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![handle is hein.sag/sagct0074 and id is 1 raw text is: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
CONNECTICUT
WILLIAM TONG
ATTORNEY GENERAL July 22, 2020
By Email
The Honorable Leonard A. Fasano
Senate Minority Leader
Legislative Office Building
300 Capitol Avenue, Suite 3400
Hartford, Connecticut 06106-1591
Re: Police Accoantability Bill
Dear Leader Fasano:
You have asked for a legal opinion regarding how Section 3 of the July 15, 2020 version
of the proposed Police Accountability Bill (LCO 3471) (the Bill) would interact with
collectively bargained grievance procedures. Specifically, you have asked: will the
grievance procedures in union agreements apply to decisions made by [the Police
Officer Standards and Training Council], which is not a party to those union
agreements, pursuant to section 3 of this proposed bill to decertify or suspend
certification. As explained below, it is my opinion that grievance procedures in
collective bargaining agreements between the State and state employees do not directly
intersect with decisions made by the Police Officer Standards and Training Council
(POST Council). With respect to municipal collective bargaining agreements, this
Office is not authorized to issue opinions on the impact of the proposed legislation
on such contracts.
By way of background, the POST Council, a state agency within the Department of
Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP), has the power to, among other
things, issue appropriate certification to police officers who have satisfactorily
completed minimum basic training programs... refuse to renew any certificate if the
holder fails to meet the requirements for renewal... [and]... cancel or revoke any
certificate... for any of several reasons enumerated in the statute. See Conn. Gen.
Stat. §§ 7-294d(a)(7), (c). No person may serve as a police officer during any period
when such person's certification has been cancelled or revoked pursuant to the
provisions of subsection (c) of this section. Conn. Gen. Stat. §7-294d(b).
The portion of Section 3 of the Bill that is relevant to your inquiry would modify Conn.
Gen. Stat. § 7-294d, by adding two new categories of grounds for which the POST
Council may revoke the certification of a police officer. Under the proposed Bill, the
165 Capitol Avenue
Hartford, Connecticut 06106
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