Connecticut 2025 Regular Session

Connecticut House Bill HB07033 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1
2	2
3		-	LCO 1 of 3
	3	+	LCO No. 4944 1 of 3
4	4
5		-	General Assembly ~~Substitute~~ Bill No. 7033
	5	+	General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7033
6	6		January Session, 2025
	7	+	LCO No. 4944
7	8
	9	+
	10	+	Referred to Committee on HOUSING
	11	+
	12	+
	13	+	Introduced by:
	14	+	(HSG)
8	15
9	16
10	17
11	18
12	19		AN ACT PROHIBITING A MUNICIPALITY FROM IMPOSING ANY
13		-	PENALTY ON HOMELESS PERSONS FOR PERFORMING ~~ACTIVITIES~~
14		-	~~OF DAILY LIVING~~ ON PUBLIC LAND.
	20	+	PENALTY ON HOMELESS PERSONS FOR PERFORMING LIFE-
	21	+	SUSTAINING ACTIVITIES ON PUBLIC LAND.
15	22		Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
16	23		Assembly convened:
17	24
18	25		Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2025) (a) As used in this section: 1
19	26		(1) "Homeless person" has the same meaning as provided in 42 USC 2
20	27		11302, as amended from time to time; 3
21	28		(2) "Motor vehicle" has the same meaning as provided in section 14-1 4
22	29		of the general statutes; 5
23	30		(3) "Public land" means any property that is owned or leased, in 6
24	31		whole or in part, by any state or local government entity or any property 7
25	32		upon which there is an easement for public use and that is held open to 8
26	33		the public, or any federal land where local law enforcement has 9
27	34		jurisdiction to enforce local laws, including, but not limited to, plazas, 10
28		-	courtyards, parking lots, sidewalks, the outside area of public 11
29		-	transportation facilities and services, public buildings, shopping 12
30		-	centers, underpasses and lands adjacent to roadways and parks. "Public 13
31		-	land" does not include any school grounds; 14
32		-	(4) "Recreational vehicle" has the same meaning as provided in 15
33		-	section 14-1 of the general statutes; 16 Substitute Bill No. 7033
	35	+	courtyards, parking lots, sidewalks, public transportation facilities and 11
	36	+	services, public buildings, shopping centers, underpasses and lands 12
	37	+	adjacent to roadways and parks; 13
	38	+	Raised Bill No. 7033
34	39
35	40
36		-	LCO 2 of 3
37	41
38		-	(5) "Activities of daily living" includes, but is not limited to, sleeping 17
39		-	or resting, eating or preparing food, seeking shelter from extreme 18
40		-	weather, accessing medical care and using hygiene facilities; and 19
	42	+	LCO No. 4944 2 of 3
	43	+
	44	+	(4) "Recreational vehicle" has the same meaning as provided in 14
	45	+	section 14-1 of the general statutes; 15
	46	+	(5) "Life sustaining activities" includes, but is not limited to, moving, 16
	47	+	resting, sitting, standing, lying down, sleeping, protecting oneself from 17
	48	+	the elements, eating, drinking and storing such personal property as 18
	49	+	needed to safely shelter oneself; and 19
41	50		(6) "Adequate alternative indoor space" means a space that is legally 20
42	51		and physically accessible to an individual and that does not require such 21
43	52		individual to sacrifice any other personal right afforded to such 22
44	53		individual under federal, state or local law. 23
45		-	(b) No municipality may enact any ordinance and no ~~person~~ may 24
	54	+	(b) No municipality may enact any ordinance and no individual may 24
46	55		take any action that infringes upon the right of homeless persons to use 25
47	56		public spaces without discrimination based on housing status in 26
48		-	accordance with this section, including the right to: (1) Conduct 27
49		-	activities ~~of daily living~~ on public land, provided such activities do not 28
	57	+	accordance with this section, including the right to: (1) Conduct life 27
	58	+	sustaining activities on public land, provided such activities do not 28
50	59		obstruct the normal movement of pedestrian or vehicular traffic in such 29
51	60		a manner that creates a hazard to others, or on private property with the 30
52	61		permission of the property owner, unless sufficient adequate alternative 31
53	62		indoor space is available to the homeless persons in a given jurisdiction 32
54	63		and has been offered to the individual, including transportation for the 33
55	64		individual and such individual's belongings; (2) use and move freely in 34
56	65		places of public accommodation without discrimination based on actual 35
57	66		or perceived housing status; (3) be free from civil or criminal sanctions 36
58	67		for soliciting, sharing, accepting or offering food, water, money or other 37
59	68		donations in public places; (4) privacy of one's personal property stored 38
60	69		in public places to the same degree of privacy as property in a private 39
61	70		dwelling, which shall not be subject to unreasonable search and seizure; 40
62		-	(5) pray, meditate, worship or practice religion in public spaces; and (6) 41
63		-	occupy a motor vehicle or a recreational vehicle, provided such vehicle 42
64		-	is parked (A) on public property and is not parked in a position that 43
65		-	obstructs the normal movement of traffic or creates a hazard to other 44
66		-	traffic upon the highway, or (B) on private property with the permission 45
67		-	of the private property owner. 46
68		-	(c) Any person or municipality that violates any provision of this 47
69		-	section shall be assessed a civil penalty of not less than fifty dollars and 48
70		-	not to exceed one hundred dollars, to be fixed by the court, for each 49 Substitute Bill No. 7033
	71	+	(5) pray, meditate, worship or practice religion in public spaces without 41
	72	+	discrimination based on housing status; and (6) occupy a motor vehicle 42
	73	+	or a recreational vehicle, provided such vehicle is parked (A) on public 43
	74	+	property and is not parked in a position that obstructs the normal 44
	75	+	movement of traffic or creates a hazard to other traffic upon the 45
	76	+	Raised Bill No. 7033
71	77
72	78
73		-	LCO 3 of 3
74	79
75		-	offense. The Attorney General, upon the request of any aggrieved 50
76		-	person, shall institute a civil action in the Superior Court to recover such 51
77		-	penalty. 52
	80	+	LCO No. 4944 3 of 3
	81	+
	82	+	highway, or (B) on private property with the permission of the private 46
	83	+	property owner. 47
	84	+	(c) Any person or municipality that violates any provision of this 48
	85	+	section shall be assessed a civil penalty not to exceed ____ dollars, to be 49
	86	+	fixed by the court, for each offense. The Attorney General, upon the 50
	87	+	request of any aggrieved person, shall institute a civil action in the 51
	88	+	Superior Court to recover such penalty. 52
78	89		This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
79	90		sections:
80	91
81	92		Section 1 July 1, 2025 New section
82	93
83		-	Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
84		-	In Subsec. (b), "individual" was changed to "person" for consistency and
85		-	in Subsec. (b)(5), the phrase concerning discrimination was deleted as
86		-	duplicative.
	94	+	Statement of Purpose:
	95	+	To prohibit a municipality from imposing any penalty on homeless
	96	+	persons for performing life sustaining activities on public land.
87	97
88		-	HSG Joint Favorable Subst.
	98	+	[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
	99	+	that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
	100	+	underlined.]
89	101