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Connecticut House Bill HB05448

Connecticut 2024 Regular Session

Connecticut House Bill HB05448 Compare Versions

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55 General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 5448
66 February Session, 2024
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1111 AN ACT CONCERNING SECURITY OF CERTAIN ELECTION
12-WORKERS.
12+WORKERS AND ELECTIONS -RELATED LOCATIONS.
1313 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
1414 Assembly convened:
1515
1616 Section 1. Section 1-217 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
1717 following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2024): 2
1818 (a) No public agency may disclose, under the Freedom of Information 3
1919 Act, from its personnel, medical or similar files, the residential address 4
2020 of any of the following persons employed by such public agency: 5
2121 (1) A federal court judge, federal court magistrate, judge of the 6
2222 Superior Court, Appellate Court or Supreme Court of the state, or 7
2323 family support magistrate; 8
2424 (2) A sworn member of a municipal police department, a sworn 9
2525 member of the Division of State Police within the Department of 10
2626 Emergency Services and Public Protection or a sworn law enforcement 11
2727 officer within the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection; 12
2828 (3) An employee of the Department of Correction; 13
2929 (4) An attorney-at-law who represents or has represented the state in 14
3030 a criminal prosecution; 15
3131 (5) An attorney-at-law who is or has been employed by the Division 16 Substitute Bill No. 5448
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3636 of Public Defender Services or a social worker who is employed by the 17
3737 Division of Public Defender Services; 18
3838 (6) An inspector employed by the Division of Criminal Justice; 19
3939 (7) A firefighter; 20
4040 (8) An employee of the Department of Children and Families; 21
4141 (9) A member or employee of the Board of Pardons and Paroles; 22
4242 (10) An employee of the judicial branch; 23
4343 (11) An employee of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction 24
4444 Services who provides direct care to patients; 25
4545 (12) A member or employee of the Commission on Human Rights 26
4646 and Opportunities; or 27
4747 (13) A state marshal appointed by the State Marshal Commission 28
4848 pursuant to section 6-38b. 29
4949 (b) The business address of any person described in this section shall 30
5050 be subject to disclosure under section 1-210. The provisions of this 31
5151 section shall not apply to Department of Motor Vehicles records 32
5252 described in section 14-10. 33
5353 (c) (1) Except as provided in subsections (a) and [(d)] (e) of this 34
5454 section, no public agency may disclose the residential address of any 35
5555 person listed in subsection (a) of this section from any record described 36
5656 in subdivision (2) of this subsection that is requested in accordance with 37
5757 the provisions of said subdivision, regardless of whether such person is 38
5858 an employee of the public agency, provided such person has (A) 39
5959 submitted a written request for the nondisclosure of the person's 40
6060 residential address to the public agency, and (B) furnished his or her 41
6161 business address to the public agency. 42
6262 (2) Any public agency that receives a request for a record subject to 43
6363 disclosure under this chapter where such request (A) specifically names 44 Substitute Bill No. 5448
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6868 a person who has requested that his or her address be kept confidential 45
6969 under subdivision (1) of this subsection, shall make a copy of the record 46
7070 requested to be disclosed and shall redact the copy to remove such 47
7171 person's residential address prior to disclosing such record, (B) is for an 48
7272 existing list that is derived from a readily accessible electronic database, 49
7373 shall make a reasonable effort to redact the residential address of any 50
7474 person who has requested that his or her address be kept confidential 51
7575 under subdivision (1) of this subsection prior to the release of such list, 52
7676 or (C) is for any list that the public agency voluntarily creates in 53
7777 response to a request for disclosure, shall make a reasonable effort to 54
7878 redact the residential address of any person who has requested that his 55
7979 or her address be kept confidential under subdivision (1) of this 56
8080 subsection prior to the release of such list. 57
8181 (3) Except as provided in subsection (a) of this section, an agency shall 58
8282 not be prohibited from disclosing the residential address of any person 59
8383 listed in subsection (a) of this section from any record other than the 60
8484 records described in subparagraphs (A) to (C), inclusive, of subdivision 61
8585 (2) of this subsection. 62
8686 (d) (1) Except as provided in subsections (a) and (e) of this section and 63
8787 subject to the provisions of subdivisions (2) and (3) of this subsection, 64
8888 no public agency of a municipality may disclose, under the Freedom of 65
8989 Information Act, from a public record, including any record described 66
9090 in subdivision (2) of subsection (c) of this section, the residential address 67
9191 of any person who is a municipal clerk, registrar of voters, deputy 68
9292 registrar of voters, election official described in section 9-258, primary 69
9393 official described in section 9-436 or audit official described in section 9-70
9494 320f, regardless of whether such person is an employee of the public 71
9595 agency, provided such person has (A) submitted a written request for 72
9696 the nondisclosure of the person's residential address to the public 73
9797 agency, and (B) furnished (i) his or her business address to the public 74
