Connecticut SB 466: AN ACT CONCERNING VEXATIOUS REQUESTERS UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.

Bill Text

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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 466
February Session, 2026 LCO No. 2813

Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT
ADMINISTRATION AND ELECTIONS

Introduced by:
(GAE)

AN ACT CONCERNING VEXATIOUS REQUESTERS UNDER THE
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subdivision (6) of subsection (b) of section 1-206 of the 1
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 2
thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 3
(6) Notwithstanding any provision of this subsection, a public agency 4
may petition the commission for relief from a requester that the public 5
agency alleges is a vexatious requester. Such petition shall be sworn 6
under penalty of false statement, as provided in section 53a-157b, and 7
shall detail the conduct which the agency alleges demonstrates a 8
vexatious history of requests, or harassing or threatening conduct, 9
including, but not limited to: (A) The number of requests filed and the 10
total number of pending requests; (B) the scope of the requests; (C) the 11
nature, content, language or subject matter of the requests; (D) the 12
nature, content, language or subject matter of other oral and written 13
communications to the agency or an employee of the agency from the 14

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requester, including, but not limited to, threatening or harassing 15
conduct that took place at or outside of the agency's office regardless of 16
whether such conduct was related to the request; and (E) a pattern of 17
conduct that amounts to an abuse of the right to access information 18
under the Freedom of Information Act or an interference with the 19
operation of the agency. Upon receipt of such petition, the executive 20
director of the commission shall review the petition and determine 21
whether it warrants a hearing. If the executive director determines that 22
a hearing is not warranted, the executive director shall recommend that 23
the commission deny the petition without a hearing. The commission 24
shall vote at its next regular meeting after such recommendation to 25
accept or reject such recommendation and, after such meeting, shall 26
issue a written explanation of the reasons for such acceptance or 27
rejection. If the executive director determines that a hearing is 28
warranted, the commission shall serve upon all parties, by certified or 29
registered mail or electronic transmission, a copy of such petition 30
together with any other notice or order of the commission. The 31
commission shall, after due notice to the parties, hear and either grant 32
or deny the petition not later than one year after its filing. Upon a grant 33
of such petition, the commission may provide appropriate relief 34
commensurate with the vexatious conduct, including, but not limited 35
to, an order that the agency need not comply with future requests from 36
the vexatious requester for a specified period of time determined by the 37
commission, but for a first granting of such petition concerning a 38
requester, not to exceed one year, and for a second or subsequent 39
granting of such petition concerning a requester, not to exceed three 40
years. Any party aggrieved by the commission's granting of such 41
petition may apply to the superior court for the judicial district in which 42
the public agency is located, not later than fifteen days after the 43
commission meeting at which such petition was granted, for an order 44
reversing the commission's decision. 45
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 October 1, 2026 1-206(b)(6)

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GAE Joint Favorable