Substitute Senate Bill No. 343
Public Act No. 24-71
AN ACT CONCERNING MEMBERSHIP OF THE CODES AND
STANDARDS COMMITTEE AND BATTERY -CHARGED SECURITY
FENCES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 29-251 of the general statutes is repealed and the
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
There shall be within the Department of Administrative Services a
Codes and Standards Committee whose duty it shall be to work with
the State Building Inspector in the enforcement of this part and the State
Fire Marshal in the enforcement of part II of this chapter as set forth
[herein] in this section. The committee shall be composed of [twenty-
one] twenty-three members, residents of the state, appointed by the
Commissioner of Administrative Services as follows: (1) Two shall be
architects licensed in the state of Connecticut; (2) three shall be
professional engineers licensed in the state of Connecticut, two of whom
shall practice either structural, mechanical or electrical engineering but
in no event shall both of such members represent the same specialty,
and one of whom shall be a practicing fire protection engineer or
mechanical engineer with extensive experience in fire protection; (3)
[two] four shall be builders, remodelers or superintendents of
construction, one of whom shall have expertise in single-family Substitute Senate Bill No. 343
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detached residential construction, [and] one of whom shall have
expertise in [nonresidential] multifamily residential construction, one of
whom shall have expertise in residential remodeling and one of whom
shall have expertise in commercial construction; (4) one shall be a public
health official; (5) two shall be building officials; (6) two shall be local
fire marshals; (7) one shall be a Connecticut member of a national
building trades labor organization; (8) one shall have expertise in
matters relating to energy efficiency; (9) four shall be public members,
one of whom shall have expertise in matters relating to accessibility and
use of facilities by persons with physical disabilities; (10) one shall be a
contractor licensed to perform electrical work or a member of a state-
wide electrical trades labor organization; (11) one shall be a contractor
licensed to perform plumbing and piping work or a member of a state-
wide plumbing trades labor organization; and (12) one shall be a
contractor licensed to perform heating, piping and cooling work or a
member of a state-wide heating and cooling trades labor organization.
Each member, other than the public members, shall have had not less
than ten years' practical experience in such member's profession or
business. The committee shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the
provisions of chapter 54, governing the procedure of the committee.
Members who fail to attend three consecutive meetings or fifty per cent
of all meetings during a calendar year shall be deemed to have resigned.
The committee may, within the limits of appropriations provided
therefor, employ such assistants as may be necessary to conduct its
business.
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) For purposes of this section,
"battery-charged security fence" means an alarm system and ancillary
components, or equipment attached to such system, including, but not
limited to, a fence, an energizer, cameras and a battery-charging device
used exclusively to charge the battery that:
(1) Interfaces with a monitored alarm device in a manner that enables Substitute Senate Bill No. 343
Public Act No. 24-71 3 of 4
the alarm system to transmit a signal intended to summon the owner of
the business protected by such fence or a law enforcement officer in
response to an intrusion or burglary;
(2) Is located on property that is not zoned by a municipality
exclusively for residential use;
(3) Has an energizer that is powered by a commercial storage battery
that is not more than twelve volts of direct current and meets the
standard set forth in International Electrotechnical Commission
Standard 60335-2-76;
(4) Is behind and interior to a nonelectric fence, wall or barrier that is
not less than five feet in height;
(5) Is the higher of ten feet in height, or at least two feet higher than
the nonelectric fence described in subdivision (4) of this subsection; and
(6) Is marked with conspicuous warning signs that are located on
such battery-charged security fence at no more than thirty-foot
intervals, and such signs state: "WARNING—ELECTRIC FENCE".
(b) Notwithstanding any general statute, special act, local law,
ordinance or charter, a municipality shall not adopt or enforce an
ordinance, order or regulation that:
(1) Requires a permit or fee to install or use a battery-charged security
fence that is in addition to an alarm system permit, and no permit or fee
other than for an alarm system shall be required for such a fence;
(2) Imposes installation or operational requirements for a battery-
charged security fence that are inconsistent with those described in
subdivisions (1) to (6), inclusive, of subsection (a) of this section; or
(3) Prohibits the installation or use of a battery-charged security
fence. Substitute Senate Bill No. 343
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