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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 5264
February Session, 2026
AN ACT CONCERNING SERVICE ANIMALS IN INSURANCE
UNDERWRITING, THE APPOINTMENT OF AN ADVOCATE IN
PROCEEDINGS CONCERNING THE WELFARE OR CUSTODY OF
COMPANION ANIMALS, ASSAULT OF A DOMESTIC ANIMAL AND
ESTABLISHING AN ANIMAL ABUSE TASK FORCE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) ( Effective July 1, 2026 ) No insurer that delivers, 1
issues for delivery, renews, amends or endorses a homeowners or 2
tenants insurance policy in this state on or after October 1, 2026, shall 3
cancel, refuse to renew or refuse to issue such policy solely on the basis 4
of the breed of dog owned by the insured or the applicant, with respect 5
to any dog that is a dog trained or being trained as a service animal to 6
assist blind, deaf or mobility impaired persons. As used in this section, 7
"service animal" has the same meaning as provided in section 22-345 of 8
the general statutes. 9
Sec. 2. Section 54 -86n of the general statutes is repealed and the 10
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 11
(a) For the purposes of this section, "companion animal" means a 12
domesticated dog, cat, horse, rabbit, ferret, bird, rodent, fish, reptile, 13
amphibian or other species of animal kept for pleasure rather than 14
utility and that is normally kept in or near the household of its owner or 15
keeper and is dependent on a person for food, shelter and veterinary 16
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care, but does not include a dog, cat, horse, rabbit, ferret, bird, rodent, 17
fish, reptile, amphibian or other species of animal kept for farming or 18
biomedical research practices. 19
[(a)] (b) In any prosecution under section 53-247, as amended by this 20
act, or in any court proceeding pursuant to section 22 -329a or in the 21
criminal session of the Superior Court regarding the welfare or custody 22
of a [cat or dog] companion animal, the court may order, upon its own 23
initiative or upon request of a party or counsel for a party, that a 24
separate advocate be appointed to represent the interests of justice. If a 25
court orders that an advocate be appointed to represent the interests of 26
justice, the court shall appoint such advocate from a list provided to the 27
court by the Commissioner of Agriculture pursuant to subsection [(c)] 28
(d) of this section. A decision by the court denying a request to appoint 29
a separate advocate to represent the interests of justice shall not be 30
subject to appeal. 31
[(b)] (c) The advocate may: (1) Monitor the case; (2) consult any 32
individual with information that could aid the judge or fact finder and 33
review records relating to the condition of the [cat or dog ] companion 34
animal and the defendant's actions, including, but not limited to, 35
records from animal control officers, veterinarians and police officers; 36
(3) attend hearings; and (4) present information or recommendations to 37
the court pertinent to determinations that relate to the interests of 38
justice, provided such information and recommendations shall be based 39
solely upon the duties undertaken pursuant to this subsection. 40
[(c)] (d) The Department of Agriculture shall maintain a list of 41
attorneys with knowledge of animal issues and the legal system and a 42
list of law schools that have students, or anticipate having students, with 43
an interest in animal issues and the legal system. Such attorneys and law 44
students shall be eligible to serve on a voluntary basis as advocates 45
under this section. The provisions of sections 3 -14 to 3-21, inclusive, of 46
the Connecticut Practice Book shall govern a law student's participation 47
as an advocate under this section. 48
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Sec. 3. Subsection (a) of section 53 -247 of the general statutes is 49
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 50
1, 2026): 51
(a) Any person who overdrives, drives when overloaded, overworks, 52
tortures, deprives of necessary sustenance, mutilates or cruelly beats or 53
kills or unjustifiably injures any animal, or who, having impounded or 54
confined any animal, fails to give such animal proper care or neglects to 55
cage or restrain any such animal from doing injury to itself or to another 56
animal or fails to supply any such animal with wholesome air, food and 57
water, or unjustifiably administers any poisonous or noxious drug or 58
substance to any domestic animal or unjustifiably exposes any such 59
drug or substance, with intent that the same shall be taken by an animal, 60
or causes it to be done, or, having charge or custody of any animal, 61
inflicts cruelty upon it or fails to provide it with proper food, drink or 62
protection from the weather or abandons it or carries it or causes it to be 63
carried in a cruel manner, or fights with or baits, harasses or worries any 64
animal for the purpose of making it perform for amusement, diversion 65
or exhibition, shall [, for a first offense, be fined not more than one 66
thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year or both, and for 67
each subsequent offense, shall] be guilty of a class D felony. 68
Sec. 4. Section 53a -61 of the general statutes is repealed and the 69
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 70
(a) A person is guilty of assault in the third degree when: (1) With 71
intent to cause physical injury to another person or a domestic animal, 72
he causes such injury to such person , [or] to a third person or to a 73
domestic animal; or (2) he recklessly causes serious physical injury to 74
another person or a domestic animal; or (3) with criminal negligence, he 75
causes physical injury to another person or a domestic animal by means 76
of a deadly weapon, a dangerous instrument or an electronic defense 77
weapon. 78
(b) Assault in the third degree is a class A misdemeanor and any 79
person found guilty under subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of this 80
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section shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of one year which 81
