AN ACT CONCERNING VICTIM STATEMENTS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR VICTIM NOTIFICATION.

House of Representatives
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General Assembly File No. 633
February Session, 2026 Substitute House Bill No. 5564

House of Representatives, April 14, 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 VICTIM STATEMENTS AND REQUIREMENTS
FOR VICTIM NOTIFICATION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 54 -91c of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 2
(a) For the purposes of this section, "victim" means a person who is a 3
victim of a crime, the legal representative of such person, a member of a 4
deceased victim's immediate family or a person designated by a 5
deceased victim in accordance with section 1-56r. 6
(b) (1) (A) Prior to any proceedings involving the dismissal of a 7
charge against any defendant or the entry of a nolle prosequi to a charge 8
for any offense described in subdivision (2) of this subsection against a 9
defendant, or (B) prior to the imposition of sentence upon any defendant 10
who has been found guilty of any crime or has pleaded guilty or nolo 11
contendere to any crime, and prior to the acceptance by the court of a 12
plea of guilty or nolo contendere made pursuant to a plea agreement 13
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with the state, the court shall permit any victim of the crime to appear 14
before the court for the purpose of making a statement for the record, 15
which statement may include the victim's opinion [of] concerning the 16
dismissal of a charge against any defendant or the entry of a nolle 17
prosequi to a charge for any offense described in subdivision (2) of this 18
subsection against a defendant or any plea agreement. In lieu of such 19
appearance, the victim may submit a written statement or, if the victim 20
of the crime is deceased, the legal representative or a member of the 21
immediate family of such deceased victim may submit a statement of 22
such deceased victim to the state's attorney, assistant state's attorney or 23
deputy assistant state's attorney in charge of the case. Such state's 24
attorney, assistant state's attorney or deputy assistant state's attorney 25
shall file the statement with the sentencing court and the statement shall 26
be made a part of the record at the sentencing hearing. Any such 27
statement, whether oral or written, shall relate to the facts of the case, 28
the appropriateness of any penalty and the extent of any injuries, 29
financial losses and loss of earnings directly resulting from the crime for 30
which the defendant is being sentenced. The court shall inquire on the 31
record whether any victim is present for the purpose of making an oral 32
statement or has submitted a written statement. If no victim is present 33
and no such written statement has been submitted, the court shall 34
inquire on the record whether an attempt has been made to notify any 35
such victim as provided in subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of this 36
section or, if the defendant was originally charged with a violation of 37
section 53a-167c for assaulting a peace officer, whether the peace officer 38
has been personally notified as provided in subdivision (2) of subsection 39
(c) of this section. After consideration of any such statements, the court 40
may refuse to accept, where appropriate, a negotiated plea or sentence, 41
and the court shall give the defendant an opportunity to enter a new 42
plea and to elect trial by jury or by the court. 43
(2) The following are offenses for which the court, pursuant to 44
subdivision (1) of this subsection, shall permit any victim of a crime to 45
appear before the court for the purpose of making a statement for the 46
record concerning the dismissal of a charge against a defendant or the 47
entry of a nolle prosequi to a charge against a defendant: 48
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(A) A class A, B or C felony offense or an unclassified felony offense 49
for which a term of imprisonment may be five years or more; 50
(B) A class D felony offense that is a violation of section 53a-60a, 53a-51
60b, 53a -60c, 53a -64bb, 53a -72a, 53a -90a, 53a -103a, 53a -181c, 53a -189c, 52
53a-191, 53a-196, 53a-196f, 53a-211, 53a-216, 53a-217a, 53a-322, 54-251, 53
54-252, 54-253 or 54 -254 or subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 54
53a-189a; 55
(C) A class A misdemeanor offense that is a violation of section 53a -56
61a, 53a-64cc, 53a-189c or 53a-323; or 57
(D) Any other offense that is (i) a nonviolent sexual offense or a 58
sexually violent offense, each as defined in section 54 -250, or (ii) 59
designated as a family violence crime, as defined in section 46b-38a. 60
(c) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, prior 61
to the imposition of sentence upon such defendant and prior to the 62
acceptance of a plea pursuant to a plea agreement, the state's attorney, 63
assistant state's attorney or deputy assistant state's attorney in charge of 64
the case shall notify the victim of such crime of the date, time and place 65
of the original sentencing hearing or any judicial proceeding concerning 66
the acceptance of a plea pursuant to a plea agreement, provided the 67
victim has informed such state's attorney, assistant state's attorney or 68
