Assistance to blind persons in the signing of petitions

(a) Any provision of the general statutes to the contrary notwithstanding, a circulator of any petition shall, without subjecting himself to the penalties of false statement, accept the signature of an authorized agent, in the form and manner provided for in this section, who signs a petition which is authorized pursuant to any provision of the general statutes or any special act on behalf of a blind person, provided there is compliance with the procedures prescribed in subsection (b) of this section. (b) Any person who is blind, as defined in section 1-1f, may cause his name to be affixed to a petition which is authorized pursuant to any provision of the general statutes, or any special act, provided an authorized agent reads aloud the full text of the petition in the presence of the circulator, and the blind person consents to having his name appear thereon. In the event a blind person is unable to write, his authorized agent may write the name of such blind person followed by the word “by” and his own signature. Any provision of the general statutes to the contrary notwithstanding, no authorized agent who complies with the provisions of this subsection shall be prosecuted or subjected to criminal liability. No circulator shall act as an authorized agent.