The Connecticut House of Representatives has approved a bipartisan juvenile crime bill backed by Governor Ned Lamont. The bill passed last night after some last minute tweaks.
House Speaker Matt Ritter said lawmakers tweaked the bill to take into consideration concerns about a provision that called for more GPS monitoring of juvenile offenders.
“One change that’s sort of come up is if you remove the monitoring bracelet for whatever reason, the current language says you have to have it on for the remainder of your order or your punishment. It gives the judge no discretion. The public defenders say it could be or give the judge discretion for the life of the term. So that’s a reasonable change for example,” Ritter said.
Ritter said negotiators also tweaked a Republican provision that called for an automatic felony charge each time a person steals a car. He said Democrats wanted more judicial discretion here, too.
The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.
