House Bill No. 6481, as amended by House Amendment Schedule "A," is an act concerning the intentional release of certain balloons. The bill, effective October 1, 2023, repeals and replaces Section 26-25c of the general statutes to prohibit any person, nonprofit organization, firm, corporation, the state, or its political subdivisions from knowingly releasing, organizing the release of, or intentionally causing to be released into the atmosphere helium or other lighter-than-air gas balloons. The previous law allowed the release of fewer than ten such balloons within a 24-hour period, but this bill removes that allowance, effectively banning any intentional release. However, the bill includes an insertion that exempts balloons deployed by the National Weather Service or any similar research entity from this prohibition.

The bill also changes the penalty for violating the provisions of this section. Previously, a violation was considered an infraction, but the bill amends this to require that violators be issued a warning instead of facing an infraction. The fiscal impact statement indicates that there is no expected state or municipal fiscal impact from this bill, as no fines have been issued in the past for the release of balloons and none are expected under the expanded law. The bill analysis clarifies that the amendment "A" is responsible for reducing the penalty from an infraction to a warning.

Statutes affected:
Raised Bill: 26-25c
ENV Joint Favorable: 26-25c
File No. 36: 26-25c
File No. 720: 26-25c