Connecticut 2024 Regular Session Status: In Committee 8 D cosponsors

HB 5331 — AN ACT CONCERNING THE SUSPENSION OF MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATORS' LICENSES FOR FAILURE TO PAY FINES OR FEES OR FAILURE TO APPEAR FOR A SCHEDULED COURT APPEARANCE.

Last action — REF. BY HOUSE TO COMMITTEE ON Appropriations

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

This bill died with 2024 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This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there are no live odds of enactment.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

10 added · 168 removed

10 line(s) added, 168 removed.

→
Previous
Latest
House of Representatives General Assembly File No.
General Assembly Substitute Bill No.
275 February Session, 2024 Substitute House Bill No.
5331 February Session, 2024 AN ACT CONCERNING THE SUSPENSION OF MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATORS' LICENSES FOR FAILURE TO PAY FINES OR FEES OR FAILURE TO APPEAR FOR A SCHEDULED COURT APPEARANCE.
5331 House of Representatives, April 4, 2024 The Committee on Transportation reported through REP.
LEMAR of the 96th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING THE SUSPENSION OF MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATORS' LICENSES FOR FAILURE TO PAY FINES OR FEES OR FAILURE TO APPEAR FOR A SCHEDULED COURT APPEARANCE.
(1) The person failed to pay any fine, fee or other sHB5331 / File No.
(1) The person failed to pay any fine, fee or other charge associated with an infraction involving the use of a motor vehicle, a violation of any statute relating to motor vehicles specified in section 51-164n or a violation of sections 29-322, 29-349 and 29-351, or (2) the person failed to appear for any scheduled court appearance with regard to any such infraction or violation.
275 1 sHB5331 File No.
Whenever any certificate of registration is suspended or revoked, all evidence of the same shall be LCO 1 of 4 Substitute Bill No.
275 charge associated with an infraction involving the use of a motor vehicle, a violation of any statute relating to motor vehicles specified in section 51-164n or a violation of sections 29-322, 29-349 and 29-351, or (2) the person failed to appear for any scheduled court appearance with regard to any such infraction or violation.
5331 delivered forthwith to the commissioner or to any person authorized by the commissioner to receive the same, and the commissioner or any person authorized by the commissioner may seize such certificate of registration and all evidence of the same.
Whenever any certificate of registration is suspended or revoked, all evidence of the same shall be delivered forthwith to the commissioner or to any person authorized by the commissioner to receive the same, and the commissioner or any person authorized by the commissioner may seize such certificate of registration and all evidence of the same.
(a) Any person who has been arrested by an officer for a violation of any provision of any statute relating to motor vehicles may be released, upon [his] such person's own recognizance, by such officer in [his] such officer's discretion, unless such violation is of a provision relating to driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs or using a motor vehicle without permission of the owner or evading responsibility for personal injury or property damage or involves the death or serious injury of another, in which cases such person shall not sHB5331 / File No.
(a) Any person who has been arrested by an officer for a violation of any provision of any statute relating to motor vehicles may be released, upon [his] such person's own recognizance, by such officer in [his] such officer's discretion, unless such violation is of a provision relating to driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs or using a motor vehicle without permission of the owner or evading responsibility for personal injury or property damage or involves the death or serious injury of another, in which cases such person shall not be released on [his] such person's own recognizance.
275 2 sHB5331 File No.
(b) If any person so arrested or summoned wilfully fails to appear for any scheduled court appearance at thetime andplace assigned,or ifany person charged with an infraction involving the use of a motor vehicle, or with a motor vehicle violation specified in section 51-164n, fails to LCO 2 of 4 Substitute Bill No.
275 be released on [his] such person's own recognizance.
5331 pay the fine and any additional fee imposed or send in [his] such person's plea of not guilty by the answer date or wilfully fails to appear for any scheduled court appearance which may be required, or if any person fails to pay any surcharge imposed under section 13b-70, any fee imposed under section 51-56a or any cost imposed under section 54-143 or 54-143a, a report of such failure shall be sent to the commissioner by the court having jurisdiction.
(b) If any person so arrested or summoned wilfully fails to appear for any scheduled court appearance at thetime andplace assigned,or ifany person charged with an infraction involving the use of a motor vehicle, or with a motor vehicle violation specified in section 51-164n, fails to pay the fine and any additional fee imposed or send in [his] such person's plea of not guilty by the answer date or wilfully fails to appear for any scheduled court appearance which may be required, or if any person fails to pay any surcharge imposed under section 13b-70, any fee imposed under section 51-56a or any cost imposed under section 54-143 or 54-143a, a report of such failure shall be sent to the commissioner by the court having jurisdiction.
(NEW) (Effective July 1, 2024) Not later than January 1, 2025, sHB5331 / File No.
(NEW) (Effective July 1, 2024) Not later than January 1, 2025, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall reinstate the motor vehicle operator's license of any person whose license was suspended solely for one or both of the following reasons:
275 3 sHB5331 File No.
(1) The person failed to pay any fines, fee or other charges associated with an infraction involving the use of a motor vehicle, a violation of any provision of any statute LCO 3 of 4 Substitute Bill No.
275 the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall reinstate the motor vehicle operator's license of any person whose license was suspended solely for one or both of the following reasons:
5331 relating to motor vehicles specified in section 51-164n of the general statutesoraviolationofsections29-322,29-349and29-351ofthegeneral statutes, or (2) the person failed to appear for any scheduled court appearance with regard to any such infraction or violation, provided suchpersonisotherwise eligibleto have such person'soperator'slicense reinstated.
(1) The person failed to pay any fines, fee or other charges associated with an infraction involving the use of a motor vehicle, a violation of any provision of any statute relating to motor vehicles specified in section 51-164n of the general statutesoraviolationofsections29-322,29-349and29-351ofthegeneral statutes, or (2) the person failed to appear for any scheduled court appearance with regard to any such infraction or violation, provided suchpersonisotherwise eligibleto have such person'soperator'slicense reinstated.
3 July 1, 2024 New section Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
3 July 1, 2024 New section TRA Joint Favorable Subst.
In Section3,thelast sentence wasrewrittenfor clarity;andSection4was deleted for consistency with standard drafting conventions.