deputy assistant state's attorney that such victim wishes to make or 69
submit a statement as provided in subsection (b) of this section and [has 70
complied with a request from such state's attorney, assistant state's 71
attorney or deputy assistant state's attorney to submit a stamped, self -72
addressed postcard for the purpose of such notification] such victim has 73
provided the state's attorney, assistant state's attorney, deputy assistant 74
state's attorney or the Office of Victim Services with up -to-date contact 75
information. 76
(2) Prior to the imposition of sentence upon a defendant originally 77
charged with a violation of section 53a -167c for assaulting a peace 78
officer, and prior to the acceptance of a plea pursuant to a plea 79
agreement, the state's attorney, assistant state's attorney or deputy 80
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assistant state's attorney in charge of the case shall personally notify the 81
peace officer who was the victim of such crime of the date, time and 82
place of the original sentencing hearing or any judicial proceeding 83
concerning the acceptance of a plea pursuant to a plea agreement. 84
(3) If the state's attorney, assistant state's attorney or deputy assistant 85
state's attorney is unable to notify the victim, such state's attorney, 86
assistant state's attorney or deputy state's attorney shall sign a statement 87
as to such notification. 88
(d) Upon the request of a victim, prior to the acceptance by the court 89
of a plea of a defendant pursuant to a proposed plea agreement, the 90
state's attorney, assistant state's attorney or deputy assistant state's 91
attorney in charge of the case shall provide such victim with the terms 92
of such proposed plea agreement in writing. If the terms of the proposed 93
plea agreement provide for a term of imprisonment which is more than 94
two years or a total effective sentence of more than a two -year term of 95
imprisonment, the state's attorney, assistant state's attorney or deputy 96
assistant state's attorney in charge of the case shall indicate: (1) The 97
maximum period of imprisonment that may apply to the defendant; (2) 98
whether the defendant may be eligible to earn risk reduction credits 99
pursuant to section 18-98e; (3) whether the defendant may be eligible to 100
apply for release on parole pursuant to section 54-125a; and (4) whether 101
the defendant may be eligible for automatic erasure of such defendant's 102
criminal conviction pursuant to subsection (e) of section 54-142a. 103
(e) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any proceedings 104
held in accordance with section 46b-121 or section 54-76h. 105
Sec. 2. Section 54 -203 of the 2026 supplement to the general statutes 106
is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 107
October 1, 2026): 108
(a) There is established an Office of Victim Services within the Judicial 109
Department. 110
(b) The Office of Victim Services shall have the following powers and 111
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duties: 112
(1) To direct each hospital, whether public or private, each university 113
or college health services center, whether public or private, and each 114
community health center, as defined in section 19a-490a, to prominently 115
display posters in a conspicuous location giving notice of the availability 116
of compensation and assistance to victims of crime or their dependents 117
pursuant to sections 54-201 to 54-218, inclusive, and to direct every law 118
enforcement agency of the state to inform victims of crime or their 119
dependents of their rights pursuant to sections 54 -201 to 54 -218, 120
inclusive; 121
(2) To obtain from the office of the state's attorney, state police, local 122
police departments or any law enforcement agency such investigation 123
and data as will enable the Office of Victim Services to determine if in 124
fact the applicant was a victim of a crime or attempted crime and the 125
extent, if any, to which the victim or claimant was responsible for his 126
own injury, including, but not limited to, a request for information form 127
promulgated by the Office of Victim Services; 128
(3) To request from the Department of Correction, other units of the 129
Judicial Branch and the Board of Pardons and Paroles such information 130
as will enable the Office of Victim Services to determine if in fact a 131
person who has requested notification pursuant to section 54-228 was a 132
victim of a crime; 133
(4) To take or cause to be taken affidavits or depositions within or 134
without the state; 135
(5) To apply for, receive, allocate, disburse and account for grants of 136
funds made available by the United States, by the state, foundations, 137
corporations and other businesses, agencies or individuals to implement 138
a program for victim services which shall assist witnesses and victims 139
of crimes as the Office of Victim Services deems appropriate within the 140
resources available and to coordinate services to victims by state and 141
community-based agencies, with priority given to victims of violent 142
crimes, by (A) assigning such victim advocates as are necessary to 143
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provide assistance; (B) administering victim service programs; and (C) 144
awarding grants or purchase of service contracts to private nonprofit 145
