal election in 30
accordance with such changed date under said section, the legislative 31
body of such municipality shall, prior to [July 25, 1969] January 1, 2022, 32
provide for a reasonable method of transition for such offices which may 33
include reasonable extension of such terms and provision for interim 34
terms. Except as provided in sections 9-164b to 9-164f, inclusive, as 35
amended by this act, 9-187 and 9-187a, in the absence of such action by 36
such legislative body, the terms of any such officers which do not 37
terminate within three months after such first or a subsequent municipal 38
election held under [said] section 9-164, as amended by this act, shall be 39
extended to the municipal election next held after the expiration of such 40
terms, or to such date, within seventy days after such election, on which 41
the terms of municipal officers generally begin in such municipality, at 42
which election successors shall be elected for the terms provided for by 43
law or for such other transitional terms as are necessary to provide the 44
rotation required by law. The clerk of the municipality, in preparing the 45
list provided for under section 9-254, shall set forth such terms or 46
transitional terms therein. 47
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Sec. 3. Section 9-164b of the general statutes is repealed and the 48
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 49
As to any board or commission of a municipality with a rotating 50
membership, some of the members of which, prior to [the] any change 51
[to a uniform] in a municipal election date for such municipality under 52
section 9-164, as amended by this act, were elected for terms beginning 53
approximately one year after the date of their election, the legislative 54
body of such municipality may provide for such conforming changes in 55
the beginning date of the terms of office as are designed to continue the 56
rotation with regard to such office as it existed prior to such change, and 57
in the absence of such action by such legislative body, the beginning 58
date of the terms of such office shall be so changed by the clerk of the 59
municipality in preparing the list provided for under section 9-254. With 60
respect to any board or commission of a municipality with a rotating 61
membership established under sections 8-1, 8-4a, 8-5 and 8-19, the 62
authority empowered to prescribe the term of office of the members of 63
such board or commission, if it is authorized under said sections to 64
provide for an odd-numbered year term, may further provide for 65
deferred terms by prescribing which terms are to begin approximately 66
one year from the date on which the terms of municipal officers 67
generally begin in such municipality. 68
Sec. 4. Section 9-164c of the general statutes is repealed and the 69
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 1, 2022): 70
[After January 1, 1970] On or after January 1, 2022, any municipality 71
may [by charter, or by vote of the legislative body approved at a 72
referendum of the electors to be held within thirty days thereafter,] 73
change the date of its municipal election [by designating the alternate 74
date specified in] in accordance with the provisions of section 9-164, as 75
amended by this act, [as the date of the municipal election, provided (1) 76
no such charter provision adopted, nor such vote of such legislative 77
body so approved, within six months prior to any municipal election 78
may be effective with respect thereto, and (2)] provided in changing 79
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from the November municipal election date specified in section 9-164, 80
as amended by this act, to the May municipal election date therein 81
specified, the terms of incumbent municipal elected officials shall be 82
diminished to conform to such change but for a period of not more than 83
nine months. [and (3)] In the case of a municipality described in 84
subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 9-164, as amended by this act, 85
in changing from the May municipal election date specified in said 86
section [9-164] to the November date therein specified, the terms of 87
incumbent municipal elected officials shall be extended to conform to 88
such change but for a period of not more than nine months. 89
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 January 1, 2022 9-164(a)
Sec. 2 from passage 9-164a
Sec. 3 from passage 9-164b
Sec. 4 January 1, 2022 9-164c
Statement of Purpose:
To require each municipality to hold its biennial municipal election in
November, unless a two-thirds vote of such municipality's legislative
body decides that such election shall be held in May.
[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. MARONEY, 14th Dist.
S.B. 353