-LCO JUD Joint Favorable LCO 4 of 4
TRA Joint Favorable Subst.
-LCO sHB5331 / File No.
275 4 sHB5331 File No.
275 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 25 $ FY 26 $ State Resources Various - See Below See Below Potential Revenue Loss Department of Motor Vehicles TF - Revenue See Below See Below Loss Department of Motor Vehicles School Bus Seat See Below See Below Belt account (Non-lapsing GF) - Revenue Loss Motor Vehicle Dept.
TF - Potential See Below None Cost Note:
Various=Various;
TF=Transportation Fund Municipal Impact:
None Explanation The bill prohibits the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) from suspending a person's driver's license or registration solely for failure to pay fines or appear in court.
Sections 1 and 2 result in revenue loss due to foregone license restoration fees.
Total revenue from these fees is approximately $2.7 million annually to the Special Transportation Fund (STF) and less than $1.1 million annually to the School Bus Seat Belt account in the General Fund.
DMV is unable to identify the amount of fee revenue derived from people that pay the license restoration fee due to having their 1Each $175 restoration fee is deposited to two places:
$125 to the STF and $50 to the School Bus Seat Belt account.
sHB5331 / File No.
275 5 sHB5331 File No.
275 license suspended solely for failure to pay or appear versus other reasons.
Therefore, actual revenue loss from this bill is unknown but will be less than the totals cited above.
These sections also result in potential revenue loss from motor vehicle related penalties to the extent that a subset of violators no longer pays the requisite fines.
Show all 85 changed rows (45 more)
Previous
Latest
For context, total revenue from relevant motor vehicle penalties varies, but has been less than $20 million annually in recent years.
Section 3 results in a potential cost to DMV in FY 25 for reinstating any driver's license that had been suspending for the reasons addressed in the bill.
It is unknown how many suspended licenses would be affected by this section.
The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to the number of unpaid charges or as otherwise described.
sHB5331 / File No.
275 6 sHB5331 File No.
275 OLR Bill Analysis sHB 5331 AN ACT CONCERNING THE SUSPENSION OF MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATORS' LICENSES FOR FAILURE TO PAY FINES OR FEES OR FAILURE TO APPEAR FOR A SCHEDULED COURT APPEARANCE.
SUMMARY This bill prohibits the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) commissioner from suspending a person’s driver’s license for only one or both of the following reasons:
1.
failure to pay any fine, fee, or charge associated with a (a) motor vehicle-related infraction or violation handled by the Superior Court’s Centralized Infractions Bureau (CIB;
see BACKGROUND) or (b) violation of certain laws on inspecting cargo tank vehicles and storing, transporting, and using explosives, or 2.
failure to appear for a scheduled court appearance in connection with these infractions and violations.
While many normal moving violations are treated as infractions, current law’sdriver’slicense suspensionprocedure (see below)requires the court to notify DMV if someone fails to pay a related fine and any additional fees or fails to appear for a scheduled court appearance.
Under current practice, DMV then suspends the person’s license.
The bill eliminates this practice in relation to motor vehicle-related infractions and CIB violations (and certain other violations) and makes additional changes to the procedure related to nonresident drivers.
The bill also requires the DMV commissioner, by January 1, 2025, to reinstate any person’s driver’s license that was suspended due to the reasons described above (if the person is otherwise eligible to have their license reinstated).
In doing so, he cannot charge a restoration fee.
(The sHB5331 / File No.
275 7 sHB5331 File No.
275 fee is typically $175.) Lastly, the bill makes technical changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
July 1, 2024 DRIVER’S LICENSE SUSPENSION PROCEDURE Current law grants the DMV commissioner broad authority to suspend or revoke a driver’s license for any cause he deems sufficient.
It also establishes a driver’s license suspension procedure requiring the court to notify the DMV commissioner when any person:
1.
isarrested for a violationofany motor vehicle-related statute and willfully fails to appear for a scheduled court appearance;
2.
is charged with a motor-vehicle related infraction or violation handled by the CIB (or certain other violations, as noted above) and fails to pay the related fine and any additional fees, or plead not guilty, by the required date or willfully fails to appear for a scheduled court appearance (see BACKGROUND);
or 3.
fails to pay certain related additional surcharges, fees, and costs (such as the 50% surcharge for the Special Transportation Fund that applies to most motor vehicle-related fines, penalties, or charges).
Under current practice, DMV then suspends the person’s license.
The bill prohibits these suspensions solely for one or both of the following:
(1)failure to pay any fine,fee,or charge associatedwitha motor vehicle- related infraction or violation handled by the CIB (or certain other violations, as noted above) or (2) failure to appear for a related court appearance.
Current law’s provisions generally apply to vehicle owners or operators from other states who fail to appear for a scheduled court appearance in Connecticut, if the other state agrees to also revoke the driver’s license or registration.
The bill eliminates failure to appear as an allowable ground for applying this process to non-resident drivers.
sHB5331 / File No.
275 8 sHB5331 File No.
275 Additionally,currentlawallowstheDMVcommissionertoenterinto reciprocal agreements with other states, including for suspending or revoking residents’ or non-residents’ driver’s licenses and registrations iftheyfailtoappearfortrial.Thebillremovesfailuretoappearasabasis for suspending or revoking licenses and registrations under these agreements.
BACKGROUND Centralized Infractions Bureau (CIB) By law, individuals charged with a motor vehicle-related infraction or violation may, generally, pay the fine through the CIB without appearing in court.
Payment is considered a plea of nolo contendere (no contest) and is not admissible in any civil or criminal proceeding.
If an individual pleads not guilty, the CIB must send the plea and request for trial to the clerk of the geographical area court where the trial is to take place.
The practice, procedure, rules of evidence, and burden of proof applicable in criminal proceedings apply in such a trial (CGS § 51-164n).
Failure to Pay or Plead By law, any person charged with an infraction or violation handled by the CIB who fails to pay the related fine and any additional fees (or plead not guilty) by the required date or willfully fails to appear for a scheduled court appearance is guilty of an unclassified misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment of up to 10 days (CGS § 51-164r).
Related Bill sSB 426, § 2, reported favorably by the Judiciary Committee, makes a change to the driver’s license suspension procedure discussed above related to a person’s failure to comply with remote events and deadlines the court sets for infractions and violations handled by the CIB.
COMMITTEE ACTION Transportation Committee Joint Favorable Yea 23 Nay 13 (03/18/2024) sHB5331 / File No.
275 9
⬇ Download PDF
View plain text versions (4)

