SB 278

General Assembly  Substitute Bill No. 278
  February Session, 2026
 AN ACT CONCERNING MILITARY PROTECTIVE ORDERS TO
 ADDRESS MILITARY INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE.
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
 Assembly convened:
1Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 46b-15 of the 2026 supplement to
2    the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu
3    thereof (Effective October 1, 2026):
4      (b) The application form shall allow the applicant, at the applicant's
5   option, to indicate whether the respondent holds a permit to carry a
6   pistol or revolver, an eligibility certificate for a pistol or revolver, a long
7   gun eligibility certificate or an ammunition certificate or possesses one
8   or more firearms or ammunition. The application shall be accompanied
9   by an affidavit made under oath which includes a brief statement of the
10   conditions from which relief is sought. Upon receipt of the application
11   the court shall order that a hearing on the application be held not later
12   than fourteen days from the date of the order except that, if the
13   application indicates that the respondent holds a permit to carry a pistol
14   or revolver, an eligibility certificate for a pistol or revolver, a long gun
15   eligibility certificate or an ammunition certificate or possesses one or
16   more firearms or ammunition, and the court orders an ex parte order,
17   the court shall order that a hearing be held on the application not later
18   than seven days from the date on which the ex parte order is issued. The
19   court, in its discretion, may make such orders as it deems appropriate
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20 for the protection of the applicant and such dependent children or other
21 persons as the court sees fit. In making such orders ex parte, the court,
22 in its discretion, may consider relevant court records if the records are
23 available to the public from a clerk of the Superior Court or on the
24 Judicial Branch's Internet web site. In addition, at the time of the
25 hearing, the court, in its discretion, may also consider a report prepared
26 by the family services unit of the Judicial Branch, provided the person
27 who prepared such report is available to testify at the hearing and is
28 subject to cross examination. The report may include, as available: Any
29 existing or prior orders of protection obtained from the [protection
30 order] registry of protective orders maintained pursuant to section 51-
31 5c, as amended by this act, including any military protective orders
32 contained in such registry; information on any pending criminal case or
33 past criminal case in which the respondent was convicted of a violent
34 crime; any outstanding arrest warrant for the respondent; and the
35 respondent's level of risk based on a risk assessment tool utilized by the
36 Court Support Services Division. The report may also include
37 information pertaining to any pending or disposed family matters case
38 involving the applicant and respondent. Any report provided by the
39 Court Support Services Division to the court shall also be provided to
40 the applicant and respondent. Such orders may include temporary child
41 custody or visitation rights, and such relief may include, but is not
42 limited to, an order enjoining the respondent from (1) imposing any
43 restraint upon the person or liberty of the applicant; (2) threatening,
44 harassing, assaulting, molesting, sexually assaulting or attacking the
45 applicant; or (3) entering the family dwelling or the dwelling of the
46 applicant. Such order may include provisions necessary to protect any
47 animal owned or kept by the applicant including, but not limited to, an
48 order enjoining the respondent from injuring or threatening to injure
49 such animal. If an applicant alleges an immediate and present physical
50 danger to the applicant, the court may issue an ex parte order granting
51 such relief as it deems appropriate. If a postponement of a hearing on
52 the application is requested by either party and granted, the ex parte
53 order shall not be continued except upon agreement of the parties or by
54 order of the court for good cause shown. If a hearing on the application
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55 is scheduled or an ex parte order is granted and the court is closed on
56 the scheduled hearing date, the hearing shall be held on the next day the
57 court is open and any such ex parte order shall remain in effect until the
58 date of such hearing. If the applicant is under eighteen years of age, a
59 parent, guardian or responsible adult who brings the application as next
60 friend of the applicant may not speak on the applicant's behalf at such
61 hearing unless there is good cause shown as to why the applicant is
62 unable to speak on his or her own behalf, except that nothing in this
63 subsection shall preclude such parent, guardian or responsible adult
64 from testifying as a witness at such hearing. As used in this subsection,
65 "violent crime" includes: (A) An incident resulting in physical harm,
66 bodily injury or assault; (B) an act of threatened violence that constitutes
67 fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury or assault, including, but
68 not limited to, stalking or a pattern of threatening; (C) verbal abuse or
69 argument if there is a present danger and likelihood that physical
70 violence will occur; and (D) cruelty to animals as set forth in section 53-
71 247, and "military protective order" means a protective order issued by
72 a commanding officer in the armed forces of the United States or the
73 Connecticut National Guard against a person under such officer's
74 command.
