File No. 513

House of Representatives, April 25, 2005

The Committee on Government Administration and Elections reported through REP. CARUSO of the 126th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING CONSERVATION LAW ENFORCEMENT.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 1-217 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(a) No public agency may disclose, under the Freedom of Information Act, the residential address of any of the following persons:

(1) A federal court judge, federal court magistrate, judge of the Superior Court, Appellate Court or Supreme Court of the state, or family support magistrate;

(2) A sworn member of a municipal police department, [or] a sworn member of the Division of State Police within the Department of Public Safety or a sworn law enforcement officer of the Department of Environmental Protection;

(3) An employee of the Department of Correction;

(4) An attorney-at-law who represents or has represented the state in a criminal prosecution;

(5) An attorney-at-law who is or has been employed by the Public Defender Services Division or a social worker who is employed by the Public Defender Services Division;

(6) An inspector employed by the Division of Criminal Justice;

(7) A firefighter;

(8) An employee of the Department of Children and Families;

(9) A member of the Board of Pardons and Paroles;

(10) An employee of the judicial branch; or

(11) A member or employee of the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities.

(b) The business address of any person described in this section shall be subject to disclosure under section 1-210. The provisions of this section shall not apply to Department of Motor Vehicles records described in section 14-10.

The following fiscal impact statement and bill analysis are prepared for the benefit of members of the General Assembly, solely for the purpose of information, summarization, and explanation, and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either House thereof for any purpose:

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact:

Municipal Impact: None

Explanation

The bill, which adds conservation officers from the Department of Environmental Protection to those employees whose residential addresses are not publicly disclosable by state and local government agencies under the Freedom of Information Act, will have no cost to the state.



OLR Bill Analysis

HB 6774

AN ACT CONCERNING CONSERVATION LAW ENFORCEMENT

SUMMARY:

This bill adds Department of Environmental Protection sworn law enforcement officers (conservation officers) to certain employees whose residential addresses are not publicly disclosable by state and local government agencies under the Freedom of Information Act.

The law already covers:

1. federal and state judges, federal magistrates, and state family support magistrates;

2. state and local police officers;

3. Judicial, Department of Correction, and Department of Children and Families employees;

4. past and present state prosecutors or public defenders;

5. Division of Criminal Justice inspectors;

6. firefighters;

7. Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities members and employees; and

8. Parole Board members.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage

BACKGROUND

Address Protection for Certain Employees

The Freedom of Information Act prohibits state and local government agencies from disclosing to the public the home addresses of certain specified local, state, and federal employees, with one exception. The prohibition does not apply to personal information, including home addresses, in Department of Motor Vehicles records, which are disclosable to government agencies and anyone else who agrees to use them for limited specified purposes, such as to provide notice to owners of towed, abandoned, or impounded cars; by insurers in connection with a claim; or in connection with any lawful purpose of a labor organization (CGS § 14-10).

To avail themselves of the protection, covered employees need only substitute their business address on any state or local government document that asks for their home address.

COMMITTEE ACTION

Environment Committee

Joint Favorable Change of Reference

Government Administration and Elections Committee

Joint Favorable Report