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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 5448
February Session, 2024
AN ACT CONCERNING SECURITY OF CERTAIN ELECTION
WORKERS AND ELECTIONS -RELATED LOCATIONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 1-217 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2024): 2
(a) No public agency may disclose, under the Freedom of Information 3
Act, from its personnel, medical or similar files, the residential address 4
of any of the following persons employed by such public agency: 5
(1) A federal court judge, federal court magistrate, judge of the 6
Superior Court, Appellate Court or Supreme Court of the state, or 7
family support magistrate; 8
(2) A sworn member of a municipal police department, a sworn 9
member of the Division of State Police within the Department of 10
Emergency Services and Public Protection or a sworn law enforcement 11
officer within the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection; 12
(3) An employee of the Department of Correction; 13
(4) An attorney-at-law who represents or has represented the state in 14
a criminal prosecution; 15
(5) An attorney-at-law who is or has been employed by the Division 16 Substitute Bill No. 5448
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of Public Defender Services or a social worker who is employed by the 17
Division of Public Defender Services; 18
(6) An inspector employed by the Division of Criminal Justice; 19
(7) A firefighter; 20
(8) An employee of the Department of Children and Families; 21
(9) A member or employee of the Board of Pardons and Paroles; 22
(10) An employee of the judicial branch; 23
(11) An employee of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction 24
Services who provides direct care to patients; 25
(12) A member or employee of the Commission on Human Rights 26
and Opportunities; or 27
(13) A state marshal appointed by the State Marshal Commission 28
pursuant to section 6-38b. 29
(b) The business address of any person described in this section shall 30
be subject to disclosure under section 1-210. The provisions of this 31
section shall not apply to Department of Motor Vehicles records 32
described in section 14-10. 33
(c) (1) Except as provided in subsections (a) and [(d)] (e) of this 34
section, no public agency may disclose the residential address of any 35
person listed in subsection (a) of this section from any record described 36
in subdivision (2) of this subsection that is requested in accordance with 37
the provisions of said subdivision, regardless of whether such person is 38
an employee of the public agency, provided such person has (A) 39
submitted a written request for the nondisclosure of the person's 40
residential address to the public agency, and (B) furnished his or her 41
business address to the public agency. 42
(2) Any public agency that receives a request for a record subject to 43
disclosure under this chapter where such request (A) specifically names 44 Substitute Bill No. 5448
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a person who has requested that his or her address be kept confidential 45
under subdivision (1) of this subsection, shall make a copy of the record 46
requested to be disclosed and shall redact the copy to remove such 47
person's residential address prior to disclosing such record, (B) is for an 48
existing list that is derived from a readily accessible electronic database, 49
shall make a reasonable effort to redact the residential address of any 50
person who has requested that his or her address be kept confidential 51
under subdivision (1) of this subsection prior to the release of such list, 52
or (C) is for any list that the public agency voluntarily creates in 53
response to a request for disclosure, shall make a reasonable effort to 54
redact the residential address of any person who has requested that his 55
or her address be kept confidential under subdivision (1) of this 56
subsection prior to the release of such list. 57
(3) Except as provided in subsection (a) of this section, an agency shall 58
not be prohibited from disclosing the residential address of any person 59
listed in subsection (a) of this section from any record other than the 60
records described in subparagraphs (A) to (C), inclusive, of subdivision 61
(2) of this subsection. 62
(d) (1) Except as provided in subsections (a) and (e) of this section and 63
subject to the provisions of subdivisions (2) and (3) of this subsection, 64
no public agency of a municipality may disclose, under the Freedom of 65
Information Act, from a public record, including any record described 66
in subdivision (2) of subsection (c) of this section, the residential address 67
of any person who is a municipal clerk, registrar of voters, deputy 68
registrar of voters, election official described in section 9-258, primary 69
official described in section 9-436 or audit official described in section 9-70
320f, regardless of whether such person is an employee of the public 71
agency, provided such person has (A) submitted a written request for 72
the nondisclosure of the person's residential address to the public 73
agency, and (B) furnished (i) his or her business address to the public 74
agency, or (ii) if such person does not have a business address, the 75
address of the town or city hall or the municipal building in which the 76
office of the registrars of voters of such municipality is located. 77 Substitute Bill No. 5448
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(2) (A) If a person submits a written request described in subdivision 78
(1) of this subsection prior to the ninetieth day preceding an election, the 79
prohibition in said subdivision against disclosing such person's 80
residential address shall take effect on the ninetieth day preceding such 81
election and shall expire on the ninetieth day following such election. 82
(B) If a person submits a written request described in subdivision (1) 83
of this subsection on or after the ninetieth day preceding an election, the 84
prohibition in said subdivision against disclosing such person's 85
residential address shall take effect upon such submission and shall 86
expire on the ninetieth day following such election. 87
(3) The provisions of this subsection shall not be construed to prohibit 88
the disclosure of the residential address of any person described in 89
subdivision (1) of this subsection in the case where such residential 90
address appears on a public record by virtue of such person holding any 91
elective or appointive state or municipal office other than municipal 92
clerk, registrar of voters or deputy registrar of voters. 93
[(d)] (e) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to 94
prohibit the disclosure without redaction of any document, as defined 95
in section 7-35bb, any list prepared under title 9, or any list published 96
under section 12-55. 97
[(e)] (f) No public agency or public official or employee of a public 98
agency shall be penalized for violating a provision of this section, unless 99