may not be suspended or reduced. 82
Sec. 5. Section 53a -61a of the general statutes is repealed and the 83
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 84
(a) A person is guilty of assault of an elderly, blind, disabled or 85
pregnant person, [or] a person with intellectual disability or a domestic 86
animal in the third degree when such person commits assault in the 87
third degree under section 53a -61, as amended by this act, and (1) the 88
victim of such assault has attained at least sixty years of age, is blind or 89
physically disabled, as defined in section 1-1f, or is pregnant, [or] (2) the 90
victim of such assault is a person with intellectual disability, as defined 91
in section 1-1g, and the actor is not a person with intellectual disability, 92
or (3) the victim of such assault is a domestic animal. 93
(b) No person shall be found guilty of assault in the third degree and 94
assault of an elderly, blind, disabled or pregnant person , [or] a person 95
with intellectual disability or a domestic animal in the third degree upon 96
the same incident of assault but such person may be charged and 97
prosecuted for both such offenses upon the same information. 98
(c) In any prosecution for an offense under this section based on the 99
victim being pregnant it shall be an affirmative defense that the actor, at 100
the time such actor engaged in the conduct constituting the offense, did 101
not know the victim was pregnant. In any prosecution for an offense 102
under this section based on the victim being a person with intellectual 103
disability, it shall be an affirmative defense that the actor, at the time 104
such actor engaged in the conduct constituting the offense, did not 105
know the victim was a person with intellectual disability. 106
(d) Assault of an elderly, blind, disabled or pregnant person , [or] a 107
person with intellectual disability or a domestic animal in the third 108
degree is a class A misdemeanor and any person found guilty under this 109
section shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of one year which 110
shall not be suspended or reduced. 111
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Sec. 6. (Effective October 1, 2026) (a) There is established a task force to 112
(1) study the establishment of a state animal abuse registry, (2) 113
recommend revisions to the accelerated pretrial rehabilitation program 114
established under section 54 -56e of the general statutes concerning (A) 115
restricting participation in such program by any person charged with, 116
or that is a repeat offender of, an animal cruelty offense identified in 117
section 53-247 of the general statutes, as amended by this act, and (B) 118
ways to improve such program, and (3) recommend revisions to statutes 119
concerning animal cruelty or neglect. Such study shall include, but need 120
not be limited to, an examination of the following: (A) The information 121
that should be collected for such registry and how often such 122
information should be updated, (B) how such registry would be 123
accessed by the public, (C) the content of the accelerated pretrial 124
rehabilitation program and any recommendations for improvements to 125
such program, and (D) laws in the state relating to animal cruelty or 126
neglect. 127
(b) The task force shall consist of the following members: 128
(1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives; 129
(2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate; 130
(3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of 131
Representatives; 132
(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; 133
(5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of 134
Representatives; 135
(6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate; 136
(7) Two appointed by the chairpersons of the joint standing 137
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 138
relating to insurance, who are mental health professionals who have 139
experience in the provision of care to individuals who have experienced 140
trauma; 141
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(8) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection, 142
or the commissioner's designee; 143
(9) The Chief State's Attorney, or the Chief State's Attorney's 144
designee; 145
(10) The Chief Public Defender, or the Chief Public Defender's 146
designee; and 147
(11) The Chief Court Administrator, or the Chief Court 148
Administrator's designee. 149
(c) Any member of the task force appointed under subdivision (1), 150
(2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) of subsection (b) of this section may be a member 151
of the General Assembly. 152
(d) All initial appointments to the task force shall be made not later 153
than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall 154
be filled by the appointing authority. 155
(e) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro 156
tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force from 157
among the members of the task force. Such chairpersons shall schedule 158
the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than sixty 159
days after the effective date of this section. 160
(f) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the 161
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to insurance 162
shall serve as administrative staff of the task force. 163
(g) Not later than January 1, 2027, the task force shall submit a report 164
on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committees 165
of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to 166
insurance and the judiciary, in accordance with the provisions of section 167
11-4a of the general statutes. The task force shall terminate on the date 168
that it submits such report or January 1, 2027, whichever is later. 169
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2026 New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2026 54-86n
Sec. 3 October 1, 2026 53-247(a)
Sec. 4 October 1, 2026 53a-61
Sec. 5 October 1, 2026 53a-61a
Sec. 6 October 1, 2026 New section
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
The title was changed.
INS Joint Favorable Subst. C/R JUD