AN ACT CONCERNING ROAMING DOGS.

Senate
sSB260 / File No. 612 1

General Assembly File No. 612
February Session, 2026 Substitute Senate Bill No. 260

Senate, April 14, 2026

The Committee on Judiciary reported through SEN. WINFIELD
of the 10th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of
the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING ROAMING DOGS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 22 -364 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 2
(a) No owner or keeper of any dog or livestock as defined in section 3
22-381 shall allow such dog or livestock to roam at large upon the land 4
of another and not under control of the owner or keeper or the agent of 5
the owner or keeper, nor allow such dog or livestock to roam at large on 6
any portion of any public highway and not attended or under control of 7
such owner or keeper or an agent of such owner or keeper, provided 8
[nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit or prohibit the use 9
of hunting dogs during the open hunting or training season] this section 10
shall not apply to the use of a (1) hunting dog during the open hunting 11
or training season, (2) dog used in the handling and control of livestock, 12
or (3) dog engaged in a search or rescue operation . The unauthorized 13
presence of any dog or livestock on the land of any person other than 14
the owner or keeper of such dog or livestock or on any portion of a 15
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public highway when such dog or livestock is not attended by or under 16
the control of such owner or keeper, shall be prima facie evidence of a 17
violation of the provisions of this subsection. [Violation of any provision 18
of this subsection shall be an infraction. ] The animal control officer or 19
regional animal control officer appointed pursuant to section 22-328, 22-20
331 or 22-331a, as applicable, of any city or town in which any such dog 21
or livestock is found roaming at large may, in addition to any other 22
remedies provided by law, seek an order enforcing the provisions of this 23
section, including an injunction, from the superior court of the judicial 24
district in which such dog or livestock is found roaming at large. 25
(b) A violation of subsection (a) of this section concerning livestock 26
shall be an infraction. 27
(c) (1) Any owner or keeper of any dog who violates subsection (a) of 28
this section shall be (A) fined (i) not more than three hundred fifty 29
dollars for a first violation, or (ii) not more than five hundred dollars for 30
a subsequent violation, or (B) guilty of a class C misdemeanor for a third 31
or subsequent violation that occurs during the one -year period 32
following the immediate prior violation. 33
[(b)] (2) Any owner or keeper of any dog who, knowing of the vicious 34
propensities of such dog and having violated [the provisions of ] 35
subsection (a) of this section within the preceding year, intentionally or 36
recklessly violates [the provisions of] subsection (a) of this section shall 37
be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more 38
than six months, or both, if such dog, while roaming at large, causes 39
physical injury to another person and such other person was not teasing, 40
tormenting or abusing such dog. 41
Sec. 2. Subsection (b) of section 51-164n of the 2026 supplement to the 42
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 43
thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 44
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, any person 45
who is alleged to have committed (1) a violation under the provisions of 46
section 1-9, 1-10, 1-11, 2-71h, 4b-13, 7-13, 7-14, 7-35 or 7-41, subsection (c) 47
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of section 7-66, section 7-83, 7-147h, 7-148, 7-283, 7-325, 7-393, 8-12, 8-25, 48
8-27, 9-63, 9-322, 9-350, 10-185, 10-193, 10-197, 10-198, 10-230, 10-251, 10-49
254, 10a -35, 12 -52, 12 -54, 12 -129b or 12 -170aa, subdivision (3) of 50
subsection (e) of section 12 -286, section 12 -286a, 12-292, 12-314b or 12 -51
326g, subdivision (4) of section 12 -408, subdivision (3), (5) or (6) of 52
section 12 -411, section 12 -435c, 12 -476a, 12 -476b, 12 -476c, 12 -487, 13a -53
26b, 13a-71, 13a-107, 13a-113, 13a-114, 13a-115, 13a-117b, 13a-123, 13a-54
124, 13a-139, 13a-140, 13a-143b, 13a-253, 13a-263 or 13b-39f, subsection 55
