Laws enacted in 2019 and now in effect

By Susannah Wood

A number of newly minted laws that may be important to Norfolk residents came into effect in 2019 or on Jan. 1 of this year. The following list is by no means exhaustive, however. Also, since space does not allow for an in-depth discussion of all the details, readers seeking more information may want to contact our local representatives, Representative Maria Horn (Maria.Horn@cga.ct.gov) and State Senator Kevin Witkos (Kevin.Witkos@cga.ct.gov).

 A list of all Public Acts passed in 2019 and their texts can be accessed on the Legislative Commissioners website: https://www.cga.ct.gov/lco/statutes-actsno.asp. 

Summaries of most of these laws can be found here: https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/aearchives/20191001ActsEffective.asp and https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/aearchives/20200101ActsEffective.asp.

Agriculture

 Local honey and maple syrup producers will have fewer regulations to follow owing to a law shifting jurisdiction from the Department of Consumer Affairs to the Department of Agriculture, which will be responsible for licensing and inspections (PA 19-18).

Breast cancer ultrasound screening 

Many individual and group health insurance providers are now required to provide coverage for doctor-recommended breast ultrasounds for women who are 40 and older, or have a family or personal history of breast cancer, or a personal history of benign breast disease. Out-of-pocket expenses for covered ultrasounds, mammograms and MRI’s are prohibited with a few exceptions (PA 19-117, sec 209 & 210).  

Drivers’ licenses and vehicle registrations

Drivers will only need to renew licenses every eight years instead of six. Registrations will move toward a three-year system (PA 19-165).

Boarding animals

People can now board up to three dogs or three cats without obtaining a license (PA 19-156).

Gun safety

“Ethan’s Law” requires that in a household that includes minors under 18, any gun, loaded or unloaded, must be locked away in a container (PA 19-5).

Handguns left in a car have to be locked in the trunk, a gun safe, or locked glove compartment (PA 19-6).

It is illegal to manufacture a gun without obtaining and engraving a unique serial number from the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. It is illegal to make plastic guns, “ghost guns,” that are undetectable by metal detectors (PA 19-7).

Hearing aids

Insurance coverage for hearing aids has been expanded to require one new aid per ear over a two-year period, without regard to cost and without regard to age (PA 19-133).

Juvenile car theft

A minor with no previous serious criminal record who has been charged in the theft or misuse of a motor vehicle may request and may be eligible for an alternative program of counseling and/or service to address behavioral issues. This program is only available to an individual once (PA 19-110).

Immigration

Under the “Trust Act,” law officers, including school officers and security department officers, cannot detain someone without a judicial warrant. Detainees will not be automatically transferred to ICE (Immigration and Customs Inforcement) (PA 19-20).

LGBTQ+

It is illegal to claim the “panic defense” for a crime committed against an LGBTQ+ individual, referring to a legal tactic that has been used in hate crimes, essentially holding the victim’s sexual identity responsible for the violence done to them (PA 19-27). 

Minimum wage

The minimum wage is now $11.00 an hour, up from $10.10 an hour. It will increase over the next three years to $15.00 an hour (PA 19-4).

Opioids

Physicians prescribing more that 12 weeks of opioid medication for pain control will have to set up a treatment plan that includes monitoring, counseling and information about non-opioid approaches (PA 19-191).

The existing good Samaritan law has been expanded to cover individuals or institutions that provide naloxone in cabinets for automatic defibrillators, protecting such individuals and institutions from liability (PA 19-169).

Plastic bag phase-out

Single-use plastic bags offered at checkout counters now cost 10 cents. After June 30, 2021, such bags will no longer be allowed. This law does not include bags for produce, meat and fish, or any bag used to collect items together before checkout. The law does not prevent municipalities from instituting further bans or restrictions on bags of various types as long as they are at least as restrictive (PA 19-117).

Police accountability in use of force incidents

Video cam footage of a use-of-force incident must be released to the public either no more than 48 hours after officers involved have reviewed the video or no later than 96 hours after the incident, whichever comes first. It is also now illegal in most cases for police to shoot at or into a car fleeing the scene or for an officer to stand in front of that car (PA 19-90).

Police and emergency responders training for dealing with people on the autism spectrum

Police will be given expanded training on dealing with juveniles and adults on the autism spectrum, and also with nonverbal individuals. The Commission on Fire Prevention and Control is to establish an optional program for training firefighters as well, which would be available at no cost (PA 19-147).

Seniors

The state’s “Circuit Breaker Program” (Elderly and Disabled Homeowners’ Tax Relief Program), which gives a property tax reduction to older adults and individuals with significant disabilities, will now include owners of real property that is held in trust for the owner (PA 19-66).

Nursing homes must now post the number of APRN’s, RN’s, LPN’s and nurse’s aides on duty during each shift (PA 19-89).

Sexual and domestic violence

When a minor is the victim of sexual abuse, there is no time limit on filing criminal charges. Victims who were 18, 19 or 20 years old at the time of the assault have until they are 51 to press charges. The law expands requirements for employers to provide training on sexual harassment (PA 19-4).

Victims of domestic violence will now have their identities protected and redacted from public records and Freedom of Information requests (PA 19-43).

Spouses now have the same protections under the law as any victim of sexual assault (PA 19-189).

The law against voyeurism is expanded to ban taking a photo or video under or around a person’s clothing, “upskirting,” without their consent in public places where there is an expectation of privacy (PA 19-14). 

The Commissioner of Children and Families must now do background checks of prospective adoptive and foster parents who have lived in other states in the past five years by obtaining records from the relevant state registries of child abuse and neglect. Background checks must also be done on anyone 16 years of age or older living in the household of the applicant(s) (PA 19-20).

Solar energy

Reversing a law passed in 2018 to end net metering, the state has put off further action until after 2021. Net metering reimburses residential customers for any excess electricity from their photovoltaic systems that is fed back into the grid (PA 19-35).

Taxes

The state budget made a number of changes to various taxes. This is only a very partial list.

The sales tax has been extended to include parking, dry cleaning and laundry, digital purchases such as renting movies on line and monthly services like Spotify.

The budget made a number of changes in business taxes. (Consultation with a qualified public accountant is the best way to learn about relevant changes.)The sales tax on prepared meals and sandwiches from supermarkets and restaurants has been raised by 1 percent. Alcoholic beverages other than beer are now subject to a 10 percent increase in the excise tax. Craft beer breweries are eligible for a tax credit.

Short-term rentals (i.e., Airbnb) will be required to collect the state’s room occupancy tax.

Tobacco and e-cigarettes

Purchasers of tobacco, e-cigarettes and vaping products must now be 21 years old rather than 18 (PA 19-13).

Veterans

Property tax or auto tax exemptions have been increased for disabled veterans under (PA 19-171). Contact the tax assessor’s office for details.

Veterans who served fewer than 90 days during a time of war and are injured or have aggravated an injury in the line of duty, but whose injury is not classified as a service-connected injury, are now eligible for certain state benefits. The law also removes the two-year residency eligibility requirement for funeral and hospital benefits for service members who entered the armed forces while living in another state (PA 19-33).

Spouses and dependents of service members can now retain their in-state tuition status if the service member is transferred out of state (PA 19-172).