Researcher: JS Page 1 4/16/25
OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 7150
AN ACT CONCERNING JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
SUMMARY
This bill defines what constitutes official misconduct by justices of the
peace (“justices”) and assigns liability when it occurs. Under it, both the
justice and his or her employer may be found liable for any resulting
damages, depending on the circumstances. The bill correspondingly
requires the secretary of the state (“secretary”) to investigate allegations
of misconduct and authorizes her to take certain enforcement actions,
including revoking a justice’s appointment. Beginning July 1, 2026, it
also requires the secretary to begin administering a written test that all
current and future justices must pass.
Justices are normally appointed according to a four-year schedule.
The bill establishes processes for appointing justices when (1) a
municipality creates new justice positions 91 days or more ahead of the
next scheduled appointment period or (2) the town clerk must fill
vacancies but did not get enough applications during the quadrennial
application filing period to do so.
Lastly, the bill establishes a working group to examine and make
recommendations on various topics related to justices by January 1,
2026.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2026, except the provisions (1)
requiring a written test and allowing town clerks to fill certain vacancies
take effect October 1, 2025, and (2) on filling newly created positions and
establishing a working group are effective upon passage.
§ 1 — JUSTICE QUALIFICATIONS
To be qualified as a justice under the bill, an individual must be
appointed through one of the processes set out in existing law and pass 2025HB-07150-R000723-BA.DOCX
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a written test.
Written Test
The bill requires all justices to pass a written test, which the secretary
must begin administering by July 1, 2026. Justices appointed after
January 1, 2026, must pass it within 120 days of their appointments.
Justices appointed on or before that date must pass it by May 1, 2026
(but it is uncertain whether the secretary will have begun administering
the test by this deadline).
Manual
The bill additionally requires the secretary, by July 1, 2026, to publish
on the office’s website a manual that covers the justice’s duties (see
BACKGROUND) .
§§ 1–3 — JUSTICE MISCONDUCT
Prohibited Acts
The bill prohibits justices from doing any of the following:
1. performing any official action with the intent to deceive or
defraud anyone;
2. using their title to endorse or promote any product, third-party
service, contest, or offering; or
3. performing a marriage the justice knows, or should know, is
unlawful under state law or the federal law that, among other
things, criminalizes entering a marriage to evade immigration
laws.
Official Misconduct
Under the bill, a justice has engaged in official misconduct if he or
she, while executing justice duties, performs an act (1) described above
(a “prohibited act”) or that another state law prohibits; (2) in a negligent,
fraudulent, or unlawful way; or (3) that is against public interest. Failure
to perform an act state law requires is also official misconduct under the
bill. 2025HB-07150-R000723-BA.DOCX
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Liability for Misconduct
The bill makes a justice liable for damages that were proximately
caused by the justice’s official misconduct. A justice’s employer is liable
for these damages if the justice’s misconduct occurred in the course of
the employer’s business and he or she ratified the conduct. An employer
ratifies the justice’s misconduct by directing, encouraging, approving,
or consenting to it, either implicitly (through his or her actions in a
similar transaction that constituted official misconduct) or in a
particular transaction constituting official misconduct.
A justice’s employer may also be found liable for damages the justice
incurs under two circumstances. First, if the employer takes actions
damaging the justice (like a demotion or dismissal) because the justice
refused to engage in official misconduct related to the business, then the
employer is liable for those damages. Second, the bill makes an
employer liable for damages recovered from the justice for official
misconduct that the employer coerced him or her into by threat
(including threat of demotion or dismissal). This threat may be implicit
based on the employer’s actions during a similar previous transaction,
or made in reference to a particular act of the justice in the course of the
employer’s business.
Secretary of the State Enforcement
The bill requires the secretary to investigate any allegations that a
justice has engaged in official misconduct. The bill specifies that this
investigation may continue even if the justice’s appointment expires, is
revoked, or voluntarily terminated.
At the end of the investigation, the secretary must issue findings. If
the secretary finds that a justice engaged in official misconduct, or
violated any other law while acting as a justice, the bill authorizes her to
(1) issue a written warning or reprimand or (2) suspend or revoke the
justice’s appointment, even if doing so would conflict with a special act
or municipal charter or ordinance.
The bill also authorizes the secretary to adopt regulations to carry out
the bill’s misconduct-related provisions. 2025HB-07150-R000723-BA.DOCX
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§ 4 — FILLING NEWLY CREATED P OSITIONS
Through a process specified in existing law, justices are selected by
the town clerk (for appointments not affiliated with a major political
party) or major political parties (Republicans, Democrats, and any
parties whose last gubernatorial candidate received at least 20% of all
votes cast). Under this process, justices are generally selected on a
quadrennial schedule that aligns with state election years and their
appointment terms are for four years. But the law currently does not
specify a process by which newly created justice positions may be filled.
