O F F I C E O F L E G I S L A T I V E R E S E A R C H
P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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PA 21-124—SB 929
Environment Committee
AN ACT CONCERNING PE NALTIES FOR THE TAKI NG OF STRIPED
BASS
SUMMARY: State law authorizes the energy and environmental protection
commissioner to adopt regulations on, among other things, the legal methods of
sport fishing and limits on possessing various species, including striped bass. The
commissioner has done this (see, e.g., Conn. Agencies Regs. § 26-159a-2).
This act eliminates the enhanced penalties for violating the striped bass sport
fishing regulations. By doing so, it makes violating the regulations an infraction,
which is the same penalty that applies to other marine district sport fishing
regulation violations.
Under prior law, someone who violated the striped bass sport fishing
regulations was subject to the following penalties:
1. $100 fine for each fish taken or possessed for the first violation;
2. $200 fine for each fish taken or possessed for a second violation; and
3. $500 fine for each fish taken or possessed, imprisonment of up to 30 days,
or both, for a subsequent violation.
By law, the commissioner also may suspend a person’s fishing license for
violating the fishing regulations (CGS § 26-61).
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
BACKGROUND
Infractions
Infractions are punishable by fines, usually set by Superior Court judges, of
between $35 and $90, plus a $20 or $35 surcharge and an additional fee based on
the amount of the fine. (There may be other charges depending upon the type of
infraction. For example, certain motor vehicle infractions trigger a surcharge of
50% of the fine.) An infraction is not a crime, and violators can pay the fine by
mail without making a court appearance.