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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 1118 (File 644, as amended by Senate "A")*
AN ACT CONCERNING A STUDY OF THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE
FAMILY VIOLENCE MODEL POLICY GOVERNING COUNCIL AND
THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OFFENDER PROGRAM STANDARDS
ADVISORY COUNCIL.
SUMMARY
This bill (1) changes the name of the “Family Violence Model Policy
Governing Council” to the “Domestic Violence Criminal Justice
Response and Enhancement Advisory Council”; (2) increases its
membership from 19 to 26 members; and (3) expands the scope of its
purpose and responsibilities, including by incorporating those of the
Domestic Violence Offender Program Standards Advisory Council,
which the bill repeals.
Separately, the bill requires the court, upon the motion of an injured
spouse, to terminate any orders it entered requiring the injured spouse
to make alimony payments if the recipient-spouse is subsequently
convicted of certain crimes against the injured spouse. (It does this by
amending sSB 5, as amended by Senate “A.”)
The bill also deletes obsolete provisions and makes technical and
conforming changes (§§ 2 & 3).
*Senate Amendment “A” replaces the underlying bill, which would
have required the chairpersons of the Family Violence Model Policy
Governing Council and the Domestic Violence Offender Program
Standards Advisory Council to study whether consolidating the
councils would enhance their services.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2023, except the provision on alimony
awards is effective October 1, 2023. 2023SB-01118-R01-BA.DOCX
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§ 1 — DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CR IMINAL JUSTICE RESPONSE AND
ENHANCEMENT ADVISORY COUNCIL
The bill renames the “Family Violence Model Policy Governing
Council” as the “Domestic Violence Criminal Justice Response and
Enhancement Advisory Council” (the “council”), increases its
membership, and broadens the scope of its purpose and responsibilities.
Purpose and Responsibilities
Current law charges the council with:
1. evaluating policies and procedures law enforcement agencies use
when responding to family violence incidents and violations of
restraining and protective orders,
2. reviewing and updating the statewide model law enforcement
policy on family violence, and
3. evaluating the accuracy of data collected by the Department of
Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) and the
judicial branch’s Court Support Services Division (CSSD).
The bill broadens the council’s purpose and responsibilities by,
among other things, requiring it to collect and analyze any additional
data related to domestic violence and the criminal justice response
available from the judicial branch court operations, state’s attorneys,
public defenders, domestic violence advocates, or domestic violence
offender programs.
Additionally, the bill requires the council to evaluate and advise on:
1. the existing domestic violence offender program standards,
including reviewing and updating them as needed;
2. the pretrial family violence education program, including the
program’s eligibility criteria;
3. dedicated domestic violence dockets, including statewide
expansion of the dockets; 2023SB-01118-R01-BA.DOCX
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4. the use of electronic monitoring;
5. risk assessments used in a family violence case from arrest
through adjudication;
6. arrest, prosecution, penalties, and monitoring for violations of
family violence restraining orders or criminal protective orders
issued in family violence cases;
7. processing and execution of arrest warrants for family violence
incidents;
8. monitoring compliance, enforcement, and victim notification of
firearm seizure and surrender in family violence cases;
9. programming offered to individuals convicted of a family
violence crime and currently incarcerated with the Department
of Correction (DOC); and
10. training and education for criminal justice stakeholders,
including law enforcement, judges, and judicial branch staff.
Membership and Appointments
The bill increases the council’s membership from 19 to 26.
Under current law, the council’s 19 members are appointed as
follows:
1. one each by the governor, the Senate president pro tempore,
House speaker, and the Senate and House minority leaders;
2. a domestic violence victim, appointed by the Senate majority
leader;
3. a municipal police officer with experience in domestic violence
training, appointed by the House majority leader;
4. a Police Officer Standards and Training Council (POST)
representative with experience in domestic violence training,
appointed by the chairperson of the council; 2023SB-01118-R01-BA.DOCX
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5. a representative of the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney, the
Chief Public Defender’s Office, and the Office of the Victim
Advocate;
6. a Division of State Police representative with experience in
domestic violence training and a commanding officer in the
Division of State Police, appointed by the DESPP commissioner;
7. a Superior Court judge assigned to hear criminal matters,
appointed by the chief court administrator;
8. a domestic violence victim, a victim advocate with courtroom
experience in domestic violence matters, and a representative of
the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Inc.
