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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5447
February Session, 2020
LCO No. 2293
Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES
Introduced by:
(HS)
AN ACT CONCERNING TE CHNICAL AND CLARIFYING REVISIONS
TO THE HUMAN SERVICE S STATUTES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (d) of section 19a-132 of the 2020 supplement to 1
the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 2
thereof (Effective July 1, 2020): 3
(d) [Members shall serve at the will of the speaker of the House of 4
Representatives and the president pro tempore of the Senate, who may 5
each appoint additional members and set term limits for each member.] 6
Appointments to the network shall be made not later than sixty days 7
after the effective date of this section. Members shall choose 8
chairpersons [. Any vacancy shall be filled by the speaker of the House 9
of Representatives, acting in consultation with the president pro 10
tempore of the Senate] from among the network's members. 11
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 17a-217a of the 2020 supplement to 12
the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 13
thereof (Effective July 1, 2020): 14 Raised Bill No. 5447
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(a) There shall be a Camp Harkness Advisory Committee to advise 15
the Commissioner of Developmental Services with respect to issues 16
concerning the health and safety of persons who attend and utilize the 17
facilities at Camp Harkness. The advisory committee shall be composed 18
of twelve members as follows: (1) Six members appointed by the 19
Governor, one of whom shall be the director of Camp Harkness, who 20
shall serve ex officio, one of whom shall represent the Southeastern 21
Connecticut Association for Developmental Disabilities, one of whom 22
shall represent the Southbury Training School, one of whom shall 23
represent the Arc of New London County, one of whom shall be a 24
person who uses the camp on a residential basis and one of whom shall 25
be a relative or guardian of a person who uses the camp; and (2) six 26
members appointed by the General Assembly, one of whom shall be a 27
relative or guardian of a person who uses the camp, who shall be 28
appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate; one of whom 29
shall be a member of the Family Support Council, established pursuant 30
to section 17a-219c, and represent persons who use the camp on a day 31
basis, who shall be appointed by the speaker of the House of 32
Representatives; one of whom shall represent the board of selectmen of 33
the town of Waterford, who shall be appointed by the majority leader of 34
the House of Representatives; one of whom shall represent a private 35
nonprofit corporation that is: (A) Tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of 36
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent internal revenue 37
code of the United States, as amended from time to time, and (B) 38
established to promote and support Camp Harkness and its camping 39
programs, who shall be appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; 40
one of whom shall represent the Connecticut Institute for the Blind and 41
the Oak Hill School, who shall be appointed by the minority leader of 42
the House of Representatives; and one of whom shall represent the 43
United Cerebral Palsy Association, who shall be appointed by the 44
minority leader of the Senate. 45
Sec. 3. Subsection (c) of section 17a-314 of the 2020 supplement to the 46
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 47
thereof (Effective July 1, 2020): 48 Raised Bill No. 5447
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(c) The program shall provide: (1) Toll-free telephone access for 49
consumers to obtain advice and information on Medicare benefits, 50
including prescription drug benefits available through the Medicare 51
Part D program, the Medicare appeals process, health insurance matters 52
applicable to Medicare beneficiaries and long-term care options 53
available in the state at least five days per week during normal business 54
hours; (2) information, advice and representation, where appropriate, 55
concerning the Medicare appeals process, by a qualified attorney or 56
paralegal at least five days per week during normal business hours; (3) 57
information through appropriate means and format, including written 58
materials, to Medicare beneficiaries, their families, senior citizens and 59
organizations regarding Medicare benefits, including prescription drug 60
benefits available through Medicare Part D and other pharmaceutical 61
drug company programs and long-term care options available in the 62
state; (4) information concerning Medicare plans and services, private 63
insurance policies and federal and state-funded programs that are 64
available to beneficiaries to supplement Medicare coverage; (5) 65
information permitting Medicare beneficiaries to compare and evaluate 66
their options for delivery of Medicare and supplemental insurance 67
services; (6) information concerning the procedure to appeal a denial of 68
care and the procedure to request an expedited appeal of a denial of 69
care; and (7) any other information the program or the Commissioner of 70
[Rehabilitation] Aging and Disability Services deems relevant to 71
Medicare beneficiaries. 72
Sec. 4. Section 17a-422 of the 2020 supplement to the general statutes 73
is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 74
1, 2020): 75
(a) The Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman shall develop and 76
implement a pilot program, within available appropriations, to provide 77
assistance and education to residents of managed residential 78
communities, as defined in section 19a-693, who receive assisted living 79
services from an assisted living services agency licensed by the 80
Department of Public Health in accordance with chapter 368v. The 81
assistance and education provided under such pilot program shall 82 Raised Bill No. 5447
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include, but not be limited to: (1) Assistance and education for residents 83
who are temporarily admitted to a hospital or long-term care facility and 84
return to a managed residential community; (2) assistance and 85
education for residents with issues relating to a residency agreement for 86
a managed residential community; and (3) assistance and education for 87
residents to assure adequate and appropriate services are being 88
