Connecticut HB 5564: AN ACT CONCERNING VICTIM STATEMENTS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR VICTIM NOTIFICATION.

Bill Text

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General Assembly  
Substitute Bill No. 5564  
February Session, 2026 
 
 
 
 
 
AN ACT CONCERNING VICTIM STATEMENTS AND REQUIREMENTS 
FOR VICTIM NOTIFICATION.  
Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of Representatives  in  General 
Assembly convened: 
 
Section  1.  Section  54-91c  of  the  general  statutes  is  repealed  and  the 1 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 2 
(a) For the purposes of this section, "victim" means a person who is a 3 
victim of a crime, the legal representative of such person, a member of a 4 
deceased  victim's  immediate  family  or  a  person  designated  by  a 5 
deceased victim in accordance with section 1-56r. 6 
(b) (1)  (A) Prior  to any  proceedings  involving  the  dismissal  of  a 7 
charge against any defendant or the entry of a nolle prosequi to a charge 8 
for any offense described in subdivision (2) of this subsection against a 9 
defendant, or (B) prior to the imposition of sentence upon any defendant 10 
who has been found guilty of any crime or has pleaded guilty or nolo 11 
contendere to any crime, and prior to the acceptance by the court of a 12 
plea  of  guilty  or  nolo  contendere  made  pursuant  to  a  plea  agreement 13 
with the state, the court shall permit any victim of the crime to appear 14 
before the court for the purpose of making a statement for the record, 15 
which  statement  may  include  the  victim's  opinion [of] concerning the 16 
dismissal  of  a  charge  against  any  defendant  or  the  entry  of  a  nolle 17 
prosequi to a charge for any offense described in subdivision (2) of this 18 

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subsection  against  a  defendant  or any  plea  agreement.  In  lieu  of  such 19 
appearance, the victim may submit a written statement or, if the victim 20 
of  the  crime  is  deceased,  the  legal  representative  or  a  member  of  the 21 
immediate  family  of  such  deceased  victim  may  submit  a  statement  of 22 
such deceased victim to the state's attorney, assistant state's attorney or 23 
deputy  assistant  state's  attorney  in  charge  of  the  case.  Such  state's 24 
attorney,  assistant  state's  attorney  or  deputy  assistant  state's  attorney 25 
shall file the statement with the sentencing court and the statement shall 26 
be  made  a  part  of  the  record  at  the  sentencing  hearing.  Any  such 27 
statement, whether oral or written, shall relate to the facts of the  case, 28 
the  appropriateness  of  any  penalty  and  the  extent  of  any  injuries, 29 
financial losses and loss of earnings directly resulting from the crime for 30 
which the defendant is being sentenced. The court shall inquire on the 31 
record whether any victim is present for the purpose of making an oral 32 
statement or has submitted a written statement. If no victim is present 33 
and  no  such  written  statement  has  been  submitted,  the  court  shall 34 
inquire on the record whether an attempt has been made to notify any 35 
such  victim  as  provided  in  subdivision  (1)  of  subsection  (c)  of  this 36 
section  or,  if  the  defendant  was  originally  charged  with  a  violation  of 37 
section 53a-167c for assaulting a peace officer, whether the peace officer 38 
has been personally notified as provided in subdivision (2) of subsection 39 
(c) of this section. After consideration of any such statements, the court 40 
may refuse to accept, where appropriate, a negotiated plea or sentence, 41 
and  the  court  shall  give  the  defendant  an  opportunity  to  enter  a  new 42 
plea and to elect trial by jury or by the court. 43 
(2)  The  following  are  offenses  for  which  the  court,  pursuant  to 44 
subdivision (1) of this subsection, shall permit any victim of a crime to 45 
appear before the court for the purpose of making a statement for the 46 
record concerning the dismissal of a charge against a defendant or the 47 
entry of a nolle prosequi to a charge against a defendant: 48 
(A) A class A, B or C felony offense or an unclassified felony offense 49 
for which a term of imprisonment may be five years or more; 50 
(B) A class D felony offense that is a violation of section 53a-60a, 53a-51 

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60b,  53a-60c,  53a-64bb,  53a-72a,  53a-90a,  53a-103a,  53a-181c,  53a-189c, 52 
53a-191,  53a-196,  53a-196f,  53a-211,  53a-216,  53a-217a,  53a-322,  54-251, 53 
54-252,  54-253  or  54-254  or  subdivision  (1)  of  subsection  (a)  of  section 54 
53a-189a; 55 
(C) A class A misdemeanor offense that is a violation of section 53a-56 
61a, 53a-64cc, 53a-189c or 53a-323; or 57 
(D)  Any  other  offense  that  is  (i)  a  nonviolent  sexual  offense  or  a 58 
sexually  violent  offense,  each  as  defined  in  section  54-250,  or  (ii) 59 
designated as a family violence crime, as defined in section 46b-38a. 60 
(c) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsect