Researcher: JM Page 1 3/3/25
OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 6180
AN ACT CONCERNING NOTICE OF FIREARMS BY OPERATORS
OF FAMILY CHILD CARE HOMES.
SUMMARY
This bill requires family child care home operators to annually notify
parents and guardians in writing if there are firearms in the home,
starting by January 1, 2026 (see BACKGROUND).
Under the bill, the written notice must require a parent or guardian
to acknowledge receipt by signing it. The home operator must (1) keep
these acknowledgments for at least three years, (2) make them available
for inspection by the Office of Early Childhood (OEC) upon request, and
(3) annually report compliance with these requirements to OEC.
The bill authorizes OEC to suspend or revoke the family child care
home license or take other allowed action against an operator who
violates the above requirements.
Family child care homes are private homes that provide care for up
to six children who are not in school full-time and up to three additional
children who are in school full-time.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2025
NOTIFICATION AND RELATED REQUIREMENTS
Under the bill, starting by January 1, 2026, family child care home
operators with a firearm stored in the home must annually give parents
and guardians written notification of its presence. The notice must (1)
list of the number and type of each firearm in the home and (2) require
that a parent or guardian sign the notice to acknowledge receipt.
Beginning January 1, 2026, the operators must also give the notice to
a parent or guardian of each child enrolling in the home for the first 2025HB-06180-R000031-BA.DOCX
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time.
Beginning by February 1, 2027, each operator of a family child care
home in which firearms are kept must annually confirm with the OEC
commissioner compliance with the bill’s provisions for the previous
calendar year on a form she prescribes.
Existing regulations require the OEC annual inspection to check for
secure storage of guns, weapons, and ammunition (Conn. Agencies
Regs., § 19a-87b-9).
ENFORCEMENT
The bill authorizes the OEC commissioner to suspend or revoke the
family child care home license or take other allowed action against
operators who violate the notification or related requirements.
By law, one way that a license can be suspended or revoked is if the
operator conducts, operates, or maintains the home in a way that
endangers the health, safety, and welfare of the children receiving child
care services. The bill specifies that this type of endangerment includes
failure to comply with the firearms notification and related
requirements.
By law, a license can also be suspended or revoked for a number of
criminal convictions, including (1) a felony involving the use or
threatened use of physical force, (2) injury or risk of injury or impairing
the morals of a minor, (3) abandonment of children under the age of 6,
or (4) any felony where the victim is a child under 18 years old.
Under OEC regulations, after a case hearing, OEC can suspend,
revoke, or place a license on probationary status and impose conditions
or require corrective measures that it deems necessary (Conn. Agencies
Regs., § 19a-87b-15).
BACKGROUND
Firearm
By law, a firearm is any shotgun or sawed-off shotgun, machine gun,
rifle, pistol, revolver, or other weapon, whether loaded or unloaded that 2025HB-06180-R000031-BA.DOCX
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may discharge a shot (CGS § 53a-3(19)).
COMMITTEE ACTION
Committee on Children
Joint Favorable
Yea 11 Nay 6 (02/18/2025)