General Assembly		Committee Bill No. 328
January Session, 2013		LCO No. 3472
		*_____SB00328KIDJUD030113____*
Referred to Committee on CHILDREN
Introduced by:
(KID)

AN ACT CONCERNING MINORS AND VIOLENT POINT-AND-SHOOT VIDEO GAMES.

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

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2013) (a) For purposes of this section, "facsimile of a firearm" means (1) any imitation of a firearm, as defined in subdivision (19) of section 53a-3 of the general statutes, which was manufactured, designed and produced since 1898, or (2) any representation of a firearm, other than an imitation of an original firearm, that a reasonable person would understand was intended to depict a weapon of violence; and "violent point-and-shoot video game" means any electronic gaming device that utilizes a facsimile of a firearm as an essential component of game play.

(b) No owner or operator of any public establishment or amusement arcade shall allow any individual under eighteen years of age to operate a violent point-and-shoot video game on the premises of such establishment or arcade.

(c) Any person who violates the provisions of subsection (b) of this section shall have committed an infraction.

Sec. 2. (Effective October 1, 2013) (a) There is established a Violent Video Game Task Force within the Department of Children and Families to study the effects of violent video games on youth behavior. The task force shall consist of the following members: (1) The Commissioner of Children and Families, or said commissioner's designee, (2) the Commissioner of Social Services, or said commissioner's designee, (3) the Commissioner of Correction, or said commissioner's designee, (4) the executive director of the Court Support Services Division of the Judicial Branch, or said director's designee, (5) the Chief State's Attorney, or said attorney's designee, (6) one member of the General Assembly appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, (7) one member of the General Assembly appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, (8) one member of the General Assembly appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, (9) one member of the General Assembly appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, (10) one member of the General Assembly appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, (11) one member of the General Assembly appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, and (12) one member designated by the Commission on Children.

(b) The Violent Video Game Task Force shall: (1) Study the effects of violent video games on youth behavior; (2) make recommendations to the General Assembly and the Governor for new or enhanced policies to address the findings of the task force; (3) gather and maintain current information regarding violent video games that can be used to better understand the impact of violent video games on youth behavior; and (4) advise the General Assembly and Governor concerning the coordination and administration of state programs that may reduce the effects of violent video games on youth behavior.

(c) Not later than October 1, 2014, the task force shall submit in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes a report to the General Assembly and the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children specifying the task force's findings and recommendations pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	October 1, 2013	New section
Sec. 2	October 1, 2013	New section

KID

Joint Favorable C/R

JUD