Senate Bill No. 1307
               Senate Bill No. 1307

               PUBLIC ACT NO. 97-88


AN  ACT  CONCERNING  THE  FILING  OF A REQUEST FOR
ATTORNEY'S FEES UNDER THE  UNIFORM  ADMINISTRATIVE
PROCEDURE ACT.


    Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and House of
Representatives in General Assembly convened:
    Section  4-184a  of  the  general  statutes is
repealed and the following is substituted in  lieu
thereof:
    (a) For the purposes of this section:
    (1)  "Person"  means  a  person  as defined in
section 4-166, but excludes (A) an individual with
a  net  worth  in  excess of five hundred thousand
dollars, (B) a business whose gross  revenues  for
the  most  recently completed fiscal year exceeded
one million five hundred thousand dollars,  (C)  a
business  with more than twenty-five employees and
(D) an agency as defined in section 4-166.
    (2)  "Reasonable  fees and expenses" means any
expenses not in  excess  of  seven  thousand  five
hundred   dollars   which  the  court  finds  were
reasonably incurred in opposing the agency action,
including   court   costs,  expenses  incurred  in
administrative   proceedings,   attorney's   fees,
witness  fees of all necessary witnesses, and such
other expenses as were reasonably incurred.
    (b) In any appeal by an aggrieved person of an
agency decision taken  in  accordance with section
4-183 and in  any  appeal of the final judgment of
the Superior Court  under  said  section  taken in
accordance with section 51-197b, the court may, in
its discretion, award  to  the  prevailing  party,
other  than  the   agency,   reasonable  fees  and
expenses  in  addition  to  other  costs  if  SUCH
PREVAILING PARTY FILES  A  REQUEST FOR AN AWARD OF
REASONABLE FEES AND EXPENSES WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF
THE ISSUANCE OF THE COURT'S DECISION AND the court
determines  that the  action  of  the  agency  was
undertaken without any substantial justification.

Approved May 29, 1997