Researcher: ND Page 1 3/16/23
OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 901
AN ACT CONCERNING A REGISTRY OF PERSONS CONVICTED OF
FINANCIAL CRIMES AGAINST ELDERLY PERSONS.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Department of Emergency Services and Public
Protection (DESPP), by July 1, 2024, to establish and maintain a registry
of individuals convicted, or found not guilty by reason of mental disease
or defect, of specified financial crimes against seniors ages 60 and older.
Individuals must register with DESPP starting July 1, 2024, if they are
released into the community on or after that date, regardless of whether
they reside within or outside of Connecticut. Registrants must (1)
submit their name, identifying factors, criminal history record, home
address, and email address and (2) maintain their registration for five
years.
The bill establishes related registration, recordkeeping, and
information sharing requirements. Under the bill, registry information
is a public record or file and is subject to Freedom of Information Act
disclosure requirements.
Additionally, starting July 1, 2024, the bill expands the Department
of Public Health’s (DPH) Long-Term Care Background Check Program
to include information from the new financial crimes registry.
Starting August 1, 2024, DPH must include a link on its website that
allows the public to search the background check program by an
individual’s name. Under current law, this program is available only to
long-term care facility employers and specified state agencies.
Lastly, the bill makes technical and conforming changes (§§ 5-7). 2023SB-00901-R000096-BA.DOCX
Researcher: ND Page 2 3/16/23
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
§§ 1-4 — ELDERLY FINANCIAL CRIME REGISTRY
Individuals Required to Register
The bill requires individuals convicted, or found not guilty by reason
of mental disease or defect, of the following crimes against an elderly
person (i.e., seniors ages 60 and older) to register with DESPP:
1. 2nd degree larceny, involving property obtained by
embezzlement, false pretense, or false promise;
2. 1st degree, 2nd degree, or 3rd degree telephone fraud;
3. 1st degree identity theft, if the value of the money, credit,
services, or property exceeds $5,000; or
4. 2nd degree identity theft.
Beginning July 1, 2024, these individuals must register with DESPP if
they are released into the community on or after that date, regardless of
whether they reside within or outside of the state. They must do so
within 14 calendar days after their release or, if they are in Department
of Correction (DOC) custody, at the time before their release that the
department directs.
Registration Forms
The bill requires DESPP, in cooperation with the Office of the Chief
Court Administrator, DOC, and the Psychiatric Security Review Board,
to develop appropriate forms for reporting registration information,
including address changes (see below).
Recordkeeping
Under the bill, DESPP must enter registration information it receives
into the financial crimes registry and notify the local police department
or state police troop with jurisdiction over the registrant’s current or
planned future residence. It must take the same actions when a
registrant relocates within the state, notifying the appropriate
department or troop for both the old and new addresses. 2023SB-00901-R000096-BA.DOCX
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The bill requires the DESPP commissioner to ensure that each
registrant’s name and home address is available through the
Connecticut On-Line Law Enforcement Communication Teleprocessing
system. If a registrant reports a residence in another state, the
department may notify the state police or other agency in that state that
maintains registry information, if it is known.
The bill also requires the DESPP commissioner, within two business
days after entering a new offender into the registry, to send the
information to the DPH commissioner to have it included in a
searchable database as part of DPH’s Long-Term Care Background
Check Program (see § 5 below).
Required Registration Information
Under the bill, the registration information provided by each
registrant must include the following:
1. the registrant’s name, including any other legal names or aliases
that he or she has used;
2. identifying information, including the registrant’s physical
description;
3. the registrant’s current home address and email address;
4. a description of the offense and date of conviction; and
5. the date the registrant was released from incarceration, if the
registrant was sentenced to incarceration with a portion not
suspended.
The registrant must sign and date the registration and DESPP may
require the registrant to provide documentation verifying any of the
above registration information.
The bill also requires DESPP, when someone appears for registering,
to photograph the registrant; arrange for his or her fingerprinting; and
include the photograph and complete fingerprint set in the registry. 2023SB-00901-R000096-BA.DOCX
Researcher: ND Page 4 3/16/23
Registrant Name and Address Changes
The bill requires a registrant who changes his or her name or address
to notify the DESPP commissioner in writing of the new name or
address. The registrant must also (1) complete and return any forms he
or she receives to verify the address and (2) agree to retaking his or her
photograph if the commissioner requests it.
Additionally, if a Superior Court or probate court notifies DESPP that
it ordered a registrant’s name change, the department must
correspondingly revise the person’s registration information.
The commissioner must also develop a protocol to notify other state
agencies, the judicial branch, and the applicable local police department
or state police troop when a registrant notifies DESPP of a name change
or a court reports one.
Registration Suspension
The bill allows DESPP to suspend the registration and withdraw the
information from the registry of an offender who is incarcerated, under
civil commitment, or residing in another state. But the department must
reverse these actions when any of these conditions change. Under the
bill, suspending a registration does not affect its expiration date.
Pleading Guilty or Nolo Contendere
The bill requires the court to inform a person accused of committing
the crimes listed above that accepting a plea of guilty or nolo contendere
will subject them to the bill’s registry requirements. The court must (1)
do this before the person accepts the plea and (2) determine that the
person fully understands the consequences of doing so.
Annual Appearance Requirement
The bill requires registrants, within 20 calendar days after the
anniversary date of their initial registration, to annually appear at the
local police department or state police troop with jurisdiction where
they live to verify their registration information or update it as
appropriate. The law enforcement agency may defer the appearance to
a later date for good cause. 2023SB-00901-R000096-BA.DOCX
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Within 30 days before a registrant’s anniversary date, DESPP must
mail written notice of the personal appearance requirement to the
registrant and the appropriate local law enforcement agency.
The law enforcement agency must then notify th e DESPP
commissioner, within 30 days after the registrant’s anniversary date and
on a form the commissioner may prescribe, about whether (1) the
registrant complied with the appearance requirement or (2) the date was
deferred, along with the new date and the reason for the deferral.
Violations
Under the bill, anyone required to register who violates the financial
crimes registry requirements or fails to notify the DESPP commissioner
within five business days after changing his or her name or address, is
guilty of a class D felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine
of up to $5,000, or both.
§ 5 — DPH LONG-TERM CARE BACKGROUND CHECK PRO GRAM
Program Expansion
By law, DPH administers a background check program for direct care
employees and volunteers of long-term care facilities (i.e., the Long-
Term Care Background Check Program).
Under current law, the program includes (1) state and national
criminal history record checks; (2) a review of DPH’s nurse’s aide
registry; and (3) a review of any other registry DPH specifies. The bill
also requires the program to include a review of information from the
financial crimes registry the bill establishes.
Starting July 1, 2024, DPH must include information from the registry
review in its Long-Term Care Background Check Program (i.e.,
registrants’ names, last-known addresses, and offenses). The bill
correspondingly expands the program’s list of disqualifying offenses
that prohibit someone from being a long-term care facility direct care
employee or volunteer to include the crimes in the bill’s financial crimes
registry.
Public Accessibility 2023SB-00901-R000096-BA.DOCX
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Starting August 1, 2024, the bill requires DPH to have a link on its
website that allows the public to search the program by an individual’s
name. The listing must show the individual’s last known address,
convictions or other disciplinary actions taken, and a general
description of the offenses the individual committed. Under current
law, DPH’s program is available only to long-term care facility
employers and specified state agencies.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Aging Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 11 Nay 4 (02/28/2023)