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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 439
February Session, 2024
LCO No. 2978
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
AN ACT CONCERNING COMPENSATION FOR PERSONS WHO ARE
WRONGFULLY INCARCERATED.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 54-102uu of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage and 2
applicable to claims filed on or after the effective date of this section): 3
(a) A person is eligible to receive compensation for wrongful 4
incarceration if: 5
(1) Such person has been convicted by this state of one or more crimes 6
and has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment for such crime or 7
crimes and has served all or part of such sentence; and 8
(2) Such person's conviction was vacated or reversed and (A) the 9
complaint or information dismissed on grounds of innocence or 10
grounds consistent with innocence, or (B) the complaint or information 11
dismissed on a ground citing an act or omission that constitutes 12
malfeasance or other serious misconduct by any officer, agent, 13
employee or official of the state that contributed to such person's arrest, 14 Raised Bill No. 439
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prosecution, conviction or incarceration. 15
(b) A person who meets the eligibility requirements of subsection (a) 16
of this section may present a claim against the state for such 17
compensation with the Claims Commissioner in accordance with the 18
provisions of chapter 53. The provisions of said chapter shall be 19
applicable to the presentment, hearing and determination of such claim 20
except as otherwise provided in this section. 21
(c) At the hearing on such claim, such person shall have the burden 22
of establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that such person 23
meets the eligibility requirements of subsection (a) of this section. In 24
addition, such person shall present evidence as to (1) the person's age, 25
income, vocational training and level of education at the time of 26
conviction, (2) loss of familial relationships, (3) damage to reputation, 27
(4) the severity of the crime for which such person was convicted and 28
whether such person was under a sentence of death pursuant to section 29
53a-46a for any period of time, (5) whether such person was required to 30
register pursuant to section 54-251 or 54-252, and for what length of time 31
such person complied with the registration requirements of chapter 969, 32
and (6) any other damages such person may have suffered arising from 33
or related to such person's arrest, prosecution, conviction and 34
incarceration. The Claims Commissioner shall make a determination as 35
to eligibility not later than ninety days after such hearing. 36
(d) (1) If the Claims Commissioner determines that such person has 37
established such person's eligibility under subsection (a) of this section 38
by a preponderance of the evidence, the Claims Commissioner shall 39
order the immediate payment to such person of compensation for such 40
wrongful incarceration in an amount determined pursuant to 41
subdivision (2) of this subsection, unless (A) such compensation award 42
is in an amount exceeding twenty thousand dollars, or (B) such person 43
requests, in accordance with section 4-158, that the General Assembly 44
review such compensation award, in which cases the Claims 45
Commissioner shall submit any such claim to the General Assembly in 46
the same manner as provided under section 4-159, not later than five 47 Raised Bill No. 439
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business days after such award determination is made or such review is 48
requested. The General Assembly shall review any such compensation 49
award and the claim from which it arose not later than forty-five days 50
after such claim is submitted to the General Assembly and may deny 51
such claim or confirm or modify such compensation award. If the 52
General Assembly modifies the amount of the compensation award, the 53
General Assembly may award any amount of compensation the General 54
Assembly deems just and reasonable. If the General Assembly takes no 55
action on such compensation award or the claim from which it arose, 56
the determination made by the Claims Commissioner shall be deemed 57
confirmed. 58
(2) In determining the amount of such compensation, the Claims 59
Commissioner shall award an amount that is at a minimum, but may be 60
up to two hundred per cent of the median [household] family income 61
for the state for each year such person was incarcerated, as determined 62
by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, 63
adjusted for inflation using the consumer price index for urban 64
consumers, provided the amount for any partial year shall be prorated 65
in order to compensate only for the portion of such year in which such 66
person was incarcerated. The Claims Commissioner may decrease or 67
further the award amount by twenty-five per cent based on an 68
assessment of relevant factors including, but not limited to, the evidence 69
presented by the person under subdivisions (1) to (6), inclusive, of 70
subsection (c) of this section. 71
(e) In addition to the compensation paid under subsection (d) of this 72
section, the Claims Commissioner may order [payment for the expenses 73
of employment training and counseling, tuition and fees at any 74
constituent unit of the state system of higher education and any other 75
services such person may need to facilitate such person's reintegration 76
into the community] such person receive services to facilitate such 77
person's reintegration into the community, including: (1) Housing, 78
which may include authorizing the prioritization of such person under 79
the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program, 42 USC 1437f(o), (2) 80
secondary or higher education or reimbursement for any tuition paid 81 Raised Bill No. 439
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for the education of such person and any biological children that were 82
conceived prior to such person's incarceration for the wrongful 83
conviction at any constituent unit of the state's system of higher 84
education, including any assistance needed to meet the criteria required 85
for admission, (3) vocational training, (4) transportation, (5) assistance 86
in obtaining government identification documentation, (6) mental, 87
physical and dental health care through the state employees' health care 88
system for the duration of such person's life, (7) compensation for any 89
child support payments owed by such person that came due and 90
interest on child support that accrued during the time served in prison 91
as well as reasonable attorney's fees where legal proceedings are 92
required to remedy outstanding obligations resulting from an order to 93
pay child support, and (8) any other services that the Claims 94
Commissioner may deem appropriate. 95
(f) Any person claiming compensation under this section based on a 96
pardon that was granted or the dismissal of a complaint or information 97
that occurred before October 1, 2008, shall file such claim not later than 98
two years after October 1, 2008. Any person claiming compensation 99
under this section based on a pardon that was granted or the dismissal 100
of a complaint that occurred on or after October 1, 2008, shall file such 101
claim not later than two years after the date of such pardon or dismissal. 102
[(g) Any person who is compensated pursuant to this section shall 103
sign a release providing that such person voluntarily relinquishes any 104
right to pursue any other action or remedy at law or in equity that such 105
person may have arising out of such wrongful conviction and 106
incarceration.] 107
(g) Any future damages awarded to the claimant resulting from an 108
action by the claimant against any unit of government within this state 109
by reason of the same subject of the claim shall be offset by the damage 110
award received under this section. 111
(h) If a person who is deceased would be entitled to compensation 112
under this section if such person were living, including a person whose 113 Raised Bill No. 439
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conviction was vacated or reversed posthumously, the person's estate is 114
entitled to compensation under this section, provided such person's 115
claim was presented to the Claims Commissioner prior to such person's 116
death. 117
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage and
applicable to claims filed on
or after the effective date of
this section
54-102uu
Statement of Purpose:
To permit a person whose conviction is vacated or reversed on grounds
consistent with innocence to seek compensation for being wrongfully
incarcerated, require the Claims Commissioner to determine eligibility
within ninety days of a hearing on a wrongful incarceration claim,
change "median household income" to "median family income" within
the formula for determining compensation, permit compensation in the
form of an array of services designed to assist in reintegration of the
claimant, remove the bar against further legal action arising from such
claim for any person awarded compensation and provide for an offset
of the award amount from any future damages awarded and allow an
award of compensation to the estate of a claimant who has died since
filing a claim.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]