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LCO No. 1681 1 of 4
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 283
February Session, 2026 LCO No. 1681
Referred to Committee on VETERANS' AND MILITARY
AFFAIRS
Introduced by:
(VA)
AN ACT CONCERNING MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES,
VETERANS AND THE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 27-102a of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 2
(a) Notwithstanding any provisions of the general statutes with 3
respect to annual or biennial license or registration fees or occupational 4
taxes, any resident of Connecticut on active duty with the armed forces 5
of the United States shall be exempt from the payment of such fees or 6
taxes during [his] such resident's period of active service and for one 7
year following the date of [his] such resident's honorable discharge [or 8
the date of his ] from, or of such resident's release under honorable 9
conditions [,] from, such service. 10
(b) Any member of the armed forces of any state or of any reserve 11
component of the armed forces of the United States who has been called 12
to active service in the armed forces of any state of the United States 13
shall be exempt from the payment of any fine or late fee assessed for 14
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failure to renew a motor vehicle operator's license or motor vehicle 15
registration or for failure to have emissions inspection performed in a 16
timely manner provided such member renews the license or registration 17
or has the member's vehicle inspected at an official emissions inspection 18
station no later than [sixty] ninety days following the date such member 19
is released from the qualifying military service. 20
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 14 -41 of the 2026 supplement to the 21
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 22
thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 23
(a) (1) An original motor vehicle operator's license shall expire within 24
a period not exceeding seven years following the date of the operator's 25
next birthday. [The] Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this 26
subsection, the fee for such license shall be eighty-four dollars. Upon 27
renewal of a license, the commissioner may issue a license for a period 28
to be determined by the commissioner, provided such period does not 29
exceed eight years. The fee for the renewal of a license that expires eight 30
years from the date of issuance shall be ninety -six dollars. The 31
commissioner shall charge a prorated amount of such fee for a license 32
that expires less than eight years from the date of issuance. 33
(2) The commissioner shall waive the fee for an original motor vehicle 34
operator's license for any person who has been verified by the 35
Department of Veterans Affairs to be a veteran, as defined in section 14-36
36h, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (e) of section 14 -37
36h. 38
Sec. 3. Subsection (a) of section 1-1h of the general statutes is repealed 39
and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 40
(a) Any person who does not possess a valid motor vehicle operator's 41
license may apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles for an identity 42
card. The application for an identity card shall be accompanied by the 43
birth certificate of the applicant or a certificate of identification of the 44
applicant issued and authorized for such use by the Department of 45
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Correction and a fee of twenty -eight dollars. Such application shall 46
include: (1) The applicant's name; (2) the applicant's address; (3) 47
whether the address is permanent or temporary; (4) the applicant's date 48
of birth; (5) notice to the applicant that false statements on such 49
application are punishable under section 53a -157b; and (6) such other 50
pertinent information as the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles deems 51
necessary. The applicant shall sign the application in the presence of an 52
official of the Department of Motor Vehicles . The commissioner may 53
waive the fee for any applicant (A) who has voluntarily surrendered 54
such applicant's motor vehicle operator's license, (B) whose license has 55
been refused by the commissioner pursuant to subdivision (4) of 56
subsection (e) of section 14-36, or (C) [who is both a veteran, as defined 57
in subsection (a) of section 27 -103, and blind, as defined in subsection 58
(a) of section 1-1f, or (D)] who is a resident of a homeless shelter or other 59
facility for homeless persons or a certified homeless youth or certified 60
homeless young adult. The commissioner shall waive the fee for any 61
applicant who has been verified by the Department of Veterans Affairs 62
to be a veteran, as defined in section 14 -36h, in accordance with the 63
provisions of subsection (e) of section 14 -36h. The commissioner shall 64
adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to 65
establish the procedure and qualifications for the issuance of an identity 66
card to any such homeless applicant. For the purposes of this subsection, 67
"certified homeless youth" and "certified homeless young adult" have 68
the same meanings as provided in section 7-36. 69
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2026 27-102a
Sec. 2 October 1, 2026 14-41(a)
Sec. 3 October 1, 2026 1-1h(a)
Statement of Purpose:
To (1) increase from sixty days to ninety days the grace period afforded
to members of the armed forces, upon their return from service out of
state, for the completion of certain motor vehicle -related renewals or
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testing, and (2) waive the fee for original issuance of a motor vehicle
operator's license or identity card in the case of any person whose
veteran status is verified by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]