Executive Order 7YY Ends Suspension of Required Fingerprinting Availability
On June 10, Governor Lamont signed Executive Order 7YY, which, in part, repealed Executive Order 7E Section 2’s suspension of required fingerprinting availability. This change goes into effect on June 15.
Before its repeal, Executive Order 7E provided for the suspension of fingerprinting availability at police departments with the exception of critical requirements. Specifically, Executive Order 7E provided that the chief of police or the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection may, in their discretion, limit or eliminate fingerprinting hours for persons requesting fingerprinting for a criminal history records check. The intent of allowing these individuals to refuse to collect fingerprints for criminal history record checks was to limit the transmission of COVID-19 or focus resources on critical public safety needs.
A recent case in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut served as the catalyst for the above referenced Executive Order 7YY. In Connecticut Citizens Defense League, Inc., et al. v. Governor Ned Lamont, et al., The Connecticut Citizens Defense League, a grassroots group for proponents of gun rights under the Second Amendment, challenged the Executive Order’s restrictions on the ability of individuals to obtain fingerprints to apply for firearms permits. The District Court granted The Connecticut Citizens Defense League’s motion for a preliminary injunction and required Governor Lamont to modify his Executive Order so that fingerprint collection requirements imposed by law are no longer suspended and individuals can obtain fingerprints to obtain permits to obtain, carry, or possess firearms.
At the time Executive Order 7YY goes into effect, employees of municipal police departments or the Division of State Police will, once again, be prohibited from refusing to collect the fingerprints of a person requesting such fingerprints for the purposes of a criminal history records check pursuant to General Statutes § 29-17c. Additionally, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall continue to perform fingerprinting services of long term care providers at its Middletown headquarters.
The full text of Executive Order 7YY can be found at the following link: https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/Office-of-the-Governor/Executive-Orders/Lamont-Executive-Orders/Executive-Order-No-7YY.pdf
If you have any questions or need assistance with regard to the Executive Order 7YY or Municipal Law matters in general, please contact Robert M. DeCrescenzo, Esq., at 860.548.2625 or rdecrescenzo@uks.com or Richard D. Carella, Esq., at 860.548.2681 or rcarella@uks.com. You may also visit our website at: www.uks.com/services-industries/governmental/
Updike, Kelly & Spellacy would like to thank Jeffrey Renaud, Esq. for his contribution to this article.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this material is not intended to be considered legal advice and should not be acted upon as such. Because of the generality of this material, the information provided may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without legal advice based on the specific factual circumstances.