Fall is officially here, and beginning Oct. 1, dozens of new Connecticut laws will also take effect.
Among those are some the General Assembly passed in the 2024 legislative session, and parts of a bill passed in a June special session.
The laws tackle online safety, training protocols for police and visiting nurses, and a number of measures related to the environment.
Here’s more about some of the new laws in effect Oct. 1.
Addressing physical and online safety
Under a new law, requirements to improve on-the-job safety for Connecticut home health care workers take effect on Oct. 1. This comes after visiting nurse Joyce Grayson was killed last year at a halfway house in Willimantic.
Connecticut home health aide agencies are required to inform workers about a client's history: from diagnoses, to instances of violence or abuse. Disclosing hazardous materials at job sites is also required of agencies, along with creating health and safety training curriculum for aides.
Part of a 2023 Connecticut law concerning privacy protections for minors also takes effect in October. Online services will need parental or guardian consent to collect information on children under 13 years old. Minors above that age will have to personally sign off on their data being collected.
Body cameras and prosecuting election-related crimes
Beginning Oct. 1, there are updates to police body camera recording laws. The law Connecticut lawmakers passed this year requires law enforcement training programs to include guidelines on when officers may not pause a recording.
Current state law requires police to activate body cameras while enforcing the law, and keep cameras running until that interaction is done. Law enforcement may stop cameras if they determine that continuing to film would impede an investigation.
Another law in effect next month extends the time period to prosecute alleged election-related crimes in Connecticut. That could either be six months after the violation complaint was referred from the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) or within the timeframe of the statute of limitations.
Protecting animals and the environment
The first part of a new state law regulating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Connecticut takes effect Oct. 1. The manufactured “forever chemicals” have been linked to health problems and do not break down in the environment or the body. The law bans the sale and distribution of soil amendments that contain PFAS.
Connecticut will also add several plants to its list of species that people cannot import, move, sell, purchase or distribute in the state. The new invasive or potentially invasive plants banned in the state, aside from research purposes, include porcelain berry, mugwort, quackgrass, Japanese angelica tree, Japanese wisteria and Chinese wisteria.
Reptiles and fish will be banned as prizes at bazaars and raffles in the state.
And a law also designates the Siberian Husky as the state dog and the lollipop as the state candy. A working group will be created to examine if the state should change its insect from the praying mantis — to something that is native to Connecticut, like the spring azure butterfly.
Learn more:
Legislation typically takes effect Jan. 1, July 1, and Oct. 1 in Connecticut. The full list of acts effective this month can be found on the General Assembly's website.
