# Connecticut SB 00400: AN ACT CONCERNING PROBATE COURT OPERATIONS.

Connecticut SB 00400, AN ACT CONCERNING PROBATE COURT OPERATIONS., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Judiciary Committee; status signed, last action 2026-06-04 (Signed by the Governor); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/CT-SB00400-2026
- As of: 2026-11-01
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Connecticut SB 00400
- State: Connecticut
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: AN ACT CONCERNING PROBATE COURT OPERATIONS.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-03-03
- Last action: 2026-06-04, Signed by the Governor
- Sponsor: Judiciary Committee
- Cosponsors: 2
- Subjects: judiciary
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 4 (0 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 6

## Summary

To make various changes concerning Probate Court administrative processes, court procedures and the training of Probate Court judges and to repeal provisions relating to the establishment of a working group.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Former residents can seek firearms relief: benefit, low. Beginning January 1, 2027, nonresidents can seek relief from a federal firearms ban caused by a Connecticut adjudication or commitment. They can petition the Connecticut Probate Court that issued that decision. Access to the court does not guarantee relief from the ban.
- New audits of court-managed finances: benefit, low. Beginning October 1, 2026, Connecticut's Probate Court Administrator can audit accounts for estates managed by conservators, within available funding. Accounts can be chosen randomly or using other criteria, but court-approved accounts cannot be selected. Conservators must provide records and coope…
- Small probate fees can be waived: benefit, low. Beginning October 1, 2026, Connecticut Probate Courts can waive uncollectible filing fees, other fees, or expenses of $5 or less. Courts can also postpone payment to avoid undue delay or hardship. Postponement does not erase the debt: applicants remain responsible for the fees when they receive an…
- New probate judges get guided training: benefit, low. Beginning October 1, 2026, training for newly elected Connecticut probate judges must include a mentor and observation of court proceedings. Judges must observe proceedings that are confidential by law as part of this training. The program supports minimum proficiency standards and depends on avail…
- Limits on probate fee refunds: cost, low. Beginning October 1, 2026, refunds of covered Probate Court overpayments come from the Probate Court Administration Fund after court certification. Refunds of less than $5 are barred. Refunds are also barred for estate-settlement fees based on the deceased person's gross estate for succession tax p…
- More privacy and new children's court rules: mixed, low. Beginning June 4, 2026, records about appointing a guardian of a minor's person are confidential, subject to statutory exceptions. This protects family privacy while limiting third parties' access to those records. Beginning October 1, 2026, Connecticut broadens its Probate Court definition of chil…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Judiciary Committee
- Cosponsor: Kenneth Gucker (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Steven J. Stafstrom (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-24 | House | House Roll Call Vote 236 | pass |   |   |   |
| 2026-03-24 | Senate | Senate Roll Call Vote 166 | pass |   |   |   |
| 2026-03-24 | Senate | JUD Vote Tally Sheet-A (Joint Favorable Substitute) | pass |   |   |   |
| 2026-03-24 | Senate | JUD Vote Tally Sheet (Joint Favorable Substitute) | pass |   |   |   |

## Bill text

- Public Act No. 26-87, 2026-04-28: [PDF](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/ACT/PA/PDF/2026PA-00087-R00SB-00400-PA.PDF)
- File No. 588, 2026-04-13: [PDF](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/FC/PDF/2026SB-00400-R000588-FC.PDF)
- JUD Joint Favorable Substitute, 2026-03-24: [PDF](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/TOB/S/PDF/2026SB-00400-R01-SB.PDF)
- Raised Bill, 2026-03-03: [PDF](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/TOB/S/PDF/2026SB-00400-R00-SB.PDF)
- Bill Analysis For File Copy 588: [PDF](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/BA/PDF/2026SB-00400-R000588-BA.PDF)
- Fiscal Note For File Copy 588: [PDF](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/FN/PDF/2026SB-00400-R000588-FN.PDF)
- House Roll Call Vote 236: [PDF](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/VOTE/H/PDF/2026HV-00236-R00SB00400-HV.PDF)
- JUD Joint Fav. Rpt: [PDF](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/JFR/S/PDF/2026SB-00400-R00JUD-JFR.PDF)
- JUD Vote Tally Sheet (Joint Favorable Substitute): [PDF](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/TS/S/PDF/2026SB-00400-R00JUD-CV86-TS.PDF)
- JUD Vote Tally Sheet-A (Joint Favorable Substitute): [PDF](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/TS/S/PDF/2026SB-00400-R00JUDA-CV87-TS.PDF)
- Senate Roll Call Vote 166: [PDF](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/VOTE/S/PDF/2026SV-00166-R00SB00400-SV.PDF)
- Summary for Public Act No. 26-87: [PDF](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/SUM/PDF/2026SUM00087-R01SB-00400-SUM.PDF)

