Bill Text: CT HB05527 | 2018 | General Assembly | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: An Act Concerning Minor Revisions To The Freedom Of Information Act.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-04-11 - File Number 416 [HB05527 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2018-HB05527-Comm_Sub.html

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General Assembly		Raised Bill No. 5527
February Session, 2018		LCO No. 2311
		*_____HB05527GAE___032618____*
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)

AN ACT CONCERNING MINOR REVISIONS TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subdivision (6) of section 1-200 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2018):

(6) "Executive sessions" means a meeting of a public agency at which the public is excluded for one or more of the following purposes: (A) Discussion concerning the appointment, employment, performance, evaluation, health or dismissal of a public officer or employee, provided [that] such individual may require that discussion be held at an open meeting; (B) strategy and negotiations with respect to pending claims or pending litigation to which the public agency or a member [thereof] of such public agency, because of the member's conduct as a member of such agency, is a party until such litigation or claim has been finally adjudicated or otherwise settled; (C) matters concerning security strategy or the deployment of security personnel, or devices affecting public security; (D) discussion of the selection of a site or the lease, sale or purchase of real estate by the state or a political subdivision of the state when publicity regarding such site, lease, sale, purchase or construction would adversely impact the price of such site, lease, sale, purchase or construction until such time as all of the property has been acquired or all proceedings or transactions concerning same have been terminated or abandoned; and (E) discussion of any matter which would result in the disclosure of public records or the information contained [therein] in such records described in subsection (b) of section 1-210.

Sec. 2. Subdivision (11) of section 1-200 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2018):

(11) "Governmental function" means the administration or management of a program of a public agency, which program has been authorized by law to be administered or managed by a person, where (A) the person receives funding from the public agency for administering or managing the program, (B) the public agency is involved in or regulates to a significant extent such person's administration or management of the program, whether or not such involvement or regulation is direct, pervasive, continuous or day-to-day, and (C) the person participates in the formulation of governmental policies or decisions in connection with the administration or management of the program and such policies or decisions bind the public agency. "Governmental function" [shall] does not include the mere provision of goods or services to a public agency without the delegated responsibility to administer or manage a program of a public agency.

Sec. 3. Subsection (a) of section 1-206 of the 2018 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2018):

(a) Any denial of the right to inspect or copy records provided for under section 1-210 shall be made to the person requesting such right by the public agency official who has custody or control of the public record, in writing, [within] not later than four business days [of] after receipt of such request, except when the request is determined to be subject to subsections (b) and (c) of section 1-214, in which case such denial shall be made, in writing, [within] not later than ten business days [of] after receipt of such request. Failure to comply with a request to so inspect or copy such public record within the applicable number of business days shall be deemed to be a denial.

Sec. 4. Subsection (d) of section 1-206 of the 2018 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2018):

(d) Any party aggrieved by the decision of said commission may appeal [therefrom] such decision, in accordance with the provisions of section 4-183. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 4-183, in any such appeal of a decision of the commission, the court may conduct an in camera review of the original or a certified copy of the records which are at issue in the appeal but were not included in the record of the commission's proceedings, admit the records into evidence and order the records to be sealed or inspected on such terms as the court deems fair and appropriate, during the appeal. The commission shall have standing to defend, prosecute or otherwise participate in any appeal of any of its decisions and to take an appeal from any judicial decision overturning or modifying a decision of the commission. If aggrievement is a jurisdictional prerequisite to the commission taking any such appeal, the commission shall be deemed to be aggrieved. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 3-125, legal counsel employed or retained by said commission shall represent said commission in all such appeals and in any other litigation affecting said commission. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c) of section 4-183 and section 52-64, all process shall be served upon said commission at its office. Any appeal taken pursuant to this section shall be privileged in respect to its assignment for trial over all other actions except writs of habeas corpus and actions brought by or on behalf of the state, including informations on the relation of private individuals. Nothing in this section shall deprive any party of any rights he may have had at common law prior to January 1, 1958. If the court finds that any appeal taken pursuant to this section or section 4-183 is frivolous or taken solely for the purpose of delay, it shall order the party responsible therefor to pay to the party injured by such frivolous or dilatory appeal costs or attorney's fees of not more than one thousand dollars. Such order shall be in addition to any other remedy or disciplinary action required or permitted by statute or by rules of court.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	October 1, 2018	1-200(6)
Sec. 2	October 1, 2018	1-200(11)
Sec. 3	October 1, 2018	1-206(a)
Sec. 4	October 1, 2018	1-206(d)

GAE

Joint Favorable