AN ACT CONCERNING PERJURY COMMITTED BY EXPERT WITNESSES.

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

Section 1. Section 53a-156 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2014):

(a) A person is guilty of perjury if, in any official proceeding, such person intentionally, under oath or in an unsworn declaration under sections 1-65aa to 1-65hh, inclusive, makes a false statement, swears, affirms or testifies falsely, to a material statement which such person does not believe to be true.

(b) In any prosecution for an offense under this section, it shall be an affirmative defense that the actor was coerced into committing such offense by another person in violation of section 53a-192.

(c) Perjury is a class D felony, except that, if the person guilty of perjury is an expert witness, such person, in addition to a term of imprisonment, if any, shall be fined not less than three thousand dollars.

Statement of Purpose:

To increase the criminal penalty for an expert witness who commits perjury.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]