## Related bills

- SB 00370: AN ACT CONCERNING THE HOURLY COMPENSATION FOR ADJUNCT FIRE INSTRUCTORS. (signed)
- SB 00391: AN ACT CONCERNING THE AVAILABILITY OF BREAST CANCER SCREENING, DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT SERVICES FOR WOMEN COMMITTED TO THE CUSTODY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECT… (signed)
- SB 00335: AN ACT CONCERNING UTILITY CHARGES FOR RESIDENTIAL DWELLING UNITS. (signed)
- SB 00362: AN ACT CONCERNING REVISIONS TO STATUTES RELATING TO MUNICIPAL PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENT. (signed)
- SB 00220: AN ACT CONCERNING STUDENT LITERACY, ASPIRING EDUCATORS, AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE AS PART OF THE WORLD LANGUAGES CURRICULUM AND THE PARAEDUCATOR HEALTH BENEFIT PL… (signed)
- SB 00247: AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE AUDITORS OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS. (signed)

## Sources
- [Public Act No. 26-87 (PDF)](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/ACT/PA/PDF/2026PA-00087-R00SB-00400-PA.PDF)
- [File No. 588 (PDF)](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/FC/PDF/2026SB-00400-R000588-FC.PDF)
- [JUD Joint Favorable Substitute (PDF)](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/TOB/S/PDF/2026SB-00400-R01-SB.PDF)
- [Raised Bill (PDF)](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/TOB/S/PDF/2026SB-00400-R00-SB.PDF)
- [Bill Analysis For File Copy 588 (PDF)](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/BA/PDF/2026SB-00400-R000588-BA.PDF)
- [Fiscal Note For File Copy 588 (PDF)](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/FN/PDF/2026SB-00400-R000588-FN.PDF)
- [House Roll Call Vote 236 (PDF)](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/VOTE/H/PDF/2026HV-00236-R00SB00400-HV.PDF)
- [JUD Joint Fav. Rpt (PDF)](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/JFR/S/PDF/2026SB-00400-R00JUD-JFR.PDF)
- [JUD Vote Tally Sheet (Joint Favorable Substitute) (PDF)](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/TS/S/PDF/2026SB-00400-R00JUD-CV86-TS.PDF)
- [JUD Vote Tally Sheet-A (Joint Favorable Substitute) (PDF)](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/TS/S/PDF/2026SB-00400-R00JUDA-CV87-TS.PDF)
- [Senate Roll Call Vote 166 (PDF)](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/VOTE/S/PDF/2026SV-00166-R00SB00400-SV.PDF)
- [Summary for Public Act No. 26-87 (PDF)](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/SUM/PDF/2026SUM00087-R01SB-00400-SUM.PDF)

## Related
- [SB 00370: AN ACT CONCERNING THE HOURLY COMPENSATION FOR ADJUNCT FIRE INSTRUCTORS.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/CT-SB00370-2026)
- [SB 00391: AN ACT CONCERNING THE AVAILABILITY OF BREAST CANCER SCREENING, DIAGNOSIS AND TR…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/CT-SB00391-2026)
- [SB 00335: AN ACT CONCERNING UTILITY CHARGES FOR RESIDENTIAL DWELLING UNITS.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/CT-SB00335-2026)
- [SB 00362: AN ACT CONCERNING REVISIONS TO STATUTES RELATING TO MUNICIPAL PROPERTY TAX ASSE…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/CT-SB00362-2026)
- [SB 00220: AN ACT CONCERNING STUDENT LITERACY, ASPIRING EDUCATORS, AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/CT-SB00220-2026)
- [SB 00247: AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE AUDITORS OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/CT-SB00247-2026)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/CT-SB00400-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).