NEW HAVEN, CT – Today, Mayor Justin Elicker applauded the passage of S.B. 1284, An Act Concerning Street Takeovers and the Illegal Use of Certain Vehicles, by the Connecticut General Assembly. This legislation will enable municipalities and the state to impose new and stiffer fines and penalties to individuals participating in, organizing, or spectating a street takeover and permits municipalities to destroy impounded dirt bikes and ATVS, among other measures.

S.B. 1284 passed the State House this afternoon by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 144 to 4 and passed the State Senate earlier this month by a vote of 35 to 1. Now that it has passed both chambers, it will be delivered to the governor for consideration to sign into law.

Following the passage of the bill by the Connecticut General Assembly, Mayor Elicker issued the following statement:

“When this bill is signed into law, New Haven and other municipalities across Connecticut will have new, more effective tools at our disposal to confront the ongoing challenges and chaos caused by illegal dirt bikes and ATVs and street takeovers. These illegal vehicles and lawless activities are extremely dangerous and pose significant risks to residents, bystanders, public safety personnel, and the drivers themselves.  With these new measures, we will be able to more aggressively fine individuals who flagrantly violate the law, destroy these vehicles once they are confiscated, and hold people accountable for threatening the safety of our community.

I want to thank the Judiciary Committee for their work in drafting thoughtful bipartisan legislation and the Connecticut General Assembly for getting this bill across the finish line. To be clear, even with these new tools, this will continue to be a difficult issue, but these new enforcement measures will strengthen our collective ability to address street takeovers and the reckless driving of illegal dirt bikes and ATVs -- and we’re committed to continuing to work in partnership with our neighboring cities and towns to confront this challenge. Municipalities have hundreds of these confiscated dirt bikes and ATVs that we’ve all been waiting to crush and destroy when this bill becomes a law, and we all can’t wait to get started.”

Mayor Elicker and Police Chief Karl Jacobson worked with state lawmakers and other municipal and law enforcement leaders to help champion this legislation, and testified in support of its passage earlier this year. Advocacy for this bill is the latest in the city’s ongoing efforts to address this critical public safety and quality of life issue, including enacting new local ordinances that increase fines and seize vehicles; fining gas stations that service these vehicles; creating a Joint Regional Bike and ATV Task Force Task Force with neighboring municipalities and the CT State Police; and deploying technology and infrastructure measures such as cameras, drones, and speed humps to prevent street takeovers.