9898 agency, or (ii) if such person does not have a business address, the 75
9999 address of the town or city hall or the municipal building in which the 76
100100 office of the registrars of voters of such municipality is located. 77 Substitute Bill No. 5448
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105105 (2) (A) If a person submits a written request described in subdivision 78
106106 (1) of this subsection prior to the ninetieth day preceding an election, the 79
107107 prohibition in said subdivision against disclosing such person's 80
108108 residential address shall take effect on the ninetieth day preceding such 81
109109 election and shall expire on the ninetieth day following such election. 82
110110 (B) If a person submits a written request described in subdivision (1) 83
111111 of this subsection on or after the ninetieth day preceding an election, the 84
112112 prohibition in said subdivision against disclosing such person's 85
113113 residential address shall take effect upon such submission and shall 86
114114 expire on the ninetieth day following such election. 87
115115 (3) The provisions of this subsection shall not be construed to prohibit 88
116116 the disclosure of the residential address of any person described in 89
117117 subdivision (1) of this subsection in the case where such residential 90
118118 address appears on a public record by virtue of such person holding any 91
119119 elective or appointive state or municipal office other than municipal 92
120120 clerk, registrar of voters or deputy registrar of voters. 93
121121 [(d)] (e) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to 94
122122 prohibit the disclosure without redaction of any document, as defined 95
123123 in section 7-35bb, any list prepared under title 9, or any list published 96
124124 under section 12-55. 97
125125 [(e)] (f) No public agency or public official or employee of a public 98
126126 agency shall be penalized for violating a provision of this section, unless 99
127127 such violation is wilful and knowing. Any complaint of such a violation 100
128128 shall be made to the Freedom of Information Commission. Upon receipt 101
129129 of such a complaint, the commission shall serve upon the public agency, 102
130130 official or employee, as the case may be, by certified or registered mail, 103
131131 a copy of the complaint. The commission shall provide the public 104
132132 agency, official or employee with an opportunity to be heard at a 105
133133 hearing conducted in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, 106
134134 unless the commission, upon motion of the public agency, official or 107
135135 employee or upon motion of the commission, dismisses the complaint 108
136136 without a hearing if it finds, after examining the complaint and 109 Substitute Bill No. 5448
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141141 construing all allegations most favorably to the complainant, that the 110
142142 public agency, official or employee has not wilfully and knowingly 111
143143 violated a provision of this section. If the commission finds that the 112
144144 public agency, official or employee wilfully and knowingly violated a 113
145145 provision of this section, the commission may impose against such 114
146146 public agency, official or employee a civil penalty of not less than twenty 115
147147 dollars nor more than one thousand dollars. Nothing in this section shall 116
148148 be construed to allow a private right of action against a public agency, 117
149149 public official or employee of a public agency. 118
150-Sec. 2. Section 9-364a of the general statutes is repealed and the 119
151-following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2024): 120
152-(a) As used in this section, "election worker" means any municipal 121
153-clerk, registrar of voters, deputy registrar of voters, election official 122
154-described in section 9-258, primary official described in section 9-436 or 123
155-recanvass official described in section 9-311, and "personal identifying 124
156-information" has the same meaning as provided in section 53a-129a. 125
157-(b) Any person who influences or attempts to influence by force or 126
158-threat the vote, or by force, threat, bribery or corrupt means, the speech, 127
159-of any other person [in] at a primary, caucus, referendum, convention 128
160-or election; [or] any person who influences or attempts to influence by 129
161-force, threat or harassment any election worker in the performance of 130
162-any duty under the provisions of this title related to election 131
163-administration at a primary, referendum, election or recanvass; any 132
164-person who wilfully and fraudulently suppresses or destroys any vote 133
165-or ballot properly given or cast or, in counting such votes or ballots, 134
166-wilfully miscounts or misrepresents the number thereof; and any 135
167-presiding or other officer of a primary, caucus or convention who 136
168-wilfully announces the result of a ballot or vote of such primary, caucus 137
169-or convention, untruly and wrongfully, shall be guilty of a class C 138
170-felony. 139
171-(c) Any person who, with intent to harass, terrorize or alarm any 140
172-election worker, or to influence any election worker in the performance 141 Substitute Bill No. 5448
150+Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2024) (a) A person is guilty of 119
151+possession of a weapon near an elections site when, knowing that such 120
152+person is not permitted by law to do so, such person possesses a firearm 121
153+or deadly weapon, as such terms are defined in section 53a-3 of the 122
154+general statutes, within two hundred fifty feet of any (1) polling place 123
155+on the day of an election, primary or referendum, (2) location designated 124
156+for the conduct of early voting during the period of early voting at an 125
157+election or primary, (3) location designated for same-day election 126
