Sec. 28-11. Taking of property during emergency. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 28-11. Taking of property during emergency. (a) During the existence of a civil preparedness or public health emergency, as defined in section 19a-131, the Governor may, in the event of shortage or disaster making such action necessary for the protection of the public, take possession (1) of any land or buildings, machinery or equipment; (2) of any horses, vehicles, motor vehicles, aircraft, ships, boats, rolling stock of steam, diesel or electric railroads or any other means of conveyance whatsoever; (3) of any antitoxins, pharmaceutical products, vaccines or other biological products; and (4) of any cattle, poultry or any provisions for persons or beast, and any fuel, gasoline or other means of propulsion necessary or convenient for the use of the military or naval forces of the state or of the United States, or for the better protection of the welfare of the state or its inhabitants according to the purposes of this chapter.

      (b) He may use and employ all property of which possession is taken, for such times and in such manner as he deems for the best interests of the state or its inhabitants, and may, in particular, when in his opinion the public exigency so requires, lease, sell or, when conditions warrant, distribute gratuitously to or among any or all of the persons within the state anything taken under this section.

      (c) If real estate is seized under this section, a declaration of the property seized, containing a full and complete description, shall within a reasonable time be filed with the Secretary of the State and with the town clerk of the town in which the property is located, and a copy of the declaration shall be furnished the owner. If personal property is seized under this section, the civil preparedness authorities by whom it is seized shall maintain a docket containing a permanent record of such personal property and its condition when seized, and shall furnish a true copy of the docket recording to the owner of the seized property.

      (d) The owner of any property taken under this section shall receive just compensation therefor as follows: (1) If property is taken for temporary use, the Governor shall, as soon as possible after the taking, fix the amount of compensation to be paid therefor. If such property is returned to the owner in a damaged condition or is not returned to the owner, the Governor shall fix forthwith the amount of compensation to be paid for such damages or failure to return. Whenever the Governor deems it advisable for the state to become the owner of property taken under this section, he shall forthwith cause the owner of the property to be notified in writing by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, and shall file a copy of the notice with the Secretary of the State. (2) If the owner of property taken under this section refuses to accept the amount of compensation fixed in accordance with subdivision (1) of this subsection, he may prefer a petition to the superior court for the judicial district in which the property was taken or to a judge of said court if the court is not in session, praying that just compensation may be determined, which petition shall be accompanied by a summons signed by competent authority, to serve as process in civil actions before said court, notifying the Governor and all persons interested in such property to appear before the court or judge. The court or judge shall refer the determination of the amount of damages to a state referee as provided in section 48-10. The state referee, after giving reasonable notice to the parties, shall, if possible, view the property in question, hear the evidence, ascertain the value, assess just damages to the owner or parties interested in the property taken and report his doings to the court or judge. The court or judge may accept the report or may reject it for irregular or improper conduct by the state referee in the course of his duties. If the report is rejected, the court or judge shall appoint another state referee, who shall proceed in the same manner as the first referee was required to proceed. If the report is accepted, such acceptance shall have the effect of a judgment in favor of the owner of the property against the state for the amount of the assessment made by the referee, and, except as otherwise provided by law, execution may issue therefor. The court or judge shall make any order necessary to protect the rights of all parties interested, but in no event shall the Governor be prevented from taking immediate possession and use of the property in question. The expenses and costs of such hearings shall be taxed against the petitioner except in cases where the assessment of damages made by the referee is larger than the amount fixed by the Governor under subdivision (1) of this subsection, in which case they shall be taxed against the state, audited and allowed by the Comptroller and paid by the state upon his order.

      (e) Whenever the Governor determines that any real property acquired and retained under the provisions of this chapter is no longer needed for the preparedness of the state or for purposes under this chapter, he shall so notify the original owner of such property and, upon the request of such owner and upon payment of the fair value thereof, the Governor shall return such property to such owner. If the Governor and the original owner do not agree as to the fair value of the property, such value shall be determined by three appraisers, one of whom shall be chosen by the Governor, one by the original owner and the third by the first two appraisers. The expenses of such determination shall be paid in equal shares by the state and the original owner.

      (f) Whenever the need for any personal property requisitioned under this chapter for the preparedness of the state terminates, the Governor may dispose of such property on such terms and conditions as he deems appropriate, but to the extent feasible and practicable he shall give the former owner of such property an opportunity to reacquire it (1) at its then fair value as determined by the Governor or (2) if it is to be disposed of at less than such value, otherwise than at a public sale of which such owner is given notice, at the highest price any other person is willing to pay therefor; provided the provisions of this subsection shall not apply in the case of fungibles or items having a fair value of less than one thousand dollars.

      (June, 1951, S. 1915d; P.A. 73-544, S. 11; P.A. 78-280, S. 2, 127; P.A. 85-246, S. 17; P.A. 03-236, S. 13.)

      History: P.A. 73-544 substituted "civil preparedness" for "civil defense" throughout; P.A. 78-280 substituted "for the judicial district" for "for the county" following "superior court" in Subsec. (d); P.A. 85-246 deleted reference to street railways in Subsec. (a); (Revisor's note: In 1995 the words "clause (1)" in Subsec. (d) were replaced editorially by the Revisors with "subdivision (1)" for consistency with customary general statutory usage); P.A. 03-236 amended Subsec. (a) by adding public health emergency as defined in Sec. 19a-131, adding new Subdiv. (3) re taking of biological products, redesignating existing Subdiv. (3) as Subdiv. (4) and making a technical change, effective July 9, 2003.

      See Sec. 28-9 re Governor's powers during civil preparedness emergency.