Transportation Committee
JOINT FAVORABLE REPORT
Bill No.: SB-982
Title: AN ACT REVISING MOTOR VEHICLE STATUTES.
Vote Date: 3/24/2021
Vote Action: Joint Favorable Substitute
PH Date: 3/8/2021
File No.: 489
Disclaimer: The following JOINT FAVORABLE Report is prepared for the benefit of the
members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and
explanation and does not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber
thereof for any purpose.
SPONSORS OF BILL:
Transportation Committee
Sen. Paul M. Formica, 20th Dist.
Rep. Mitch Bolinsky, 106th Dist.
REASONS FOR BILL:
A multi-faceted piece of legislation crafted after working with industry and association
professionals to enhance existing practices within the state and expand opportunities for
cosumers.
RESPONSE FROM ADMINISTRATION/AGENCY:
Department of Transportation, DOT, DOT-DOT-Comments
This testimony is in opposition of sections of the bill. It quotes, By allowing
commercial sized non-profit vehicles to access the Parkway, CTDOT runs the risk of
sending mixed messages to the general public that commercial vehicles are allowed on
the Parkway. This would also create a challenge from an enforcement perspective and
create a safety hazard for travelers on the Parkway. In addition, Also, Section 9 of the
bill grants the right of way at an intersection to vehicles in a funeral procession. The
Department is concerned this section could increase the potential for collisions. The
Department does not recommend funeral processions have the right-of-way at locations
where traffic control devices such as STOP signs or traffic signals have been
installed. The motoring public is conditioned to obey these devices and the presence of
a funeral procession is not always immediately obvious to these motorists. For these
safety reasons, the Department does not support this section of S.B. 982.
Magubane, Sibongile, Commissioner-DMV Anti
This testimony opposes certain parts of the bill. It references that This proposed
section relaxes the teen driving restrictions by permitting a newly licensed teen to
transport a sibling to or from school within the first six months of licensure. As
currently written, the law prohibits 16 and 17-year-old drivers from having any
passengers in the vehicle for six months after obtaining a license except for a driving
instructor, parents or legal guardian with a valid drivers license or a person providing
instruction who is at least 20 years old and has held a license for at least 4 years with no
suspensions during the last 4 years. In addition, This proposal is counter to existing
evidence regarding teen driver safety. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway
Safety, adding one more passenger with a teen driver results in a 19% increase in fatal
crashes - adding two or more results in a 27% increase. Simply put, the more the
passengers the greater the risk.
NATURE AND SOURCES OF SUPPORT:
Avallone,Joy,General Counsel-Insurance Association of CT-Pro
This testimony is in favorite of the bill. It quotes, Subsection (h), which begins on line
638 of page 20, will eliminate the notarization requirement for a power of attorney used
to support an application for transfer of a certificate of title in claims involving salvage
vehicles and also for applications for a duplicate certificate of title in instances where
the insured has lost the original certificate of title. This will help to facilitate and
expedite the claims process in these specific cases, which will benefit both insureds and
insurers.
Binder, Mark, Director of Government Affairs-Copart-Pro
This testimony is in favorite of the bill. It quotes, Section 16 of SB 982 provides for an
alternative process for insurance companies to obtain the title to a total loss vehicle
when they have paid the full value of a claim and have not received the proper or
negotiable title documents from the owner. This is an issue for our industry that leaves
an insurance company with a vehicle where they have indemnified the owner, yet it
cannot be legally sold in Connecticut.
Dotzeva, Katerina, Director of Government Affairs-Insurance Auto Auctions-Pro
This testimony is in support of the bill. It quotes, Removing these burdensome
requirements and allowing an electronic signature on a POA would speed payment of
the claim to the vehicle owner who just lost the use of his car and needs to purchase
another. It also allows for quicker settlement during catastrophic events when
consumers may be displaced. In addition, This bill would also allow an insurance
company to obtain a certificate of title, salvage title or salvage parts only title when the
insurance company has paid a total loss claim and acquired ownership of the vehicle,
but the vehicle owner or lienholder did not provide the certificate of title to the
insurance company.
Page 2 of 5 SB-982
Sampson, Rob, Senator-CGA-Pro Section 19
I would like to focus my strong support on Section 19 of the bill which would require
the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles to offer the driver's license knowledge
test in Vietnamese and Albanian languages. In addition, Currently the State of
Connecticut offers the knowledge test in several languages but the lack of options for
members of these communities has been an ongoing problem and I thank the committee
for their inclusion in Section 19 of Senate Bill No. 982.
Dunn, Jack, EMT-Middlesex County-Comments
I personally have been a volunteer EMT and firefighter in Middlesex County for a
little over four years. In Connecticut most towns are served by volunteer fire and EMS
organizations and in most cases those volunteer firefighters or EMTS are responding
from their homes or work to their respective fire or EMS departments or directly to
emergencies. In order to facilitate this Connecticut has courtesy light laws allowing for
members of fire departments to use blue lights and members of volunteer ambulance
agencies to use green lights. Blue lights are widely recognized as an emergency light
throughout our nation and since many EMS agencies in Connecticut are also a part of
their local fire departments the volunteer EMTs in those departments are able to use
blue lights.
