NEW HAVEN, CT – Today, Mayor Justin Elicker applauded the passage of three critical bills by the Connecticut General Assembly Judiciary Committee, all which would help strengthen public safety in the City of New Haven. These bills include:

• S.B. 1284, An Act Concerning Street Takeovers and the Illegal Use of Certain Vehicles, which would enable municipalities and the state to impose new and stiffer fines and penalties to individuals participating in, organizing, or spectating a street takeover and also permit municipalities to destroy impounded dirt bikes and ATVS, among other measures.

• H.B. 7212, An Act Concerning the Trust Act, which would strengthen protections and security for New Haven’s immigrant community by helping to safeguard their interactions with local and state government and further assuring certain sensitive information cannot and will not be shared with federal immigration authorities, unless required by federal law or for individuals convicted of serious criminal offenses.

• S.B. 1543, An Act Concerning the Department of Correction, which includes a provision that supports a study to explore the relocation of the New Haven Correctional Center on Whalley Avenue to another more appropriate location.

Mayor Elicker and other city officials have testified in strong support of these pieces of legislation, and Mayor Elicker’s previous written testimony can be found here and here.

Following today’s votes, Mayor Elicker issued the following statement:

“Our residents, streets and community are all one important step closer to being safer thanks to the votes today by the Judiciary Committee. Our residents want to live with the peace of mind that there won’t be street takeovers or reckless dirt bikes and ATVs on their local roads. Our residents want to live with the peace of mind that when they engage with local and state agencies to report a crime or to access other critical services, they don’t have to worry about their information being shared with ICE. Our residents want the peace of mind that when they walk around their neighborhood, they don’t have to have walk in the shadow of a correctional facility that’s around the corner from their home, school or workplace. These bills all would make our residents and our city safer, and I am heartened by the strong support they received today. I want to thank Co-Chairs Winfield and Stafstrom and all the members of the Judiciary Committed who voted in support of these pieces of legislation, and I am hopeful they will ultimately be taken up and passed by the entire Connecticut General Assembly.”