Connecticut 2026 Session Status: Enacted Bipartisan · 2 D · 1 R cosponsors

SB 407 — AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE COMMISSIONER OF MOTOR VEHICLES TO ISSUE PERMITS ALLOWING ORGAN TRANSPORT VEHICLES TO USE CERTAIN LIGHTS.

Last action — SIGNED BY GOVERNOR

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Senate
  4. ✓
    Passed House
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced March 04, 2026. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Ned Lamont (Democratic) on June 04, 2026.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 72% · moderate confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 3 sponsors

    3 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (2 D · 1 R) — cross-party backing.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

In plain language

This bill allows organ transport vehicles to use specific lights while operating.

The legislation permits the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles to issue permits for organ transport vehicles to utilize certain lights while on duty. This aims to enhance visibility and safety during the transportation of organs.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

143 added · 85 removed

Plain-language change summary

The updated version of SB 407 now requires a permit for using colored or flashing lights on all motor vehicles, with specific exceptions for certain government vehicles and those involved in transporting oversized or overweight loads. Additionally, it clarifies that permits can be issued at the discretion of the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, along with a new annual fee of twenty dollars for private vehicles obtaining permits. This change is important because it aims to streamline the regulation of vehicle lighting while ensuring safety and compliance on the roads.

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Senate General Assembly File No.
Substitute Senate Bill No.
305 February Session, 2026 Substitute Senate Bill No.
407 Public Act No.
407 Senate, April 1, 2026 The Committee on Public Safety and Security reported through SEN.
26-147 AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE COMMISSIONER OF MOTOR VEHICLES TO ISSUE PERMITS ALLOWING ORGAN TRANSPORT VEHICLES TO USE CERTAIN LIGHTS.
GASTON of the 23rd Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE COMMISSIONER OF MOTOR VEHICLES TO ISSUE PERMITS ALLOWING ORGAN TRANSPORT VEHICLES TO USE CERTAIN LIGHTS.
Subsection (h) of section 14-96q of the general statutes is repealed andthefollowing issubstituted inlieuthereof(EffectiveOctober 1, 2026):
Section 14-96q of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026):
(a) A permit is required for the use of colored or flashing lights on all motor vehicles or equipment specified in this section except:
(1) Motor vehicles not registered in this state used for transporting or escorting any vehicle or load, or combinations thereof, which is either oversize or overweight, or both, when operating under a permit issued by the Commissioner of Transportation pursuant to section 14-270;
or (2) motor vehicles or equipment that are (A) equipped with lights in accordance with this section, (B) owned or leased by the federal government, the stateof Connecticut, or anyother state, commonwealth or local municipality, and (C) registered to such governmental entity.
When used in this section, the term "flashing" shall be considered to include the term "revolving".
(b) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, or such other person specifically identified in this section, may issue permits for the use of Substitute Senate Bill No.
407 colored or flashing lights on vehicles in accordance with this section, at the commissioner's or such person's discretion.
Any person, firm or corporation other than the state or any metropolitan district, town, city or borough shall pay an annual permit fee of twenty dollars to the commissioner for each such vehicle.
Such fee shall apply only to permits issued by the commissioner.
(c) A flashing blue light or lights may be used on a motor vehicle operated by an active member of a volunteer fire department or company or an active member of an organized civil preparedness auxiliary fire company who has been issued a permit by the chief executive officer of such department or company to use a flashing blue light or lights while on the way to or at the scene of a fire or other emergency requiring such member's services.
Such permit shall be on a form provided by the commissioner and may be revoked by such chief executive officer or successor.
The chief executive officer of each volunteer fire department or company or organized civil preparedness auxiliary fire company shall keep on file, on forms provided by the commissioner, the names and addresses of members who have been authorized to use a flashing blue light or lights as provided in this subsection.
Such listing shall also designate the registration number of the motor vehicle on which authorized a flashing blue light or lights are to be used.
(d) A flashing green or blue light or lights may be used on a motor vehicle operated by an active member of a volunteer ambulance association or company who has been issued a permit by the chief executive officer of such association or company to use such a light or lights, while on the way to or at the scene of an emergency requiring such member's services.
Such permit shall be on a form provided by the commissioner and may be revoked by such chief executive officer or successor.
The chief executive officer of each volunteer ambulance association or company shall keep on file, on forms provided by the Public Act No.
26-147 2 of 5 Substitute Senate Bill No.
407 commissioner, the names and addresses of members who have been authorized to use a flashing green or blue light or lights as provided in this subsection.
Such listing shall also designate the registration number ofthemotorvehicle onwhichtheauthorizedflashing green or bluelight or lights are to be used.
(e) The commissioner may issue a permit for a flashing red light or lights which may be used on a motor vehicle or equipment (1) used by paid fire chiefs and their deputies and assistants, up to a total of five individuals per department, (2) used by volunteer fire chiefs and their deputies and assistants, up to a total of five individuals per department, (3) used by members of the fire police on a stationary vehicle as a warning signal during traffic directing operations at the scene of a fire or emergency, (4) used by chief executive officers of emergency medical service organizations, as defined in section 19a-175, the first or second deputies,oriftherearenodeputies,thefirstorsecondassistants,ofsuch an organization that is a municipal or volunteer or licensed organization, (5) used by local fire marshals, (6) used by directors of emergency management, or (7)used by aconstable,appointedpursuant to an ordinance authorized by section 9-185 or elected pursuant to section 9-200, on a stationary vehicle as a warning signal during traffic directing operations.
