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SB506 / File No. 619 1
General Assembly File No. 619
February Session, 2026 Senate Bill No. 506
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 bill ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR INTENTIONAL
DAMAGE TO CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 53a -115 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 2
(a) A person is guilty of criminal mischief in the first degree when: (1) 3
With intent to cause damage to tangible property of another and having 4
no reasonable ground to believe that such person has a right to do so, 5
such person damages tangible property of another in an amount 6
exceeding one thousand five hundred dollars, or (2) with intent to cause 7
(A) (i) damage to tangible property of another and having no reasonable 8
ground to believe that such person has a right to do so, or (ii) an 9
interruption or impairment of service rendered to the public , and 10
[having] (B) with no reasonable ground to believe that such person has 11
a right to do so, such person damages or tampers with tangible property 12
of a utility or mode of public transportation, power or communication, 13
and thereby causes an interruption or impairment of service rendered 14
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to the public, or (3) with intent to cause damage to any electronic 15
monitoring equipment owned or leased by the state or its agent and 16
required as a condition of probation or conditional discharge pursuant 17
to section 53a-30, as a condition of release pursuant to section 54-64a or 18
as a condition of community release pursuant to section 18 -100c, and 19
having no reasonable ground to believe that such person has a right to 20
do so, such person damages such electronic monitoring equipment and 21
thereby causes an interruption in its ability to function, or (4) with intent 22
to cause (A) damage to tangible property of another and having no 23
reasonable ground to believe that such person has a right to do so, or (B) 24
an interruption or impairment of service rendered to the public and 25
having no reasonable ground to believe that such person has a right to 26
do so, such person damages or tampers with [(A)] (i) any tangible 27
property owned by the state, a municipality or a person for fire alarm or 28
police alarm purposes, [(B)] (ii) any telecommunication system operated 29
by the state police or a municipal police department, [(C)] (iii) any 30
emergency medical or fire service dispatching system, [(D)] (iv) any fire 31
suppression equipment owned by the state, a municipality, a person or 32
a fire district, or [(E)] (v) any fire hydrant or hydrant system owned by 33
the state or a municipality, a person, a fire district or a private water 34
company, or (5) with intent to cause damage to tangible property owned 35
by the state or a municipality that is located on public land and having 36
no reasonable ground to believe that such person has a right to do so, 37
such person damages such tangible property in an amount exceeding 38
one thousand five hundred dollars. 39
(b) Criminal mischief in the first degree is a class D felony. 40
Sec. 2. Section 53a -116 of the general statutes is repealed and the 41
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 42
(a) A person is guilty of criminal mischief in the second degree when: 43
(1) With intent to cause damage to tangible property of another and 44
having no reasonable ground to believe that such person has a right to 45
do so, such person damages tangible property of another in an amount 46
exceeding two hundred fifty dollars; or (2) with intent to cause (A) 47
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damage to tangible property of another and having no reasonable 48
ground to believe that such person has a right to do so, or (B) an 49
interruption or impairment of service rendered to the public and having 50
no reasonable ground to believe that such person has a right to do so, 51
such person damages or tampers with tangible property of a public 52
utility or mode of public transportation, power or communication, and 53
thereby causes a risk of interruption or impairment of service rendered 54
to the public; or (3) with intent to cause damage to tangible property 55
owned by the state or a municipality that is located on public land and 56
having no reasonable ground to believe that such person has a right to 57
do so, such person damages such tangible property in an amount 58
exceeding two hundred fifty dollars. 59
(b) Criminal mischief in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor. 60
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2026 53a-115
Sec. 2 October 1, 2026 53a-116
JUD Joint Favorable
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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 $
Correction, Dept.; 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 expands the offenses of criminal mischief in the first and
second degrees , resulting in a potential cost to the Department of
Correction and the Judicial Department for incarceration or probation
and a potential revenue gain to the General Fund from fines. 1 On
average, the marginal cost to the state for incarcerating an offender for
the year is $3,3002 while the average 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 Between FY 22 and FY 25, there were a total of 10,818 offenses recorded and $3,000
in fines collected under CGS §§ 53a-115 and 53a-116.
2 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 op ened.
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
SB 506
AN ACT CONCERNING CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR INTENTIONAL
DAMAGE TO CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.
SUMMARY
This bill expands the crimes of 1st and 2nd degree criminal mischief
to include intentionally damaging certain tangible property of others,
including public services and systems (such as utilities, transportation,
communications, emergency response , and other state and municipal
systems). Under existing law and the bill, both crimes require the person
to have acted with no reasonable grounds to believe he or she had the
right to do so.
By law, 1st degree criminal mischief is a class D felony punishable by
up to five years in prison, a fine up to $5,000, or both and 2nd degree
criminal mischief is a class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to 364
days in prison, a fine up to $2,000, or both.
The bill also makes technical changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2026
1ST DEGREE CRIMINAL MISCHIEF
Actual Service Interruption or Impairment
The bill expands 1st degree criminal mischief to include when a
person, intending to damage another’s tangible property, damages or
tampers with the tangible property of a utility or mode of public
transportation, power, or communication. Existing law already includes
instances where someone intentionally interrupts or impairs these
services.
Specific Services or Systems Damage
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Under existing law, a person commits 1st degree criminal mischief
by intentionally interrupting or impairing public services by damaging
or tampering with any of the following:
1. tangible property owned by the state, a municipality, or a person
for fire alarm or police alarm purposes;
2. telecommunication system s operated by the State Police or a
municipal police department;
3. emergency medical or fire service dispatching systems;
4. fire suppression equipment owned by the state, a municipality, a
person, or a fire district; or
5. fire hydrant s or hydrant system s owned by the state or a
municipality, person, fire district, or private water company.
The bill expands this crime to instances where the person intended to
damage another person’s tangible property.
2nd Degree Criminal Mischief
Risk of Interruption or Impairment
Under existing law, a person commits 2nd degree criminal mischief
when the person intentionally causes a risk of interruption or
impairment of public service by damaging or tampering with tangible
property of a public utility or mode of public transportation, power, or
communication.
The bill e xpands this crime to include situations where the person
intended t o damage another person’s tangible property and instead
caused the risk to public property and services described above.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Judiciary Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 41 Nay 0 (03/30/2026)