Nearly 90 New CT Laws Take Effect Oct. 1: Here Are The Key Highlights

CONNECTICUT — There are about 90 laws that have passed muster in Hartford and will go into effect on Oct. 1, covering a broad swathe of Connecticut life. Here are some of the more notable.

On The Road

PA 25-65 raises the motorcycle/motor-driven cycle helmet mandate to between the ages 18-21, and imposes a minimum $90 for violators. The legislation also requires helmets for all e-bike riders and tightens e-bike classifications and sales/labeling rules, classifying e-bikes without pedals and with batteries over 750 watts as motor-driven cycles.

The "Act Reforming The Motor Vehicle Towing Statutes" lives up to its name. The new law will make it a bit harder for towing companies to remove vehicles from private property, and somewhat easier for motorists to retrieve their vehicles after a tow.

Motorists will find numerous tweaks to titling, motor vehicle violation payment plans, DUI penalties, fines for violations of the state's "Move Over" Law, and a trunk-full of other road-centric laws in PA 25-159, all going into effect on Oct. 1.

In The Woods

A new law allows Sunday hunting on private property, with written permission. Previously, the law generally only allowed deer hunting with bow and arrow on private property with the property owner’s permission, shooting birds at private shooting preserves, and trapping on Sundays. The hunting of migratory birds is still forbidden, and there are distance rules in place near marked trails. Deer hunting regulations are forthcoming: The new law also requires the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to draft regulations on Sunday deer hunting on private land.

In The Courtroom

Police may have had their hands tied when trying to crack down on street takeovers like the one wherein a teenager was seriously injured after being struck by a vehicle in Shelton, but their jobs get a little easier in that regard next week. Effective Oct. 1, "Any municipality may, by ordinance, prohibit a person from organizing, participating in or gathering with intent to observe and actually observing a street takeover." A provision in the new ordinance also provides for the impoundment of any vehicle used in the violation.

Public Act 25-25 prohibits a bondsman or agent from apprehending their charge on a bond on the premises, grounds or campus of any health care facility, school, institution of higher education or house of worship.

Another new law largely prohibits police officers from using handcuffs to restrain any child the officer knows is under age 14. This prohibition begins at the point of the child’s initial contact with the police officer and applies as long as the child has not been adjudicated a delinquent. Exceptions are in place for the child using or threatening to use physical force on a police officer or other public safety concerns.

There's a whole docketful of new regulations governing the classification of electronic weapons and chokeholds by law enforcement officers, Liquor Control Act penalties, the collection of sexual assault evidence, and civil immigration detainers. And the state has added victims of sexual assault/trafficking added as a protected class, effective Oct. 1.

In The Classroom

PA 25-174 expands family leave to non-certified school employees and makes non-certified employees of boards of education, other “public school operators,” and nonpublic K-12 schools eligible for PFML.

Read more:

• Major Company Plans To Close Facility, Mass Layoffs Planned: WARN Notice
• Iconic Diner Owners Weigh Offers For Sale With ‘Big Developers’ Now Interested
• Protest Planned Outside WTNH In New Haven Over Kimmel Decision

At Home

Beginning Oct. 1, it will be illegal to knowingly marry your first cousin in Connecticut. Current law forbids marriage to your parents, siblings, grandparents, children, grandchildren, parents' siblings, siblings' children, stepparents or stepchildren, but cousins have somehow missed the ban-hammer, until now.

Another new law limits the foreclosure and assignment of liens for delinquent sewer assessments and charges on owner-occupied real estate by municipal and regional sewer or water pollution control authorities. But the homeowner will still be on the hook if a lien’s principal amount exceeds $3,000 or three years have passed since the lien was filed and it remains unpaid.

It will be easier for municipalities to allow the conversion or partial conversion of commercial buildings into residential developments, subject only to a "summary review." That scaled-down process allows an application to be approved without requiring a public hearing, a variance, a special permit or any other discretionary zoning action, except for a determination that a site plan conforms with applicable zoning regulations and that public health and safety will not be substantially impacted.

In The Workplace

New legislation gives firefighters who have certain cancers some relief. The program requires an eligible firefighter’s employer to pay the workers’ compensation-like benefits and then be reimbursed from the state’s firefighters cancer relief account.

Generally beneficial changes to the Connecticut Retirement Security Program go into effect Oct. 1. The program, administered by the Office of the State Comptroller, established a retirement program with Roth individual retirement accounts for eligible private-sector employees.