Sec. 45a-8a. Regional Children's Probate Courts.
Sec. 45a-64. (Formerly Sec. 45-11f). Hearing.
Sec. 45a-8. (Formerly Sec. 45-12). Probate Court facilities. Allocation of expenses to towns. Minimum standards. Failure to provide suitable facilities. Consolidation, separation and creation of probate districts. (a) The town or towns comprising each probate district shall provide court facilities meeting the minimum standards required by this section. If a probate district consists of more than one town, the expense shall be allocated to the towns in such proportion as the towns may determine by agreement or, in the absence of such agreement, in proportion to their grand lists last perfected. Such court facilities shall include: (1) Office space appropriate for the conduct of judicial business, including (A) a room for the judge of probate sufficient in size for ordinary matters in which judicial proceedings may be conducted in private, (B) a separate room for the court staff, and (C) on a prearranged basis, access to a larger hearing room for the conduct of unusually large court hearings; (2) furniture and furnishings appropriate to a court facility; (3) use and maintenance of a copying machine and the necessary supplies; (4) use and maintenance of court record systems and equipment, including such record books and electronic, digital, microfilming or similar systems required to maintain, provide access to and produce court records, and the necessary supplies for such systems, equipment and records; (5) the necessary stationery, postage and other related supplies in order that the court may properly carry out its duties; (6) typing equipment with which to complete the necessary records; (7) basic telephone service, which shall include all necessary calls; (8) a dedicated telephone line, network wiring, electrical wiring, Internet service and maintenance of the computer equipment appropriate for the conduct of Probate Court business, as determined by the Probate Court Administrator; and (9) adequate liability, fire, loss, theft and replacement insurance on the furniture, furnishings, equipment, court facilities and the records of the court.
(b) If a town or towns comprising a probate district and the responsible municipal official or officials within such probate district fail to provide the court facilities required by subsection (a) of this section, the Probate Court Administrator shall offer in writing to meet with the judge of probate of the district and the responsible official or officials to discuss such court facilities. After discussion and consideration of the circumstances of the court operations, the Probate Court Administrator may waive or modify the application of a particular requirement of subsection (a) of this section for court facilities.
(c) If suitable court facilities are not provided in accordance with subsection (a) or (b) of this section: (1) The Probate Court Administrator shall provide written notice, by first class mail, to the judge of probate of the district and the chief executive officer of the town in which the court is located, on or before October first of any year in which suitable court facilities are not so provided. Such notice shall specify the requirements of subsection (a) or (b) of this section that are not met and shall direct the submission of a plan as required by this subdivision. Not later than January first of the year following the year in which such notice is provided, such chief executive officer, or his or her representative, shall file with the Probate Court Administrator a plan and time frame for meeting such requirements and providing suitable court facilities; (2) not later than February first of the year following the year in which notice is provided under subdivision (1) of this subsection, the Probate Court Administrator shall submit a report to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary concerning the failure of the probate district to provide the required court facilities; or (3) if, in the opinion of the Probate Court Administrator, judicial action is necessary to enforce the provision of suitable court facilities, the Probate Court Administrator shall bring an action in the Superior Court to enforce the requirements for the provision of suitable court facilities.
(d) Any town located in a probate district that desires to (1) consolidate such probate district with one or more districts, (2) be removed from such probate district to a separate district established for any such town, or (3) be located in another probate district, may, by resolution of its legislative body, petition the General Assembly for such consolidation, separation and creation of a new probate district or relocation. The Probate Court Administrator shall provide such assistance in the preparation of the petition as the officials of the town or towns may request. At the time of submission of a petition to the General Assembly, a copy of the petition shall be sent to the judges of probate in the probate districts to be affected. No probate district may be consolidated with another district until the expiration of the term of office of any probate judge in an affected probate district.
(e) Each judge of probate shall provide suitable records and supplies, in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, for the court in the judge's district. The judge of probate shall cause a complete record to be made of all orders passed by such court and of all wills, inventories, distributions, accounts, bonds and returns made to or lodged with such court. The expense of records, microfilming or the equipment to produce records, and of supplies which the judge deems necessary, shall be paid, upon the order of the judge, by the town or towns composing the district in such proportion as the towns may determine by agreement or, in the absence of such agreement, in proportion to their grand lists last perfected.
