New Laws In CT: Marijuana Shops, Police, Dogs, Veterans, All Affected

CONNECTICUT — Although laws are signed throughout the year in Hartford, they tend to go into effect in regularly scheduled phases throughout the year. The First of October is traditionally a big day for new laws dropping, and 2024 is no exception.

The complete list of new laws taking effect Oct. 1 is on the Connecticut General Assembly’s website; here are some highlights:

One new law officially bans dog racing, although off-track betting operators can still take wagers on out-of-state dog races.

Police dogs and their owners are catching a break with the new legislation as well. Public Act 24-65 requires anyone convicted of deliberately hurting or killing a peace officer’s animal or a volunteer canine search and rescue team’s dog to pay restitution to the owner.

Police chiefs, as well as fire chiefs, and emergency medical service chiefs and administrative heads will now find it easier to declare that one of their crew died in the line of duty. A new law cuts through much of the red tape, provided the death was caused by a cardiac event, stroke, or pulmonary embolism within 24 hours after the worker finished a shift or training.

It’s always been a bit of a head-scratcher: Why mandate that law enforcement officers wear body cams if they can just turn them off when they please? As of Oct. 1, they can’t, not legally. New regulations require that body cams record all of an officer’s interactions with the public, “until the interaction has concluded.” The only exemptions are those times when “the investigation could be significantly hampered by continuing to record.”

Municipalities will find it easier to crack down on unlicensed cannabis-related sales. The state’s marijuana legislation has been updated to allow towns to apply for court orders to seize the inventories and cash from rogue head shops.

Marijuana’s not the only weed getting the once-over from Hartford. Porcelainberry, mugwort, quackgrass, Japanese angelica tree, Japanese wisteria, and Chinese wisteria have all made the “Banned In Connecticut” list. All are invasive or potentially invasive plants, likely to rock your local ecosystem’s apple cart.

Data privacy in Connecticut gets a bit of an update, come October. New regulations add provisions for consumer health data security, minors’ social media accounts, online services, and a task force on internet crimes against children.

Notably, online dating operators must adopt a policy for handling harassment reports by or between users, and maintain an online safety center to provide users with resources on safe dating. The law also requires social media platforms to unpublish a minor’s social media account within 15 business days, and largely delete the account within 45 business days, after receiving an authenticated request.

Good news for disabled heroes: Public Act 24-46 fully exempts a primary dwelling or motor vehicle from property taxes, if they are owned by veterans with permanent and total disability ratings.

An Act Supporting Connecticut Seniors And The Improvement Of Nursing And Home-Based Care requires the Department of Social Services and the Department of Public Health commissioners to post a link on their websites to the Medicare Nursing Home Care Compare website. This tool ranks nursing homes by quality of care, health inspections, and staffing using a five-star rating system, powered by the public’s reviews.

Home health agencies must now provide annual staff training and monthly safety assessments for their direct care staff. For their part, workers must report any threats they receive.

Cross per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances off your Christmas list. A new law bans using or selling anything containing these chemicals, which don’t break down naturally. They’re the products of wastewater sewage and sludge, and can be found in protective clothing for firefighters and emergency medical service personnel.