Connecticut 2023 Regular Session Status: In Committee 3 D cosponsors

SB 862 — AN ACT CONCERNING CLARITY AND SIMPLICITY OF MUNICIPAL REFERENDUM QUESTIONS.

Last action — FILE NO. 464

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

This bill died with 2023 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there are no live odds of enactment. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

72 added · 79 removed

72 line(s) added, 79 removed.

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General Assembly Committee Bill No.
Senate General Assembly File No.
862 January Session, 2023 LCO No.
464 January Session, 2023 Senate Bill No.
5385 Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND ELECTIONS Introduced by:
862 Senate, April 6, 2023 The Committee on Government Administration and Elections reported through SEN.
(GAE) AN ACT CONCERNING CLARITY AND SIMPLICITY OF MUNICIPAL REFERENDUM QUESTIONS.
FLEXER of the 29th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the bill ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING CLARITY AND SIMPLICITY OF MUNICIPAL REFERENDUM QUESTIONS.
(b) (1) When the clerk of the municipality determines that the necessary action has been taken for submission of the question, [he] such clerk shall, at least forty-five days prior to the election, file in the office of the Secretary of the State a statement setting forth (A) the designation of the question as it is to appear on the ballot at the LCO 5385 \\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2023SB-00862-R01 of 4 SB.docx Committee Bill No.
(b) (1) When the clerk of the municipality determines that the necessaryactionhasbeentakenforsubmissionofthequestion, [he]such clerk shall, at least forty-five days prior to the election, file in the office of the Secretary of the State a statement setting forth (A) the designation SB862 / File No.
862 election, as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, (B) the date upon which the submitting action was taken, and (C) the reference to the law under which the action was taken.
464 1 SB862 File No.
464 of the question as it is to appear on the ballot at the election, as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, (B) the date upon which the submitting action was taken, and (C) the reference to the law under which the action was taken.
(2) The designation of each such question to appear on the ballot shall be (A) "Shall (here insert the question, followed by a question mark)", using short, simple words and clear, plain language, (B) limited to one subject matter, with any additional subject matter appearing under a separate designation on the ballot, and (C) explanatory as to the precise change or changes in law being proposed.
(2) The designation of each such question to appear onthe ballot shall be (A) "Shall (here insert the question, followed by a question mark)", using short, simple words and clear, plain language, (B) limited to one subject matter, with any additional subject matter appearing under a separate designation on the ballot, and (C) explanatory as to the precise change or changes in law being proposed.
[If the designation is not prescribed by law, the clerk shall phrase the designation of the question in a form suitable for printing on the ballot.] The warning of the election shall include a statement LCO 5385 {\\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2023SB-00862 of 4 R02-SB.docx } Committee Bill No.
[If the designation is not prescribed by law, the clerk shall phrase the designation of the question in a form suitable for printing on the ballot.] SB862 / File No.
862 that the question is to be voted upon, the designation of the question to appear on the ballot, and a statement that the full text of the question is available for public inspection in [the] such clerk's office.
464 2 SB862 File No.
464 The warning of the election shall include a statement that the question is to be voted upon, the designation of the question to appear on the ballot, and a statement that the full text of the question is available for public inspection in [the] such clerk's office.
The warning for such election shall state that a purpose of such election is to vote for the approval or disapproval of such amendment, question or proposal and shall state the section of the Constitution or of the general statutes or the special act under authority of which such vote is taken.
The warning for such election shall state that a purpose of such election is to vote for the approval or disapproval of such amendment, question or proposal and shall state the section of the Constitution or of the general statutes or the special act under authority of which such vote is taken.The vote onsuchamendment, questionor proposalshallbe taken by a "Yes" and "No" vote on the voting tabulator.
The vote on such amendment, question or proposal shall be taken by a "Yes" and "No" vote on the voting tabulator.
[, and] Except as provided in section 9-369a, as amended by this act, for any question or proposal that is submitted to the electors of a municipality under said section, the designation of such amendment, question or proposal on the ballot shall be "Shall (here insert the question or proposal, followed byaquestionmark)".Suchballotshallbeprovidedforuseinaccordance with the provisions of section 9-250.
[, and] Except as provided in section 9-369a, as amended by this act, for any question or proposal that is submitted to the electors of a municipality under said section, the designation of such amendment, question or proposal on the ballot shall be "Shall (here insert the question or proposal, followed by a question mark)".
