CHAPTER 76
COUNTY ORGANIZATION

      Sec. 6-1. Number and composition of counties. There shall be in the state eight counties, which shall be constituted as follows:

      Hartford County. The towns of Hartford, Avon, Berlin, Bloomfield, Bristol, Burlington, Canton, East Granby, East Hartford, East Windsor, Enfield, Farmington, Glastonbury, Granby, Hartland, Manchester, Marlborough, New Britain, Newington, Plainville, Rocky Hill, Simsbury, Southington, South Windsor, Suffield, West Hartford, Wethersfield, Windsor and Windsor Locks shall constitute one county by the name of the county of Hartford.

      New Haven County. The towns of New Haven, Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Branford, Cheshire, Derby, East Haven, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Meriden, Middlebury, Milford, Naugatuck, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, Oxford, Prospect, Seymour, Southbury, Wallingford, Waterbury, West Haven, Wolcott and Woodbridge shall constitute one county by the name of the county of New Haven.

      New London County. The towns of New London, Norwich, Bozrah, Colchester, East Lyme, Franklin, Griswold, Groton, Lebanon, Ledyard, Lisbon, Lyme, Montville, North Stonington, Old Lyme, Preston, Salem, Sprague, Stonington, Voluntown and Waterford shall constitute one county by the name of the county of New London.

      Fairfield County. The towns of Bridgeport, Danbury, Bethel, Brookfield, Darien, Easton, Fairfield, Greenwich, Monroe, New Canaan, New Fairfield, Newtown, Norwalk, Redding, Ridgefield, Shelton, Sherman, Stamford, Stratford, Trumbull, Weston, Westport and Wilton shall constitute one county by the name of the county of Fairfield.

      Windham County. The towns of Windham, Putnam, Ashford, Brooklyn, Canterbury, Chaplin, Eastford, Hampton, Killingly, Plainfield, Pomfret, Scotland, Sterling, Thompson and Woodstock shall constitute one county by the name of the county of Windham.

      Litchfield County. The towns of Litchfield, Barkhamsted, Bethlehem, Bridgewater, Canaan, Colebrook, Cornwall, Goshen, Harwinton, Kent, Morris, New Hartford, New Milford, Norfolk, North Canaan, Plymouth, Roxbury, Salisbury, Sharon, Thomaston, Torrington, Warren, Washington, Watertown, Winchester and Woodbury shall constitute one county by the name of the county of Litchfield.

      Middlesex County. The towns of Middletown, Chester, Clinton, Cromwell, Deep River, Durham, East Haddam, East Hampton, Essex, Haddam, Killingworth, Middlefield, Old Saybrook, Portland and Westbrook shall constitute one county by the name of the county of Middlesex.

      Tolland County. The towns of Tolland, Vernon, Andover, Bolton, Columbia, Coventry, Ellington, Hebron, Mansfield, Somers, Stafford, Union and Willington shall constitute one county by the name of the county of Tolland.

      (1949 Rev., S. 422.)

      Sec. 6-2. Boundaries on Long Island Sound. The counties of New London, Middlesex, New Haven and Fairfield extend southerly to the southerly boundary line of the state as that boundary line is settled and defined by an agreement with the state of New York bearing date December 8, 1879, and published with the special acts of the General Assembly passed in the year 1880, and consented to and approved by the Congress of the United States by an Act approved February 26, 1881. The dividing line between any two of said counties which border on each other is and shall continue to be a line drawn due south from their original southeast and southwest corners to the said southerly boundary line of the state.

      (1949 Rev., S. 423.)

      Sec. 6-2a. State succession to property and liabilities of counties. (a) On and after October 1, 1960, all property, property rights and choses in action of any kind belonging to the several counties of the state and all powers and authority of said counties shall be vested in the state and all debts, obligations, liabilities and duties of said counties shall be assumed by the state without further action on its part; provided, after October 1, 1960, there shall be rebated proportionately to the contributing towns all liquid assets in county funds remaining after deduction of current liabilities with the exception of bonded indebtedness and interest thereon of the county assumed by the state. Number 152 of the public acts of 1959 shall not affect any legal actions pending on October 1, 1960, but the state shall succeed to the county as a party to any such action, nor shall it release or affect any taxes theretofore laid by said counties nor any fines, penalties or forfeitures theretofore incurred and due said counties but all such taxes, fines, penalties and forfeitures shall be collected by the Commissioner of Revenue Services and by him paid to the State Treasurer and applied first to the payment of any outstanding indebtedness of the counties within which collected.

      (b) On and after June 2, 1961, all real property and all rights relating to such real property which vested in the state under the provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall be vested in the State Treasurer, and said Treasurer shall, with the approval of the Attorney General, exercise in his name and for the state all powers in regard to such property and rights therein.

      (1959, P.A. 152, S. 91; 1961, P.A. 314; P.A. 77-614, S. 139, 610.)

      History: 1961 act added Subsec. (b); P.A. 77-614 substituted commissioner of revenue services for tax commissioner, effective January 1, 1979.

      See Sec. 3-14a re administration of trusts for counties by State Treasurer.

      Cited. 148 C. 607, 609, 610. Vote by county commissioners prior to Oct. 1, 1960, to appropriate all surplus funds of county as of Sept. 30, 1960, for county agricultural extension service not in contravention, although perhaps in circumvention, of statute. Id., 613.

      County given privileged status in trial of action because of imminent termination of existence. 22 CS 157.

      Sec. 6-2b. Retired county employees. All former employees of the several counties receiving pensions from the Municipal Employees' Retirement Fund, county appropriations or any private pension plan contracted for by any county shall continue to receive pensions through payments from the Municipal Employees' Retirement Fund, appropriations from the General Fund or assumption by the state of the contract, as the case may be, in each case equivalent to the amount which such employee received prior to October 1, 1960, and the state assumes liability for any payments which might be due the Municipal Employees' Retirement Fund for persons receiving pensions from said fund under the provisions of this section.

      (1959, P.A. 152, S. 93.)