AN ACT CONCERNING REVIEW OF DECISIONS BY THE CONNECTICUT STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMISSION BY THE SUPERIOR COURT AND AUTHORIZING APPEALS OF DECISIONS OF THE MEDICAL EXAMINING BOARD.

House of Representatives
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General Assembly File No. 395
February Session, 2026 Substitute House Bill No. 5495

House of Representatives, April 2, 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 substitute bill
ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING REVIEW OF DECISIONS BY THE
CONNECTICUT STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMISSION BY
THE SUPERIOR COURT AND AUTHORIZING APPEALS OF
DECISIONS OF THE MEDICAL EXAMINING BOARD.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subsection (d) of section 5 -169 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 2
1, 2026): 3
(d) [No reconsideration of] (1) Prior to making a decision concerning 4
a member's eligibility for a disability retirement allowance or the 5
discontinuance of such allowance, [shall be made by the board unless a 6
member, upon application to the board for a redetermination, discloses 7
additional facts concerning his condition at the date of termination of 8
employment] the board shall hold a hearing. After the hearing, the 9
board shall send the member a written copy of the board's decision 10
containing a statement of the reasons for such decision. Any member 11
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aggrieved by the decision of the board may appeal the decision to the 12
Superior Court in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54. 13
(2) Nothing in this subsection shall take effect until the State 14
Employees' Bargaining Agent Coalition has provided its written 15
consent to the clerks of both houses of the General Assembly to 16
incorporate the terms of this subsection into its collective bargaining 17
agreement. 18
Sec. 2. Subsection (g) of section 5 -192p of the general statutes is 19
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 20
1, 2026): 21
(g) [No reconsideration of] (1) Prior to making a decision concerning 22
a member's eligibility for a disability retirement allowance or the prior 23
discontinuance of such allowance, [shall be made by the board unless a 24
member, upon application to the board for a redetermination, discloses 25
additional facts concerning his condition at the date of termination of 26
employment or at the time of discontinuance as appropriate ] the board 27
shall hold a hearing. After the hearing, the board shall send the member 28
a written copy of the board's decision containing a statement of the 29
reasons for such decision. Any member aggrieved by the decision of the 30
board may appeal the decision to the Superior Court in accordance with 31
the provisions of chapter 54. 32
(2) Nothing in this subsection shall take effect until the State 33
Employees' Bargaining Agent Coalition has provided its written 34
consent to the clerks of both houses of the General Assembly to 35
incorporate the terms of this subsection into its collective bargaining 36
agreement. 37
Sec. 3. Section 4-183 of the 2026 supplement to the general statutes is 38
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 39
1, 2026): 40
(a) A person who has exhausted all administrative remedies available 41
within the agency and who is aggrieved by a final decision may appeal 42
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to the Superior Court as provided in this section. The filing of a petition 43
for reconsideration is not a prerequisite to the filing of such an appeal. 44
(b) A person may appeal a preliminary, procedural or intermediate 45
agency action or ruling to the Superior Court if (1) it appears likely that 46
the person will otherwise qualify under this chapter to appeal from the 47
final agency action or ruling and (2) postponement of the appeal would 48
result in an inadequate remedy. 49
(c) (1) Within forty-five days after mailing of the final decision under 50
section 4 -180 or, if there is no mailing, within forty -five days after 51
personal delivery of the final decision under said section, or (2) within 52
forty-five days after the agency denies a petition for reconsideration of 53
the final decision pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 54
4-181a, or (3) within forty -five days after mailing of the final decision 55
made after reconsideration pursuant to subdivisions (3) and (4) of 56
subsection (a) of section 4 -181a or, if there is no mailing, within forty -57
five days after personal delivery of the final decision made after 58
reconsideration pursuant to said subdivisions, or (4) within forty -five 59
days after the expiration of the ninety -day period required under 60
subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 4 -181a if the agency decides 61
to reconsider the final decision and fails to render a decision made after 62
reconsideration within such period, whichever is applicable and is later, 63
a person appealing as provided in this section shall serve a copy of the 64
appeal on the agency that rendered the final decision at its office or at 65
the office of the Attorney General in Hartford and file the appeal with 66
the clerk of the superior court for the judicial district of New Britain or 67
for the judicial district wherein the person appealing resides or, if that 68
person is not a resident of this state, with the clerk of the court for the 69
judicial district of New Britain. Within that time, the person appealing 70
shall also serve a copy of the appeal on each party listed in the final 71
decision at the address shown in the decision, provided failure to make 72
such service within forty-five days on parties other than the agency that 73
rendered the final decision shall not deprive the court of jurisdiction 74
over the appeal. Service of the appeal shall be made by a state marshal 75
making service in the same manner as complaints are served in ordinary 76
