Committee Bill No. 296 Summary

• Establishes a right for aggrieved parties to appeal municipal ethics board decisions that present issues of law to the Office of State Ethics under part I of chapter 10.

• Grants the Office of State Ethics authority to hear and rule on appeals of municipal board, commission, council, committee or other agency decisions established under Connecticut General Statutes section 7-148h.

• Applies procedural protections from sections 1-82a(a) through (e) to allegations, investigations, and probable cause findings before municipal ethics boards.

• Specifies that findings concerning issues of law for appeals under section 7-148h are not appealable to the Superior Court, while other ethics violations remain subject to court appeal.

• Makes all changes effective October 1, 2021, and amends sections 7-148h, 1-81(a), 1-82, 1-82a, and 1-88 of the Connecticut General Statutes.