Bill Text: CT SB01151 | 2011 | General Assembly | Comm Sub

Connecticut Senate Bill 1151 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: An Act Concerning Special Provisional Pardons.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2011-06-01 - House Calendar Number 580 [SB01151 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2011-SB01151-Comm_Sub.html

General Assembly		*Substitute Bill No. 1151*
*January Session, 2011*		_____SB01151JUD___041511____

AN ACT CONCERNING SPECIAL PROVISIONAL PARDONS.

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

Section 1. Section 54-130e of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2011):

(a) For the purposes of this section and sections 31-51i, as amended by this act, and 54-130a, as amended by this act:

(1) "Barrier" means a denial of employment or a license based on an eligible offender's conviction of a crime without due consideration of whether the nature of the crime bears a direct relationship to such employment or license;

(2) "Eligible offender" means a person who has been convicted of a crime or crimes in this state or another jurisdiction and who is a resident of this state and is applying for a provisional pardon or special provisional pardon or is under the jurisdiction of the Board of Pardons and Paroles;

(3) "Employment" means any remunerative work, occupation or vocation or any form of vocational training, but does not include employment with a law enforcement agency;

(4) "Forfeiture" means a disqualification or ineligibility for employment or a license by reason of law based on an eligible offender's conviction of a crime;

(5) "License" means any license, permit, certificate or registration that is required to be issued by the state or any of its agencies to pursue, practice or engage in an occupation, trade, vocation, profession or business; and

(6) "Provisional pardon" or "special provisional pardon" means a form of relief from barriers or forfeitures to employment or the issuance of licenses granted to an eligible offender by the Board of Pardons and Paroles pursuant to subsections (b) to [(i)] (j), inclusive, of this section.

(b) The Board of Pardons and Paroles may issue a provisional pardon or special provisional pardon to relieve an eligible offender of barriers or forfeitures by reason of such person's conviction of the crime or crimes specified in such provisional pardon or special provisional pardon. Such provisional pardon or special provisional pardon may be limited to one or more enumerated barriers or forfeitures or may relieve the eligible offender of all barriers and forfeitures. No provisional pardon or special provisional pardon shall apply or be construed to apply to the right of such person to retain or be eligible for public office.

(c) The Board of Pardons and Paroles may, in its discretion, issue a provisional pardon or special provisional pardon to an eligible offender upon verified application of such person. The board may issue a provisional pardon or special provisional pardon at any time after the sentencing of an eligible offender.

(d) The board shall not issue a provisional pardon or special provisional pardon unless the board is satisfied that:

(1) The person to whom the provisional pardon or special provisional pardon is to be issued is an eligible offender;

(2) The relief to be granted by the provisional pardon or special provisional pardon may promote the public policy of rehabilitation of ex-offenders through employment; and

(3) The relief to be granted by the provisional pardon or special provisional pardon is consistent with the public interest in public safety and the protection of property.

(e) In accordance with the provisions of subsection (d) of this section, the board may limit the applicability of the provisional pardon or special provisional pardon to specified types of employment or licenses for which the eligible offender is otherwise qualified.

(f) The board may, for the purpose of determining whether such provisional pardon or special provisional pardon should be issued, request its staff to conduct an investigation of the applicant and submit to the board a report of the investigation. Any written report submitted to the board pursuant to this subsection shall be confidential and not disclosed except where required or permitted by any provision of the general statutes or upon specific authorization of the board.

(g) If a provisional pardon or special provisional pardon is issued by the board while an eligible offender is on probation or parole, the provisional pardon or special provisional pardon shall be deemed to be temporary until the person completes such person's period of probation or parole. During the period that such provisional pardon or special provisional pardon is temporary, the board may revoke such provisional pardon or special provisional pardon for violation of the conditions of such person's probation or parole.

(h) The board may at any time issue a new provisional pardon or special provisional pardon to enlarge the relief previously granted, and the provisions of subsections (b) to [(f)] (j), inclusive, of this section shall apply to the issuance of any new provisional pardon or special provisional pardon.

(i) The application for a provisional pardon or special provisional pardon, the report of an investigation conducted pursuant to subsection (f) of this section, the provisional pardon or special provisional pardon and the revocation of a provisional pardon or special provisional pardon shall be in such form and contain such information as the Board of Pardons and Paroles shall prescribe.

(j) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 54-130a, as amended by this act, concerning the application for and granting of an absolute pardon, any special provisional pardon issued by the board to a person pursuant to this section shall, unless revoked sooner pursuant to subsection (g) of this section, become an absolute pardon by operation of law three years after issuance if such special provisional pardon was issued with respect to a conviction of a misdemeanor or five years after issuance if such special provisional pardon was issued with respect to a conviction of a felony, provided such person has not been convicted of any crime during such time period.

Sec. 2. Section 54-130a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2011):

(a) Jurisdiction over the granting of, and the authority to grant, commutations of punishment or releases, conditioned or absolute, in the case of any person convicted of any offense against the state and commutations from the penalty of death shall be vested in the Board of Pardons and Paroles.

(b) The board shall have authority to grant pardons, conditioned, provisional or absolute, for any offense against the state at any time after the imposition and before or after the service of any sentence.

(c) The board may accept an application for a pardon three years after an applicant's conviction of a misdemeanor or violation and five years after an applicant's conviction of a felony, except that the board, upon a finding of extraordinary circumstances, may accept an application for a pardon prior to such dates.

(d) Whenever the board grants an absolute pardon to any person or a special provisional pardon becomes an absolute pardon by operation of law pursuant to subsection (j) of section 54-130e, as amended by this act, the board shall cause notification of such pardon to be made in writing to the clerk of the court in which such person was convicted, or the Office of the Chief Court Administrator if such person was convicted in the Court of Common Pleas, the Circuit Court, a municipal court, or a trial justice court.

(e) Whenever the board grants a provisional pardon or special provisional pardon to any person, the board shall cause notification of such pardon to be made in writing to the clerk of the court in which such person was convicted. The granting of a provisional pardon or special provisional pardon does not entitle such person to erasure of the record of the conviction of the offense or relieve such person from disclosing the existence of such conviction as may be required.

(f) In the case of any person convicted of a violation for which a sentence to a term of imprisonment may be imposed, the board shall have authority to grant a pardon, conditioned, provisional or absolute, in the same manner as in the case of any person convicted of an offense against the state.

Sec. 3. Subsections (d) and (e) of section 31-51i of the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2011):

(d) No employer or an employer's agent, representative or designee shall deny employment to a prospective employee solely on the basis that the prospective employee had a prior arrest, criminal charge or conviction, the records of which have been erased pursuant to section 46b-146, 54-76o or 54-142a or that the prospective employee had a prior conviction for which the prospective employee has received a provisional pardon or special provisional pardon pursuant to section 54-130a, as amended by this act.

(e) No employer or an employer's agent, representative or designee shall discharge, or cause to be discharged, or in any manner discriminate against, any employee solely on the basis that the employee had, prior to being employed by such employer, an arrest, criminal charge or conviction, the records of which have been erased pursuant to section 46b-146, 54-76o or 54-142a or that the employee had, prior to being employed by such employer, a prior conviction for which the employee has received a provisional pardon or special provisional pardon pursuant to section 54-130a, as amended by this act.


This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section	October 1, 2011	54-130e
Sec. 2	October 1, 2011	54-130a
Sec. 3	October 1, 2011	31-51i(d) and (e)