(a) Any municipality, in addition to such powers as it has under the provisions of the general statutes or any special act, shall have the power to (1) adopt and amend a charter which shall be its organic law and shall supersede any existing charter, including amendments thereto, and all special acts inconsistent with such charter or amendments, which charter or amended charter may include the provisions of any special act concerning the municipality but which shall not otherwise be inconsistent with the Constitution or general statutes, provided nothing in this section shall be construed to provide that any special act relative to any municipality is repealed solely because such special act is not included in the charter or amended charter; (2) amend a home rule ordinance which has been adopted prior to October 1, 1982, which revised home rule ordinance shall not be inconsistent with the Constitution or the general statutes; and (3) repeal any such home rule ordinance by adopting a charter, provided the rights or benefits granted to any individual under any municipal retirement or pension system shall not be diminished or eliminated.
(b) Any action pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall be initiated by a resolution adopted by a two-thirds vote of the entire membership of the appointing authority of such municipality, or by petition filed with the clerk of such municipality for submission to the appointing authority and signed by not less than ten per cent of the electors of such municipality, as determined by its last-completed registry list; provided, in the case of a consolidated town and city having a town clerk and a city clerk, such petition shall be filed with the city clerk.
(c) No signature on any petition filed pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall be valid unless it has been obtained within ninety days of the filing of the page of the petition on which it appears. Any elector signing such a petition may cause his signature to be removed at any time prior to the filing of such petition with the clerk. The clerk with whom the petition is filed shall proceed forthwith to determine its sufficiency by comparing the signatures thereon with those contained in said registry list and shall certify its sufficiency or insufficiency to the appointing authority.
(d) After a resolution has been so adopted by the appointing authority or a petition has been so certified as sufficient, as the case may be, the appointing authority shall not adopt any resolution initiating such action and the clerk shall not accept any petition for the initiation of such action until such time as the commission appointed pursuant to such original resolution or petition has been terminated.
(1953, S. 271d, 272d; 1957, P.A. 465, S. 2; 1959, P.A. 678, S. 2; February, 1965, P.A. 269, S. 1; P.A. 81-451, S. 2, 10; P.A. 84-153; P.A. 85-253, S. 2, 10; P.A. 87-278, S. 2, 5.)
History: 1959 act added home rule ordinance provisions; 1965 act provided no signature is to be valid unless obtained within 90 days of filing petition; P.A. 81-451 provided that no new home rule ordinances should be adopted after October 1, 1982, and that no new petition could be accepted until a commission appointed pursuant to a previous petition had been terminated, effective October 1, 1982; P.A. 84-153 amended Subsec. (d) to apply provisions to resolutions and to clarify that only one commission can exist at any time; P.A. 85-253 amended Subsec. (a) to replace the word “revise” with the word “amend” and to add language concerning inclusion of special acts in Subdiv. (1); P.A. 87-278 inserted the word “otherwise” in the phrase “shall not otherwise be inconsistent” in Subsec. (a).
See Sec. 7-328a re home rule action.
Cited. 140 C. 517. Home rule, so far as it relates to charter changes, may be exercised only in accordance with general statutes. 150 C. 24. Purpose behind act is to enable municipalities to draft or amend charters without necessity of action by General Assembly; as to method or procedure of assessment, the Home Rule Act, being later in time, takes precedence over any inconsistent provisions in the Waterbury charter. 152 C. 423. Act exhibits legislative intent to add a new power to those which municipalities already had without affecting existing powers. Id., 424. Cited. 178 C. 81; 180 C. 243; 182 C. 253; 188 C. 276; 190 C. 736; 193 C. 1; 216 C. 112; 234 C. 513.
Cited. 37 CA 348.
Adoption of municipal charter does not invalidate special acts prior thereto establishing special districts. 28 CS 413. A charter provision cannot repeal or nullify the general statutes. 31 CS 392.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
26
cases (
1 in the last 5 years), 1962–2022 · leading case:
Caulfield v. Noble, 420 A.2d 1160 (Conn. 1979).
Caulfield v. Noble, 420 A.2d 1160 (Conn. 1979).
· cites it 12× “[2] The purpose, however, of Connecticut's *86 Home Rule Act is clearly twofold: to relieve the General Assembly of the burdensome task of handling and enacting special legislation of local municipal concern and to enable a municipality to draft and adopt a home rule charter or…”
Ganim v. Smith & Wesson Corp., 780 A.2d 98 (Conn. 2001).
· cites it 2× “The purposes of the Home Rule Act are well established. “The purpose ... of Connecticut’s Home Rule Act is clearly twofold: to relieve the General Assembly of the burdensome task of handling and enacting special legislation of local municipal concern and to enable a municipality…”
Cheshire Taxpayers' Action Comm., Inc. v. Guilford, 474 A.2d 97 (Conn. 1984).
· cites it 8× “Because the proposal is invalid, the defendants argue, the plaintiff has no clear legal right to mandamus. *6 The plaintiff argues that § 3-7 of the charter imposes the clear, ministerial, and nondiscretionary duty on the town council to call a referendum where the town council…”
Windham First Taxing Dist. v. Town of Windham, 546 A.2d 226 (Conn. 1988).
· cites it 4× ““The purpose ... of Connecticut’s Home Rule Act is clearly twofold: to relieve the General Assembly of the burdensome task of handling and enacting special legislation of local municipal concern and to enable a municipality to draft and adopt a home rule charter or ordinance…”
Kelly v. City of New Haven, 881 A.2d 978 (Conn. 2005).
· cites it 2× “See General Statutes §§ 7-188 through 7-191; New Haven Charter, art.”
Dumais v. Underwood, 707 A.2d 333 (Conn. App. Ct. 1998).
· cites it 11× “The office of charter revision commission member is established pursuant to General Statutes § 7-188 (b). 4 Even if we were to assume, arguendo, that the office does not come into legal existence until its members are appointed, it is irrelevant.”
Morris v. Congdon, 893 A.2d 413 (Conn. 2006).
· cites it 4× “; towns in Connecticut may adopt municipal charters or home rule ordinances, which constitute the organic law of the town; see General Statutes § 7-188 et seq.; 4 or their powers may be granted by a special act.”
Town of Cheshire v. McKenney, 438 A.2d 88 (Conn. 1980).
· cites it 2× “The court based this conclusion on the Connecticut constitution, article second, which states in part that “[t]he powers of government shall be divided into three distinct departments”; on General Statutes § 4-38c, which provides that the state board of education is part of the…”
City Council v. Hall, 429 A.2d 481 (Conn. 1980).
· cites it 2× “See General Statutes § 7-188; Board of Selectmen of the Town of Fairfield v.”
State Ex Rel. Sloane v. Reidy, 209 A.2d 674 (Conn. 1965).
· cites it 4× “That language is found in General Statutes § 7-188, also part of the Home Rule Act, which states: “Any town, city or borough, in addition to such powers as it has under the provisions of the general statutes or any special act, shall have the power to draft, adopt and amend a…”
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