General Assembly Raised Bill No. 450
February Session, 2020 LCO No. 2663
Referred to Committee on ENVIRONMENT
Introduced by:
(ENV)
AN ACT CONCERNING THE IDLING OF MOTOR VEHICLES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
1 Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) The operator of any motor
2 vehicle, as defined in section 14-1 of the general statutes, shall not
3 operate the engine of any motor vehicle for more than three consecutive
4 minutes when the motor vehicle is not in motion, except (1) when the
5 motor vehicle is forced to remain motionless because of traffic
6 conditions or mechanical difficulties over which the operator has no
7 control, (2) when it is necessary to operate heating, cooling or auxiliary
8 equipment installed on the motor vehicle when such equipment is
9 necessary to accomplish the intended use of the motor vehicle,
10 including, but not limited to, the operation of safety equipment, (3)
11 when the outdoor temperature is below twenty degrees Fahrenheit, (4)
12 when it is necessary to maintain a safe temperature for passengers with
13 special needs, (5) when the motor vehicle is being repaired, or (6) to
14 bring the motor vehicle to the manufacturer's recommended operating
15 temperature.
16 (b) Any person who violates any provision of this section shall, for a
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 Raised Bill No. 450
17 first offense, be deemed to have committed an infraction and for each
18 subsequent offense shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor
19 more than five hundred dollars. The Commissioner of Energy and
20 Environmental Protection and any municipal police department may
21 enforce the provisions of this section, provided, if a municipal police
22 department enforces such provisions, the applicable municipality shall
23 retain fifty per cent of any such fine.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Statement of Purpose:
To codify the existing prohibition on the idling of motor vehicles for
more than three minutes, contained in section 22a-174-18 of the
regulations of Connecticut state agencies, and authorize the
enforcement of such restriction by municipalities in addition to the
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]
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