The House Wednesday unanimously passed an amended bill that would give towns and cities more tools when dealing with street takeovers.
The legislation, House Bill 5413, would allow towns to destroy ATVs, dirt bikes, and mini motorcycles that are seized during street takeovers. The bill also contains a provision that would allow towns and cities to pass ordinances that would penalize and fine those who gather to observe and/or take part in a street takeover.
Street takeovers usually consist of large groups of ATVs or other vehicles blocking roads or intersections, drawing hundreds of young people for parties that have repeatedly escalated into violence, including fatalities, around the country.
The bill was amended on the House floor, with the co-chair of the Judiciary Committee – which sent the bill to the House – Rep. Steven Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, asking for a certain provision in the bill to be struck.
Originally, the legislation would have the Office of Policy and Management direct funding to municipalities in order to deal with street takeovers.
Stafstrom said that given the current state of the budget, it is best to remove the possible fiscal requirements of the bill.
“Given the budget situation we’re in with three weeks to go, and with the thought that we may not be opening last year’s budget, this amendment seeks to strike those provisions for the time being,” he said.
Rep. Craig Fishbein, R-Wallingford, supported the amendment and said that the original provision would represent “significant funding” for municipalities. He said that while he wants to support towns and cities in fighting against street takeovers, leaving the language in could have a negative impact on the efficacy of the rest of the bill.
“My understanding is that if Section 6 remains in the bill, that the rest of the bill is going to have a very hard time getting to the finish line,” Fishbein said.
Speaker of the House Matt Ritter said Wednesday that he wants to avoid putting bills through that require a funding commitment by the state.
The amendment passed by a vote of 137-10.
The bill would also give towns the ability to suspend the licenses of individuals driving cars and participating in a takeover event.
Rep. Joe Poletta, R-Watertown, said that the violent takeovers will continue to be a problem if the state does not change its approach.
“Unless we get serious about combating it here from the state level and give law enforcement the tools to do their jobs, we’re never going to truly stop hearing about these violent acts that happen across the state.”
The conversation of crime in the state has continued, despite Connecticut having some of the lowest violent and overall crime rates in the nation.
House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora said Wednesday that because of legislation like the police accountability bill that was passed in 2020, law enforcement in the state is being limited in what it can do to combat crimes both violent and property.
“We have restrained our police officers’ ability to do their job,” he said. “The system is not working, and I’m not going to sit here and gloss over the issue and pretend like Democrats are doing their job.”
A new bill that would limit traffic stops for secondary violations is currently waiting for action in the House.
Rep. Toni Walker, D-New Haven, said that generalizations about these law enforcement issues can be “dangerous,” and that many of these instances are actually reflections of decisions either made or recommended at the local level.
The bill passed through the chamber with a vote of 148-0.