75    Sec. 2. Subsection (b) of section 46b-16a of the general statutes is
76 repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October
77 1, 2026):
78    (b) The application shall be accompanied by an affidavit made by the
79 applicant under oath that includes a statement of the specific facts that
80 form the basis for relief. If the applicant attests that disclosure of the
81 applicant's location information would jeopardize the health, safety or
82 liberty of the applicant or the applicant's children, the applicant may
83 request, on a form prescribed by the Chief Court Administrator, that his
84 or her location information not be disclosed. Upon receipt of the
85 application, if the allegations set forth in the affidavit meet the
86 requirements of subsection (a) of this section, the court shall schedule a
87 hearing not later than fourteen days from the date of the application. If
88 a postponement of a hearing on the application is requested by either
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89 party, no ex parte order shall be continued except upon agreement of
90 the parties or by order of the court for good cause shown. If the court is
91 closed on the scheduled hearing date, the hearing shall be held on the
92 next day the court is open and any ex parte order that was issued shall
93 remain in effect until the date of such hearing. If the applicant is under
94 eighteen years of age, a parent, guardian or responsible adult who
95 brings the application as next friend of the applicant may not speak on
96 the applicant's behalf at such hearing unless there is good cause shown
97 as to why the applicant is unable to speak on his or her own behalf,
98 except that nothing in this subsection shall preclude such parent,
99 guardian or responsible adult from testifying as a witness at such
100 hearing. If the court finds that there are reasonable grounds to believe
101 that the respondent has committed acts constituting grounds for
102 issuance of an order under this section and will continue to commit such
103 acts, or acts designed to intimidate or retaliate against the applicant, the
104 court, in its discretion, may make such orders as it deems appropriate
105 for the protection of the applicant. If the court finds that there are
106 reasonable grounds to believe that an imminent danger exists to the
107 applicant, the court may issue an ex parte order granting such relief as
108 it deems appropriate. In making such orders, the court, in its discretion,
109 may consider relevant court records if the records are available to the
110 public from a clerk of the Superior Court or on the Judicial Branch's
111 Internet web site, as well as any existing or prior military protective
112 order that is contained in the registry of protective orders maintained
113 pursuant to section 51-5c, as amended by this act, and that may have
114 been obtained from such registry. Such orders may include, but are not
115 limited to, an order enjoining the respondent from: (1) Imposing any
116 restraint upon the person or liberty of the applicant; (2) threatening,
117 harassing, assaulting, molesting, sexually assaulting or attacking the
118 applicant; and (3) entering the dwelling of the applicant. As used in this
119 subsection, "military protective order" means a protective order issued
120 by a commanding officer in the armed forces of the United States or the
121 Connecticut National Guard against a person under such officer's
122 command.
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123   Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) (a) As used in this section,
124 "military protective order" means a protective order issued by a
125 commanding officer in the armed forces of the United States or the
126 Connecticut National Guard against a person under such officer's
127 command.
128    (b) A military protective order may be registered in this state by
129 sending to the Superior Court in this state: (1) A letter or other document
130 requesting registration; (2) two copies, including one certified copy, of
131 the military protective order sought to be registered and a statement
132 under penalty of perjury that, to the best of the knowledge and belief of
133 the petitioner, the order has not been modified; and (3) the name and
134 address of the person seeking registration, except if the disclosure of
135 such name and address would jeopardize the safety of such person.
136    (c) On receipt of the documents required in subsection (b) of this
137 section, the registering court shall: (1) Cause the military protective
138 order to be filed, together with one copy of any accompanying
139 documents and information, regardless of their form; and (2) cause the
140 military protective order to be entered in the automated registry of
141 protective orders maintained pursuant to section 51-5c of the general
142 statutes, as amended by this act, together with any accompanying
143 information required or permitted to be contained in the registry of
144 protective orders pursuant to the procedures adopted by the Chief
145 Court Administrator under section 51-5c of the general statutes, as
146 amended by this act.
147    Sec. 4. Subsection (a) of section 51-5c of the 2026 supplement to the
148 general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu
149 thereof (Effective October 1, 2026):
150    (a) The Chief Court Administrator shall establish and maintain an
151 automated registry of protective orders that shall contain (1) protective
152 or restraining orders issued by courts of this state, including, but not
153 limited to, orders issued pursuant to sections 46b-15, as amended by this
154 act, 46b-16a, as amended by this act, 46b-38c, 53a-40e, 54-1k, 54-82q and
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155 54-82r, [and] (2) foreign orders of protection that have been registered
156 in this state pursuant to section 46b-15a, and (3) military protective
157 orders that have been registered in this state pursuant to section 3 of this
158 act. The registry shall clearly indicate the date of commencement, the
159 termination date, if specified, and the duration of any order contained
160 therein. The Chief Court Administrator shall adopt policies and
161 procedures for the operation of the registry, which shall include policies
162 and procedures governing the disclosure of information in the registry
163 to the judges of the Superior Court and employees of the Judicial
164 Department.
  This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
  sections:
  Section 1      October 1, 2026  46b-15(b)
  Sec. 2  October 1, 2026  46b-16a(b)
  Sec. 3  October 1, 2026  New section
  Sec. 4  October 1, 2026  51-5c(a)
 VA  Joint Favorable Subst. C/R  JUD
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