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civil actions. 77
(d) The person appealing, not later than fifteen days after filing the 78
appeal, shall file or cause to be filed with the clerk of the court an 79
affidavit, or the state marshal's return, stating the date and manner in 80
which a copy of the appeal was served on each party and on the agency 81
that rendered the final decision, and, if service was not made on a party, 82
the reason for failure to make service. If the failure to make service 83
causes prejudice to any party to the appeal or to the agency, the court, 84
after hearing, may dismiss the appeal. 85
(e) If service has not been made on a party, the court, on motion, shall 86
make such orders of notice of the appeal as are reasonably calculated to 87
notify each party not yet served. 88
(f) The filing of an appeal shall not, of itself, stay enforcement of an 89
agency decision. An application for a stay may be made to the agency, 90
to the court or to both. Filing of an application with the agency shall not 91
preclude action by the court. A stay, if granted, shall be on appropriate 92
terms. 93
(g) Within thirty days after the service of the appeal, or within such 94
further time as may be allowed by the court, the agency shall transcribe 95
any portion of the record that has not been transcribed and transmit to 96
the reviewing court the original or a certified copy of the entire record 97
of the proceeding appealed from, which shall include the agency's 98
findings of fact and conclusions of law, separately stated. By stipulation 99
of all parties to such appeal proceedings, the record may be shortened. 100
A party unreasonably refusing to stipulate to limit the record may be 101
taxed by the court for the additional costs. The court may require or 102
permit subsequent corrections or additions to the record. 103
(h) If, before the date set for hearing on the merits of an appeal, 104
application is made to the court for leave to present additional evidence, 105
and it is shown to the satisfaction of the court that the additional 106
evidence is material and that there were good reasons for failure to 107
present it in the proceeding before the agency, the court may order that 108
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the additional evidence be taken before the agency upon conditions 109
determined by the court. The agency may modify its findings and 110
decision by reason of the additional evidence and shall file that evidence 111
and any modifications, new findings, or decisions with the reviewing 112
court. 113
(i) The appeal shall be conducted by the court without a jury and shall 114
be confined to the record. If alleged irregularities in procedure before 115
the agency are not shown in the record or if facts necessary to establish 116
aggrievement are not shown in the record, proof limited thereto may be 117
taken in the court. The court, upon request, shall hear oral argument and 118
receive written briefs. 119
(j) [The] Except as otherwise provided in subsection (n) of this section, 120
the court shall not substitute its judgment for that of the agency as to the 121
weight of the evidence on questions of fact. The court shall affirm the 122
decision of the agency unless the court finds that substantial rights of 123
the person appealing have been prejudiced because the administrative 124
findings, inferences, conclusions, or decisions are: (1) In violation of 125
constitutional or statutory provisions; (2) in excess of the statutory 126
authority of the agency; (3) made upon unlawful procedure; (4) affected 127
by other error of law; (5) clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, 128
probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record; or (6) arbitrary 129
or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly 130
unwarranted exercise of discretion. If the court finds such prejudice, it 131
shall sustain the appeal and, if appropriate, may render a judgment 132
under subsection (k) of this section or remand the case for further 133
proceedings. For purposes of this section, a remand is a final judgment. 134
(k) If a particular agency action is required by law, the court, on 135
sustaining the appeal, may render a judgment that modifies the agency 136
decision, orders the particular agency action, or orders the agency to 137
take such action as may be necessary to effect the particular action. 138
(l) In all appeals taken under this section, costs may be taxed in favor 139
of the prevailing party in the same manner, and to the same extent, that 140
costs are allowed in judgments rendered by the Superior Court. No costs 141
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shall be taxed against the state, except as provided in section 4-184a. 142
(m) In any case in which a person appealing claims that he cannot 143
pay the costs of an appeal under this section, he shall, within the time 144
permitted for filing the appeal, file with the clerk of the court to which 145
the appeal is to be taken an application for waiver of payment of such 146
fees, costs and necessary expenses, including the requirements of bond, 147
if any. The application shall conform to the requirements prescribed by 148
rule of the judges of the Superior Court. After such hearing as the court 149
determines is necessary, the court shall render its judgment on the 150
application, which judgment shall contain a statement of the facts the 151
court has found, with its conclusions thereon. The filing of the 152
application for the waiver shall toll the time limits for the filing of an 153
appeal until such time as a judgment on such application is rendered. 154
(n) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (j) of this section, 155
any review of a decision of the Connecticut State Employees Retirement 156
Commission shall be de novo. 157
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 October 1, 2026 5-169(d)
Sec. 2 October 1, 2026 5-192p(g)
Sec. 3 October 1, 2026 4-183

LAB Joint Favorable Subst.

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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: None
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill allows parties to appeal decisions made by the Connecticut
State Employees Retirement Commission in Superior Court subject to
approval by the State Employees’ Bargaining Agent Coalition, resulting
in no fiscal impact to the state. The court system disposes of over 250,000
cases annually and the number of cases is not anticipated to be great
enough to need additional resources.
The bill additionally requires the medical examining board to hold
hearings and send written copies of their decisions, resulting in no fiscal
impact to the state as the bill conforms statute to current practice.

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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 5495

AN ACT CONCERNING REVIEW OF DECISIONS BY THE
CONNECTICUT STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMISSION
BY THE SUPERIOR COURT AND AUTHORIZING APPEALS OF
DECISIONS OF THE MEDICAL EXAMINING BOARD.

SUMMARY
This bill requires the State Employee Retirement System’s (SERS)
medical examining board , before deciding on a SERS member’s
eligibility for a disability pension, or discontinuing one, to hold a
hearing and send the member a written copy of its decision and
reasoning. The bill allows a member aggrieved by the board’s decision
to appeal to the Superior Court under the state’s Uniform
Administrative Procedure Act (UAPA). However, it also specifies that
these changes do not take effect until the State Employee s’ Bargaining
Agent Coalition (SEBAC) gives its written consent to incorporate these
terms into its collective bargaining agreement.
Current law prohibits the board from reconsidering disability
retirement decision s unless applicants disclose additional facts about
their condition when they ended their employment. Under the UAPA,
these decisions cannot be appealed to court because they are not “final
decisions.”
Separately, the bill also requires the courts, when reviewing any State
Employees Retirement Commission decision, to do so “de novo”
(generally, to treat it as if hearing it for the first time, rather than limiting
the review to certain issues such as errors of law, or abuse of discretion
in the original decision, as otherwise required by the UAPA).
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2026
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BACKGROUND
Appeals Under the UAPA
The UAPA generally allows someone who has exhausted all
administrative remedies and is aggrieved by a final decision to appeal
to Superior Court (CGS § 4 -183(a)). Under the law, a “final decision” is
an agency’s (1) determination in a contested case, (2) declaratory ruling,
or ( 3) decision made after reconsideration. It does not include a n
agency’s preliminary or intermediate ruling or order, or ruling granting
or denying a petition for reconsideration (CGS § 4-166).
COMMITTEE ACTION
Labor and Public Employees Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 13 Nay 0 (03/19/2026)