Bill Text: CT SB00367 | 2010 | General Assembly | Comm Sub


Bill Title: An Act Concerning The Right Of A Complainant To Intervene In A Housing Discrimination Action.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-04-28 - Moved to Foot of the Calendar, Senate [SB00367 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2010-SB00367-Comm_Sub.html

General Assembly

 

Raised Bill No. 367

February Session, 2010

 

LCO No. 1752

 

*_____SB00367HSG___042210____*

Referred to Committee on Judiciary

 

Introduced by:

 

(JUD)

 

AN ACT CONCERNING THE RIGHT OF A COMPLAINANT TO INTERVENE IN A HOUSING DISCRIMINATION ACTION.

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

Section 1. Subsection (d) of section 46a-83 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2010):

(d) (1) Before issuing a finding of reasonable cause or no reasonable cause, the investigator shall afford each party and his representative an opportunity to provide written or oral comments on all evidence in the commission's file, except as otherwise provided by federal law or any other provision of the general statutes. The investigator shall consider such comments in making [his] a determination. The investigator shall make a finding of reasonable cause or no reasonable cause in writing and shall list the factual findings on which it is based not later than one hundred ninety days from the date of the determination based on the review of the complaint, conducted pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, except that for good cause shown, the executive director or [his] the executive director's designee may grant no more than two extensions of the investigation of three months each.

(2) If the investigator makes a determination that there is reasonable cause to believe that a violation of section 46a-64c has occurred, the complainant and the respondent shall have twenty days from receipt of notice of the reasonable cause finding to elect a civil action in lieu of an administrative hearing pursuant to section 46a-84. If either the complainant or the respondent requests a civil action, the commission, through the Attorney General or a commission legal counsel, shall commence an action pursuant to subsection (b) of section 46a-89 within ninety days of receipt of the complainant's or the respondent's notice of election of a civil action. The complainant may intervene as a matter of right in any civil action brought under this subdivision. If the Attorney General or a commission legal counsel, and a commissioner, believe that injunctive relief, punitive damages or a civil penalty would be appropriate, such relief, damages or penalty may also be sought pursuant to said subsection. Any civil action brought under this subdivision shall be limited to such claims, counterclaims, defenses or the like that would be required for the commission to have jurisdiction over the complaint had the complaint remained with the commission for disposition. If the Attorney General or a commission legal counsel determines that a material mistake of law or fact has been made in such finding of reasonable cause, the Attorney General or a commission legal counsel may decline to bring a civil action and, in such case, shall remand the file to the investigator for further action. The investigator shall complete any such action not later than ninety days after receipt of such file.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:

Section 1

July 1, 2010

46a-83(d)

JUD

Joint Favorable

 

HSG

Joint Favorable

 
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