Connecticut 2023 Regular Session

Connecticut House Bill HB06656 Latest Draft

Bill / Comm Sub Version Filed 04/05/2023

                             
 
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General Assembly  Substitute Bill No. 6656  
January Session, 2023 
 
 
 
 
 
AN ACT CONCERNING THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE KNOWLEDGE 
TEST AND ON-THE-ROAD SKILLS TEST FOR AN OPERATOR'S 
LICENSE AND THE RECIPROCAL RECOGNITION OF DRIVER 
TRAINING REQUIREMENTS.  
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General 
Assembly convened: 
 
Section 1. Subsections (d) and (e) of section 14-36 of the general 1 
statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof 2 
(Effective October 1, 2023): 3 
(d) (1) No motor vehicle operator's license shall be issued to any 4 
applicant who is sixteen or seventeen years of age unless the applicant 5 
has held a youth instruction permit and has satisfied the requirements 6 
specified in this subsection. The applicant shall (A) submit to the 7 
commissioner, in such manner as the commissioner shall direct, a 8 
certificate of the successful completion (i) in a public secondary school, 9 
a technical education and career school or a private secondary school 10 
of a full course of study in motor vehicle operation prepared as 11 
provided in section 14-36e, (ii) of training of similar nature provided 12 
by a licensed drivers' school approved by the commissioner, or (iii) of 13 
home training in accordance with subdivision (2) of this subsection, 14 
including, in each case, or by a combination of such types of training, 15 
successful completion of: Not less than forty clock hours of behind-the-16 
wheel, on-the-road instruction for applicants to whom a youth 17  Substitute Bill No. 6656 
 
 
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instruction permit is issued on or after August 1, 2008; (B) submit to 18 
the commissioner, in such manner as the commissioner shall direct, a 19 
certificate of the successful completion of a course of not less than eight 20 
hours relative to safe driving practices, including a minimum of four 21 
hours on the nature and the medical, biological and physiological 22 
effects of alcohol and drugs and their impact on the operator of a 23 
motor vehicle, the dangers associated with the operation of a motor 24 
vehicle after the consumption of alcohol or drugs by the operator, the 25 
problems of alcohol and drug abuse and the penalties for alcohol and 26 
drug-related motor vehicle violations; and (C) pass an examination 27 
which may include a comprehensive test as to knowledge of the laws 28 
concerning motor vehicles and the rules of the road in addition to the 29 
test required under subsection (c) of this section and shall include an 30 
on-the-road skills test as prescribed by the commissioner. At the time 31 
of application and examination for a motor vehicle operator's license, 32 
an applicant sixteen or seventeen years of age shall have held a youth 33 
instruction permit for not less than one hundred eighty days, except 34 
that an applicant who presents a certificate under subparagraph (A)(i) 35 
or subparagraph (A)(ii) of this subdivision shall have held a youth 36 
instruction permit for not less than one hundred twenty days and an 37 
applicant who is undergoing training and instruction by the driver 38 
training unit for persons with disabilities in accordance with the 39 
provisions of section 14-11b shall have held such permit for the period 40 
of time required by said unit. The commissioner shall approve the 41 
content of the safe driving instruction at drivers' schools, high schools 42 
and other secondary schools. Subject to such standards and 43 
requirements as the commissioner may impose, the commissioner may 44 
authorize any drivers' school, licensed in good standing in accordance 45 
with the provisions of section 14-69, or secondary school driver 46 
education program authorized pursuant to the provisions of section 47 
14-36e, to administer the comprehensive test as to knowledge of the 48 
laws concerning motor vehicles and the rules of the road, required 49 
pursuant to subparagraph (C) of this subdivision, as part of the safe 50 
driving practices course required pursuant to subparagraph (B) of this 51 
subdivision, and to certify to the commissioner, under oath, the results 52  Substitute Bill No. 6656 
 