organizations or local units of government for the direct delivery of 146
services, except that the provision of training and technical assistance of 147
victim service providers and the development and implementation of 148
public education campaigns may be provided by private nonprofit or 149
for-profit organizations or local units of government. Such grants and 150
contracts shall be the predominant method by which the Office of 151
Victim Services shall develop, implement and operate direct service 152
programs and provide training and technical assistance to victim service 153
providers; 154
(6) To provide each person who applies for compensation pursuant 155
to section 54 -204, within ten days of the date of receipt of such 156
application, with a written list of rights of victims of crime involving 157
personal injury and the programs available in this state to assist such 158
victims, and the document developed pursuant to subdivision (16) of 159
this subsection . The Office of Victim Services, the state or any agent, 160
employee or officer thereof shall not be liable for the failure to supply 161
such list or any alleged inadequacies of such list. [Such list ] The list 162
developed pursuant to this subdivision shall include, but not be limited 163
to: 164
(A) Subject to the provisions of sections 18-81e and 51-286e, the victim 165
shall have the right to be informed concerning the status of his or her 166
case and to be informed of the release from custody of the defendant; 167
(B) Subject to the provisions of section 54-91c, as amended by this act, 168
the victim shall have the right to present a statement of his or her losses, 169
injuries and wishes to the prosecutor and the court prior to the 170
acceptance by the court of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere made 171
pursuant to a plea agreement with the state; 172
(C) Subject to the provisions of section 54-91c, as amended by this act, 173
prior to the imposition of sentence upon the defendant, the victim shall 174
have the right to submit a statement to the prosecutor as to the extent of 175
any injuries, financial losses and loss of earnings directly resulting from 176
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the crime. Upon receipt of the statement, the prosecutor shall file the 177
statement with the sentencing court and the statement shall be made a 178
part of the record and considered by the court at the sentencing hearing; 179
(D) Subject to the provisions of section 54-126a, the victim shall have 180
the right to appear before a panel of the Board of Pardons and Paroles 181
and make a statement as to whether the defendant should be released 182
on parole and any terms or conditions to be imposed upon any such 183
release; 184
(E) Subject to the provisions of section 54 -36a, the victim shall have 185
the right to have any property the victim owns which was seized by 186
police in connection with an arrest to be returned; 187
(F) Subject to the provisions of sections 54-56e and 54-142c, the victim 188
shall have the right to be notified of the application by the defendant for 189
the pretrial program for accelerated rehabilitation and to obtain from 190
the court information as to whether the criminal prosecution in the case 191
has been dismissed; 192
(G) Subject to the provisions of section 54 -85b, the victim cannot be 193
fired, harassed or otherwise retaliated against by an employer for 194
appearing under a subpoena as a witness in any criminal prosecution; 195
(H) Subject to the provisions of section 54 -86g, the parent or legal 196
guardian of a child twelve years of age or younger who is a victim of 197
child abuse or sexual assault may request special procedural 198
considerations to be taken during the testimony of the child; 199
(I) Subject to the provisions of section 46b-15, the victim of assault by 200
a spouse or former spouse, family or household member has the right 201
to request the arrest of the offender, request a protective order and apply 202
for a restraining order; 203
(J) Subject to the provisions of sections 52-146k, 54-86e and 54-86f, the 204
victim of sexual assault or domestic violence can expect certain records 205
to remain confidential; and 206
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(K) Subject to the provisions of section 53a -32, the victim and any 207
victim advocate assigned to assist the victim may receive notification 208
from a probation officer whenever the officer has notified a police officer 209
that the probation officer has probable cause to believe that the offender 210
has violated a condition of such offender's probation; 211
(7) Within available appropriations, to maintain a victim's assistance 212
center which shall (A) make available to victims information regarding 213
victim's rights and available services, (B) maintain a victims' notification 214
system pursuant to sections 54-227 to 54-230a, inclusive, and 54-235, and 215
(C) maintain a toll -free number for access to information regarding 216
victims' rights and available services; 217
(8) To provide a telephone helpline that shall provide information on 218
referrals for various services for victims of crime and their families; 219
(9) To provide staff services to a state advisory council. The council 220
shall consist of not more than twenty members to be appointed by the 221
Chief Justice and shall include the Chief Victim Compensation 222
