Bill Text: CT SB00827 | 2017 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: An Act Concerning Guarantee Funds And Accounts Maintained And Used By The Department Of Consumer Protection.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-02-17 - Public Hearing 02/21 [SB00827 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2017-SB00827-Introduced.html

General Assembly

 

Raised Bill No. 827

January Session, 2017

 

LCO No. 3968

 

*03968_______GL_*

Referred to Committee on GENERAL LAW

 

Introduced by:

 

(GL)

 

AN ACT CONCERNING GUARANTEE FUNDS AND ACCOUNTS MAINTAINED AND USED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER PROTECTION.

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

Section 1. Section 21a-11 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2017):

(a) The Commissioner of Consumer Protection may, subject to the provisions of chapter 67, employ such agents and assistants as are necessary to enforce the provisions of the general statutes wherein said commissioner is empowered to carry out the duties and responsibilities assigned to him or his department. For the purpose of inquiring into any suspected violation of such provisions, the commissioner and his deputy and assistants shall have free access, at all reasonable hours, to all places and premises, homes and apartments of private families keeping no boarders excepted.

(b) On the tender of the market price, the commissioner or his deputy may take from any person, firm or corporation samples of any article which he suspects is sold, offered for sale, kept with intent to sell, made or manufactured contrary to any provision of this chapter or related chapters under the jurisdiction of said commissioner. He may analyze such samples or have them analyzed by a state chemist or by an experiment station or by the laboratories of the Department of Public Health, and a sworn or affirmed certificate by such analyst shall be prima facie evidence of the ingredients and constituents of the samples analyzed. If such analysis shows that any such sample does not conform to the requirements of law, and gives the commissioner or his deputy reasonable grounds for believing that any provision of this chapter or related chapters under his jurisdiction has been violated, he shall cause such violator to be prosecuted. Any person who refuses the access provided for herein to the commissioner, his deputy or assistants, or who refuses to sell the samples provided for herein, shall be guilty of a class D misdemeanor. Evidence of violation of any provision of this section shall be prima facie evidence of wilful violation.

(c) The commissioner may, subject to the provisions of chapter 54, revoke, suspend or deny any license or registration issued by the department in the event that such licensee or registrant, including, but not limited to, an owner of any business entity holding such license or registration, owes moneys to any guaranty fund or account maintained or used by the department, including, but not limited to, the Home Improvement Guaranty Fund established pursuant to section 20-432, the New Home Construction Guaranty Fund established pursuant to section 20-417i, the Connecticut Health Club Guaranty Fund established pursuant to section 21a-226, the Real Estate Guaranty Fund established pursuant to section 20-324a and the Privacy Protection Guaranty and Enforcement Account established pursuant to section 42-472a.

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

Section 1

July 1, 2017

21a-11

Statement of Purpose:

To give the Commissioner of Consumer Protection authority to revoke, suspend or deny any license or registration issued by the Department of Consumer Protection for failure to pay any guaranty fund or account maintained by the department.

[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.]

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