 
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of each such test administered. Such hours of instruction required by 53 
this subdivision shall be included as part of or in addition to any 54 
existing instruction programs. Any fee charged for the course required 55 
under subparagraph (B) of this subdivision shall not exceed one 56 
hundred fifty dollars. Any applicant sixteen or seventeen years of age 57 
who, while a resident of another state, completed the course required 58 
in subparagraph (A) of this subdivision, but did not complete the safe 59 
driving course required in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision, shall 60 
complete the safe driving course. The commissioner may waive any 61 
requirement in this subdivision, except for that in subparagraph (C) of 62 
this subdivision, in the case of an applicant sixteen or seventeen years 63 
of age who holds a valid motor vehicle operator's license issued by any 64 
other state, provided the commissioner is satisfied that the applicant 65 
has received training and instruction of a similar nature. 66 
(2) The commissioner may accept as evidence of sufficient training 67 
under subparagraph (A) of subdivision (1) of this subsection home 68 
training as evidenced by a written statement submitted to the 69 
commissioner, in such manner as the commissioner directs. Such 70 
statement shall be signed by the spouse of a married minor applicant, 71 
or by a parent, grandparent, foster parent or legal guardian of an 72 
applicant, and state that the applicant has obtained a youth instruction 73 
permit and has successfully completed a driving course taught by the 74 
person signing the statement, that the signer has had an operator's 75 
license for at least four years preceding the date of the statement, and 76 
that the signer has not had such license suspended by the 77 
commissioner for at least four years preceding the date of the 78 
statement. If the applicant has no spouse, parent, grandparent, foster 79 
parent or guardian so qualified and available to give the instruction, 80 
such statement may be signed by the applicant's stepparent, brother, 81 
sister, uncle or aunt, by blood or marriage, provided the person 82 
signing the statement is qualified. 83 
(3) [If the commissioner requires a written test of any applicant 84 
under this section, the test shall be given in English or Spanish at the 85  Substitute Bill No. 6656 
 
 
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option of the applicant] The knowledge test for a class D motor vehicle 86 
operator's license required under this section may be administered in 87 
such form as the commissioner deems appropriate, including audio, 88 
electronic or written testing. Such knowledge test shall be 89 
administered, at the option of the applicant, in English, Spanish and at 90 
least thirty-four other languages as prescribed by the commissioner, 91 
provided the commissioner shall require [that] the applicant [shall] to 92 
have sufficient understanding of English for the interpretation of 93 
traffic control signs. In determining the other languages for the 94 
administration of such knowledge test, the commissioner shall consult 95 
with representatives of organizations that advocate on behalf of or 96 
assist immigrants, refugees or other persons who are English language 97 
learners and shall be responsive to the linguistic needs of the emerging 98 
immigrant and refugee populations in the state. 99 
(4) The commissioner may adopt regulations, in accordance with the 100 
provisions of chapter 54, to implement the purposes of this subsection 101 
concerning the requirements for behind-the-wheel, on-the-road 102 
instruction, the content of safe driving instruction at drivers' schools, 103 
high schools and other secondary schools, and the administration and 104 
certification of required testing. 105 
(e) (1) No motor vehicle operator's license shall be issued until (A) 106 
the applicant signs and submits to the commissioner, in such manner 107 
as the commissioner directs, an application under oath, or made 108 
subject to penalties for false statement in accordance with section 53a-109 
157b, and (B) the commissioner is satisfied that the applicant is sixteen 110 
years of age or older and is a suitable person to receive the license. 111 
(2) Except any applicant described in section 14-36m, an applicant 112 
for a new motor vehicle operator's license shall submit with the 113 
application a copy of such applicant's birth certificate or other prima 114 
facie evidence, as determined by the commissioner, of date of birth and 115 
evidence of identity. 116 
(3) Before granting a license to any applicant who has not 117  Substitute Bill No. 6656 
 