(f) The commissioner may issue a permit for a yellow or amber light or lights, including a flashing yellowor amber light or lights,which may be used on motor vehicles or equipment that are (1) specified in subsection (e) of this section, (2) maintenance vehicles, or (3) vehicles transporting or escorting any vehicle or load or combinations thereof, which is or are either oversize or overweight, or both, and being operated or traveling under a permit issued by the Commissioner of Transportation pursuant to section 14-270.
A yellow or amber light or lights, including a flashing yellow or amber light or lights, may be used without obtaining a permit from the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles Public Act No.
26-147 3 of 5 Substitute Senate Bill No.
407 on wreckers registered pursuant to section 14-66, on vehicles of carriers in rural mail delivery service or on vehicles operated by construction inspectors employed by the state of Connecticut, authorized by the Commissioner of Transportation, used during the performance of inspections on behalf of the state.
The Commissioner of Transportation shall maintain a list of such authorized construction inspectors, including the name and address of each inspector and the registration number for each vehicle on which the light or lights are to be used.
(g) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles may issue a permit for a white light or lights, including a flashing white light or lights, which maybeusedonamotorvehicleorequipmentasspecifiedinsubdivision (1), (2), (4), (5) or (6) of subsection (e) of this section.
A vehicle being operated by a member of a volunteer fire department or company or a volunteer emergency medical technician may use flashing white head lamps, provided such member or emergency medical technician is on the way to the scene of a fire or medical emergency and has received written authorization from the chief law enforcement officer of the municipality to use such head lamps.
Such head lamps shall only be used within the municipality granting such authorization or from a personal residence or place of employment, if located in an adjoining municipality.
Such authorization may be revoked for use of such head lamps in violation of this subdivision.
For the purposes of this subsection, the term "flashing white lights" shall not include the simultaneous flashing of head lamps.
For the purposes of this subsection, "organ transport vehicle" means any vehicle operated by an employee of a procurement organization, as defined in section 19a-289a, while transporting parts, as defined in said section.
For the purposes of this subsection, "organ transport vehicle" means any vehicle operated by an employee of a procurement organization, as defined in section 19a-289a, while Public Act No.
sSB407 / File No.
26-147 4 of 5 Substitute Senate Bill No.
305 1 sSB407 File No.
407 transporting parts, as defined in said section.
305 This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
(i) The commissioner may issue a permit for ambulances, as defined in section 19a-175, which may, in addition to the flashing light or lights allowed in subsection (h) of this section, use flashing lights of other colors specified by federal requirements for the manufacture of an ambulance.
Section 1 October 1, 2026 14-96q(h) Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
If thecommissioner issuesapermit for any ambulance, such permit shall be issued at the time of registration and upon each renewal of such registration.
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In the second sentence, "owned by" was changed to "operated by an employee of" and "that is primarily used for the purpose of" was changed to "while" for statutory consistency and "section 19a-289a" was changed to "said section" for consistency with the style of the general statutes.
(j)A green, yellowor amber light or lights,including aflashing green, yellow or amber light or lights or any combination thereof, may be used on a maintenance vehicle owned and operated by the Department of Transportation.
PS Joint Favorable Subst.
(k) No person, other than a police officer or inspector of the Department of Motor Vehicles operating a state or local police vehicle, shall operate a motor vehicle displaying a steady blue or steady red illuminated light or both steady blue and steady red illuminated lights that are visible externally from the front of the vehicle.
-LCO sSB407 / File No.
(l) Use of colored and flashing lights except as authorized by this section shall be an infraction.
305 2 sSB407 File No.
(m) Nothing in this section shall be construed to confer upon the operator of any vehicle the privileges granted to the operator of an emergency vehicle under section 14-283.
305 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.
Governor's Action:
In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.
Approved June 4, 2026 Public Act No.
Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
26-147 5 of 5
OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $ Motor Vehicle Dept.
TF - Revenue Less than Less than Gain 1,000 1,000 Note:
TF=Transportation Fund Municipal Impact:
None Explanation The bill results in annual revenue gain of less than $1,000 to the Department of Motor Vehicles by authorizing the agency to issue colored light permits to organ transport vehicles.
Under current law, an annualpermitfeeof$20generallyappliesforuseofcoloredandflashing lights.
The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to the number of permits issued.
sSB407 / File No.
305 3 sSB407 File No.
305 OLR Bill Analysis SB 407 AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE COMMISSIONER OF MOTOR VEHICLES TO ISSUE PERMITS ALLOWING ORGAN TRANSPORT VEHICLES TO USE CERTAIN LIGHTS.
SUMMARY By law, a permit is generally requiredto use coloredor flashing lights on motor vehicles or equipment.
This bill allows the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) commissioner to issue permits for organ transportvehiclestouseanycombinationofsteadyor flashingblue,red, yellow, or white lights, unless specifically restricted for use by police officers or DMV inspectors.
By law, using colored or flashing lights unauthorized is an infraction.
Under the bill, an organ transport vehicle is any vehicle driven by an employee of a licensed organ procurement organization that is being used for transporting parts (an organ, eye, or human tissue, but not a whole human body).
EFFECTIVE DATE:
October 1, 2026 BACKGROUND Related Bill HB 5460, favorably reported by the Public Safety and Security Committee, among other things, removes the ban on using steady red, blue, or red and blue lights that are externally visible from the vehicle’s front.
COMMITTEE ACTION Public Safety and Security Committee Joint Favorable Yea 29 Nay 0 (03/17/2026) sSB407 / File No.
305 4
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Action History

