General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5348
February Session, 2016 LCO No. 1035
*01035_______PRI*
Referred to Committee on PROGRAM REVIEW AND INVESTIGATIONS
Introduced by:
(PRI)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 5348
February Session, 2016
LCO No. 1035
*01035_______PRI*
Referred to Committee on PROGRAM REVIEW AND INVESTIGATIONS
Introduced by:
(PRI)
AN ACT STRENGTHENING COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION AMONG THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS, OTHER STATE AGENCIES AND MUNICIPALITIES BASED ON A PROGRAM REVIEW AND INVESTIGATION COMMITTEE STUDY.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) The Commissioner of Veterans' Affairs shall, in consultation with at least the Labor Commissioner and the Commissioner of Social Services, review (1) each service provided to veterans by each state agency, (2) the system of delivering each such service to veterans, and (3) whether office space or administrative functions across all such agencies may be consolidated to improve and better coordinate the structure of providing such service to veterans.
(b) Not later than December 31, 2016, the Commissioner of Veterans' Affairs shall submit a report to the Governor and the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to veterans' affairs, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, on (1) the results of the review described in subsection (a) of this section, and (2) any recommendation based on such results, together with the reason for any such recommendation. The Commissioner of Veterans' Affairs shall also provide a copy of such report to the Labor Commissioner and the Commissioner of Social Services.
(c) The Commissioner of Veterans' Affairs, the Labor Commissioner and the Commissioner of Social Services shall enter into a memorandum of understanding to effectuate the purposes of this section.
Sec. 2. Section 27-135 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2016):
(a) Any city or town, either separately or with one or more other cities and towns, may, by ordinance, establish a local veterans' advisory committee which shall have the responsibility of carrying out locally the duties and purposes of this section and, within their charter powers and as otherwise provided by law, may make available to such local committees the necessary funds to carry out their duties and responsibilities. The committee may (1) act as the coordinating agency in all matters concerning veterans and their dependents, coordinating the activities of public and private facilities concerned with veterans' reemployment, education, rehabilitation and adjustment to peacetime living; (2) cooperate with all national, state and local governmental and private agencies in securing services and benefits to which a veteran or his dependents may be entitled; (3) use the services and facilities of the veterans organizations so far as possible to carry out the purposes of this section; and (4) encourage and coordinate vocational training services for veterans.
(b) (1) Any city or town that [(1)] (A) has not established its own local veterans' advisory committee separate from one or more other cities or towns pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, and [(2)] (B) does not otherwise provide funding for a veterans' service officer shall designate a city or town employee to serve as a veterans' service contact person in such city or town. The Commissioner of Veterans' Affairs shall annually send to the chief executive officer of any such city or town an electronic notification of such chief executive officer's duty to so designate a city or town employee in accordance with this subsection. Such chief executive officer shall, not later than thirty days after receipt of such notification, submit to the veterans' advocacy and assistance unit, as described in subsection (b) of section 27-102l, as amended by this act, the name and electronic mail address of the city or town employee so designated. As used in this subparagraph, "chief executive officer" means the officer described in section 7-193.
(2) Any city or town employee designated as a veterans' service contact person shall carry out the duties described in subsection (a) of this section and [may complete an annual] shall complete a training course conducted by the veterans' advocacy and assistance unit. [, as described in subsection (b) of section 27-102l] Each veterans' service contact person so designated prior to July 1, 2016, shall complete such training course prior to January 1, 2017. Each veterans' service contact person so designated on or after July 1, 2016, shall complete such training course not later than six months after the date of such designation.
Sec. 3. Subsection (b) of section 27-102l of the 2016 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2016):
(b) (1) The commissioner may appoint a unit head to administer a veterans' advocacy and assistance unit for the aid and benefit of veterans [,] and their spouses, [and] eligible dependents and family members. [Such unit shall conduct an annual training course for any city or town employee designated a veterans' service contact person pursuant to subsection (b) of section 27-135.] The unit shall have a staff of not less than eight men and women, including six service officers, and clerical personnel. The unit head and the service officers shall be veterans, as defined in section 27-103, or veterans who were awarded the armed forces expeditionary medal for service by the armed forces. At least one of the service officers shall be a woman having a demonstrated interest in the concerns of women veterans, who shall be responsible for addressing those concerns, and, effective upon the next opening of a service officer position occurring on or after July 1, 2010, at least two of the service officers shall be individuals having bilingual proficiency in English and Spanish, within existing authorized positions. Each service officer shall successfully complete a course in veterans' benefits within one year of commencement of employment and shall be assigned to one of the five congressional districts of the state.
(2) The unit staff shall conduct a quarterly training course for any city or town employee designated a veterans' service contact person pursuant to subsection (b) of section 27-135, as amended by this act. The unit staff shall include in such training course a summary of state and federal services and benefits, the duties to be carried out by each veterans' service contact person, as described in subsection (a) of section 27-135, as amended by this act, and any assistance the unit staff may provide to any veterans' service contact person related to such duties. The unit staff shall, upon completion of each such training course, request feedback from each attending veterans' service contact person describing his or her satisfaction with the conduct and content of such training course and utilize such feedback to make any necessary modifications in such training course.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2016 27-135
Sec. 3 October 1, 2016 27-102l(b)
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
from passage
New section
Sec. 2
October 1, 2016
27-135
Sec. 3
October 1, 2016
27-102l(b)
Statement of Purpose:
To improve (1) collaboration among state agencies providing services to veterans, and (2) communication and coordination between the Department of Veterans' Affairs and municipalities in serving the state's veteran population.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]