Bill Summary: SB 938 - State Agency Compliance with Probate Court Orders

• Requires state agencies that are parties to probate court proceedings to recognize, apply, and enforce all probate court orders, denials, and decrees applicable to their determinations in contested cases, effective October 1, 2019.

• Grants state agencies standing to appeal probate court orders to Superior Court within 30 days (or 45 days for certain family law matters) if aggrieved by the order's applicability to the agency's determination.

• Specifies that appeals under this act must be filed in the Hartford judicial district and establishes procedures for service of process, notice requirements, and hearing timelines.

• Mandates that hearings on such appeals commence within 90 days unless a stay is issued, and allows appeals to be referred to special assignment probate judges except for certain children's matters and cases heard on the record.

• Preserves existing remedies including petitions for writs of habeas corpus and other available legal recourse, and allows parties to seek stays of enforcement before either the probate or superior court.