Sec. 2-85. Law Revision Commission established in Legislative Department.
Sec. 2-86. Members of the commission.
Sec. 2-87. Duties of the commission.
Sec. 2-88. Public and private assistance.
Sec. 2-85. Law Revision Commission established in Legislative Department. There is hereby established the Connecticut Law Revision Commission, hereinafter referred to as the “commission”, which shall be a part of the Legislative Department.
(P.A. 74-132, S. 1; 74-338, S. 87, 94.)
History: P.A. 74-338 changed effective date of P.A. 74-132 from October 1, 1974, to May 8, 1974.
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Sec. 2-86. Members of the commission. (a) The commission shall be composed of the president pro tempore of the Senate, the minority leader of the Senate, the speaker of the House of Representatives and the minority leader of the House of Representatives, or their designees, the cochairpersons and ranking members of the joint standing committee on judiciary or their designees chosen from among the members of the committee, and nine members appointed as follows: The president pro tempore shall appoint two members and the speaker of the House shall appoint two members; and the Governor shall appoint five members, three of whom shall be members of the bar of this state, one of whom shall be a judge of the Superior or Supreme Court of the state, and one of whom may or may not be a member of the bar of this state but shall be a member of a law faculty of an accredited law school within the state. The commission shall elect one of its members to serve as chairman.
(b) The appointments of the members appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the House to replace those members whose terms expire on June 30, 1978, shall be as follows: The president pro tempore and the speaker shall each appoint one member to serve for two years and one member to serve for four years from July 1, 1978, or until their successors are appointed. If any member so appointed vacates his office prior to the expiration of his term, the appointing authority shall designate a successor for the unexpired term. The appointments by the Governor of members to replace those whose terms expire on June 30, 1978, shall be as follows: One shall be appointed for a term of one year from July 1, 1978, and two for a term of three years from July 1, 1978, or until their successors are appointed. If any member appointed by the Governor vacates his office before the expiration of the term, the Governor shall appoint a successor for the unexpired term. Thereafter all appointments by the president pro tempore of the Senate, the speaker of the House and the Governor shall be for four years or until a successor is appointed. Any member of the commission may serve successive terms.
(P.A. 74-132, S. 2, 3; 74-338, S. 87, 94; P.A. 77-229; P.A. 78-131, S. 1, 2; P.A. 87-293, S. 1, 2.)
History: P.A. 74-338 changed effective date of P.A. 74-132 from October 1, 1974, to May 8, 1974; P.A. 77-229 removed requirement that designees serving as commission members be general assembly members; P.A. 78-131 amended section to allow reorganization of appointment procedure and make future terms four years; P.A. 87-293 increased membership to include the minority leader of the senate and the minority leader of the house, or their designees, and the cochairpersons and ranking members of the judiciary committee or their designees chosen from among the members of the committee.
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Sec. 2-87. Duties of the commission. The commission shall:
(1) Receive, consider and prepare comments and recommendations on proposed changes in the law recommended by the American Law Institute, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, bar associations, judges, lawyers, public officials, or other learned bodies or qualified individuals;
(2) Recommend, from time to time, such changes in the law as it deems necessary to modify or eliminate antiquated and inequitable rules of law, and to bring the law of this state, civil and criminal, into harmony with modern conditions;
(3) Recommend the express repeal of all statutes repealed by implication or held unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the state or the Supreme Court of the United States;
(4) Assist the joint standing committee on judiciary and other commissions and groups appointed by the Governor or General Assembly to study law within the state;
(5) Educate the public as to the need for law revision through public hearings, giving the public an opportunity to be heard;
(6) Organize and conduct meetings within the state for scholarly discussion of current problems in state law, bringing together representatives of the legislature, practicing attorneys, members of the bench and bar, and representatives of the law teaching profession;
(7) Submit an annual report to the General Assembly. The report shall include proposed legislative drafts, a description of the research and projects initiated, pending, or completed during the preceding year with recommendations and comments, and an itemized list of expenditures made by the commission during the preceding year. The commission may also whenever it considers it appropriate submit other recommendations and legislative proposals to the General Assembly and its committees.
(P.A. 74-132, S. 4; 74-338, S. 87, 94; P.A. 81-459, S. 2, 3.)
History: P.A. 74-338 changed effective date of P.A. 74-132 from October 1, 1974, to May 8, 1974; P.A. 81-459 eliminated the commission's duty to examine the common law constitution and statutes of the state and current judicial decisions for the purpose of discovering defects and anachronisms in the law and recommending needed reform, and added the duty of assisting the general assembly's judiciary committee in studying state law.
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Sec. 2-88. Public and private assistance. The commission may apply for and receive assistance from any source, including grants of money and services from national and state bodies and foundations. The commission may procure information, advice, and assistance from any agency, department, legislative committee, or other instrumentality of the state, with the consent of the head thereof. All state agencies, other official state organizations and all persons connected with them shall give the commission all relevant information and reasonable assistance on any matters of research requiring recourse to them or to data within their knowledge or control. The commission may request assistance in the performance of its responsibilities by the Legislative Commissioners' Office, and the legislative commissioners may assign attorneys in their office to provide such assistance. The commission shall have the power to adopt such regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, for the conduct of its business as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
(P.A. 74-132, S. 5, 6; 74-338, S. 87, 94; P.A. 77-557, S. 1, 3; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7, S. 63.)
History: P.A. 74-338 changed effective date of P.A. 74-132 from October 1, 1974, to May 8, 1974; P.A. 77-557 deleted Subsec. (b) which had prohibited expenditure of state funds; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7 added provision re assistance by Legislative Commissioners' Office, effective August 15, 2002.
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