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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 5074
January Session, 2025
AN ACT CONCERNING A MOTOR VEHICLE NUMBER PLATE
COMMEMORATING CONNECTICUT WOMEN VETERANS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 14-20b of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 2
(a) (1) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, at the request of any 3
veteran or member of the armed forces or the surviving spouse of such 4
veteran or member, shall register any motor vehicle owned or leased for 5
a period of at least one year by such person and shall issue a special 6
certificate of registration and a set of number plates commemorating 7
such veteran's or member's military service for each such motor vehicle, 8
including a special certificate of registration and a set of number plates 9
for any motor vehicle used exclusively for farming purposes by any 10
such veteran or member of the armed forces, or the surviving spouse of 11
such veteran or member, who is engaged in agricultural production as 12
a trade or business. 13
(2) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, at the request of any woman 14
veteran or woman member of the armed forces, shall register any motor 15
vehicle owned or leased for a period of at least one year by such person 16
and shall issue a special certificate of registration and a set of number 17
plates commemorating such woman veteran's or woman member's 18 Substitute Bill No. 5074
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military service for each such motor vehicle, including a special 19
certificate of registration and a set of number plates for any motor 20
vehicle used exclusively for farming purposes by any such woman 21
veteran or woman member of the armed forces who is engaged in 22
agricultural production as a trade or business. 23
(3) The plates provided for under this subsection shall expire and be 24
renewed as provided in section 14-22. The commissioner shall charge a 25
fee for such plates, which fee shall cover the entire cost of making such 26
plates and shall be in addition to the fee for registration of such motor 27
vehicle. The commissioner shall charge a fee of fifteen dollars to replace 28
such plates that become mutilated or illegible. Any such member of the 29
armed forces who is dishonorably discharged shall return such plates to 30
the commissioner not later than thirty days after such discharge. The 31
commissioner shall not renew such plates for any motor vehicle owned 32
or leased by any such member of the armed forces who is dishonorably 33
discharged. 34
(b) (1) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, at the request of any 35
person who was a member of the Hmong Laotian special guerilla units, 36
which units served in the United States secret war in the Kingdom of 37
Laos during the Vietnam War, or any person who is an eligible former 38
reservist, or the surviving spouse of any such person, and after 39
verification from the Department of Veterans Affairs as provided under 40
subdivision (2) or (3) [, as applicable,] of this subsection, as applicable, 41
shall register any motor vehicle owned or leased for a period of at least 42
one year by such person and shall issue a special certificate of 43
registration and a set of number plates commemorating such person's 44
military service for each such motor vehicle, including a special 45
certificate of registration and a set of number plates for any motor 46
vehicle used exclusively for farming purposes by any such person, or 47
the surviving spouse of such person, who is engaged in agricultural 48
production as a trade or business. The plates shall expire and be 49
renewed as provided in section 14-22. The commissioner shall charge a 50
fee for such plates, which fee shall cover the entire cost of making such 51
plates and shall be in addition to the fee for registration of such motor 52 Substitute Bill No. 5074
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vehicle. 53
(2) Any person who was a member of the Hmong Laotian special 54
guerilla units, or the surviving spouse of such person, may submit a 55
request to the Department of Veterans Affairs to be listed as a veteran, 56
based on such person's service during the Vietnam War, for the purpose 57
of obtaining a special certificate of registration and a set of number 58
plates under subdivision (1) of this subsection. Such person, or the 59
surviving spouse of such person, shall provide to said department (A) 60
an affidavit stating (i) when such person served, (ii) where such person 61
served, (iii) the unit in which such person served, and (iv) the capacity 62
in which such person served; (B) any available corroborating witness 63
affidavits; (C) any available official documentation of service; and (D) 64
any other documents supporting such person's or such surviving 65
spouse's affidavit. Said department shall, not later than thirty days after 66
receipt of such request, verify whether such person was a member of the 67
Hmong Laotian special guerilla units and, if so verified, notify the 68
Commissioner of Motor Vehicles of such request and verification. 69
(3) (A) Any person who is an eligible former reservist, or the 70
surviving spouse of such person, may submit a request to the 71
Department of Veterans Affairs to be listed as a veteran, based on such 72
person's service in a reserve component of the armed forces, for the 73
purpose of obtaining a special certificate of registration and a set of 74
number plates under subdivision (1) of this subsection. Such person, or 75
the surviving spouse of such person, shall provide to said department 76
all available official documentation of such service. Said department 77
shall, not later than thirty days after receipt of such request, verify such 78
person's service and, if so verified, notify the Commissioner of Motor 79
Vehicles of such request and verification. 80
(B) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) of this 81
subsection or subparagraph (A) of this subdivision, neither the issuance 82
of such registration and number plates to a person by the Commissioner 83
of Motor Vehicles nor the listing of such person as a veteran by the 84
Commissioner of Veterans Affairs shall constitute proof of such person's 85 Substitute Bill No. 5074
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eligibility for any other benefit available to veterans. 86
(c) As used in this section, "eligible former reservist" means any 87
person honorably discharged from, released under honorable 88
conditions from or released with an other than honorable discharge 89
based on a qualifying condition from, the United States Army Reserve, 90
Army National Guard, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Coast 91
Guard Reserve, Air Force Reserve or Air National Guard; and "veteran", 92
"armed forces" and "qualifying condition" have the same meanings as 93
provided in section 27-103. 94
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2025 14-20b
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Subsec. (b)(1), "subdivision (2) or (3), as applicable, of this subsection,"
was changed to "subdivision (2) or (3) [, as applicable,] of this
subsection, as applicable," for consistency with standard drafting
conventions.
VA Joint Favorable Subst.