158+registration on the day of a regular election, (4) central location 127
159+designated for the counting of absentee ballots, early voting ballots or 128
160+same-day election registration ballots at an election, primary or 129
161+referendum, as applicable, (5) place where a recanvass is being 130
162+conducted, or (6) drop box designated for the deposit of absentee ballots 131
163+during the period beginning on the first day of issuance of absentee 132
164+voting sets and ending at the close of the polls at an election, primary or 133
165+referendum. 134
166+(b) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to 135
167+the otherwise lawful possession of a firearm: 136
168+(1) On private property that is not part of any elections site described 137
169+in subdivisions (1) to (6), inclusive, of subsection (a) of this section; 138
170+(2) That is (A) not loaded, and (B) in a locked container, or a locked 139
171+firearms rack, that is on a motor vehicle; 140
172+(3) In the case of any elections site described in subdivisions (1) to (6), 141 Substitute Bill No. 5448
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177-of any duty under this title related to election administration at a 142
178-primary, referendum, election or recanvass, publicly discloses the 143
179-personal identifying information of such election worker shall be guilty 144
180-of a class A misdemeanor; 145
181-(d) Any election worker described in subsection (b) or (c) of this 146
182-section, as applicable, shall have a civil cause of action against the 147
183-person who, with respect to such election worker, violated said 148
184-subsection. 149
177+inclusive, of subsection (a) of this section that is in or on the real property 142
178+comprising a public or private elementary or secondary school, by a 143
179+person (A) for use in a program approved by school officials in or on 144
180+such school property, (B) in accordance with an agreement entered into 145
181+between school officials and such person or such person's employer, or 146
182+(C) while traversing such school property for the purpose of gaining 147
183+access to public or private lands open to hunting or for other lawful 148
184+purposes, provided such firearm is not loaded and the entry on such 149
185+school property is permitted by the local or regional board of education; 150
186+(4) By a peace officer, as defined in subdivision (9) of section 53a-3 of 151
187+the general statutes, while engaged in the performance of such peace 152
188+officer's official duties; and 153
189+(5) By a person passing within two hundred fifty feet of an elections 154
190+site described in subdivisions (1) to (6), inclusive, of subsection (a) of 155
191+this section only for as long as necessary to be within such two hundred 156
192+fifty feet while on the way to a place or location other than such elections 157
193+site. 158
194+(c) Possession of a weapon near an elections site is a class D felony. 159
195+Sec. 3. Section 9-364a of the general statutes is repealed and the 160
196+following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2024): 161
197+(a) As used in this section, "election worker" means any municipal 162
198+clerk, registrar of voters, deputy registrar of voters, election official 163
199+described in section 9-258, primary official described in section 9-436 or 164
200+recanvass official described in section 9-311, and "personal identifying 165
201+information" has the same meaning as provided in section 53a-129a. 166
202+(b) Any person who influences or attempts to influence by force or 167
203+threat the vote, or by force, threat, bribery or corrupt means, the speech, 168
204+of any other person [in] at a primary, caucus, referendum, convention 169
205+or election; [or] any person who influences or attempts to influence by 170
206+force, threat or harassment any election worker in the performance of 171
207+any duty under the provisions of this title related to election 172 Substitute Bill No. 5448
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212+administration at a primary, referendum, election or recanvass; any 173
213+person who wilfully and fraudulently suppresses or destroys any vote 174
214+or ballot properly given or cast or, in counting such votes or ballots, 175
215+wilfully miscounts or misrepresents the number thereof; and any 176
216+presiding or other officer of a primary, caucus or convention who 177
217+wilfully announces the result of a ballot or vote of such primary, caucus 178
218+or convention, untruly and wrongfully, shall be guilty of a class C 179
219+felony. 180
220+(c) Any person who, with intent to harass, terrorize or alarm any 181
221+election worker, or to influence any election worker in the performance 182
222+of any duty under this title related to election administration at a 183
223+primary, referendum, election or recanvass, publicly discloses the 184
224+personal identifying information of such election worker shall be guilty 185
225+of a class A misdemeanor; 186
226+(d) Any election worker described in subsection (b) or (c) of this 187
227+section, as applicable, shall have a civil cause of action against the 188
228+person who, with respect to such election worker, violated said 189
229+subsection. 190
185230 This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
186231 sections:
187232
188233 Section 1 July 1, 2024 1-217
189-Sec. 2 July 1, 2024 9-364a
234+Sec. 2 July 1, 2024 New section
235+Sec. 3 July 1, 2024 9-364a
190236
191-JUD Joint Favorable Subst.
237+Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
238+In Section 2(a), "as defined in" was changed to "as such terms are defined
239+in" for clarity, and "early voting prior to an election" was changed to
240+"early voting at an election" in Subdiv. (2) for consistency; and in Section
241+2(b)(1), (3) and (5), "subdivisions (1) to (6), inclusive, of" was added for
242+clarity.
243+
244+GAE Joint Favorable Subst.
192245