Connecticut SB 260: AN ACT CONCERNING ROAMING DOGS.

Bill Text

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General Assembly  
Substitute Bill No. 260  
February Session, 2026 
 
 
 
 
 
AN ACT CONCERNING ROAMING DOGS.  
Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  in  General 
Assembly convened: 
 
Section  1.  Section  22-364  of  the  general  statutes  is  repealed  and  the 1 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 2 
(a) No owner or keeper of any dog or livestock as defined in section 3 
22-381 shall allow such dog or livestock to roam at large upon the land 4 
of another and not under control of the owner or keeper or the agent of 5 
the owner or keeper, nor allow such dog or livestock to roam at large on 6 
any portion of any public highway and not attended or under control of 7 
such  owner  or  keeper  or  an  agent  of  such  owner  or  keeper,  provided 8 
[nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit or prohibit the use 9 
of hunting dogs during the open hunting or training season] this section 10 
shall not apply to the use of a (1) hunting dog during the open hunting 11 
or training season, (2) dog used in the handling and control of livestock, 12 
or  (3)  dog  engaged  in a search  or  rescue  operation.  The  unauthorized 13 
presence of any dog or livestock on the land of any person other than 14 
the  owner  or  keeper  of  such  dog  or  livestock  or  on  any  portion  of  a 15 
public highway when such dog or livestock is not attended by or under 16 
the control of such owner or keeper, shall be prima facie evidence of a 17 
violation of the provisions of this subsection. [Violation of any provision 18 
of  this  subsection  shall  be  an  infraction.] The  animal  control  officer  or 19 

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regional animal control officer appointed pursuant to section 22-328, 22-20 
331 or 22-331a, as applicable, of any city or town in which any such dog 21 
or  livestock  is  found  roaming  at  large  may,  in  addition  to  any  other 22 
remedies provided by law, seek an order enforcing the provisions of this 23 
section, including an injunction, from the superior court of the judicial 24 
district in which such dog or livestock is found roaming at large. 25 
(b) A violation of subsection (a) of this section concerning livestock 26 
shall be an infraction. 27 
(c) (1) Any owner or keeper of any dog who violates subsection (a) of 28 
this  section  shall  be  (A)  fined  (i)  not  more  than  three  hundred  fifty 29 
dollars for a first violation, or (ii) not more than five hundred dollars for 30 
a subsequent violation, or (B) guilty of a class C misdemeanor for a third 31 
or   subsequent   violation   that   occurs   during   the   one-year   period 32 
following the immediate prior violation. 33 
[(b)] (2) Any owner or keeper of any dog who, knowing of the vicious 34 
propensities  of  such  dog  and  having  violated [the  provisions  of] 35 
subsection (a) of this section within the preceding year, intentionally or 36 
recklessly violates [the provisions of] subsection (a) of this section shall 37 
be  fined  not  more  than  one  thousand  dollars  or  imprisoned  not  more 38 
than  six  months,  or  both,  if  such  dog,  while  roaming  at  large,  causes 39 
physical injury to another person and such other person was not teasing, 40 
tormenting or abusing such dog. 41 
Sec. 2. Subsection (b) of section 51-164n of the 2026 supplement to the 42 
general  statutes  is  repealed  and  the  following  is  substituted  in  lieu 43 
thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 44 
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, any person 45 
who is alleged to have committed (1) a violation under the provisions of 46 
section 1-9, 1-10, 1-11, 2-71h, 4b-13, 7-13, 7-14, 7-35 or 7-41, subsection (c) 47 
of section 7-66, section 7-83, 7-147h, 7-148, 7-283, 7-325, 7-393, 8-12, 8-25, 48 
8-27, 9-63, 9-322, 9-350, 10-185, 10-193, 10-197, 10-198, 10-230, 10-251, 10-49 
254,   10a-35,   12-52,   12-54,   12-129b   or   12-170aa,   subdivision   (3)   of 50 
subsection (e) of section 12-286, section 12-286a, 12-292, 12-314b or  12-51 

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326g,  subdivision  (4)  of  section  12-408,  subdivision  (3),  (5)  or  (6)  of 52 
section  12-411,  section  12-435c,  12-476a,  12-476b,  12-476c,  12-487,  13a-53 
26b,  13a-71,  13a-107,  13a-113,  13a-114,  13a-115,  13a-117b,  13a-123,  13a-54 
124, 13a-139, 13a-140, 13a-143b, 13a-253, 13a-263 or 13b-39f, subsection 55 
(f) of section 13b-42, section 13b-90 or 13b-100, subsection (a) of section 56 
13b-108, section 13b-221 or 13b-292, subsection (a) or (b) of section 13b-57 
324,  section  13b-336,  13b-337,  13b-338,  13b-410a,  13b-410b  or  13b-410c, 58 
subsection  (a),  (b)  or  (c)  of  section  13b-412,  section  13b-414  or  14-4, 59 
subdivision  (2)  of  subsection  (a)  of  section  14-12,  subsection  (d)  of 60 
section  14-12,  subsection  (f)  of  section  14-12a,  subsection