Connecticut General Statutes
Chapter 99 - Municipal Charters and Special Acts
Section 7-191. - Charters, charter amendments and home rule ordinance amendments: Hearings; draft and final report; public notice; referendum; effective date; filing of copies with Secretary of the State; file maintained by State Library.

(a) The commission shall hold at least two public hearings on the proposed charter, charter amendments or home rule ordinance amendments; one prior to the beginning of any substantive work on such charter, charter amendments or home rule ordinance amendments, and one after the draft report to the appointing authority has been completed, but not submitted, after which hearings the commission may amend such report. The commission may hold such other public hearings as it deems necessary.

(b) The commission shall submit its draft report, including the proposed charter, charter amendments or home rule ordinance amendments, to the clerk of the municipality, who shall transmit such report to the appointing authority. The appointing authority shall hold at least one public hearing on the draft report and shall hold its last hearing not later than forty-five days after the submission of the draft report to such clerk. Not later than fifteen days after its last hearing, the appointing authority shall make recommendations to the commission for such changes in the draft report as it deems desirable.
(c) If the appointing authority makes no recommendations for changes in the draft report to the commission within such fifteen days, the report of the commission shall be final and the appointing authority shall act on such report. If the appointing authority makes recommendations for changes in the draft report to the commission, the commission shall confer with the appointing authority concerning any such recommendations and may amend any provisions of the proposed charter, charter amendments or home rule ordinance amendments, in accordance with such recommendations, or the commission may reject such recommendations. In either case the commission shall make its final report to the appointing authority not later than thirty days after receiving such recommendations.
(d) Not later than fifteen days after receiving the final report, the appointing authority, by a majority vote of its entire membership, shall either approve the proposed charter, charter amendments or home rule ordinance amendments or reject the same or separate provisions thereof. Not later than forty-five days after a vote of the appointing authority to reject such matter, a petition for a referendum thereon, signed by not less than ten per cent of the electors of such municipality, as determined by the last-completed registry list thereof, and filed and certified in accordance with the provisions of section 7-188, may be presented to the appointing authority. Not later than thirty days after approval by the appointing authority or the certification of such a petition (1) the proposed charter shall be published in full at least once in a newspaper having a general circulation in the municipality, or (2) the portion of the charter or home rule ordinance being amended shall be published at least once in a newspaper having a general circulation in the municipality with a notice that a complete copy of the charter or home rule ordinance and amendment is available in the town clerk's office and that a copy shall be mailed to any person who requests a copy. The town clerk shall mail or otherwise provide such copy to any person who requests a copy.
(e) The appointing authority shall, by a majority vote of its entire membership, determine whether the proposed charter, charter amendments or home rule ordinance amendments shall be submitted to the electors for approval or rejection at a regular election or at a special election warned and held for that purpose, which shall be held not later than fifteen months after either the approval by the appointing authority or the certification of a petition for a referendum.
(f) The proposed charter, charter amendments or home rule ordinance amendments shall be prepared for the ballot by the appointing authority and may be submitted in the form of one or several questions; and, if approved by a majority of the electors of the municipality voting thereon at a regular election or if approved by a majority which number equals at least fifteen per cent of the electors of the municipality as determined by the last-completed active registry list of such municipality at a special election, such proposed charter, charter amendments or home rule ordinance amendments shall become effective thirty days after such approval unless an effective date or dates are specified therein, in which event the date or dates specified shall prevail.
(g) Not later than thirty days after the approval by the electors of any proposed charter, charter amendments or home rule ordinance amendments, the town or city clerk shall file, with the Secretary of the State, (1) three certified copies thereof, with the effective date or dates indicated thereon, and (2) in the case of the approval of charter or home rule ordinance amendments, three certified copies of the complete charter or ordinance incorporating such amendments. The Secretary of the State shall distribute two copies, whether tangible or intangible in form, to the State Library, where a file of such charters, charter amendments and home rule ordinance amendments shall be kept for public inspection.
(1953, S. 271d; 1957, P.A. 465, S. 5; 1959, P.A. 678, S. 5; 1963, P.A. 184; P.A. 75-358, S. 1, 2; P.A. 77-196, S. 1; P.A. 79-207; P.A. 81-451, S. 5, 10; P.A. 82-472, S. 14, 183; P.A. 83-188, S. 3; P.A. 84-161; P.A. 85-253, S. 5, 10; P.A. 87-387, S. 3; P.A. 96-134, S. 6, 9; P.A. 00-92, S. 6; P.A. 02-89, S. 7; P.A. 03-99, S. 1; P.A. 07-227, S. 19.)
History: 1959 act added home rule ordinance provisions and changed “general” election to “regular” election; 1963 act specified subject matter of mandatory hearing by commission and provided for referendum re rejected matter on petition of electors; P.A. 75-358 made specific provisions re effective dates for charters, home rule ordinances etc., re validations of actions of municipality or its administrative agencies or officials; P.A. 77-196 required filing with secretary of the state within 15 days rather than 7 days; P.A. 79-207 required two public hearings rather than one, one before the substantive work and one after report is drafted but before its submission; P.A. 81-451 divided section into subsecs., clarified language of existing provisions, changed time for hearing from 30 to 45 days after submission of draft report, reduced the percentage of electors necessary to force a referendum from 15% to %10, required that election be held within 15 months rather than one year after approval or certification of petition and provided that the appointing authority shall prepare the ballot, effective October 1, 1982; P.A. 82-472 made technical corrections; P.A. 83-188 made minor changes in wording of Subsec. (b); P.A. 84-161 amended Subsec. (h) to provide for 30-day filing period rather than 15-day period; P.A. 85-253 changed “revised charter” to “charter amendments” and “revised home rule ordinance” to “home rule ordinance amendments”; P.A. 87-387 added Subsec. (h)(2) re filing requirements in the case of approval of charter or home rule ordinance amendments; P.A. 96-134 added the word “active” before “registry list of such municipality” in Subsec. (f), effective May 29, 1996; P.A. 00-92 amended Subsec. (b) to require hearing “not later than” 45 days “after the submission” rather than former “within” 45 days “of the submission”, and throughout the section substituted “not later than” for “within”; P.A. 02-89 deleted as obsolete former Subsec. (g) re effective date of any proposed charter, home rule ordinance or amendment or repeal thereof approved at any election on or after November 5, 1974, and prior to July 1, 1975, and re the validation of actions of a municipality or agency or official thereof taken prior to July 1, 1975, under a previously effective charter or home rule ordinance, and redesignated existing Subsec. (h) as Subsec. (g); P.A. 03-99 amended Subsec. (d) to insert Subdiv. designators (1) and (2), to delete requirement that charter or home rule ordinance amendments be published in full and to provide that the portion of the charter or home rule ordinance being amended be published and that a copy be provided by the town clerk upon request; P.A. 07-227 added reference to tangible or intangible copies in Subsec. (g), effective July 1, 2007.
See chapter 152 re holding of referenda.
Cited. 140 C. 517. Legislature intended procedure outlined in Home Rule Act to be a complete, self-contained method of amending charter of a city irrespective of any existing charter provision; Home Rule Act controls previously enacted special laws which are inconsistent with it; home rule, so far as it relates to charter changes, may be exercised only in accordance with provisions of general statutes. 150 C. 24. Amendment of charter of consolidated city of Norwich to change tax and other provisions concerning its districts pursuant to Secs. 7-188 through 7-194 held valid when challenged by action for declaratory judgment by resident taxpayer. 155 C. 573. Cited. 184 C. 30. Interpretation of statute not unconstitutional. 188 C. 276. Cited. 193 C. 1; 196 C. 623; 234 C. 513.

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