Sec. 29-161z. (Formerly Sec. 29-161b). Permit to carry firearms required. Firearm safety course. Regulations. Instructor approval. Penalty. License, permit or approval suspension or revocation. Appeal - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 29-161z. (Formerly Sec. 29-161b). Permit to carry firearms required. Firearm safety course. Regulations. Instructor approval. Penalty. License, permit or approval suspension or revocation. Appeal. (a) No employee of a licensed security service and no employee hired by a firm or corporation to perform work as a security officer may carry a pistol, revolver or other firearm while on duty or directly en route to or from such employment unless such employee obtains a special permit from the Commissioner of Public Safety in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of this section. No licensed security service and no firm or corporation may permit any employee to carry a pistol, revolver or other firearm while on duty or directly en route to or from such employment unless it obtains proof that such employee has obtained such permit from the commissioner. The permit required under this section shall be in addition to the permit requirement imposed under section 29-28.

      (b) The Commissioner of Public Safety may grant to any suitable employee of a licensed security service, or to an employee hired by a firm or corporation to perform work as a uniformed or nonuniformed security officer, a special permit to carry a pistol or revolver or other firearm while actually on duty on the premises of the employer, or, while directly en route to or from such employment, provided that such employee has proven to the satisfaction of the commissioner that such employee has successfully completed a course, approved by the commissioner, of training in the safety and use of firearms. The commissioner may grant to such employee a temporary permit pending issuance of the permit, provided such employee has submitted an application and successfully completed such training course immediately following employment. All armed security officers shall complete such safety course and yearly complete a refresher safety course approved by the commissioner. The commissioner shall adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 concerning the approval of schools, institutions or organizations offering such courses, requirements for instructors and the required number of hours and content of such courses.

      (c) Application for a special permit shall be made on forms provided by the commissioner and shall be accompanied by a thirty-one-dollar fee. Such permit shall have the same expiration date as the pistol permit issued under subsection (b) of section 29-28 and may be renewed for additional five-year periods.

      (d) (1) On and after October 1, 2008, no person or employee of an association, corporation or partnership shall conduct the training pursuant to subsection (b) of this section without the approval of the commissioner, except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection. Application for such approval shall be submitted on forms prescribed by the commissioner, accompanied by a fee of twenty dollars. Such application shall be made under oath and shall contain the applicant's name, address, date and place of birth, employment for the previous five years, education or training in the subjects required to be taught under subsection (b) of this section, any convictions for violations of the law and such other information as the commissioner may require by regulation adopted pursuant to section 29-161x to properly investigate the character, competency and integrity of the applicant. No person shall be approved as an instructor for such training who has been convicted of a felony, a sexual offense or a crime of moral turpitude or who has been denied approval as a security service licensee, a security officer or instructor in the security industry by any licensing authority, or whose approval has been revoked or suspended. The term for such approval shall not exceed two years. Not later than two business days after a change of address, any person approved as an instructor in accordance with this section shall notify the commissioner of such change and such notification shall include both the old and new addresses.

      (2) If a course of training in the safety and use of firearms is approved by the commissioner in accordance with subsection (b) of this section on or before September 30, 2008, the person serving as an instructor of such course shall have until April 1, 2009, to apply for approval as an instructor in accordance with subdivision (1) of this subsection.

      (3) Each person approved as an instructor in accordance with this section may apply for the renewal of such approval on a form approved by the commissioner, accompanied by a fee of twenty dollars. Such form may require the disclosure of any information necessary for the commissioner to determine whether the instructor's suitability to serve as an instructor has changed since the issuance of the prior approval. The term of such renewed approval shall not exceed two years.

      (e) Any fee or portion of a fee paid pursuant to the provisions of this section shall not be refundable.

      (f) Any person, firm or corporation that violates any provision of this section shall be fined seventy-five dollars for each offense. Each violation of this section shall be a separate and distinct offense, and, in the case of a continuing violation, each day's continuance thereof shall be deemed to be a separate and distinct offense.

      (g) The commissioner may suspend or revoke a security service license, a special permit issued to a security officer or instructor approval upon a finding by the commissioner that such licensee, permit holder or instructor has violated any provision of this section, provided notice shall have been given to such licensee, permit holder or instructor to appear before the commissioner to show cause why the license, permit or approval should not be suspended or revoked. Any party aggrieved by an order of the commissioner may appeal therefrom in accordance with the provisions of section 4-183, except the venue for such appeal shall be the judicial district of New Britain.

      (P.A. 83-573, S. 1; P.A. 88-230, S. 1, 12; P.A. 89-251, S. 163, 203; P.A. 90-98, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-142, S. 4, 7, 8; P.A. 95-220, S. 4-6; P.A. 99-215, S. 24, 29; P.A. 04-192, S. 20; P.A. 08-73, S. 12.)

      History: P.A. 88-230 replaced "judicial district of Hartford-New Britain" with "judicial district of Hartford", effective September 1, 1991; P.A. 89-251 amended Subsec. (c) to increase the application fee from $25 to $31; P.A. 90-98 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1991, to September 1, 1993; P.A. 93-142 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1993, to September 1, 1996, effective June 14, 1993; P.A. 95-220 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1996, to September 1, 1998, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 99-215 replaced "judicial district of Hartford" with "judicial district of New Britain", effective June 29, 1999; P.A. 04-192 substituted security service for watchman, guard or patrol service and made technical changes throughout, amended Subsec. (b) to substitute "uniformed or nonuniformed" security services for watchman or guard services and to require all armed security officers to complete safety course and yearly complete refresher safety course approved by the commissioner, and amended Subsec. (c) to require that permit have the same expiration date as the pistol permit issued under Sec. 29-28(b) in lieu of expiration five years after the date it becomes effective; Sec. 29-161b transferred to Sec. 29-161z in 2005; P.A. 08-73 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) to substitute provisions re performance of work as a security officer for provisions re performance of security services and to make technical changes, made a technical change in Subsec. (c), added new Subsec. (d) re approval of instructors conducting training and new Subsec. (e) re nonrefundable fees, redesignated existing Subsecs. (d) and (e) as new Subsecs. (f) and (g), amended new Subsec. (f) to make a technical change, amended new Subsec. (g) to allow commissioner to suspend or revoke special permits or instructor approval and replaced references to "permit" with references to "special permit" throughout.