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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 5238
February Session, 2022
AN ACT EXPANDING ELIGIBILITY FOR THE VICTIM COMPENSATION
PROGRAM.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 54-209 of the 2022 supplement to the general 1
statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof 2
(Effective July 1, 2022): 3
(a) The Office of Victim Services or, on review, a victim compensation 4
commissioner, may order the payment of compensation in accordance 5
with the provisions of sections 54-201 to 54-218, inclusive, for personal 6
injury or death which resulted from: (1) An attempt to prevent the 7
commission of crime or to apprehend a suspected criminal or in aiding 8
or attempting to aid a police officer so to do, (2) the commission or 9
attempt to commit by another of any crime as provided in section 53a-10
24, (3) any crime that occurred outside the territorial boundaries of the 11
United States that would be considered a crime within this state, 12
provided the victim of such crime is a resident of this state, [or] (4) any 13
crime involving international terrorism as defined in 18 USC 2331, as 14
amended from time to time, or (5) an incident of child abuse or neglect 15
substantiated by the Department of Children and Families. 16
(b) The Office of Victim Services or, on review, a victim compensation 17
commissioner, may also order the payment of compensation in 18 Substitute Bill No. 5238
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accordance with the provisions of sections 54-201 to 54-218, inclusive, 19
for personal injury or death that resulted from the operation of a motor 20
vehicle, water vessel, snow mobile or all-terrain vehicle by another 21
person who was subsequently convicted with respect to such operation 22
for a violation of subsection (a) or subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of 23
section 14-224, section 14-227a or 14-227m, subdivision (1) or (2) of 24
subsection (a) of section 14-227n, subdivision (3) of section 14-386a or 25
section 15-132a, 15-140l, 15-140n, 53a-56b or 53a-60d. In the absence of a 26
conviction, the Office of Victim Services or, on review, a victim 27
compensation commissioner, may order payment of compensation 28
under this section if, upon consideration of all circumstances 29
determined to be relevant, the office or commissioner, as the case may 30
be, reasonably concludes that another person has operated a motor 31
vehicle in violation of subsection (a) or subdivision (1) of subsection (b) 32
of section 14-224, section 14-227a or 14-227m, subdivision (1) or (2) of 33
subsection (a) of section 14-227n, subdivision (3) of section 14-386a or 34
section 15-132a, 15-140l, 15-140n, 53a-56b or 53a-60d. 35
(c) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, no act 36
involving the operation of a motor vehicle which results in injury shall 37
constitute a crime for the purposes of sections 54-201 to 54-218, 38
inclusive, unless the injuries were intentionally inflicted through the use 39
of the vehicle. 40
(d) In instances where a violation of section 53a-70b of the general 41
statutes, revision of 1958, revised to January 1, 2019, or section 53-21, 42
53a-70, 53a-70a, 53a-70c, 53a-71, 53a-72a, 53a-72b, 53a-73a, 53a-82, [or] 43
53a-83b, 53a-90a, 53a-192a, 53a-196, 53a-196a, 53a-196b or 53a-196i, or 44
family violence, as defined in section 46b-38a, has been alleged, the 45
Office of Victim Services or, on review, a victim compensation 46
commissioner, may order compensation be paid if (1) the personal 47
injury has been disclosed to: (A) A physician or surgeon licensed under 48
chapter 370; (B) a resident physician or intern in any hospital in this 49
state, whether or not licensed; (C) a physician assistant licensed under 50
chapter 370; (D) an advanced practice registered nurse, registered nurse 51 Substitute Bill No. 5238
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or practical nurse licensed under chapter 378; (E) a psychologist licensed 52
under chapter 383; (F) a police officer; (G) a mental health professional; 53
(H) an emergency medical services provider licensed or certified under 54
chapter 368d; (I) an alcohol and drug counselor licensed or certified 55
under chapter 376b; (J) a marital and family therapist licensed under 56
chapter 383a; (K) a domestic violence counselor or a sexual assault 57
counselor, as defined in section 52-146k; (L) a professional counselor 58
licensed under chapter 383c; (M) a clinical social worker licensed under 59
chapter 383b; (N) an employee of the Department of Children and 60
Families; (O) an employee of a [child] children's advocacy center, 61
[established pursuant to] as defined in section 17a-106a; or (P) a school 62
principal, a school teacher, a school guidance counselor or a school 63
counselor, or (2) the personal injury is reported in an application for a 64
restraining order under section 46b-15 or an application for a civil 65
protection order under section 46b-16a or on the record to the court, 66
provided such restraining order or civil protection order was granted in 67
the Superior Court following a hearing, and (3) the office or 68
commissioner, as the case may be, reasonably concludes that a violation 69
of any of said sections has occurred. 70
(e) Evidence of an order for the payment of compensation by the 71
Office of Victim Services or a victim compensation commissioner in 72
accordance with the provisions of sections 54-201 to 54-218, inclusive, 73
shall not be admissible in any civil proceeding to prove the liability of 74
any person for such personal injury or death or in any criminal 75
proceeding to prove the guilt or innocence of any person for any crime. 76
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2022) Any employee of the Department 77
of Children and Families or children's advocacy center, as defined in 78
section 17a-106a of the general statutes, to whom a personal injury 79
resulting from any conduct described in subsection (a) of section 54-209 80
of the general statutes, as amended by this act, is disclosed by the (1) 81
person who suffered such injury, or (2) parent, guardian or legal 82
representative of such person, shall provide such person, or such 83
person's parent, guardian or legal representative, verbal and written 84 Substitute Bill No. 5238
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notice (A) that such person may be eligible for compensation pursuant 85
to sections 54-201 to 54-218, inclusive, of the general statutes, and (B) of 86
the application process described in section 54-204 of the general 87
statutes, and types and amounts of compensation that may be awarded 88
pursuant to sections 54-201 to 54-218, inclusive, of the general statutes. 89
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2022 54-209
Sec. 2 July 1, 2022 New section
KID Joint Favorable Subst.