Connecticut State Police Union v. James Rovella, Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection

In response to an increase in false and anonymous complaints made against state troopers, the petitioner, the Connecticut State Police Union (“CSPU”), negotiated in its collective bargaining agreement for the right to exempt from Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) internal affairs investigations of state troopers with the disposition of “exonerated, unfounded or not sustained.” In 2018, when the agreement was adopted, Connecticut law allowed the parties to negotiate over this term. General Statutes § 5-278(e) (Rev. 2019). In 2020, the legislature adopted Public Act 20-1, “An Act Concerning Police Accountability,” which retroactively removed this provision of CSPU’s collective bargaining agreement. The question presented in this appeal is: Whether Connecticut Public Act 20-1, “An Act Concerning Police Accountability,” violates the Contracts Clause, Article I, Section 10, of the United States Constitution because it retroactively eliminates a provision of the Connecticut State Police Union’s collective bargaining agreement that had protected from public disclosure false or unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct made against state troopers.