File No. 146

House of Representatives, March 27, 2012

The Committee on Public Safety and Security reported through REP. DARGAN of the 115th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the bill ought to pass.

AN ACT REQUIRING THE DISPLAY OF HOUSE NUMBERS.

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

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2012) (a) The owner of a residential building shall affix numerals to such building indicating the street number assigned to such building by the town or, if there is no record of such assignment, the street number customarily used for such building.

(b) The numerals used to indicate the street number of a building shall be:

(1) Located on the exterior front of the building or on a post, sign, mailbox or other device located between the building and the street;

(2) At least four inches in height;

(3) Of a color contrasting with the color of the background material to which the numerals are affixed; and

(4) Positioned not less than four feet or more than twelve feet above the surface of the ground.

(c) The location and size of the numerals shall be sufficient to ensure their legibility when the building is viewed from one or more points along the centerline of the street on which the building fronts between projections of the sides of the building intersecting perpendicularly with such centerline.

(d) If a building is set back more than one hundred feet from the centerline of the street on which the building fronts, or if the numerals would not be legible from such centerline because of an obstruction, the numerals shall be affixed to a post, sign, mailbox or other device located within ten feet of the driveway entrance to the building.

(e) Violation of any provision of this section shall be an infraction.

The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst's professional knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact:

Note: GF=General Fund

Municipal Impact: None

Explanation

This bill will result in revenue gain of less than $10,000 per year beginning in FY 13. It is anticipated that the number of infractions issued will be very low. The infraction amount for residents failing to affix house numbers to their residence or failing to conform to other aspects of the bill will result in a fine of not more than $90 per infraction.

The Out Years

The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation.

OLR BILL ANALYSIS

HB 5380

AN ACT REQUIRING THE DISPLAY OF HOUSE NUMBERS.

SUMMARY:

This bill requires the owner of a residential building to display the building's street number on the building or on a post, sign, mailbox, or other device between the building and the street. But, if a building is set back more than 100 feet from the center of the street it faces, or if the numbers would not be legible from the street center because of an obstruction, the numbers must be placed on a post, sign, mailbox, or other device located within 10 feet of the building's driveway entrance.

Under the bill, the street number is the number the town assigns to the building or, if there is no record of assignment, the street number customarily used. The bill specifies standards the numbers must meet and where they must be placed.

A violation of the bill is an infraction.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2012

STANDARDS FOR STREET NUMBERS

House numbers must be (1) at least four inches high, (2) placed between four and 12 feet above the ground, and (3) placed on the exterior front of the building or on a post, sign, mailbox, or other device located between the building and the street. The color of the numbers must contrast with the color of the background material to which they are affixed, and they must be legible when the building is viewed from at least one point on the street in front of the building.

COMMITTEE ACTION

Public Safety and Security Committee

Joint Favorable