HB 5376 — AN ACT CONCERNING RECOVERY OF ATTORNEYS' FEES UNDER THE STATE CODE OF ETHICS.

House of Representatives General Assembly SubstituteFile Bill No.

5376494 February Session, 2022 ANSubstitute ACTHouse CONCERNINGBill RECOVERYNo. OF ATTORNEYS' FEES UNDER THE STATE CODE OF ETHICS.

5376 House of Representatives, April 14, 2022 The Committee on Government Administration and Elections reported through REP.

FOX of the 148th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING RECOVERY OF ATTORNEYS' FEES UNDER THE STATE CODE OF ETHICS.

(c) [If a judge trial referee finds, after a hearing pursuant to this section, that there is no probable cause to believe that a public official or state employee has violated a provision of this part, section 1-101bb or section 1-101nn, or if the board determines that a public official or state employee has not violated any such provision, or if a court of competent jurisdiction overturns a finding by the board of a violation by such a respondent,]respondent] If (1) after a hearing pursuant to this section, the board determines that a matter was brought without any substantial justification, or (2) upon a subsequent appeal of the board's decision, a court of competent jurisdiction determines that a matter was brought withoutsHB5376 any/ substantialFile justification,No. the state shall pay the reasonable legal expenses of therespondent as determined by the Attorney General or by the court, if appropriate.

If494 any1 complaintsHB5376 broughtFile under the provisions of this part, section 1-101bb or section 1-101nn is made with theknowledgethatitismadewithoutfoundationinfact,therespondent shall have a cause of action against the complainant for double the amount of damage caused thereby and, if the respondent prevails in LCO \\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2022HB-05376-R011 of 2 HB.docx Substitute Bill No.

5376494 suchwithout action,any thesubstantial respondentjustification, maythe bestate awardedshall bypay the courtreasonable thelegal costsexpenses of suchtherespondent actionas togetherdetermined withby reasonablethe attorneys'Attorney fees.General or by the court, if appropriate.

If any complaint brought under the provisions of this part, section 1-101bb or section 1-101nn is made with theknowledgethatitismadewithoutfoundationinfact,therespondent shall have a cause of action against the complainant for double the amount of damage caused thereby and, if the respondent prevails in such action, the respondent may be awarded by the court the costs of such action together with reasonable attorneys' fees.

-LCO LCOsHB5376 R01-HB.docx/ }OUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2022HB-05376-File 2No. of 2

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494 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.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 23 $ FY 24 $ Comptroller - Adjudicated GF - Potential See Below See Below Claims Account Savings Note:

GF=General Fund Municipal Impact:

None Explanation This bill narrows the circumstances under which the state must pay reasonable attorneys' fees in proceedings brought against public officials or state employees under the code of ethics.

Current law does not limit the amount of attorneys' fees that the state is liable for;

thus, capping attorneys' fees may result in potential savings to the state.

The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation.

sHB5376 / File No.

494 3 sHB5376 File No.

494 OLR Bill Analysis HB 5376 AN ACT CONCERNING RECOVERY OF ATTORNEYS' FEES UNDER THE STATE CODE OF ETHICS.

SUMMARY This bill narrows the circumstances under which the state must pay reasonable attorneys’ fees in proceedings brought against public officials or state employees under the ethics code.

Under the bill, the state must pay these fees if the matter was brought without substantial justification, as determined by (1) the Citizen’s Ethics Advisory Board (CEAB) after a hearing or (2) a court handling an appeal of the board’s decision.

Under current law, the state must pay reasonable attorneys’ fees for respondents if (1) a judge trial referee finds, after a hearing, that there was no probable cause of an ethics code violation;

(2) CEAB determines that there was no code violation;

or (3) a court overturns the board’s finding of a violation.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

October 1, 2022 COMMITTEE ACTION Government Administration and Elections Committee Joint Favorable Yea 19 Nay 0 (03/29/2022) sHB5376 / File No.

494 4