Action History

  1. REF. BY HOUSE TO COMMITTEE ON Appropriations

  2. TABLED FOR HOUSE CALENDAR

  3. NO NEW FILE BY COMM. ON Judiciary

  4. RPTD. OUT OF LCO

  5. FILED WITH LCO

  6. Joint Favorable

  7. REF. BY HOUSE TO COMMITTEE ON Judiciary

  8. FILE NO. 275

  9. HOUSE CALENDAR NUMBER 192

  10. FAV. RPT., TABLED FOR HOUSE CALENDAR

  11. RPTD. OUT OF LCO

  12. REFERRED TO Office of Legislative Research AND Office of Fiscal Analysis 04/03/24

  13. FILED WITH LCO

  14. Joint Favorable

  15. PUBLIC HEARING 0304

  16. REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Transportation

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

8 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 179 not signed on

Sponsors (8)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (179)

179 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 179 →

"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

public-safety transportation
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 HB 5331?
HB 5331 is sponsored by Joshua M. Hall (Democratic), Fred Gee (Democratic), Patricia Billie Miller (Democratic), Herron Gaston (Democratic), Derell Wilson (Democratic), Maryam Khan (Democratic), Geraldo C. Reyes (Democratic), and Bobby G. Gibson (Democratic).
What is the current status of HB 5331?
This bill died with 2024 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 HB 5331?
Track HB 5331 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on HB 5331

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of HB 5331

Last checked for changes 2 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →