AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH'S RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING UNLICENSED INSTITUTIONS AND PRACTICES.

House of Representatives
sHB5510 / File No. 713 1

General Assembly File No. 713
February Session, 2026 Substitute House Bill No. 5510

House of Representatives, April 22, 2026

The Committee on Judiciary reported through REP.
STAFSTROM of the 129th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee
on the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH'S
RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING UNLICENSED INSTITUTIONS
AND PRACTICES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 19a -502 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 2
(a) Any person establishing, conducting, managing or operating any 3
institution without the license required under the provisions of [sections 4
19a-490 to 19a-503, inclusive, or owning real property or improvements 5
upon or within which such an institution is established, conducted, 6
managed or operated, ] this chapter or without the certificate required 7
under the provisions of section [19a-491, shall be fined not more than 8
one hundred dollars for each offense, and each day of a continuing 9
violation after conviction shall be considered a separate offense] 19a-561 10
shall be guilty of a class C misdemeanor and fined not more than two 11
thousand dollars for each day of continuing action in violation of this 12
chapter or section 19a-561. 13
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(b) Any person owning real property or improvements upon or 14
within which an institution is established, conducted, managed or 15
operated without the license required under this chapter or without the 16
certificate required under section 19a -561 shall be fined not more than 17
one hundred dollars for each offense and each day of a continuing 18
violation after conviction shall be considered a separate offense. 19
(c) The penalty provisions of this [subsection] section shall not apply 20
to (1) any financial institution regulated by any state or federal agency 21
or body, which financial institution has succeeded to the title of the 22
premises by mortgage foreclosure and the operator, if any, continues to 23
occupy such property, or (2) a person's failure to apply for a renewal of 24
a license. 25
[(b)] (d) If any person conducting, managing or operating any 26
nursing home facility, as defined in section 19a -521, or residential care 27
home, as defined in section 19a-521, fails to maintain or make available 28
the financial information, data or records required under subsection (d) 29
of section 19a -498, such person's license as a nursing home facility or 30
residential care home administrator may be revoked or suspended in 31
accordance with section 19a -517 or the license of such nursing home 32
facility or residential care home may be revoked or suspended in the 33
manner provided in section 19a-494, or both. 34
Sec. 2. Section 19a -503 of the general statutes is repealed and the 35
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 36
(a) Notwithstanding the existence or pursuit of any other remedy, the 37
Department of Public Health may, in the manner provided by law and 38
upon the advice of the Attorney General, conduct an investigation and 39
maintain an action in the name of the state for injunction or other 40
process against any person or governmental unit to restrain or prevent 41
the establishment, conduct, management or operation of an institution 42
or nursing facility management services, without a license or certificate 43
under this chapter. 44
(b) The commissioner may, after a hearing held in accordance with 45
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chapter 54, impose a civil penalty on any person establishing, 46
conducting, managing or operating any institution without the license 47
required under this chapter or without the certificate required under 48
section 19a-561. The amount of any such civil penalty shall not exceed 49
five thousand dollars for each day such person is in violation of this 50
chapter or section 19a-561. 51
Sec. 3. Section 19a -11 of the general statutes is repealed and the 52
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 53
Any board or commission listed in subsection (b) of section 19a-14 or 54
the Department of Public Health, with respect to professions under its 55
jurisdiction that have no board or commission, may, in its discretion, 56
issue [an appropriate ] a summary order to any person found to be 57
violating an applicable statute or regulation, providing for the 58
immediate discontinuance of the violation that poses an imminent risk 59
to public health, safety or welfare, pending proceedings to determine 60
whether to issue a cease and desist order. Such board or commission or 61
the department, with respect to professions under its jurisdiction that 62
have no board or commission, may, after a hearing held in accordance 63
with chapter 54, impose a civil penalty not to exceed twenty -five 64
thousand dollars on a person who provides professional services under 65
the department's jurisdiction without a license or certificate issued by 66
the department. For the purposes of this section, each day of the 67
provision of any such services shall be grounds for such a penalty . The 68
board or commission may, through the Attorney General, petition the 69
superior court for the judicial district wherein the violation occurred, or 70
wherein the person committing the violation resides or transacts 71
business, for the enforcement of any order issued by it and for 72
appropriate temporary relief or a restraining order. Such board or 73
commission shall certify and file in such court a transcript of the entire 74
record of the hearing or hearings, including all testimony upon which 75
such order was made and the findings and orders made by such board 76
or commission. The court may grant such relief by injunction or 77
otherwise, including temporary relief, as it deems equitable and may 78
make and enter a decree enforcing, modifying and enforcing as so 79
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modified, or setting aside, in whole or in part, any order of the board or 80
commission. 81
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 October 1, 2026 19a-502
Sec. 2 October 1, 2026 19a-503
Sec. 3 October 1, 2026 19a-11

JUD 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:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
Public Health, Dept. GF - Potential
Revenue Gain
See Below See Below
Resources of the General Fund GF - Potential
Revenue Gain
See Below See Below
Correction, Dept.; Judicial Dept.
(Probation)
GF - Potential
Cost
Minimal Minimal
Note: GF=General Fund

Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill creates new criminal and civil penalties regarding unlicensed
health care institutions and certain practices, resulting in a General Fund
potential revenue gain and a minimal potential cost to the Department
of Correction and the Judicial Department beginning in FY 27 as
described below.
Section 1 makes it a class C misdemeanor to open, manag e, or
operate a health care facility without the required Department of Public
Health (DPH) license or certificate for certain violations, and imposes a
maximum $ 2,000 daily fine . This results in a potential cost to the
Department of Correction and the Judicial Department for incarceration
or probation and potential revenue gain to the General Fund beginning
in FY 27 . The exact cost will depend on the number of violations and
value of fines imposed. On average, the marginal cost to the state for
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incarcerating an offender for the year is $3,300 ,1 while the average
marginal cost for supervision in the community is less than $ 6002 each
year for adults.
Sections 2 and 3 allow DPH ( or its licensing boards and
commissions) to impose a maximum civil penalty of: (1) $5,000 per day
against anyone who opens, manages, or operates a health care facility
without a required DPH license (or certificate for nursing facility
management services) ; and (2) $25,000 against an individual who
provides professional services without a required DPH license or
certificate. This results in a potential revenue gain to the General Fund
beginning in FY 27, dependent on the number o f violations and DPH's
discretion regarding civil penalties.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to the number of violations, fines
imposed, and value of fines imposed.

1 Inmate marginal cost is based on increased consumables (e.g., food, clothing, water,
sewage, living supplies, etc.) This does not include a change in staffing costs or utility
expenses because these expenses would only be realized if a unit or facility o pened.
2 Probation marginal cost is based on services provided by private providers and only
includes costs that increase with each additional participant. This does not include a
cost for additional supervision by a probation officer unless a new offense is
anticipated to result in enough additional offenders to require additional probation
officers.
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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 5510

AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH'S
RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING UNLICENSED INSTITUTIONS
AND PRACTICES.

SUMMARY
This bill allows the Department of Public Health (DPH), after a
hearing, to impose a civil penalty of up to (1) $25,000 per day against an
individual who provides professional services without a required DPH
license or certificate or (2) $5,000 per day against anyone who opens,
manages, or operates a health care facility without a required DPH
license (or certificate for nursing facility management services). For
people providing services without the required credential, this action
may be taken, as applicable, by DPH or its licensing boards or
commissions.
The bill also imposes criminal penalties for opening, managing, or
operating a health care facility without the required DPH license or
certificate. It generally makes this a class C misdemeanor, punishable by
up to three months in prison, and the bill sets a maximum $2,000 daily
fine for this offense. But the bill’s criminal penalty does not apply to (1)
a licensee who fails to apply for renewal or (2) a financial institution
taking ownership of a facility after a foreclosure wh en the operator
continues to occupy it.
Under current law, the penalty to open, manage, or operate a health
care facility without a required license or certificate is generally $100 per
day. There is currently no overarching penalty for practicing a DPH -
regulated profession without a license or certificate, but there are
existing criminal penalties for certain professions.
Lastly, the bill specifies that DPH, as well as its licensing boards or
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commissions as under existing law, can issue a summary order that
someone immediately stop an illegal activity under its jurisdiction. The
bill specifies that this authority applies if the person poses an imminent
public health or safety risk, pending proceedings on a possible cease and
desist order. Existing law also gives DPH specific authority to pursue
injunctive relief against facilities operating without the required license
(or certificate for nursing facility management services).
The bill also makes minor, technical, and conforming changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2026
BACKGROUND
Legislative History
The House referred the bill (File 537) to the Judiciary Committee,
which reported a substitute that lowered the bill’s penalties for opening,
managing, or operating unlicensed facilities, including lowering the (1)
criminal penalty from a class D felony to a class C misdemeanor and the
associated maximum daily fine from $5,000 to $2,000 and (2) DPH
maximum daily civil penalty from $25,000 to $5,000.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Public Health Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 30 Nay 2 (03/23/2026)

Judiciary Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 27 Nay 12 (04/17/2026)