Substitute House Bill No. 5480
          Substitute House Bill No. 5480

               PUBLIC ACT NO. 98-26


AN ACT CONCERNING FAILURE TO APPEAR.


    Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and House of
Representatives in General Assembly convened:
    Section  1.  Section  53a-172  of  the general
statutes  is  repealed  and   the   following   is
substituted in lieu thereof:
    (a)  A  person  is guilty of failure to appear
in the first degree when  [,]  (1)  while  charged
with  the  commission of a felony and while out on
bail or released under other procedure of law,  he
wilfully  fails  to  appear  when  legally  called
according to the terms of his bail bond or promise
to   appear,   OR   (2)  WHILE  ON  PROBATION  FOR
CONVICTION OF  A  FELONY,  HE  WILFULLY  FAILS  TO
APPEAR  WHEN  LEGALLY  CALLED  FOR  A VIOLATION OF
PROBATION HEARING.
    (b)  Failure  to appear in the first degree is
a class D felony.
    Sec.   2.   Section  53a-173  of  the  general
statutes  is  repealed  and   the   following   is
substituted in lieu thereof:
    (a)  A  person  is guilty of failure to appear
in the second degree when [,]  (1)  while  charged
with  the  commission  of a misdemeanor or a motor
vehicle violation for which a sentence to  a  term
of  imprisonment  may  be imposed and while out on
bail or released under other procedure of law,  he
wilfully  fails  to  appear  when  legally  called
according to the terms of his bail bond or promise
to   appear,   OR   (2)  WHILE  ON  PROBATION  FOR
CONVICTION  OF  A  MISDEMEANOR  OR  MOTOR  VEHICLE
VIOLATION,   HE  WILFULLY  FAILS  TO  APPEAR  WHEN
LEGALLY  CALLED  FOR  A  VIOLATION  OF   PROBATION
HEARING.
    (b)  Failure to appear in the second degree is
a class A misdemeanor.

Approved April 29, 1998