(f) When the Probate Court Administrator, by regulation, requires that the courts of probate use specified forms, education materials, supplies or equipment not otherwise required by this section, they shall be furnished by the Probate Court Administrator and the expense paid from the Probate Court Administration Fund established under section 45a-82.
(1949 Rev., S. 6820; 1969, P.A. 519, S. 1; P.A. 80-476, S. 4; P.A. 93-279, S. 1; P.A. 03-278, S. 96; P.A. 04-257, S. 66; P.A. 07-184, S. 10; P.A. 10-32, S. 130; 10-34, S. 3; P.A. 23-189, S. 1.)
History: 1969 act added provision re required use of certain record books, forms, etc., stating that such record books, etc. shall be supplied by probate court administrator and paid for from fund established under Sec. 45-4h; P.A. 80-476 divided section into Subsecs. and reworded provisions; Sec. 45-12 transferred to Sec. 45a-8 in 1991; P.A. 93-279 revised section by adding provisions re minimum standards for probate court facilities, failure to provide required court facilities and consolidation, separation and creation of probate districts as Subsecs. (a) to (d), inclusive, relettering prior Subsecs. as (e) and (f) and making technical changes; P.A. 03-278 made a technical change in Subsec. (b), effective July 9, 2003; P.A. 04-257 made technical changes in Subsecs. (c) and (d), effective June 14, 2004; P.A. 07-184 amended Subsec. (a)(4) to replace “microfilming equipment and the necessary supplies, including record books or the equipment to produce records” with provision re court record systems and equipment required to maintain, provide access to and produce court records, and necessary supplies, added new Subsec. (c)(1) to require Probate Court Administrator to provide written notice to judge of probate of the district and chief executive officer of the town where court is located, on or before October first, if requirements of Subsec. (a) or (b) are not met, and require plan and time frame for meeting requirements to be filed, redesignated existing Subsec. (c)(1) and (2) as Subsec. (c)(2) and (3), amended Subsec. (c)(2) to require report not later than February first of year following the year in which notice was provided under Subdiv. (1), and made technical changes, effective July 1, 2007; P.A. 10-32 made a technical change in Subsec. (c)(2), effective May 10, 2010; P.A. 10-34 amended Subsecs. (a) and (e) to allow towns to allocate expenses by agreement, or in absence of agreement, in proportion to grand lists last perfected, and amended Subsec. (c) to make a technical change and delete provisions re recommendation and opinion re abolition of probate district; P.A. 23-189 amended Subsec. (a)(7) by replacing “local” with “necessary” and amended Subsec. (a)(8) by deleting “if a court is computerized” and adding “, network wiring, electrical wiring, Internet service” that is “appropriate for the conduct of Probate Court business, as determined by the Probate Court Administrator”.
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Sec. 45a-8a. Regional Children's Probate Courts. (a) For the purposes of this section, “children's matters” means: (1) Guardianship matters under sections 45a-603 to 45a-625, inclusive; (2) termination of parental rights matters under sections 45a-706 to 45a-719, inclusive; (3) adoption matters under sections 45a-724 to 45a-733, inclusive, and sections 45a-736 and 45a-737; (4) claims for parentage under section 46b-571 and section 46b-454, and parentage orders under sections 46b-517, 46b-531 and 46b-535; (5) emancipation of minor matters under sections 46b-150 to 46b-150e, inclusive; (6) voluntary admission matters under section 17a-11; and (7) validation of surrogacy agreements under sections 46b-533 and 46b-536.
(b) The Probate Court Administrator may establish seven Regional Children's Probate Courts in regions designated by the Probate Court Administrator. In establishing such courts, the Probate Court Administrator shall consult with the probate judges of the districts located in each designated region, each of whom may participate on a voluntary basis.
