An Act Exempting The Name And Address Of An Individual Reporting An Allegation Involving Bigotry Or Bias And Of The Alleged Offender From Disclosure Under The Freedom Of Information Act.
Summary
SB 1233 would amend Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Act to make the name and address of both the person who reports an allegation of bigotry or bias and the alleged offender confidential when the report is made to law enforcement or to a reporting database maintained by the University of Connecticut’s Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy. The protected reports are those involving alleged bias or bigotry based on race, religion, ethnicity, disability, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression, including reports tied to several existing criminal statutes addressing intimidation, harassment, and related hate-related conduct.
The bill is narrowly focused on privacy in hate-bias reporting. It does not change the underlying criminal laws defining those offenses; instead, it creates a new FOIA exemption so that identifying information in these reports cannot be disclosed to the public. The exemption would take effect October 1, 2025, and would apply to reports submitted through law enforcement forms or the specified UConn reporting system.
Impact
The bill would amend section 1-210(b) of the general statutes, Connecticut’s FOIA exemption statute, by adding a new category of records exempt from disclosure. In practice, it would shield the names and addresses of complainants and alleged offenders in bias or bigotry incident reports from public records requests, affecting law enforcement agencies and any database used to collect such reports. It would not alter the substantive criminal statutes referenced in the bill, but it would limit public access to identifying information connected to those allegations.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests strong committee support: the Government Administration and Elections Committee reported the bill favorably on a 19-0 vote. No committee transcript was provided, so there is no recorded floor or hearing debate in the materials, but the unanimous committee vote indicates broad agreement on the privacy protections the bill creates.
Contention
The main policy tension is between transparency under the Freedom of Information Act and privacy/confidentiality for people involved in sensitive bias or hate-related incident reports. Supporters appear to favor protecting both reporters and accused individuals from public disclosure, likely to encourage reporting and reduce harm. Potential concerns, though not documented in the provided materials, would center on whether exempting the alleged offender’s identity from disclosure could reduce public oversight or limit access to information about how such allegations are handled.