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HB05384 • 2026

AN ACT CONCERNING HAZARD PENSIONS FOR CERTAIN JUDICIAL EMPLOYEES.

AN ACT CONCERNING HAZARD PENSIONS FOR CERTAIN JUDICIAL EMPLOYEES.

Labor
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Labor and Public Employees Committee
Last action
2026-04-07
Official status
Referred by House to Committee on Appropriations
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details about retirement eligibility or contribution requirements for hazardous duty members.

Act to Include Certain Judicial Investigators in Hazardous Duty Pension Program

This act includes investigators from the Division of Public Defender Services, the Division of Criminal Justice, and Support Enforcement Services as hazardous duty members eligible for enhanced pension benefits under the State Employee Retirement Act.

What This Bill Does

  • Adds certain judicial investigators to the list of employees who qualify as 'hazardous duty members' under state law.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Investigators in the Division of Public Defender Services
  • Investigators in the Division of Criminal Justice
  • Support service investigators in Support Enforcement Services

Terms To Know

hazardous duty member
An employee who qualifies for enhanced pension benefits due to their job's high-risk nature.
State Employee Retirement Act
The law that governs retirement and pension plans for state employees in Connecticut.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The act does not specify the exact number of investigators affected.
  • There is a fiscal impact, with an estimated cost increase starting from $581,000 in FY27 to $775,000 annually thereafter.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-07 Connecticut General Assembly

    Referred by House to Committee on Appropriations

  2. 2026-03-30 LCO

    Reported Out of Legislative Commissioners' Office

  3. 2026-03-30 Connecticut General Assembly

    Favorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, House

  4. 2026-03-30 Connecticut General Assembly

    House Calendar Number 203

  5. 2026-03-30 LCO

    File Number 247

  6. 2026-03-23 LCO

    Referred to Office of Legislative Research and Office of Fiscal Analysis 03/30/26 12:00 PM

  7. 2026-03-13 LCO

    Filed with Legislative Commissioners' Office

  8. 2026-03-12 LAB

    Joint Favorable

  9. 2026-02-27 Connecticut General Assembly

    Public Hearing 03/03

  10. 2026-02-26 Connecticut General Assembly

    Referred to Joint Committee on Labor and Public Employees

Official Summary Text

To add investigators in the Division of Public Defender Services, investigators in the Division of Criminal Justice and support service investigators in Support Enforcement Services to the definition of "hazardous duty member" for purposes of the State Employee Retirement Act.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
House of Representatives
HB5384 / File No. 247 1

General Assembly File No. 247
February Session, 2026 House Bill No. 5384

House of Representatives, March 30, 2026

The Committee on Labor and Public Employees reported
through REP. SANCHEZ, E. of the 24th Dist., Chairperson of
the Committee on the part of the House, that the bill ought to
pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING HAZARD PENSIONS FOR CERTAIN
JUDICIAL EMPLOYEES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subsection (d) of section 5 -192f of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 2
1, 2026): 3
(d) "Hazardous duty member" means a member who is a state 4
policeman in the active service of the Division of State Police within the 5
Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, who is 6
engaged in guard or instructional duties at the Connecticut Correctional 7
Institution, Somers, the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Enfield -8
Medium, the Carl Robinson Correctional Institution, Enfield, the John 9
R. Manson Youth Institution, Cheshire, the York Correctional 10
Institution, the Connecticut Correctional Center, Cheshire or the 11
community correctional centers, who is an employee of the Whiting 12
Forensic Hospital or its predecessor institutions with direct and 13
substantial patient contact, who is a detective, chief inspector , [or] 14
inspector or investigator in the Division of Criminal Justice or chief 15
HB5384 File No. 247

HB5384 / File No. 247 2

detective, who is employed as a correctional counselor, correctional 16
counselor supervisor, parole officer or parole supervisor or in a 17
comparable job classification by the Board of Pardons and Paroles, [or] 18
who has been designated as a hazardous duty member pursuant to the 19
terms of a collective bargaining agreement, who is an investigator in the 20
Division of Public Defender Services, or who is a support service 21
investigator in Support Enforcement Services of the Superior Court. 22
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 5 -192n of the general statutes is 23
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 24
1, 2026): 25
(a) Each "hazardous duty member" who has completed twenty -five 26
years of credited service while a hazardous duty member may be retired 27
on his own application on the first day of any future month named in 28
the application. For this purpose, leaves of absence, military service, and 29
any other period of nonstate employment which is included as credited 30
service shall be deemed credited service while a hazardous duty 31
member only if state employment as a hazardous duty member 32
immediately precedes and immediately succeeds such period of 33
nonstate employment. For a hazardous duty member who is (1) an 34
investigator in the Division of Criminal Justice, (2) an investigator in the 35
Division of Public Defender Services, or (3) a support service 36
investigator in Support Enforcement Services of the Superior Court, 37
credited service while a hazardous duty member shall be calculated 38
from October 1, 2026. 39
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 October 1, 2026 5-192f(d)
Sec. 2 October 1, 2026 5-192n(a)

LAB Joint Favorable

HB5384 File No. 247

HB5384 / File No. 247 3

The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
State Comptroller - Fringe
Benefits
GF - Cost 581,000 775,000
Note: GF=General Fund
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill allows certain investigators to earn credit towards a
hazardous duty pension in the State Employees Retirement System
(SERS), resulting in a cost differential of approximately $5 81,000 in FY
27, annualized to $775,000 in FY 28 for the transition from regular SERS
to hazardous duty. 1 The total annual state cost for the investigators'
hazardous duty pensions is approximately $1.2 million, compared to the
approximate cost of $456,00 for their regular pensions for the same year.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to inflation.

1 Estimates are based on current salary information and pension rates for 1 10 eligible
employees.
HB5384 File No. 247

HB5384 / File No. 247 4

OLR Bill Analysis
HB 5384

AN ACT CONCERNING HAZARD PENSIONS FOR CERTAIN
JUDICIAL EMPLOYEES.

SUMMARY
This bill allows certain investigators to earn service credit toward a
hazardous duty pension under the State Employees Retirement System
(SERS) for their service as investigators on or after October 1, 2026. It
applies to investigators in the Division of Criminal Justice or Division of
Public Defender Services and support service investigators in the
Superior Court’s Support Enforcement Services.
Compared to regular SERS members, hazardous duty members have
a more generous pension benefit formula and may generally retire with
a full pension after a certain number of credited service years with no
minimum age requirement, depending on their retirement plan tier and
the provisions of the applicable collective bargaining agreement
between the state and the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition
(SEBAC). However, they must contribute an additional amount of their
pay to the pension fund during their hazardous duty career (an extra
3% or 4% depending on their tier and the SEBAC agreement).
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2026
COMMITTEE ACTION
Labor and Public Employees Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 13 Nay 0 (03/12/2026)