Commissioner and members who represent victim populations, 223
including but not limited to, homicide survivors, family violence 224
victims, sexual assault victims, victims of gun violence, victims of drunk 225
drivers, and assault and robbery victims, and members who represent 226
the judicial branch and executive branch agencies involved with victims 227
of crime. The members shall serve for terms of four years. Any vacancy 228
in the membership shall be filled by the appointing authority for the 229
balance of the unexpired term. The members shall receive no 230
compensation for their services. The council shall meet at least four 231
times a year. The council shall recommend to the Office of Victim 232
Services program, legislative or other matters which would improve 233
services to victims of crime and develop and coordinate needs 234
assessments for both court-based and community-based victim services. 235
The Chief Justice shall appoint two members to serve as cochairpersons. 236
Not later than December fifteenth of each year, the council shall report 237
the results of its findings and activities to the Chief Court Administrator; 238
(10) To utilize such voluntary and uncompensated services of private 239
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individuals, agencies and organizations as may from time to time be 240
offered and needed; 241
(11) To recommend policies and make recommendations to agencies 242
and officers of the state and local subdivisions of government relative to 243
victims of crime; 244
(12) To provide support and assistance to state -wide victim services 245
coalitions and groups; 246
(13) To provide a training program for judges, prosecutors, police, 247
probation and parole personnel, bail commissioners, intake, assessment 248
and referral specialists, officers from the Department of Correction and 249
judicial marshals to inform them of victims' rights and available 250
services; 251
(14) To (A) maintain, within available appropriations, a sexual assault 252
forensic examiners program that will train and make available sexual 253
assault forensic examiners to adolescent and adult victims of sexual 254
assault who are patients at participating health care facilities. In order 255
to maintain such program, the Office of Victim Services may apply for, 256
receive, allocate, disburse and account for grants of funds made 257
available by the United States, the state, foundations, corporations and 258
other businesses, agencies or individuals; or (B) establish, within 259
available appropriations, a training program for health care 260
professionals on the care of and collection of evidence from adolescent 261
and adult victims of sexual assault; 262
(15) To provide victims of crime and the general public with 263
information detailing the process by which a victim may register to 264
receive notices of hearings of the Board of Pardons and Paroles; [and] 265
(16) To provide victims of crime and the general public with a concise 266
informational document written in manner that is easily understandable 267
in English and in any other language, as determined by the Office of 268
Victim Services, and available in printed form, upon request, and on the 269
Internet web site of the Judicial Branch, that is updated as said office 270
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determines is necessary, and includes, at a minimum: (A) A summary 271
of the constitutional and statutory rights afforded to crime victims in 272
this state; (B) an explanation of the manner in which a victim may 273
exercise and participate in the criminal justice process; and (C) a general 274
overview of what a victim may expect throughout the criminal justice 275
process; and 276
[(16)] (17) To submit to the joint standing committee of the General 277
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary, in 278
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, on or before January 15, 279
2000, and biennially thereafter a report of its activities under sections 54-280
201 to 54-235, inclusive. 281
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 October 1, 2026 54-91c
Sec. 2 October 1, 2026 54-203

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 $
Judicial Dept. GF - Cost Up to
249,000
Up to
332,000
State Comptroller - Fringe
Benefits1
GF - Cost Up to
101,600
Up to
135,500
Note: GF=General Fund

Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill results in an annual cost of $332,000 to the Judicial
Department and 135,500 to the State Comptroller for fringe benefits. The
FY 27 amounts are 75% of the annual cost to reflect the bill's
implementation date.
The bill allows victims to make a statement for the record before any
proceedings to dismiss or nolle a charge against the defendant for
certain offenses. In 2025, more than 3,000 charges covered by the bill
received a nolle or a dismissal and were eligibl e for services from the
Office of Victim Services (OVS). To the extent that OVS assists these
additional victims in writing these statements, it is estimated that they
will need to hire up to four Victim Services Advocates. 2 Equipment

1The fringe benefit costs for most state employees are budgeted centrally in accounts
administered by the Comptroller. The estimated active employee fringe benefit cost
associated with most personnel changes is 41.82% of payroll in FY 27.
