The proposed legislation, General Assembly Raised Bill No. 506, aims to enhance criminal penalties for intentional damage to critical infrastructure and public safety systems. It amends Sections 53a-115 and 53a-116 of the general statutes, which pertain to criminal mischief in the first and second degrees, respectively. The bill introduces new language that expands the definitions of these offenses to include actions that cause damage or create a risk of interruption or impairment of services rendered to the public, specifically targeting utilities, transportation, communications, and emergency response systems.

Key insertions in the bill include provisions that specify the intent to cause damage to tangible property or to disrupt public services, thereby broadening the scope of criminal mischief. For instance, the first-degree criminal mischief now includes tampering with property of public utilities or transportation systems, while the second-degree criminal mischief includes actions that risk impairing public services. The bill maintains the classification of first-degree criminal mischief as a class D felony and second-degree criminal mischief as a class A misdemeanor, with an effective date of October 1, 2026.

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Raised Bill: