by State Rep. Ben McGorty, (R)
122nd House District
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
The notable rise in crime, especially juvenile crime, across Connecticut is a growing concern in all 169 cities and towns. Locked cars are being ransacked and stolen from driveways and even from inside garages like one poor woman in Glastonbury who had her car stolen twice! Recently, some thieves have gotten so brazen that they’ve moved past property crimes and have begun carjacking innocent men and women at the gas pump.
We know you’re fed up. We are too, and we hear you!Â
The House Republican Caucus understands your frustration with the failed policies that are putting criminals back on the streets within hours of an arrest. The cops say there’s nothing they can do until the laws are changed. Here’s how we propose to do that.
HB 5418- AN ACT REVISING JUVENILE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE STATUTES AND INSURANCE STATUTES CONCERNING THEFT OF A MOTOR VEHICLEÂ – will, among other things:
- Require a judge to order DCF to conduct a family investigation when a juvenile is charged with: a felony, a Class A Misdemeanor, a charge resulting from loss of life or serious physical injury, a sexual assault, a serious juvenile offense, or an offense involving use of a firearm
- Require an automatic transfer to adult court for juveniles thirteen years or older charged with committing a class A felony a class B felony resulting in death, a violent sexual assault or a violent crime involving use of a firearm
- Require juvenile matters be adjudicated in the district where the crime is alleged to have been committed
- Require the state Judicial Department to report about its many juvenile diversionary programs, including an overview of each particular program, its costs, as well as its success in reducing recidivism
Register to Testify
Monday’s Public Hearing is your chance to tell the legislature your story and let them know what you want to see changed!
Registration will close on Sunday, March 13, 2022 at 3:00 P.M.
Judiciary Committee Monday, March 14, 2022
The Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing on Monday, March 14, 2022 at 10:00 A.M. via Zoom. The public hearing can be viewed via YouTubeLive.
In addition, the public hearing may be recorded and broadcast live on CT-N.com. Individuals who wish to testify via Zoom must register using the On-line Testimony Registration Form.
Registration will close on Sunday, March 13, 2022 at 3:00 P.M.
Speaker order of approved registrants will be posted on the Judiciary Committee website on Sunday, March 13, 2022 at 6:00 P.M. under Public Hearing Testimony.
If you do not have internet access, you may provide testimony via telephone. To register to testify by phone, call the Phone Registrant Line at (860) 240-5255 to leave your contact information. Please email written testimony in Word or PDF format to JUDtestimony@cga.ct.gov.
Testimony should clearly state testifier name and related Bills. The Committee requests that testimony be limited to matters related to the items on the Agenda. Speakers will be limited to three minutes of testimony. The Committee encourages witnesses to submit a written statement and to condense oral testimony to a summary of that statement. All public hearing testimony, written and spoken, is public information. As such, it may be made available on the Judiciary Committee’s website and indexed by internet search engines.