2 The starting annual salary for a Victim Services Advocate is about $81,000. The
estimated annual fringe benefits cost for each position is $33,875.
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expenses for these positions are not expected to exceed $8,000 annually.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to the number of additional victim
statements submitted.

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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 5564

AN ACT CONCERNING VICTIM STATEMENTS AND
REQUIREMENTS FOR VICTIM NOTIFICATION.

SUMMARY
This bill makes various changes affecting crime victims’ rights.
Primarily, it:
1. requires the court to allow crime victims to make a statement for
the record before any proceedings to dismiss or nolle a charge
against the defendant for specified offenses (for example, a class
A, D, C, and certain D felonies, among others);
2. requires state’s attorneys to notify victims before sentencing or a
plea agreement if the victim provides their up -to-date contact
information, as opposed to providing a stamped, self -addressed
postcard as under current law; and
3. requires the judicial branch’s Office of Victim Services ( OVS) to
develop a concise informational document on victims’ rights and
assistance and give it to crime victims and the general public.
Lastly, it makes conforming changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2026
VICTIM STATEMENT
Proceedings Involving Dismissal or Nolle
Similar to what existing law requires for cases involving plea
agreements, the bill requires a court, before any proceeding to dismiss
or nolle (prosecutor chooses to not prosecute) a charge against the
defendant for any of the offenses below , to allow the crime victim to
state his or her opinion about the charge being dismissed or a nolle being
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entered for the record.
As under existing law for this provision, a “victim” is a person who
is a crime victim, his or her legal representative, a deceased victim ’s
immediate family member, or decision maker designated under law
with certain rights and obligations by a deceased victim.
Applicable Offenses
Under the bill, the court must allow the victim to make a statement
for the following offenses:
1. a class A, B, or C felony offense or an unclassified felony offense
with a prison sentence of at least five years;
2. a class D felony offense for: 2nd degree assault with a firearm ;
2nd degree assault of an elderly , blind, disabled, or pregnant
person or a person with an intellectual disability (and 2nd degree
assault of these individuals with a firearm) ; 2nd degree
strangulation or suffocation; 3rd degree sexual assault; enticing a
minor; 3rd degree burglary with a firearm; 1 st degree stalking;
unlawful dissemination of an intimate image; incest; obscenity as
to minors; 3rd degree possession of child sexual abuse material;
possession of a sawed off shotgun or slicer; criminal use of a
firearm or electronic defense weapon; criminally negligent
storage of a firearm; 2 nd degree abuse; violation of certain sex
offender registration requirements; or certain voyeurism
violations;
3. a class A misdemeanor offense for: 3rd degree assault of an
elderly, blind, disabled, or pregnant person or a person with an
intellectual disability; 3 rd degree strangulation ; unlawful
dissemination of an intimate image; or 3rd degree abuse; or
4. any other offense that is (a) a nonviolent sexual offense or a
sexually violent offense, or ( b) designated as a family violence
crime.
VICTIM NOTIFICATION
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Existing law allows all crime victims to make a statement for the
record before sentencing and on any plea agreement before its
acceptance by the court.
Under current law, if the victim wishes to make or submit a
statement, he or she must give a stamped, self -addressed postcard for
the notification, in compliance with the state’s attorney’s request. The
bill instead requires the victim to give the state ’s attorney, assistant
state’s attorney, deputy assistant state ’s attorney , or OVS up-to-date
contact information to be notified of the hearing.
VICTIM INFORMATIONAL DOCUMENT
The bill expands OVS’s duties by requiring the office to give crime
victims and the general public a concise informational document
written in a way that is easy to understand in English, and in any other
language the office deems necessary . It must include at least the
following:
1. a summary of crime victim’s constitutional and statutory rights
in Connecticut,
2. an explanation of the way in which a victim may exercise and
participate in the criminal justice process, and
3. a general overview of what a victim may expect throughout the
criminal justice process.
The document must be available in printed form, upon request, and
on the judicial branch’s website. OVS must update the document as it
deems necessary.
The bill also requires OVS to give this crime victim informational
document to any victim who applies for the victim compensation
program, within 10 days of receiving the application.
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COMMITTEE ACTION
Judiciary Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 41 Nay 0 (03/30/2026)