(c) The Probate Court Administrator may establish a Regional Children's Probate Court under this section in (1) any existing Probate Court facility within a district located in a region, or (2) a separate facility located in a region as may be designated by the Probate Court Administrator. Each Regional Children's Probate Court shall be established and operated with the advice of the participating probate judges of such districts and the administrative judge appointed under subsection (f) of this section. Such participating probate judges and administrative judge shall serve as the judges of the Regional Children's Probate Court, except as provided in subdivision (1) of subsection (f) of this section. Such judges shall hear and determine all children's matters as may come before them on a docket separate from other probate matters.
(d) (1) For the purposes of this section, the Probate Court Administrator may, subject to the provisions of section 45a-84, expend from the Probate Court Administration Fund established under section 45a-82 such amounts as the Probate Court Administrator may deem reasonable and necessary for the establishment, improvement and maintenance of court facilities located in each such designated region and for the operation of each Regional Children's Probate Court.
(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to relieve any town of its obligation to provide and maintain court facilities pursuant to section 45a-8.
(e) The Probate Court Administrator may, subject to the provisions of section 45a-84, expend moneys from the Probate Court Administration Fund to reimburse participating towns or cities for any costs of leasing office space for a Regional Children's Probate Court, and any necessary improvements thereto, and for expenses under subsection (f) of this section.
(f) (1) The Probate Court Administrator, with the advice of the participating probate judges of the districts located in the designated region, shall appoint an administrative judge for each Regional Children's Probate Court. The administrative judge shall be a probate judge at the time of such appointment. If the administrative judge ceases to serve as a probate judge after such appointment, the administrative judge may continue to serve as administrative judge at the pleasure of the Probate Court Administrator, but shall not have the powers granted to an elected probate judge and shall not hear and determine children's matters before such Regional Children's Probate Court. Subject to the approval of the Chief Court Administrator, the Probate Court Administrator shall fix the compensation of the administrative judge and such compensation shall be paid from the Probate Court Administration Fund. Such compensation, together with the administrative judge's compensation as a probate judge of the district to which he or she was elected, shall not exceed the compensation provided for a judge of probate under subdivision (4) of subsection (a) of section 45a-95a. The administrative judge shall have such benefits as may inure to him or her as a probate judge and shall receive no additional benefits, except for compensation provided under this section and retirement benefits calculated in accordance with sections 45a-34 to 45a-54, inclusive.
(2) Each administrative judge shall be responsible for the management of cases, coordination of social services, staff, financial management and record keeping for the Regional Children's Probate Court for which the administrative judge is appointed. The administrative judge may, with the approval of the Probate Court Administrator, purchase furniture, office supplies, computers and other equipment and contract for services that the administrative judge may deem necessary or advisable for the expeditious conduct of the business of the Regional Children's Probate Court.
(g) Each administrative judge for a Regional Children's Probate Court may, if authorized by the Probate Court Budget Committee under section 45a-85, employ such persons as may be required for the efficient operation of the Regional Children's Probate Court. Such employees shall be employees of the Regional Children's Probate Court and shall be entitled to the benefits of Probate Court employees under this chapter. Such employees shall not be deemed to be state employees.
(h) Any Probate Court within a region designated under subsection (b) of this section may transfer children's matters to the Regional Children's Probate Court for such region. Any Regional Children's Probate Court may accept transfers and referrals of children's matters from Probate Courts within its region.
(i) Each Regional Children's Probate Court shall be considered a Probate Court for the purposes of this chapter.
(j) The Probate Court Administrator shall establish policies and procedures to implement the provisions of this section.
(P.A. 04-159, S. 1; P.A. 05-225, S. 1; P.A. 10-41, S. 1; P.A. 11-128, S. 1; P.A. 12-66, S. 3; P.A. 17-136, S. 3; P.A. 21-15, S. 98; P.A. 22-129, S. 3; P.A. 23-44, S. 2.)
