Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

General Assembly                      Raised Bill No. 375
       February Session, 2020               LCO No. 2296
     Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
     Introduced by:
       (JUD)
 AN ACT CONCERNING STATE AGENCY COMPLIANCE WITH
 PROBATE COURT ORDERS.
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
 Assembly convened:
       Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2020) (a) Each state agency that
    is a party to a Probate Court proceeding shall recognize, apply and
    enforce any order, denial or decree of a Probate Court that is applicable
    to any determination made by the state agency in a contested case. Any
    party aggrieved by an order, denial or decree of a Probate Court that is
    applicable to such a determination may appeal therefrom to the
    Superior Court in accordance with section 45a-186 of the general
    statutes, as amended by this act.
      (b) For the purposes of this section, "state agency" means an agency,
   as defined in section 4-166 of the general statutes, and "contested case"
   has the same meaning as provided in section 4-166 of the general
   statutes.
      Sec. 2. Section 45a-186 of the 2020 supplement to the general statutes
   is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective
   October 1, 2020):
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    (a) As used in this section and section 45a-187, "electronic service" has
 the same meaning as provided in section 45a-136f.
    (b) Any person aggrieved by an order, denial or decree of a Probate
 Court may appeal therefrom to the Superior Court. An appeal from a
 matter heard under any provision of section 45a-593, 45a-594, 45a-595
 or 45a-597, sections 45a-644 to 45a-677, inclusive, or sections 45a-690 to
 [45a-705] 45a-705a, inclusive, shall be filed not later than forty-five days
 after the date on which the Probate Court sent the order, denial or
 decree. Except as provided in sections 45a-187 and 45a-188, an appeal
 from an order, denial or decree in any other matter shall be filed on or
 before the thirtieth day after the date on which the Probate Court sent
 the order, denial or decree. The appeal period shall be calculated from
 the date on which the court sent the order, denial or decree by mail or
 the date on which the court transmitted the order, denial or decree by
 electronic service, whichever is later.
     (c) An appeal shall be commenced by filing a complaint in the
 Superior Court in the judicial district in which such Probate Court is
 located, or, if the Probate Court is located in a probate district that is in
 more than one judicial district, by filing a complaint in a superior court
 that is located in a judicial district in which any portion of the probate
 district is located, except that (1) an appeal under subsection (b) of
 section 12-359, subsection (b) of section 12-367, [or] subsection (b) of
 section 12-395 or section 1 of this act shall be filed in the judicial district
 of Hartford, and (2) an appeal in a matter concerning removal of a
 parent as guardian, termination of parental rights or adoption shall be
 filed in any superior court for juvenile matters having jurisdiction over
 matters arising in any town within such probate district. The complaint
 shall state the reasons for the appeal. A copy of the order, denial or
 decree appealed from shall be attached to the complaint.
    (d) An appeal from a decision rendered in any case after a recording
 of the proceedings is made under section 17a-498, 17a-543, 17a-543a or
 17a-685, sections 45a-644 to 45a-667v, inclusive, or section 51-72 or 51-
 73, shall be on the record and shall not be a trial de novo.
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                                                          Raised Bill No.   375
    (e) Each person who files an appeal pursuant to this section shall
 serve a copy of the complaint on each interested party. The failure of
 any person to make such service shall not deprive the Superior Court of
 jurisdiction over the appeal. Notwithstanding the provisions of section
 52-50, service of the copy of the complaint shall be by state marshal,
 constable or an indifferent person. Service shall be in hand or by leaving
 a copy at the place of residence of the interested party being served or
 at the address for the interested party on file with the Probate Court,
 except that service on a respondent or conserved person in an appeal
 from an action under part IV of chapter 802h shall be in hand by a state
 marshal, constable or an indifferent person.
    (f) In addition to the notice given under subsection (e) of this section,
 each person who files an appeal pursuant to this section shall mail a
 copy of the complaint to the Probate Court that rendered the order,
 denial or decree appealed from. The Probate Court and the probate
 judge that rendered the order, denial or decree appealed from shall not
 be made parties to the appeal and shall not be named in the complaint
 as parties.
    (g) Not later than fifteen days after a person files an appeal under this
 section, the person who filed the appeal shall file or cause to be filed
 with the clerk of the Superior Court a document containing (1) the name,
 address and signature of the person making service, and (2) a statement
 of the date and manner in which a copy of the complaint was served on
 each interested party and mailed to the Probate Court that rendered the
 order, denial or decree appealed from.
    (h) If service has not been made on an interested party, the Superior
 Court, on motion, shall make such orders of notice of the appeal as are
 reasonably calculated to notify any necessary party not yet served.
   (i) A hearing in an appeal from probate proceedings under section
 17a-77, 17a-80, 17a-498, 17a-510, 17a-511, 17a-543, 17a-543a, 17a-685, 45a-
 650, 45a-654, 45a-660, 45a-674, 45a-676, 45a-681, 45a-682, 45a-699, 45a-
 703, [or] 45a-717 or section 1 of this act shall commence, unless a stay
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 has been issued pursuant to subsection (j) of this section, not later than
 ninety days after the appeal has been filed.
    (j) The filing of an appeal under this section shall not, of itself, stay
 enforcement of the order, denial or decree from which the appeal is
 taken. A motion for a stay may be made to the Probate Court or the
 Superior Court. The filing of a motion with the Probate Court shall not
 preclude action by the Superior Court.
    (k) Nothing in this section shall prevent any person aggrieved by any
 order, denial or decree of a Probate Court in any matter, unless
 otherwise specially provided by law, from filing a petition for a writ of
 habeas corpus, a petition for termination of involuntary representation
 or a petition for any other available remedy.
    (l) (1) Except for matters described in subdivision (3) of this
 subsection, in any appeal filed under this section, the appeal may be
 referred by the Superior Court to a special assignment probate judge
 appointed in accordance with section 45a-79b, who is assigned by the
 Probate Court Administrator for the purposes of such appeal, except
 that such appeal shall be heard by the Superior Court if any party files
 a demand for such hearing in writing with the Superior Court not later
 than twenty days after service of the appeal.
    (2) An appeal referred to a special assignment probate judge
 pursuant to this subsection shall proceed in accordance with the rules
 for references set forth in the rules of the judges of the Superior Court.
    (3) The following matters shall not be referred to a special assignment
 probate judge pursuant to this subsection: Appeals (A) under sections
 17a-75 to 17a-83, inclusive, section 17a-274, sections 17a-495 to 17a-528,
 inclusive, sections 17a-543, 17a-543a, 17a-685 to 17a-688, inclusive, and
 section 1 of this act, (B) of children's matters as defined in subsection (a)
 of section 45a-8a, (C) under sections 45a-644 to 45a-663, inclusive, [45a-
 668] 45a-669 to 45a-683, inclusive, and 45a-690 to 45a-700, inclusive, and
 (D) of any matter in a Probate Court heard on the record in accordance
 with sections 51-72 and 51-73.
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 This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
 sections:
 Section 1           October 1, 2020                        New section
 Sec. 2              October 1, 2020                        45a-186
Statement of Purpose:
To require each state agency to follow any order, denial or decree of a
Probate Court that is applicable to a determination made by the state
agency, and clarify that a state agency has standing to appeal any such
order, denial or decree to the Superior Court with respect to such order's
applicability to the state agency's determination.
[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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