Under the bill, when a municipal ordinance or charter amendment
creates new justice positions 91 days or more ahead of the scheduled
quadrennial appointment, justices may be appointed to serve the
remainder of the four-year term (until the next scheduled appointment).
Division of Appointments
Of these new positions, one-third are selected by each political party
that is considered major based on its party enrollment (the Democrats
and Republicans), with the registrars of voters deciding by lottery which
party gets an additional selection if there are an uneven number.
Generally, the town clerk selects the remaining one-third. However, if a
third political party qualifies as major based on its candidate receiving
at least 20% of the votes cast in the prior gubernatorial election, the party
selects 20% of this one-third, rounded down to the nearest whole
number.
Under the bill, whoever the political parties nominate as their
selections qualify as justices. (But presumably the person selected still
needs to pass the written test (see § 1 above).) The bill does not, however,
specify how a town clerk selects his or her appointments.
If a major party fills a vacancy, it must file an appointment certificate
with the town clerk, as existing law requires. The town clerk must record
the certificate with the town meeting’s records and notify the secretary
about the appointment. 2025HB-07150-R000723-BA.DOCX
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§ 5 — FILLING TOWN CLERK-APPOINTED VACANCIES MID-
SCHEDULE
By law, those seeking a town clerk appointment must apply between
August 1 and November 1, inclusive, during the scheduled
appointment year (every fourth year). If there are more applicants than
open justice positions, the town clerk must first reappoint applicants
who are incumbent justices, then order the remaining applicants using
a lottery system. If a town clerk must fill a mid-term vacancy (if a justice
gives up his or her role early, for example), the law requires the clerk to
appoint the applicant who is next highest on the lottery order.
Under current law, if there are more vacancies than applicants
remaining on the list, or the lottery was never held, the vacancy must
stay unfilled until the next quadrennial application period. The bill
instead requires the town clerk to hold another application period. The
clerk must give public notice about the number of vacancies and
appointment procedure and then accept written applications from
eligible individuals for up to 30 days. Under the bill, anyone who was
eligible for an appointment by a major political party (generally a
registered Democrat or Republican) in the three months before the
public notice is ineligible to apply.
The same notice requirements apply to the process under the bill
(filling mid-term vacancies) as apply to the process in existing law
(filling quadrennial vacancies). If there are more applicants than open
positions, the town clerk must hold a public lottery, after at least five
days’ notice, to prioritize applicants to fill these and any future
vacancies. The bill requires the town clerk to hold the lottery between
10 and 15 days after the application period ends. If, in any year, the clerk
gets too few applications to fill all of the vacancies, the bill prohibits the
clerk from appointing any more justices.
§ 6 — WORKING GROUP
The bill establishes an 11-member working group to examine and
make recommendations on the following:
1. ways to determine the number of justice positions in each 2025HB-07150-R000723-BA.DOCX
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municipality and statewide;
2. the portability of a justice appointment from one municipality to
other municipalities;
3. the justice selection process;
4. potential training, qualification, application, and background
check requirements;
5. oversight of justices, including the potential to levy fines;
6. potential legal consequences of misrepresenting oneself as a
justice; and
7. issues related to reporting human trafficking, forced marriages,
and marriage fraud.
The working group must consist of the secretary of the state or her
designee, who serves as the chairperson, and the 10 appointed members
shown in the table below. Appointing authorities must make their initial
appointments within 30 days after the bill’s passage and fill any
vacancies that arise.
Table: Task Force Appointed Members
Appointing Authority Number of
Appointments
Qualifications (if any)
House speaker Two
One justice and one representative of
a professional organization for justices
Senate president pro tempore Two Town clerks
House majority leader One Town party chairperson
House minority leader Two
One town party chairperson and one
town clerk
Senate majority leader One
Justice who is not a member of a
major political party
Senate minority leader Two One justice and one town clerk
The chairperson must schedule and hold the first meeting within 60
days after the bill passes. The working group must report its findings
and recommendations, by January 1, 2026, to the Government 2025HB-07150-R000723-BA.DOCX
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Administration and Elections Committee.
BACKGROUND
Justice of Peace Authority
A justice’s authority generally includes administering oaths and
signing affidavits after administering oaths (CGS § 1-24),
acknowledging legal documents (CGS § 1-29), performing marriage
ceremonies (CGS § 46b-22), taking depositions and issuing subpoenas
to compel witnesses to attend them (CGS § 52-148c), and issuing tax
warrants (CGS § 12-130).
COMMITTEE ACTION
Planning and Development Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 21 Nay 0 (03/28/2025)