Lynch, Brian T., O.D.-CT Association of Optometrists-Proposed Amendments
The testimony of this response is in support of the bill. It quotes, The proposed
changes maintain an individuals ability to have this screening conducted by the DMV
or now by an outside medical provider. Both the type of provider and parameters of the
screening are already spelled out in the current statues. These changes will insure we
are only licensing qualified candidates and provide applicants with a choice as to who
will conduct the screening.
McCleary, Erin, O.D.-CT Association of Optometrists-Pro with Amendments-
I feel strongly that a vision assessment is truly needed prior to granting a drivers
license. The previous language which removed vision screenings from the DMV
services would have had a direct impact on both the license applicants and medical
professionals needing to fill the gap. I am immensely pleased that the committee took
my suggestions to heart and has amended the language to now allow EITHER a free
DMV screening OR a visual assessment certification by the previously-defined medical
professionals. This gives back the benefit of choice to the constituent and providers can
perform full eye exams without concern for liability. For those applicants concerned
about COVID, and who don't want to have potential increased exposure risk at the
DMV, they can choose to see their own personal health professional.
Turczak - prevelige, Mark - Jason, President - Legislative Chair-CT Academy of Physician
Assistants-Pro- With Amendments
Page 3 of 5 SB-982
 As a group, PAs have discussed the inclusion of PAs providing health care for drivers
with the CT Medical Society and the CT Hospital Association, who both agree that it is
of benefit to include PAs in care provided to drivers. We then request that PAs be
included when physicians and APRNs are listed as providing care, to avoid the
confusion and limitations on care that may be appropriately provided.
American Property Casualty Insurance Association-Pro with amendments
APCIA supports the addition of language starting at line 569 on page 18 of SB 982
that would provide our members with the ability to obtain a salvage title to a vehicle if
they are not otherwise able to obtain the title to the vehicle from the owner. In
addition, By adopting this change, those costs will be, if not eliminated, substantially
reduced.
NATURE AND SOURCES OF OPPOSITION:
Baldis, James A., Chief-Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company-Anti Section 18
This testimony is in opposition of the bill. It quotes, As Chief of the Simsbury
Volunteer Fire Company, which provides fire protection services to the Town of
Simsbury via an all-volunteer firefighting force, I feel this will create unnecessary
confusion for our motorists as well as for our members if they see a flashing blue light
being used in town since we have a separate ambulance service in town and calls are
handled completely separately.
Haynes, Wes, Executive Director-Merritt Parkway Conservancy-Anti Section 13a-26
This testimony is in opposition of the bill. It quotes, The existing statute currently
waives restrictions on the occasional use of service buses measuring no more than 8
high, 7 wide and 17 long. This size is at the outer border of vehicles safe to operate on
the parkways. The proposed substitution would waive restrictions on two classes of
much larger service busses, class A being 10 high, 8 wide and 24 long, and class B
being 9 high, 6.5 wide and 19 long. These new classes are too large in scale for the
parkway and should not be permitted to operate.
Moore, Kelly McConney, Senior Policy Counsel-ACLU-Anti
The ACLU-CT believes that due to systemic racism in policing across the country, the
most effective way to keep communities of color safe from over policing and police
violence is to reimagine the role of police. In addition, Because of the disparities in
traffic enforcement, and especially because of the unreasonably high danger that traffic
stops pose to drivers of color, the legislature should be very careful when making new
traffic infractions. Every new law that police enforce through traffic stops creates a new
opportunity for police interactions, each of which creates a dangerous situation for a
driver of color stopped. Thus, we believe that creating new traffic infractions should be
weighed very carefully.
Paquette, Nicole, Legislative Co-Chair-CT Funeral Directors Association-Anti
Page 4 of 5 SB-982
 This testimony opposes the bill. It is quoted, Funeral Directors paramount concern of
funeral processions is for the safety of the operators of motor vehicles, their passengers,
and the public who encounter them. We believe that by requiring motor vehicle
operators to obey existing traffic laws at all times provides for the greatest measure in
preventing death, personal injury or property damage that may be suffered by any
person(s) in a funeral procession, and to the public. In addition, Risks of death,
personal injury or property damage that result from a failure to grant the right-of-way
are irreplaceable, or are too great of a loss for motorists, passengers, and the public to
suffer. Such losses outweigh the deterrent of an infraction violation described in lines
282-283.
Schroll Jr., Ted, Legislative Representative-CT State Firefighters Association-Anti Section 18
We respectfully request that you delete Section 18 of this bill, which would expand the
use of blue flashing lights to any other group of individuals except volunteer
firefighters. Its passage could cause much confusion to Connecticuts motorists, and
have a serious detrimental effect on the quality of service provided by volunteer
firefighters in the State of Connecticut.
Reported by: Philip N Mainiero Date: 4/12/21
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Statutes affected:
Raised Bill: 14-36g, 14-140, 14-297, 14-15d, 14-16c, 14-96q, 14-73, 14-215a
TRA Joint Favorable Substitute: 14-36g, 14-140, 14-16c, 14-96q, 14-67m
File No. 489: 14-36g, 14-140, 14-16c, 14-96q, 14-67m