  1. SIGNED BY GOVERNOR

  2. TRANSMITTED BY SECRETARY OF THE STATE TO GOVERNOR

  3. TRANSMITTED TO SECRETARY OF THE STATE

  4. PUBLIC ACT 26-147

  5. IN CONCURRENCE

  6. HOUSE PASSED, SEN. AMEND. SCH. A

  7. HOUSE ADOPTED SEN. AMEND. SCH. A

  8. HOUSE CALENDAR NUMBER 521

  9. FAV. RPT., TABLED FOR HOUSE CALENDAR

  10. RULES SUSPENDED,TRANS.TO HOUSE

  11. SEN. PASSED, SEN. AMEND. SCH. A

  12. SEN. ADOPTED SEN. AMEND. SCH. A

  13. FILE NO. 305

  14. SENATE CALENDAR NUMBER 215

  15. FAV. RPT., TAB. FOR CAL., SEN.

  16. RPTD. OUT OF LCO

  17. REFERRED TO Office of Legislative Research AND Office of Fiscal Analysis 03/31/26

  18. FILED WITH LCO

  19. Joint Favorable

  20. PUBLIC HEARING 0312

  21. REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Public Safety and Security

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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3 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 184 not signed on

Sponsors (3)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (184)

184 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 184 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

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Subjects

public-safety transportation health-insurance
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Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors SB 407?
SB 407 is sponsored by Henry J. Genga (Democratic), Hubert D. Delany (Democratic), and Tami Zawistowski (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 407?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced March 04, 2026. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 407?
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