A slew of new state laws, approved by the General Assembly in its spring session, took effect this week, including one that allows 17-year-olds accused of a crime to now be considered juveniles in the criminal justice system.
Under the “Act Concerning Juvenile Justice,” 17-year-olds accused of a crime now will be prosecuted in juvenile court.
Here are other laws that went into effect as of July 1:
- The state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection now must post actual and anticipated sewage spills, with a map, on its website.
- Pharmacists can add flavoring to prescriptions if the patient, or the patient’s doctor, requests it.
- Besides allowing Sunday alcohol sales, a new liquor law also establishes the Competitive Alcoholic Liquor Pricing Task Force, which will study Connecticut's permitting processes and pricing laws and compare them with surrounding states. The law also increases the number of package stores someone can own, expands the items stores can sell and allows fee-based demonstrations in package stores.
- Connecticut’s State University System, which includes the four state universities, must work with community and technical colleges to develop a general education core of courses that students can take at the community and technical colleges. Credits from those courses can transfer with the student if they transfer to one of the four state universities.
- Colleges and universities in the state now must adopt and disclose one or more policies on sexual assault and intimate partner violence. The policies must include provisions for providing information to students about their options for assistance if they are victims of such violence, disciplinary procedures, and possible sanctions. They also must include those policies in their annual campus crime report.
- Boat owners are now responsible for inspecting their boats, when moving them around different bodies of water in the state, to inspect their vessels and trailers for invasive vegetation that might have attached to them. The law seeks to limit the growth of invasive weeds and water plants in Connecticut waterways. Anyone caught not inspecting their boats could be fined $100.