such violation is wilful and knowing. Any complaint of such a violation 100
shall be made to the Freedom of Information Commission. Upon receipt 101
of such a complaint, the commission shall serve upon the public agency, 102
official or employee, as the case may be, by certified or registered mail, 103
a copy of the complaint. The commission shall provide the public 104
agency, official or employee with an opportunity to be heard at a 105
hearing conducted in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, 106
unless the commission, upon motion of the public agency, official or 107
employee or upon motion of the commission, dismisses the complaint 108
without a hearing if it finds, after examining the complaint and 109 Substitute Bill No. 5448
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construing all allegations most favorably to the complainant, that the 110
public agency, official or employee has not wilfully and knowingly 111
violated a provision of this section. If the commission finds that the 112
public agency, official or employee wilfully and knowingly violated a 113
provision of this section, the commission may impose against such 114
public agency, official or employee a civil penalty of not less than twenty 115
dollars nor more than one thousand dollars. Nothing in this section shall 116
be construed to allow a private right of action against a public agency, 117
public official or employee of a public agency. 118
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2024) (a) A person is guilty of 119
possession of a weapon near an elections site when, knowing that such 120
person is not permitted by law to do so, such person possesses a firearm 121
or deadly weapon, as such terms are defined in section 53a-3 of the 122
general statutes, within two hundred fifty feet of any (1) polling place 123
on the day of an election, primary or referendum, (2) location designated 124
for the conduct of early voting during the period of early voting at an 125
election or primary, (3) location designated for same-day election 126
registration on the day of a regular election, (4) central location 127
designated for the counting of absentee ballots, early voting ballots or 128
same-day election registration ballots at an election, primary or 129
referendum, as applicable, (5) place where a recanvass is being 130
conducted, or (6) drop box designated for the deposit of absentee ballots 131
during the period beginning on the first day of issuance of absentee 132
voting sets and ending at the close of the polls at an election, primary or 133
referendum. 134
(b) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to 135
the otherwise lawful possession of a firearm: 136
(1) On private property that is not part of any elections site described 137
in subdivisions (1) to (6), inclusive, of subsection (a) of this section; 138
(2) That is (A) not loaded, and (B) in a locked container, or a locked 139
firearms rack, that is on a motor vehicle; 140
(3) In the case of any elections site described in subdivisions (1) to (6), 141 Substitute Bill No. 5448
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inclusive, of subsection (a) of this section that is in or on the real property 142
comprising a public or private elementary or secondary school, by a 143
person (A) for use in a program approved by school officials in or on 144
such school property, (B) in accordance with an agreement entered into 145
between school officials and such person or such person's employer, or 146
(C) while traversing such school property for the purpose of gaining 147
access to public or private lands open to hunting or for other lawful 148
purposes, provided such firearm is not loaded and the entry on such 149
school property is permitted by the local or regional board of education; 150
(4) By a peace officer, as defined in subdivision (9) of section 53a-3 of 151
the general statutes, while engaged in the performance of such peace 152
officer's official duties; and 153
(5) By a person passing within two hundred fifty feet of an elections 154
site described in subdivisions (1) to (6), inclusive, of subsection (a) of 155
this section only for as long as necessary to be within such two hundred 156
fifty feet while on the way to a place or location other than such elections 157
site. 158
(c) Possession of a weapon near an elections site is a class D felony. 159
Sec. 3. Section 9-364a of the general statutes is repealed and the 160
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2024): 161
(a) As used in this section, "election worker" means any municipal 162
clerk, registrar of voters, deputy registrar of voters, election official 163
described in section 9-258, primary official described in section 9-436 or 164
recanvass official described in section 9-311, and "personal identifying 165
information" has the same meaning as provided in section 53a-129a. 166
(b) Any person who influences or attempts to influence by force or 167
threat the vote, or by force, threat, bribery or corrupt means, the speech, 168
of any other person [in] at a primary, caucus, referendum, convention 169
or election; [or] any person who influences or attempts to influence by 170
force, threat or harassment any election worker in the performance of 171
any duty under the provisions of this title related to election 172 Substitute Bill No. 5448
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administration at a primary, referendum, election or recanvass; any 173
person who wilfully and fraudulently suppresses or destroys any vote 174
or ballot properly given or cast or, in counting such votes or ballots, 175
wilfully miscounts or misrepresents the number thereof; and any 176
presiding or other officer of a primary, caucus or convention who 177
wilfully announces the result of a ballot or vote of such primary, caucus 178
or convention, untruly and wrongfully, shall be guilty of a class C 179
felony. 180
(c) Any person who, with intent to harass, terrorize or alarm any 181
election worker, or to influence any election worker in the performance 182
of any duty under this title related to election administration at a 183
primary, referendum, election or recanvass, publicly discloses the 184
personal identifying information of such election worker shall be guilty 185
of a class A misdemeanor; 186
(d) Any election worker described in subsection (b) or (c) of this 187
section, as applicable, shall have a civil cause of action against the 188
person who, with respect to such election worker, violated said 189
subsection. 190
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2024 1-217
Sec. 2 July 1, 2024 New section
Sec. 3 July 1, 2024 9-364a
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 2(a), "as defined in" was changed to "as such terms are defined
in" for clarity, and "early voting prior to an election" was changed to
"early voting at an election" in Subdiv. (2) for consistency; and in Section
2(b)(1), (3) and (5), "subdivisions (1) to (6), inclusive, of" was added for
clarity.
GAE Joint Favorable Subst.