(f) of section 13b-42, section 13b-90 or 13b-100, subsection (a) of section 56
13b-108, section 13b-221 or 13b-292, subsection (a) or (b) of section 13b-57
324, section 13b -336, 13b-337, 13b-338, 13b-410a, 13b-410b or 13b -410c, 58
subsection (a), (b) or (c) of section 13b -412, section 13b -414 or 14 -4, 59
subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 14 -12, subsection (d) of 60
section 14-12, subsection (f) of section 14 -12a, subsection (a) of section 61
14-15a, section 14-16c, 14-20a or 14-27a, subsection (f) of section 14-34a, 62
subsection (d) of section 14-35, section 14-43, 14-44j, 14-49, 14-50a, 14-58 63
or 14 -62a, subsection (b) of section 14 -66, section 14 -66a or 14 -67a, 64
subsection (g) of section 14 -80, subsection (f) or (i) of section 14 -80h, 65
section 14 -97a or 14 -98, subsection (a), (b) or (d) of section 14 -100a, 66
section 14-100b, 14 -103a, 14 -106a, 14 -106c, 14 -145a, 14-146, 14 -152, 14 -67
153, 14-161 or 14-163b, subsection (f) of section 14 -164i, section 14-213b 68
or 14-219, subdivision (1) of section 14-223a, subsection (d) of section 14-69
224, section 14-240 or 14-250, subdivision (2) of subsection (e) of section 70
14-251, section 14-253a, 14-261a, 14-262, 14-264, 14-266, 14-267a, 14-269, 71
14-270, 14-272b, 14-274, 14-275 or 14 -275a, subsection (c) of section 14 -72
275c, section 14 -276, subsection (a) or (b) of section 14 -277, section 14 -73
278, 14-279 or 14-280, subsection (b), (e) or (h) of section 14 -283, section 74
14-283d, 14-283e, 14-283f, 14-283g, 14-289l, 14-291, 14-293b, 14-296aa, 14-75
298a, 14-300, 14-300d, 14-300f, 14-319, 14-320, 14-321, 14-325a, 14-326, 14-76
330 or 14-332a, subdivision (1), (2) or (3) of section 14 -386a, section 15-77
15e, 15 -25 or 15 -33, subdivision (1) of section 15 -97, subsection (a) of 78
section 15 -115, section 16 -15, 16 -16, 16 -44, 16 -256e, 16 -278 or 16a -15, 79
subsection (a) of section 16a -21, section 16a -22, subsection (a) or (b) of 80
section 16a -22h, section 16a -106, 17a -24, 17a -145, 17a -149 or 17a -152, 81
subsection (b) of section 17a -227, section 17a -465, subsection (c) of 82
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section 17a-488, section 17b-124, 17b-131, 17b-137, 19a-33, 19a-39 or 19a-83
87, subsection (b) of section 19a-87a, section 19a-91, 19a-102a, 19a-102b, 84
19a-105, 19a-107, 19a-113, 19a-215, 19a-216a, 19a-219, 19a-222, 19a-224, 85
19a-286, 19a -287, 19a -297, 19a -301, 19a -309, 19a -335, 19a -336, 19a -338, 86
19a-339, 19a -340, 19a -425, 19a -442, 19a -502, 19a -565, 20 -7a, 20 -14, 20 -87
153a, 20-158, 20-231, 20-233, 20-249, 20-257, 20-265, 20-324e, 20-329c or 88
20-329g, subsection (b) of section 20-334, section 20-341l, 20-366, 20-482, 89
20-597, 20-608, 20-610, 20-623, 21-1, 21-38, 21-39, 21-43, 21-47, 21-48 or 90
21-63, subsection (d) of section 21 -71, section 21 -76a or 21 -100, 91
subsection (c) of section 21a-2, subdivision (1) of section 21a-19, section 92
21a-20 or 21a -21, subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section 21a -25, 93
section 21a-26, subsection (a) of section 21a -37, section 21a -46, 21a-61, 94
21a-63, 21a-70b or 21a-77, subsection (b) or (c) of section 21a-79, section 95
21a-85 or 21a -154, subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 21a -159, 96
section 21a-278b, subsection (c), (d) or (e) of section 21a -279a, section 97
21a-415a, 21a-421eee, 21a-421fff or 21a-421hhh, subsection (a) of section 98
21a-430, section 22 -12b, 22-13, 22-14, 22-15, 22-16, 22-26g, 22-30, 22-34, 99
22-35, 22 -36, 22 -38, 22 -39, 22 -39f, 22 -49, 22 -54, 22 -61j or 22 -61l, 100
subdivision (1) of subsection (n) of section 22 -61l, subsection (f) of 101
section 22 -61m, subdivision (1) of subsection (f) of section 22 -61m, 102
section 22 -84, 22 -89, 22 -90, 22 -96, 22 -98, 22 -99, 22 -100 or 22 -111o, 103
subsection (d) of section 22-118l, section 22-167, subsection (c) of section 104
22-277, section 22-278, 22-279, 22-280a, 22-318a, 22-320h, 22-324a or 22-105
326, subsection (b), subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (e) or subsection 106
(g) of section 22-344, subsection (a) or (b) of section 22 -344b, subsection 107
(d) of section 22 -344d, section 22 -344f, 22-350a, 22-354, 22-359, 22-366, 108
22-391, 22-413, 22-414, 22-415, 22-415c, 22a-66a or 22a-246, subsection (a) 109
of section 22a-250, section 22a-256g, subsection (e) of section 22a -256h, 110
