Connecticut HB 5291: AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY SERVICES AND PUBLIC PROTECTION'S RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING VARIOUS STATUTES RELATING TO PUBLIC SAFETY.

Bill Text

Substitute House Bill No. 5291 
 
Public Act No. 26-45 
 
 
AN   ACT   CONCERNING   THE   DEPARTMENT   OF   EMERGENCY 
SERVICES  AND  PUBLIC  PROTECTION'S  RECOMMENDATIONS 
REGARDING    VARIOUS    STATUTES    RELATING    TO    PUBLIC 
SAFETY. 
Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and House  of  Representatives  in  General 
Assembly convened: 
 
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) (a) As used in this section, 
"municipal   fire   department"   means   any   department,   agency   or 
organization of a municipality, as defined in section 7-148 of the general 
statutes, fire district established pursuant to section 7-325 of the general 
statutes  or  other  political  subdivision  of  the  state,  whether  staffed  by 
career  or volunteer  personnel,  or  a  combination  thereof,  that  provides 
fire suppression or fire protection services. 
(b) Not later than ten business days after the appointment of a new 
or interim fire chief of a municipal fire department, such municipal fire 
department  shall  notify  the  Department  of  Emergency  Services  and 
Public Protection of such appointment. Such notification shall be made 
on a form prescribed by the Commissioner of Emergency Services and 
Public Protection and shall include, but need not be limited to, the name 
of the appointee, effective date of such appointment, department name, 
mailing  address,  electronic  mail  address,  mobile  telephone  number, 
dispatch contact number and any other information the commissioner 

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Public Act No. 26-45 2 of 36 
 
deems necessary for the department's records. 
(c) The commissioner may adopt regulations, in accordance with the 
provisions  of  chapter  54  of  the  general  statutes,  to  implement  the 
provisions of this section. 
Sec. 2. Subsection (b) of section 14-227a of the 2026 supplement to the 
general  statutes  is  repealed  and  the  following  is  substituted  in  lieu 
thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 
(b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, in any criminal 
prosecution  for  violation  of  subsection  (a)  of  this  section,  evidence 
respecting  the  amount  of  alcohol  or  drug  in  the  defendant's  blood  or 
urine at the time of the alleged offense, as shown by a chemical test of 
the   defendant's   breath,   blood   or   urine,   shall   be   admissible   and 
competent  provided:  (1)  The  defendant  was  afforded  a  reasonable 
opportunity to telephone an attorney prior to the performance of the test 
and  consented  to  the  taking  of  the  test  upon  which  such  analysis  is 
made; (2) if the chemical test was of the defendant's breath, a true copy 
of the report of the [test] result of such test was mailed to or personally 
delivered  to  the  defendant  within  twenty-four  hours  or  by  the  end  of 
the next regular business day, after such result was known, whichever 
is later; (3) the test was performed by or at the direction of a police officer 
according to methods and with equipment approved by the Department 
of  Emergency  Services  and  Public Protection  and  was  performed  in 
accordance  with  the  regulations  adopted  under  subsection  (d)  of  this 
section;  (4)  the  device  used  for  such  test  was  checked  for  accuracy  in 
accordance  with  the  regulations  adopted  under  subsection  (d)  of  this 
section; (5) an additional chemical test of the same type was performed 
at least ten minutes after the initial test was performed or, if requested 
by the police officer for reasonable cause, an additional chemical test of 
a different type was performed, including a test to detect the presence 
of  a  drug  or  drugs  other  than  or  in  addition  to  alcohol,  provided  the 
results of the initial test shall not be inadmissible under this subsection 

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if reasonable efforts were made to have such additional test performed 
in  accordance  with  the  conditions  set  forth  in  this  subsection  and  (A) 
such additional test was not performed or was not performed within a 
reasonable  time,  or  (B)  the  results  of  such  additional  test  are  not 
admissible  for  failure  to  meet  a  condition  set  forth  in  this  subsection; 
and (6) evidence is presented that the test was commenced within two 
hours  of  operation.  In  any  prosecution  under  this  section  it  shall  be  a 
rebuttable  presumption  that the  results  of  such  chemical  test  establish 
the  ratio  of  alcohol  in  the  blood  of  the  defendant  at  the  time  of  the 
alleged offense, except that if the results of the additional test indicate 
that the ratio of alcohol in the blood of such defendant is ten-hundredths 
of  one  per  cent  or  less  of  alcohol,  by  weight,  and  is  higher  than  the 
results  of  the  first  test,  evidence  shall  be  presented  that  demonstrates 
that the test results and the analysis thereof accurately ind