March 11, 2022

Hearing on Juvenile Justice and Criminal Justice Proposals

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On Monday, the Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing on proposed reforms to juvenile justice and criminal justice procedures. I have heard from many constituents about the recent increase in juvenile car thefts and crime. One proposal under consideration is HB 5418 “An Act Revising Juvenile and Criminal Justice Statutes and Insurance Statutes Concerning Theft of a Motor Vehicle.”

This proposal would make several changes:

Require a judge to order DCF to conduct a family investigation when a juvenile is charged with: a felony, a Class A Misdemeanor, a charge resulting from loss of life or serious physical injury, a sexual assault, a serious juvenile offense, or an offense involving use of a firearm
Require an automatic transfer to adult court for juveniles thirteen years or older charged with committing a class A felony a class B felony resulting in death, a violent sexual assault or a violent crime involving use of a firearm
Require juvenile matters be adjudicated in the district where the crime is alleged to have been committed
Require the state Judicial Department to report about its many juvenile diversionary programs, including an overview of each particular program, its costs, as well as its success in reducing recidivism
Provide that no insurer shall decline, cancel or refuse to renew a private passenger nonfleet automobile insurance policy based on an applicant’s or insured’s experience of any motor vehicle loss due to theft or larceny.

How to Participate

The Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing on Monday, March 14, 2022 at 10:00 A.M. via Zoom. The public hearing can be viewed via YouTube Live. In addition, the public hearing may be recorded and broadcast live on CT-N.com.

Individuals who wish to testify via Zoom must register using the On-line Testimony Registration Form. Registration will close on Sunday, March 13, 2022 at 3:00 P.M. Speaker order of approved registrants will be posted on the Judiciary Committee website on Sunday, March 13, 2022 at 6:00 P.M. under Public Hearing Testimony.

If you do not have internet access, you may provide testimony via telephone. To register to testify by phone, call the Phone Registrant Line at (860) 240-5255 to leave your contact information. Please email written testimony in Word or PDF format to JUDtestimony@cga.ct.gov.

Testimony should clearly state testifier name and related Bills. The Committee requests that testimony be limited to matters related to the items on the Agenda. Speakers will be limited to three minutes of testimony. The Committee encourages witnesses to submit a written statement and to condense oral testimony to a summary of that statement. All public hearing testimony, written and spoken, is public information. As such, it may be made available on the Judiciary Committee’s website and indexed by internet search engines.