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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6656
January Session, 2023
LCO No. 3978
Referred to Committee on TRANSPORTATION
Introduced by:
(TRA)
AN ACT CONCERNING A MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATOR'S LICENSE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subdivision (3) of subsection (e) of section 14-36 of the 1
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 2
thereof (Effective October 1, 2023): 3
(3) Before granting a license to any applicant who has not previously 4
held a Connecticut motor vehicle operator's license, or whose 5
Connecticut motor vehicle operator's license expired more than two 6
years prior to the application date, the commissioner shall require the 7
applicant to demonstrate personally to the commissioner, a deputy, a 8
motor vehicle inspector or an agent of the commissioner, in such manner 9
as the commissioner directs, that the applicant is a proper person to 10
operate motor vehicles of the class for which such applicant has applied, 11
has sufficient knowledge of the mechanism of the motor vehicles to 12
ensure their safe operation by him or her and has satisfactory 13
knowledge of the laws concerning motor vehicles and the rules of the 14
road. The knowledge test of an applicant for a class D motor vehicle 15
operator's license may be administered in such form as the 16 Raised Bill No. 6656
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commissioner deems appropriate, including audio, electronic or written 17
testing. Such knowledge test shall be administered in English, Spanish 18
or any other language [spoken at home by at least one per cent of the 19
state's population, according to statistics prepared by the United States 20
Census Bureau, based on the most recent decennial census] as requested 21
by the applicant. Each such knowledge test shall include a question 22
concerning highway work zone safety and the responsibilities of an 23
operator of a motor vehicle under section 14-212d. Each such knowledge 24
test shall include not less than one question concerning distracted 25
driving, the use of mobile telephones and electronic devices by motor 26
vehicle operators or the responsibilities of motor vehicle operators 27
under section 14-296aa. If any such applicant has held a license from a 28
state, territory or possession of the United States where a similar 29
examination is required, the commissioner may waive part or all of the 30
examination. If any such applicant is (A) a veteran who applies not later 31
than two years after the date of discharge from the military and who, 32
prior to such discharge, held a military operator's license for motor 33
vehicles of the same class as that for which such applicant has applied, 34
or (B) a member of the armed forces or the National Guard who 35
currently holds a military operator's license for motor vehicles of the 36
same class as that for which such applicant has applied, the 37
commissioner shall waive all of the examination, except in the case of a 38
commercial motor vehicle license, the commissioner shall waive the 39
driving skills test for such applicant and may, in such commissioner's 40
discretion, waive the knowledge test for such application, provided 41
such applicant meets the conditions set forth in 49 CFR 383.77, as 42
amended from time to time. For the purposes of this subsection, 43
"veteran" and "armed forces" have the same meanings as provided in 44
section 27-103. When the commissioner is satisfied as to the ability and 45
competency of any applicant, the commissioner may issue to such 46
applicant a license, either unlimited or containing such limitations as the 47
commissioner deems advisable, and specifying the class of motor 48
vehicles which the licensee is eligible to operate. 49
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective from passage) Not later than October 1, 2023, 50 Raised Bill No. 6656
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the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall offer appointments for the 51
on-the-road skills test portion of the examination for a motor vehicles 52
operator's license at drivers' schools, licensed in accordance with the 53
provisions of section 14-69 of the general statutes. The on-the-road skills 54
test shall be administered by a motor vehicle inspector agent or an agent 55
of the commissioner and shall be made available to all students of such 56
schools who are otherwise eligible to take such test. 57
Sec. 3. (Effective from passage) On or before February 1, 2024, the 58
Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall submit a report, in accordance 59
with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint 60
standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 61
matters relating to transportation regarding the status of entering into 62
an agreement with Taiwan for reciprocal recognition of driver training 63
requirements. 64
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2023 14-36(e)(3)
Sec. 2 from passage New section
Sec. 3 from passage New section
Statement of Purpose:
To require (1) the knowledge test for the motor vehicle operator's license
to be offered in any language as requested by the applicant, (2) the
Commissioner of Motor Vehicles to offer the on-the-road skills test at
drivers' school for all students who are otherwise eligible to take such
test, and (3) a status report concerning an agreement with Taiwan for
reciprocal recognition of driver training requirements.
[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.]