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SB 1542 Connecticut Senate · 2025 Regular Session

AN ACT CONCERNING THE USE OF HANDCUFFS ON YOUNG CHILDREN.

SB 1542 prohibits law enforcement from handcuffing children under 12 years old in most situations, directly affecting officers and youth in custody. The law bans the use of handcuffs on children under 12 unless there is an immediate threat of harm to others. This legislation, now Public Act 25-163 after being signed by the governor on July 8, 2025, focuses on preventing unnecessary physical restraint of young children during interactions with police.
Issues: ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeProhibits unnecessary handcuffing of children under 12, advancing juvenile rights and police accountability within criminal justice reform.95% confidence
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2025
Senate Passage
Jun 2025
House Passage
Jun 2025
Signed into Law
Jul 2025
Introduced Mar 20, 2025 Signed Jul 8, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Raised Bill → JUD Joint Favorable Substitute · 6 edits
MODERATE
The bill was renamed from a 'Raised Bill' to a 'Joint Favorable Substitute' indicating it passed committee review. The title was shortened to focus only on handcuff use rather than raising the age of arrest. The core policy changes shift the age threshold for handcuffing children from 12 to 14 years old, establish a presumption that mechanical restraints should be removed before court appearances, and add requirements for the Judicial Branch to track and publicly report restraint statistics.
Scope change
The bill's scope narrowed from addressing both the age of arrest and handcuff use to focusing exclusively on handcuff use on young children.
TIMELINE

The effective date for the new section was changed from 'from passage' to October 1, 2025.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new requirement that preadjudicated children under 14 years old cannot be handcuffed unless necessary for public safety or when a child is using or threatening physical force against a police officer.

Added a presumption that mechanical restraints must be removed from detained children before and during court appearances.

Added a requirement for the Judicial Branch to collect statistics on mechanical restraint use and provide them to the public with redacted identifying information.

Removed detailed procedures for issuing tickets and developing management plans for children who cannot be arrested.

SCOPE

Removed provisions related to raising the age of arrest and adjudication of delinquency, which were the original focus of the bill.

Floor votes · Senate May 20, 2025 · House Jun 3, 2025

How they voted

35–0
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 36
May 20, 2025
D Democratic25
24 Yea 1
96% Yea
R Republican11
11 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
23
Key actions
7
Committee
2
Amendments
2
Jul 8, 2025
Signed into law
SIGNED BY GOVERNOR
lower
Jun 4, 2025
Upper · Passed
SEN. PASSED, HO. AMEND. SCH. A
upper
Jun 4, 2025
Upper · Passed
SEN. ADOPTED HO. AMEND. SCH. A
upper
Jun 3, 2025
Lower · Passed
HOUSE PASSED, HOUSE AMEND. SCH. A
lower
Jun 3, 2025
Lower · Passed
HOUSE ADOPTED HOUSE AMEND. SCH. A
lower
May 20, 2025
Upper · Passed
SENATE PASSED
upper
Apr 10, 2025
Upper · Passed
Joint Favorable Substitute
upper
Mar 20, 2025
Committee
REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Judiciary
upper
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.