General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 936
January Session, 2013 *_____SB00936AGEPH_030713____*
General Assembly
Substitute Bill No. 936
January Session, 2013
*_____SB00936AGEPH_030713____*
AN ACT CONCERNING CARE OF DISPLACED PERSONS AT SHELTERS AND NURSING HOMES DURING A WEATHER EMERGENCY.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2013) (a) (1) For purposes of this section and section 2 of this act, "nursing home facility" has the same meaning as provided in section 19a-521 of the general statutes, (2) "state of emergency" means a declaration by the Governor pursuant to section 28-9 of the general statutes, (3) "disabilities" has the same meaning as provided in 42 USC 12102, and (4) "emergency shelter" means a facility designated in a state, city, town or regional emergency plan of operation to provide refuge to state residents.
(b) The Commissioner of Public Health shall establish a streamlined waiver approval process for nursing home facilities to provide care and shelter to state residents displaced during a state of emergency. Such process shall include, but not be limited to: (1) A waiver provision allowing nursing home facilities to immediately take in displaced residents, regardless of the nursing home facility's approved bed capacity; and (2) reimbursement, within available federal and state emergency response funds, of reasonable costs at a rate to be determined by the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection, in consultation with the Commissioners of Social Services and Public Health.
(c) The Commissioner of Public Health, in consultation with the Commissioners of Social Services and Emergency Services and Public Protection, may adopt or amend regulations, in accordance with chapter 54 of the general statutes, to implement and administer the provisions of this section. The Commissioner of Public Health may implement policies and procedures necessary to administer the provisions of this section while in the process of adopting such policies and procedures as regulations, provided the Commissioner of Public Health prints notice of intent to adopt regulations in the Connecticut Law Journal not later than twenty days after the date of implementation. Policies and procedures implemented pursuant to this section shall be valid until the time final regulations are adopted.
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2013) (a) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection, acting in consultation with the Commissioner of Public Health, shall ensure that city, town and regional emergency plans of operation, established pursuant to section 28-7 of the general statutes, include: (1) A means to identify, to the extent reasonably possible, elderly persons and persons with disabilities who are receiving care in home and community-based settings and the level of care and services such persons will require in the event of an emergency; (2) the reasonably prompt provision of shelter and services, pursuant to section 1 of this act, for persons whose medical needs require care in a nursing home facility; (3) the provision of shelter, in accordance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 USC 12131 to 12134, inclusive, as amended from time to time, at municipal and state shelters for persons whose needs do not require hospitalization or medical care in a nursing home facility; (4) coordination with home care agencies and charitable organizations for the provision of assistance with major life activities, as defined in 42 USC 12102, to persons with disabilities at emergency shelters, provided persons providing such assistance have been subject to criminal background checks; and (5) the provision of shelter and services in the most appropriate and integrated setting based upon the needs of an elderly person or a person with disabilities. The commissioner shall make information and resources available to chief executive officers of cities and towns and local emergency management directors concerning their responsibilities for the provision of shelter and services under state law and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
(b) Any employee, officer or agent of an emergency shelter, or any volunteer assisting in the operation of such shelter, shall not be liable for any civil damages related to any personal injuries resulting from acts or omissions which may constitute ordinary negligence by such employee, officer, agent or volunteer in rendering assistance to any elderly person or person with disabilities with any major life activity, as defined in 42 USC 12102, while such person has taken refuge at the shelter during a state of emergency. The immunity provided in this subsection does not apply to acts or omissions constituting gross, wilful or wanton negligence.
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
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
AGE Joint Favorable Subst. C/R PH
AGE
Joint Favorable Subst. C/R
PH