section 22a-363, [or] subparagraph (A) of subdivision (1) of subsection 111
(c) of section 22 -364, as amended by this act, section 22a-381d, 112
subsections (c) and (d) of section 22a-381e, section 22a-449, 22a-450, 22a-113
461, 23-4b, 23-38, 23-45, 23-46 or 23-61b, subsection (a) or subdivision (1) 114
of subsection (c) of section 23-65, section 25-37 or 25-40, subsection (a) of 115
section 25-43, section 25-43d, 25-135, 26-18, 26-19, 26-21, 26-31, 26-40, 26-116
40a, 26-42, 26-43, 26-49, 26-54, 26-55, 26-56, 26-58 or 26 -59, subdivision 117
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(1) of subsection (d) of section 26 -61, section 26 -64, subdivision (1) of 118
section 26-76, section 26 -79, 26-87, 26-89, 26-91, 26-94, 26-97, 26-98, 26-119
104, 26-105, 26-107, 26-114a, 26-117, subsection (b) of section 26-127, 26-120
128, 26-128a, 26-131, 26-132, 26-138, 26-139 or 26-141, subdivision (1) of 121
section 26-186, section 26-207, 26-215, 26-217 or 26-224a, subdivision (1) 122
of section 26-226, section 26-227, 26-230, 26-231, 26-232, 26-244, 26-257a, 123
26-260, 26-276, 26-280, 26-284, 26-285, 26-286, 26-287, 26-288, 26-290, 26-124
291a, 26-292, 26-294, 27-107, 28-13, 29-6a, 29-16, 29-17, 29-25, 29-143o, 29-125
143z or 29 -156a, subsection (b), (d), (e), (g) or (h) of section 29 -161q, 126
section 29-161y or 29-161z, subdivision (1) of section 29-198, section 29-127
210, 29-243 or 29-277, subsection (c) of section 29-291c, section 29-316 or 128
29-318, subsection (b) of section 29-335a, section 29-381, 30-19f, 30-48a or 129
30-86a, subsection (b) of section 30-89, subsection (c) or (d) of section 30-130
117, section 31-3, 31-10, 31-11, 31-12, 31-13, 31-14, 31-15, 31-16, 31-18, 31-131
23, 31-24, 31-25, 31-32, 31-36, 31-47 or 31-48, subsection (b) of section 31-132
48b, section 31-51, 31-51g, 31-52, 31-52a, 31-53 or 31-54, subsection (a) or 133
(c) of section 31 -69, section 31 -70, 31-74, 31-75, 31-76, 31-76a, 31-89b or 134
31-134, subsection (i) of section 31-273, section 31-288, 31-348, 33-624, 33-135
1017, 34-13d or 34-412, subdivision (1) of section 35-20, subsection (a) of 136
section 36a-57, subsection (b) of section 36a -665, section 36a -699, 36a -137
739, 36a-787, 38a-2 or 38a -140, subsection (a) or (b) of section 38a -278, 138
section 38a-479qq, 38a-479rr, 38a-506, 38a-548, 38a-626, 38a-680, 38a-713, 139
38a-733, 38a-764, 38a-786, 38a-828, 38a-829, 38a-885, 42-133hh, 42-470 or 140
42-480, subsection (a) or (c) of section 43 -16q, section 45a -283, 45a-450, 141
45a-634 or 45a-658, subdivision (13) or (14) of section 46a-54, section 46a-142
59, 46a -81b, 46b -22, 46b -24, 46b -34, 46b -38d, 47 -34a, 47 -47 or 47 -53, 143
subsection (i) of section 47a -21, subdivision (1) of subsection (k) of 144
section 47a-21, section 49 -2a, 49-8a, 49-16, 52-143 or 52 -289, subsection 145
(j) of section 52-362, section 53-133, 53-199, 53-212a, 53-249a, 53-252, 53-146
264, 53-280, 53-290a, 53-302a, 53-303e, 53-311a, 53-314, 53-321, 53-322, 53-147
323 or 53 -331, subsection (b) of section 53 -343a, section 53 -344, 148
subsection (b) or (c) of section 53-344b, subsection (b) of section 53-345a, 149
section 53-377, 53-422 or 53-450 or subsection (i) of section 54-36a, or (2) 150
a violation under the provisions of chapter 268, or (3) a violation of any 151
regulation adopted in accordance with the provisions of section 12-484, 152
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12-487 or 13b -410, or (4) a violation of any ordinance, regulation or 153
bylaw of any town, city or borough, except violations of building codes, 154
the health code or an ordinance described in subdivision (5) of this 155
subsection, for which the penalty exceeds ninety dollars but does not 156
exceed two hundred fifty dollars, unless such town, city or borough has 157
established a payment and hearing procedure for such violation 158
pursuant to section 7 -152c, or (5) a violation of any ordinance adopted 159
by a town, city or borough pursuant to section 14 -224a, 14-390 or 14 -160
390m for which the penalty does not exceed two thousand dollars, 161
unless such town, city or borough has established a payment and 162
hearing procedure for such violation pursuant to section 7 -152c, shall 163
follow the procedures set forth in this section. 164
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 October 1, 2026 22-364
Sec. 2 October 1, 2026 51-164n(b)

