AN ACT CONCERNING THE MERGER OF THE PROBATE DISTRICTS OF SOUTHBURY AND ROXBURY AND THE MERGER OF THE PROBATE DISTRICTS OF LITCHFIELD, KENT, MORRIS, HARWINTON AND WARREN.

AN ACT CONCERNING THE MERGER OF THE PROBATE DISTRICTS OF SOUTHBURY AND ROXBURY AND THE MERGER OF THE PROBATE DISTRICTS OF LITCHFIELD, KENT, MORRIS, HARWINTON AND WARREN.

Effective January 5, 2011, this bill eliminates the probate districts of (1) Harwinton consisting of the town of Harwinton, (2) Hebron consisting of the town of Hebron, (3) Marlborough consisting of the town of Marlborough, (4) Plainville consisting of the town of Plainville, (5) Roxbury consisting of the town of Roxbury, and (6) Thomaston consisting of the town of Thomaston.

Effective that same date, it adds (1) Harwinton and Thomaston to the probate district of Litchfield, which currently consists of Litchfield, Kent, Morris, and Warren; (2) Hebron to the probate district of Andover, which currently consists of the towns of Andover, Bolton, and Columbia; (3) Marlborough to the probate district of Glastonbury, which currently consists of the town of Glastonbury; (4) Plainville to the district of Bristol, which currently consists of the town of Bristol; and (5) Roxbury to the probate district of Southbury, which currently consists of the town of Southbury. It makes conforming changes concerning the election of the probate judges for these probate districts in 2010, and the jurisdiction of those districts effective January 5, 2011.

*House Amendment “A” eliminates the Hebron probate district and merges it with the district of Andover.

*House Amendment “B” eliminates the Marlborough probate district and merges it with the district of Glastonbury.

*House Amendment “C” eliminates the Thomaston probate district and merges it with the district of Litchfield.

*House Amendment “D” eliminates the Plainville probate district and merges it with the district of Bristol.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage, except for the sections eliminating the probate districts of Harwinton, Hebron, Marlborough, Plainville, Roxbury, and Thomaston and merging them into other districts, which become effective January 5, 2011.

sHB 6385, which has passed both chambers, effective January 5, 2011, eliminates the current method of compensating probate court judges, which is primarily based on the fees the court collects, and replaces it with a new system based on population and workload in which a judge's compensation will be paid directly from the Probate Court Administration Fund. The bill establishes four classes or “bands” of probate courts based on the district's population and its annual weighted workload. The bill requires that each probate court remit all fees, costs, and other income it receives to the state treasurer to be credited to the Probate Court Administration Fund.

The bill requires that each probate judge elected for a term beginning on or after January 5, 2011, be a member of the Connecticut bar. But this requirement does not apply to any judge who is in office on January 4, 2011, for the period the judge continues to serve on and after January 5, 2011, without a break in service.

The bill requires the probate court administrator to establish a budget committee consisting of the probate court administrator and two probate judges appointed by the Probate Assembly, which must establish (1) a compensation plan, which includes employee benefits, for probate court employees; (2) staffing levels for each probate court; and (3) a miscellaneous office budget for each court. The bill requires probate courts to be open at least 40 hours a week instead of 20 hours.

The bill establishes a probate redistricting commission to develop a plan to consolidate probate court districts. Under the plan, there must be at least 44 districts and no more than 50. The plan must be presented to the General Assembly for implementing legislation and be approved by the governor under procedures and deadlines the bill establishes. The commission must file a consolidation plan by September 15, 2009 except it may not submit a plan without the affirmative vote of at least seven commission members. The bill allows the Connecticut Probate Assembly to submit a redistricting plan that meets the criteria the bill establishes for the commission to consider. In developing it, the assembly may consider any voluntary consolidations towns have agreed to. The commission may consider any plan the assembly submits, but is not bound by it.

The bill authorizes a court to refer certain matters, with the consent of the parties or their attorneys, to a probate magistrate or attorney probate referee, new positions created by the bill.

HB 6027, File 730, alters the way probate court judges are compensated by replacing the current system that is primarily based on court revenue and instead using a system based on population and workload. The new system would become effective January 5, 2011 but would require that for the compensation of judges in office on January 4, 2011, for a term beginning January 5, 2011 and ending January 6, 2015, could not be less than 80% of the average annual compensation the judge received for the three-year period from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2010.

Yea

Nay

(03/27/2009)