CT HB06983

Removes the requirement that petitioners must be currently incarcerated to request post-conviction DNA testing, allowing anyone convicted and sentenced to incarceration to file a petition at any time

Courts must order DNA testing if there is reasonable probability the petitioner would not have been prosecuted or convicted with exculpatory DNA results, and may order testing if results would have altered the verdict or reduced the sentence

Testing may be ordered for evidence held by the Division of Criminal Justice, law enforcement agencies, laboratories, or Superior Court, provided the evidence still exists and was never previously tested or new testing may resolve unresolved issues

Testing costs may be assigned to the state or petitioner as the court determines, but testing cannot be denied due to the petitioner's inability to pay

Effective October 1, 2025, and received Joint Favorable reports from both the Judiciary and Appropriations committees