General Assembly		Raised Bill No. 856
January Session, 2013		LCO No. 3001
		*03001_______PS_*
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY
Introduced by:
(PS)

AN ACT CONCERNING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 53a-59 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2013):

(a) A person is guilty of assault in the first degree when: (1) With intent to cause serious physical injury to another person, he or she causes such injury to such person or to a third person by means of a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument; or (2) with intent to disfigure another person seriously and permanently, or to destroy, amputate or disable permanently a member or organ of [his] such person's body, he or she causes such injury to such person or to a third person; or (3) under circumstances evincing an extreme indifference to human life, he or she recklessly engages in conduct which creates a risk of death to another person, and thereby causes serious physical injury to another person; or (4) with intent to cause serious physical injury to another person and while aided by two or more other persons actually present, he or she causes such injury to such person or to a third person; or (5) with intent to cause physical injury to another person, he or she causes such injury to such person or to a third person by means of the discharge of a firearm; or (6) with intent to cause serious physical injury to a family or household member, as defined in section 46b-38a, he or she causes such injury to such family or household member.

(b) Assault in the first degree is a class B felony provided (1) any person found guilty under subdivision (1) or (6) of subsection (a) of this section shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of which five years of the sentence imposed may not be suspended or reduced by the court, and (2) any person found guilty under subsection (a) of this section shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of which ten years of the sentence imposed may not be suspended or reduced by the court if the victim of the offense is a person under ten years of age or if the victim of the offense is a witness, as defined in section 53a-146, and the actor knew the victim was a witness.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	October 1, 2013	53a-59

Statement of Purpose:

To increase the penalty for the assault of a family or household member that results in serious physical injury.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]