The municipal clerk shall number on the ballot the questions to be voted upon according to the order in which they will appear thereon, provided amendments to the Constitution shall be numbered by the Secretary of the State in SB862 / File No.
Such ballot shall be provided for use in accordance with the provisions of section 9-250.
464 3 SB862 File No.
The municipal clerk shall number on the ballot the questions to be voted upon according to the order in which they will appear thereon, provided amendments to the Constitution shall be numbered by the Secretary of the State in numerical order based upon the dates on LCO 5385 {\\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2023SB-00863 of 4 R02-SB.docx } Committee Bill No.
464 numerical order based upon the dates on which resolutions proposing such amendments were passed, precedence being given to the earliest passed unless otherwise provided by the resolutions proposing such amendments.
862 which resolutions proposing such amendments were passed, precedence being given to the earliest passed unless otherwise provided by the resolutions proposing such amendments.
If, upon the official determination of the result of such vote, it appears that a majority of all the votes so cast are in approval of such amendment, question or proposal, such amendment, question or proposal shall, unless otherwise provided, take effect forthwith.
If, upon the official determination of the result of such vote, it appears that a majority of all the votes so cast are in approval of such amendment, question or proposal,suchamendment,questionor proposalshall,unlessotherwise provided, take effect forthwith.
2 from passage 9-369 GAE Joint Favorable LCO 5385 {\\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2023SB-00862- 4 of 4 R02-SB.docx }
2 from passage 9-369 GAE Joint Favorable SB862 / File No.
464 4 SB862 File No.
464 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:
None Municipal Impact:
None Explanation The bill would have no fiscal impact.
The bill would require municipalities to submit to the Office of the Secretary of State any proposed town referendum.
The bill requires each proposed referendum question to follow a standard format and address a single subject.
The bill does not obligate the state to further action.
The Out Years State Impact:
None Municipal Impact:
None SB862 / File No.
464 5 SB862 File No.
464 OLR Bill Analysis SB 862 AN ACT CONCERNING CLARITY AND SIMPLICITY OF MUNICIPAL REFERENDUM QUESTIONS.
SUMMARY This bill sets several new requirements for referendum questions submitted to a municipality’s electors at an election.
It requires that they (1) use short, simple words and clear, plain language;
(2) be limited to one subject;
and (3) precisely explain the proposed change or changes.
Questions on additional subjects must appear and be described separately.
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The bill retains an existing requirement that the designation be formatted as “Shall (insert question, followed by a question mark),” but removes a provision in current law requiring the town clerk to phrase the question designation if it is not prescribed by law.
The bill also subjects these questions to approval by the secretary of the state to determine whether the designation complies with the bill’s requirements.
Existing law requires town clerks to file a statement on a referendum question with the secretary before placing the question on theballot.
Thestatement must befiledatleast45daysbeforetheelection and include the question’s phrasing and submission date to the town clerk, as well as the legal authority for placing it on the ballot.
The bill requires the secretary to review the question designation within three days after its filing and either approve or disapprove of the designation.
She must notify the town clerk about her decision;
if she disapproves of a designation, then the clerk must file a revision within three days after receiving the disapproval notice.
Under the bill, the secretary has three days to approve or disapprove of the revised designation.
SB862 / File No.
464 6 SB862 File No.
464 The bill also makes technical and conforming changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Upon passage COMMITTEE ACTION Government Administration and Elections Committee Joint Favorable Yea 14 Nay 5 (03/22/2023) SB862 / File No.
464 7
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Action History

  1. FILE NO. 464

  2. SENATE CALENDAR NUMBER 269

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

  4. RPTD. OUT OF LCO

  5. REFERRED TO Office of Legislative Research AND Office of Fiscal Analysis 04/05/23

  6. FILED WITH LCO

  7. Joint Favorable

  8. PUBLIC HEARING 0310

  9. REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Government Administration and Elections

  10. DRAFTED BY COMMITTEE

  11. Vote to Draft

  12. REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Government Administration and Elections

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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5 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 182 not signed on

Sponsors (5)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (182)

182 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 182 →

"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.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

elections
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors SB 862?
SB 862 is sponsored by Sanchez, J., Rick Lopes (Democratic), Tercyak, Peter A., Gary A. Turco (Democratic), and James Sanchez (Democratic).
What is the current status of SB 862?
This bill died with 2023 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track SB 862?
Track SB 862 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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