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. (Probation) GF - Potential
Cost
Minimal Minimal
Resources of the General Fund GF - Potential
Revenue Gain
Minimal Minimal
Note: GF=General Fund
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill increases penalties for violating the ban on roaming dogs and
adds two exemptions from the ban , resulting in a net potential cost to
the Judicial Department for probation and a potential revenue gain to
the General Fund from fines. 1,2 On average, the marginal cost for
supervision in the community is less than $6003 each year for adults and
$450 each year for juveniles.
The Out Years

1 Violations are currently punished as an infraction, with violators typically charged a
$50 fine, $7 fee, and $35 surcharge. The bill makes first offenses punishable by a fine of
up to $350 and second and subsequent offenses punishable by up to $500. Third or
subsequent violations occurring within one year after the immediate prior violation is
a class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to three months in prison and a fine of up to
a $500.
2 Between FY 22 and FY 25, there were a total of 3,644 offenses recorded and $181,625
in fines collected under CGS § 22-364.
3 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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The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to the number of offenses and fines
collected.

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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 260

AN ACT CONCERNING ROAMING DOGS.

SUMMARY
This bill increases the penalty for dog owners or keepers who allow
their dogs to roam at large on another’s land or on a public highway
when not under their control. The bill also adds two exemptions from
the roaming restriction.
Under current law, this is an infraction (see BACKGROUND). The
bill instead generally makes it punishable by a fine of up to (1) $350 for
a first violation and (2) $500 for a subsequent violation. People fined for
these violations must follow the law’s procedure for infractions. For
example, they can pay the fine by mail without making a court
appearance.
Under the bill, a third or subsequent violation occurring within one
year after the immediate prior violation is a class C misdemeanor, which
is punishable by a fine of up to $500, up to three months in prison, or
both.
The bill exempts from the roaming ban dogs that are (1) handling and
controlling livestock or (2) participating in a search or rescue operation.
Currently, only hunting dogs during the open hunting or training
season are exempt.
By law, the unauthorized presence of a dog on another’s land or a
public highway when not under its owner’s or keeper’s control is prima
facie evidence of a violation.
Lastly, the bill makes technical changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2026
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BACKGROUND
Infractions
Infractions are punishable by fines, usually set by Superior Court
judges, of between $35 and $90, plus a $20 or $35 surcharge and an
additional fee based on the fine’s amount. There may be other added
charges depending upon the type of infraction. For exa mple, certain
motor vehicle infractions trigger a Special Transportation Fund
surcharge of 50% of the fine. An infraction is not a crime, and violators
can generally pay the fine by mail without making a court appearance.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Judiciary Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 41 Nay 0 (03/30/2026)