 
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previously held a Connecticut motor vehicle operator's license, or 118 
whose Connecticut motor vehicle operator's license expired more than 119 
two years prior to the application date, the commissioner shall require 120 
the applicant to demonstrate personally to the commissioner, a deputy, 121 
a motor vehicle inspector or an agent of the commissioner, in such 122 
manner as the commissioner directs, that the applicant is a proper 123 
person to operate motor vehicles of the class for which such applicant 124 
has applied, has sufficient knowledge of the mechanism of the motor 125 
vehicles to ensure their safe operation by him or her and has 126 
satisfactory knowledge of the laws concerning motor vehicles and the 127 
rules of the road. The knowledge test of an applicant for a class D 128 
motor vehicle operator's license [may be administered in such form as 129 
the commissioner deems appropriate, including audio, electronic or 130 
written testing. Such knowledge test shall be administered in English, 131 
Spanish or any language spoken at home by at least one per cent of the 132 
state's population, according to statistics prepared by the United States 133 
Census Bureau, based on the most recent decennial census. Each such 134 
knowledge test] shall include a question concerning highway work 135 
zone safety and the responsibilities of an operator of a motor vehicle 136 
under section 14-212d. Each such knowledge test shall include not less 137 
than one question concerning distracted driving, the use of mobile 138 
telephones and electronic devices by motor vehicle operators or the 139 
responsibilities of motor vehicle operators under section 14-296aa. If 140 
any such applicant has held a license from a state, territory or 141 
possession of the United States where a similar examination is 142 
required, the commissioner may waive part or all of the examination. 143 
If any such applicant is (A) a veteran who applies not later than two 144 
years after the date of discharge from the military and who, prior to 145 
such discharge, held a military operator's license for motor vehicles of 146 
the same class as that for which such applicant has applied, or (B) a 147 
member of the armed forces or the National Guard who currently 148 
holds a military operator's license for motor vehicles of the same class 149 
as that for which such applicant has applied, the commissioner shall 150 
waive all of the examination, except in the case of a commercial motor 151 
vehicle license, the commissioner shall waive the driving skills test for 152  Substitute Bill No. 6656 
 
 
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such applicant and may, in such commissioner's discretion, waive the 153 
knowledge test for such application, provided such applicant meets 154 
the conditions set forth in 49 CFR 383.77, as amended from time to 155 
time. For the purposes of this subsection, "veteran" and "armed forces" 156 
have the same meanings as provided in section 27-103. When the 157 
commissioner is satisfied as to the ability and competency of any 158 
applicant, the commissioner may issue to such applicant a license, 159 
either unlimited or containing such limitations as the commissioner 160 
deems advisable, and specifying the class of motor vehicles which the 161 
licensee is eligible to operate. 162 
(4) If any applicant or operator license holder has any health 163 
problem which might affect such person's ability to operate a motor 164 
vehicle safely, the commissioner may require the applicant or license 165 
holder to demonstrate personally or otherwise establish that, 166 
notwithstanding such problem, such applicant or license holder is a 167 
proper person to operate a motor vehicle, and the commissioner may 168 
further require a certificate of such applicant's condition, signed by a 169 
medical authority designated by the commissioner, which certificate 170 
shall in all cases be treated as confidential by the commissioner. A 171 
license, containing such limitation as the commissioner deems 172 
advisable, may be issued or renewed in any case, but nothing in this 173 
section shall be construed to prevent the commissioner from refusing a 174 
license, either limited or unlimited, to any person or suspending a 175 
license of a person whom the commissioner determines to be incapable 176 
of safely operating a motor vehicle. Consistent with budgetary 177 
allotments, each motor vehicle operator's license issued to or renewed 178 
by a person who is deaf or hard of hearing shall, upon the request of 179 
such person, indicate such impairment. Such person shall submit a 180 
certificate stating such impairment, in such form as the commissioner 181 
may require and signed by a licensed health care practitioner. 182 
(5) The issuance of a motor vehicle operator's license to any 183 
applicant who is the holder of a license issued by another state shall be 184 
subject to the provisions of [sections 14-111c and] section 14-111k. 185  Substitute Bill No. 6656 
 
 
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Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective from passage) Not later than October 1, 2023, 186 
the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall offer appointments for the 187 
on-the-road skills test portion of the examination for a motor vehicle 188 
operator's license at drivers' schools, licensed in accordance with the 189 
provisions of section 14-69 of the general statutes. The on-the-road 190 
skills test shall be administered by a motor vehicle inspector agent or 191 
an agent of the commissioner and shall be made available to all 192 
students of such schools who are otherwise eligible to take such test. 193 
Sec. 3. (Effective from passage) On or before February 1, 2024, the 194 
Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall submit a report, in accordance 195 
with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint 196 
standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 197 
matters relating to transportation, regarding the status of entering into 198 
an agreement with Taiwan for the reciprocal recognition of driver 199 
training requirements. 200 
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following 
sections: 
 
Section 1 October 1, 2023 14-36(d) and (e) 
Sec. 2 from passage New section 
Sec. 3 from passage New section 
 
TRA Joint Favorable Subst.