The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- Connecticut
- Level
- State
- Authority
- Conn. Const. art. III; police power of the State; P.A. 03-236 (public health emergency response authority)
- Issued
- 2003-07-09 July 9, 2003
- Effective
- standing; text in force throughout March 2020 to September 2021 (read as 2003-07-09)
- End
- standing (read as 2021-09-30)
- In force
- Standing since July 9, 2003 (a statutory duty; in force throughout the six quarters)
- Quarters
- 2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Emergency declarationBusiness closureQuarantine and isolationStanding duty
- Addressees
- persons generally ('any individual'); owners or persons in control of premises used for confinement; the Commissioner's delegates including every local health director (§ 19a-131a(f))
- Character
- statutory duty
- Collection
- Standing duties: Connecticut DUT-CT
Operative words
Any individual who, during the course of a public health emergency declared under this section, violates the provisions of any order issued pursuant to sections 19a-131 to 19a-131i, inclusive,... shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year, or both, for each offense.
Penalty
§ 19a-131a(d): fine not more than $1,000 or imprisonment not more than one year, or both, for each offense; § 19a-131a(e): Superior Court enforcement and equitable relief on the Attorney General's application; § 19a-131c: law enforcement may take a person refusing quarantine or isolation into custody; § 19a-36(a)(4): violation of any provision of the Public Health Code is a class C misdemeanor
What it required
Every individual to obey every order issued under the public health emergency articles once the Governor declared the emergency (March 10, 2020), on pain of a criminal fine and imprisonment for each offense, with the Commissioner empowered to quarantine or isolate 'any individual, group of individuals or individuals present within a geographic area' by confinement 'to private homes or other private or public premises' (§ 19a-131b(a), (b)(1)) and to have the Attorney General enforce any order in Superior Court (§ 19a-131a(e)).
Retrieval noteThe whole chapter (the CGA's current compilation) rendered to PDF; the sections relied on carry no amendment after 2015, so the saved text is the text in force in 2020-2021. § 19a-131(8) defines 'public health emergency' to include 'an epidemic or pandemic disease'; § 19a-131(6) and (9) define isolation and quarantine to reach 'individuals present within a geographic area.' § 19a-2a: the Commissioner 'shall employ the most efficient and practical means for the prevention and suppression of disease' and 'adopt and enforce regulations.' Governor Lamont's March 10, 2020 declaration (Ex. CT-001) and every executive order recite § 19a-131a with § 28-9. EO 7III (Ex. CT-023) and the DPH orders (Exs. CT-047, CT-052, CT-053) rest on these sections. The file date in the name is the compilation date, not an issue date.