Judiciary Committee advances three wrongful‑incarceration awards, remands five and approves a $50,000 Robillard recommendation

The Judiciary Committee on Feb. 14 took formal action on the claims commissioner’s recommended wrongful‑incarceration awards: the committee ordered three resolutions advanced for legislative action, remanded five other resolutions to the claims commissioner for additional eligibility determinations under Conn. Gen. Stat. §54‑102uu, and approved the claims commissioner’s recommendation that the General Assembly consider a $50,000 payment to claimant Heather Robillard.

Votes at a glance
- Resolutions advanced for legislative action: Senate Joint Resolution Nos. 41 and 42 and House Joint Resolution No. 51 (item numbers 2, 3 and 5 on the committee agenda). The chair called for a roll‑call vote and the motion passed. These items had been contested or had been through a full claims hearing before the claims commissioner.

- Resolutions remanded to the Claims Commissioner: The committee remanded Senate Joint Resolution No. 40 (item 1), Senate Joint Resolution No. 43 (item 4), House Joint Resolution Nos. 52 and 53 (items 6 and 7) and House Joint Resolution No. 54 (item 8) to the claims commissioner for further factual development and a determination of eligibility under subsection (a) of Conn. Gen. Stat. §54‑102uu. The motion to remand was adopted by roll call.

- Robillard payment: The committee raised and approved the claims commissioner’s recommendation that the General Assembly consider authorizing a $50,000 payment to Heather Robillard (agenda item 9); the committee approved the recommendation by voice vote.

What the motions said and committee rationale
Committee leadership framed the remands as requests for additional factual findings so the legislature can be confident statutory eligibility has been met before awards proceed. Senator Kissell said the remands were not meant to reject claims but to provide the claims commissioner time to gather more facts and produce a clear record that eligibility standards have been satisfied.

Next steps
The three advanced resolutions proceed to the full chambers for final action. The remanded resolutions return to the claims commissioner’s office for eligibility determinations and additional documentation for the committee. The Robillard recommendation will accompany other items for legislative consideration.

Note: the committee’s roll calls and voice votes are recorded in the official minutes and roll call transcript.