History: P.A. 04-159 effective June 1, 2004; P.A. 05-225 made technical changes in Subsec. (a), amended Subsec. (b) by deleting provisions re pilot program in a single region and making conforming changes, added new Subsec. (c) re establishment of six additional regional courts, redesignated portion of Subsec. (b) as new Subsec. (d) and amended same by deleting provision re designated region and making conforming changes, added new Subsec. (e) re expenditures for establishment, improvement, maintenance and operations of regional court facilities, redesignated existing Subsecs. (c) to (h) as new Subsecs. (f) to (k) and made conforming and technical changes therein, amended Subsec. (i) by deleting provisions prohibiting transfer of new children's matters on or after July 1, 2007, and amended Subsec. (k) by deleting provisions re pilot program; P.A. 10-41 amended Subsec. (g)(1) to substitute compensation for judge of probate under Sec. 45a-95a(a)(4) for compensation under Sec. 45a-92(k), effective January 5, 2011; P.A. 11-128 deleted former Subsec. (b) re regional children's probate court established within available resources in a region consisting of specified probate districts, redesignated existing Subsecs. (c) to (k) as Subsecs. (b) to (j), amended Subsec. (b) to substitute “seven” for “six additional” re regional children's probate courts, amended Subsec. (j) to delete provision re report, and made technical changes, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 12-66 amended Subsec. (f)(1) to add provision re retirement benefits calculated under Secs. 45a-34 to 45a-54, effective July 1, 2012; P.A. 17-136 amended Subsec. (d)(1) by replacing “improvement, maintenance and operations of court facilities” with “improvement and maintenance of court facilities” and adding “and for the operation of each Regional Children's Probate Court”, amended Subsec. (e) by deleting provision re use of Probate Court Administration Fund to pay for necessary improvements and operating expenses of facility designated as regional children's probate court, amended Subsec. (f)(2) by deleting provisions re payment of expenses and reimbursement to town or city, amended Subsec. (g) by replacing “with the approval of the Probate Court Administrator” with “if authorized by the Probate Court Budget Committee under section 45a-85” re employment of persons for the operation of Regional Children's Probate Court, and made technical changes; P.A. 21-15 amended Subsec. (a)(4) by changing “paternity” to “parentage” and adding reference to Sec. 46b-454, effective January 1, 2022; P.A. 22-129 amended Subsec. (a) by redefining “children's matters”, effective July 1, 2022; P.A. 23-44 amended Subsec. (a) to redefine “children's matters” by deleting former Subdiv. (7) re issuance of marriage license to minor who is 16 or 17 years of age and redesignating Subdiv. (8) as Subdiv. (7), effective July 1, 2023.
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Sec. 45a-64. (Formerly Sec. 45-11f). Hearing. If a preliminary investigation indicates that probable cause exists that a respondent has committed misconduct under subsection (a), (b) or (c) of section 45a-63, the council shall hold a hearing concerning the misconduct or complaint. All hearings held pursuant to this section shall be open. The council shall make a record of all proceedings pursuant to this section. The council shall, not later than thirty days after the close of such hearing, publish its findings together with a memorandum of its reasons therefor. The respondent shall be entitled to present evidence, and shall have the right to cross-examine witnesses.
(P.A. 75-592, S. 3; P.A. 80-476, S. 22; P.A. 82-338, S. 3; P.A. 83-379, S. 2; P.A. 90-35, S. 2; P.A. 15-217, S. 12; P.A. 23-189, S. 2.)
History: P.A. 80-476 reworded provisions but made no substantive change; P.A. 82-338 specified that decisions of council are not public records, “except as provided in subsection (f) of section 45-11g”; P.A. 83-379 revised provisions re hearing after a determination of probable cause, requiring that all hearings be open, that the council publish its findings together with a memorandum not later than 15 days after the close of the hearing and that judge under investigation is entitled to present evidence; P.A. 90-35 changed “is guilty of judicial conduct” to “has committed judicial misconduct” and changed “conduct” to “misconduct”; Sec. 45-11f transferred to Sec. 45a-64 in 1991; P.A. 15-217 substituted “a respondent has committed misconduct under subsection (a), (b) or (c) of section 45a-63” for “the judge has committed an act of judicial misconduct under section 45a-63”, deleted provision re entitlement to counsel and substituted reference to respondent for reference to judge of probate re presentation of evidence and right to cross-examine witnesses, effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 23-189 replaced “fifteen days after the close of such hearing” with “thirty days after the close of such hearing”.
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