(CCADV), each appointed by the CCADV executive director;
9. a representative of legal aid programs in Connecticut, appointed
by the executive director of the Legal Assistance Resource Center
of Connecticut; and
10. a representative of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association,
appointed by the president of the association.
The bill increases the council’s membership to 26 and makes the
following changes to its composition:
1. substitutes the Senate majority leader’s appointment with a
representative of a community-based organization that provides
group counseling or treatment to domestic violence perpetrators;
2. adds the Office of Policy Management secretary, the Board of
Pardons and Paroles chairperson, and the DESPP and DOC
commissioners, or their designees;
3. instead of their representatives, adds the POST chairperson, the
chief public defender, the chief state’s attorney, and the victim
advocate or their designees;
4. increases the chief court administrator’s appointments from one 2023SB-01118-R01-BA.DOCX
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to four by adding (a) a CSSD family relations counselor or
supervisor, (b) a CSSD administrator, and (c) an administrator
from the Office of Victim Services;
5. increases the CCADV executive director’s appointments from
three to four by adding an executive director of a community-
based organization that provides direct services to persons
impacted by domestic violence; and
6. removes the representative of the legal aid programs in
Connecticut.
Under existing law, unchanged by the bill, members serve four-year
terms, may be reappointed, and must continue to serve until successors
are appointed and qualified. By law, legislators may serve as council
members.
Chairperson and Staff
The bill specifies that the council’s chairpersons are responsible for
scheduling its meetings.
Under current law, the Public Safety and Security Committee’s
administrative staff serves as the council’s administrative staff. Under
the bill, the Judiciary Committee’s administrative staff must do so
instead.
Reporting
Under existing law, the council must submit an annual report by
January 15 to the Judiciary and Public Safety and Security committees
on the effectiveness of the existing model law enforcement policy on
family violence and any recommended changes.
The bill expands this report to also include recommendations for any
statutory or policy changes within the council’s purview, including any
recommended updates or amendments to the existing domestic
violence offender program standards.
§ 5 — DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OF FENDER PROGRAM STAND ARDS
ADVISORY COUNCIL REPEALED 2023SB-01118-R01-BA.DOCX
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Under current law, the Domestic Violence Offender Program
Standards Advisory Council is a 16-member council created to
promulgate, review, and update and amend as needed the domestic
violence offender program standards presented to the Criminal Justice
Policy Advisory Committee. Current law also requires the council to
annually report its activities to the Judiciary Committee, including any
updates or amendments to the domestic violence offender program
standards adopted in the previous calendar year.
The bill repeals this advisory council and instead incorporates its
responsibilities into the newly named Domestic Violence Criminal
Justice Response and Enhancement Advisory Council.
§ 4 — ALIMONY AWARDS
Among other things, sSB 5 (as amended by Senate “A”) prohibits the
court from ordering an injured spouse to make temporary or permanent
alimony payments to a spouse who is convicted of any of the following
crimes after the marriage date:
1. criminal attempt or conspiracy to commit murder, murder with
special circumstances, felony murder, or arson murder of the
other spouse;
2. 1st degree sexual assault and 1st degree aggravated sexual
assault of the other spouse;
3. a class A or B felony offense of 2nd degree sexual assault or 3rd
degree sexual assault with a firearm of the other spouse;
4. a class A or B felony family violence crime; or
5. any crime in another state, with essential elements that are
substantially the same as the crimes listed above.
This bill requires the court to terminate any alimony order if the
recipient-spouse is subsequently convicted of any of the above crimes
against the injured spouse. The court must do so upon a motion filed by
the injured spouse to terminate alimony based upon the conviction.
sSB 5 (as amended by Senate “A”) defines an “injured spouse” as the 2023SB-01118-R01-BA.DOCX
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spouse who was the victim of one of the crimes listed above, regardless
of whether physical injury occurred in the commission of the crime.
BACKGROUND
Related Bill
sSB5 (File 552, as amended by Senate “A”), reported favorably by the
Judiciary and Appropriations committees, contains provisions that
prohibit a court from ordering an injured spouse to make temporary or
permanent alimony payments to a spouse who is convicted of certain
crimes after the marriage date.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Judiciary Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 37 Nay 0 (03/31/2023)