provided including, but not limited to, adequate and appropriate 89
services for individuals with cognitive impairments. 90
(b) The Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman shall develop and 91
implement the pilot program in cooperation with managed residential 92
communities and assisted living services agencies. Priority of assistance 93
and education shall be given to residents of managed residential 94
communities who participate in subsidized assisted living programs 95
authorized under sections 8-206e, 17b-347e, 17b-365, 17b-366 and 19a-96
6c. To the extent allowed by available appropriations, the Long-Term 97
Care Ombudsman shall also provide assistance and education under the 98
pilot program to residents in managed residential communities who do 99
not participate in said subsidized assisted living programs. 100
[(c) Not later than June 30, 2005, the Long-Term Care Ombudsman 101
shall submit a report on the pilot program to the Commissioners of 102
Aging and Disability Services and Public Health, to the joint standing 103
committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 104
relating to human services, public health and appropriations, and to the 105
select committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 106
relating to aging. The report shall be submitted in accordance with 107
section 11-4a.] 108
Sec. 5. Subsection (d) of section 17b-112l of the 2020 supplement to 109
the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 110
thereof (Effective July 1, 2020): 111
(d) A Two-Generational Advisory Board shall be established as part 112
of the initiative to advise the state, the legislature and the Secretary of 113
the Office of Policy and Management on how to foster family economic 114 Raised Bill No. 5447
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self-sufficiency in low income households through a comprehensive 115
two-generational service delivery approach for early child care, 116
education and workforce readiness. The board shall work in partnership 117
with philanthropic organizations, as available, to provide support, 118
technical assistance, guidance and best practices to the participating 119
communities in the initiative designated pursuant to subsection (c) of 120
this section. The board shall consist of (1) one member of the General 121
Assembly appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, 122
who shall serve as a cochairperson; (2) one member of the Senate 123
appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, who shall serve 124
as a cochairperson; (3) one member representing the interests of 125
business or trade organizations appointed by the majority leader of the 126
Senate; (4) one member with expertise on issues concerning physical 127
and mental health appointed by the majority leader of the House of 128
Representatives; (5) one member with expertise on issues concerning 129
children and families appointed by the minority leader of the Senate; (6) 130
one member of the General Assembly appointed by the minority leader 131
of the House of Representatives; (7) one member appointed by the 132
Governor; (8) [representatives] the following members appointed by the 133
executive director of the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, 134
Equity and Opportunity: (A) Representatives of nonprofit and 135
philanthropic organizations and scholars who are experts in two-136
generational programs and policies, including, but not limited to, at 137
least one such representative and scholar with experience in developing 138
strategies to achieve racial equity and social justice; [(9)] and (B) parent 139
or family leaders representing low-income households [selected by the 140
Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity,] 141
who shall constitute at least one-fourth of the board; and [(10)] (9) other 142
business and academic professionals as needed to achieve goals for two-143
generational systems planning, evaluations and outcomes selected by 144
the cochairpersons. The Chief Court Administrator, or the Chief Court 145
Administrator's designee, shall serve as an ex-officio [members] 146
member of the advisory board. The staff of the Commission on Women, 147
Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity shall serve as the organizing 148
and administrative staff of the advisory board. 149 Raised Bill No. 5447
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Sec. 6. Section 17b-236 of the 2020 supplement to the general statutes 150
is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 151
1, 2020): 152
When there is found in any town in this state any child of sound mind 153
who is physically disabled or who is afflicted with poliomyelitis or 154
rheumatic fever, or any [uncontagious] noncontagious disabling 155
disease, and who is unable to pay and whose relatives who are legally 156
liable for his support are unable to pay the full cost of treating such 157
disease, if such child and one of such relatives reside in this state, the 158
selectmen of such town, or the guardian or any relative of such child, or 159
any public health agency, physician or advanced practice registered 160
nurse in this state, may make application to The Children's Center, 161
located at Hamden, for the admission of such child to said center. Said 162
center shall admit such child if such child is pronounced by a physician 163
or advanced practice registered nurse on the staff of said center, after 164
examination, to be fit for admission, and said center shall keep and 165
support such child for such length of time as it deems proper. Said 166
center shall not be required to admit any such child unless it can 167
conveniently receive and care for him at the time such application is 168
made, and said center may return to the town in which such child 169
resides any child so taken who is pronounced by a physician or 170
advanced practice registered nurse on the staff of said center, after 171
examination, to be unfit for retention, or who, by reason of improvement 172
in his condition or completion of his treatment or training, ought not to 173
be further retained. The center may refuse to admit any child who is 174
pronounced by a physician or advanced practice registered nurse on the 175
staff of said center, after examination, to be unfit for admission, and may 176
refuse to admit any such child when the facilities at the center will not, 177
in the judgment of said physician or advanced practice registered nurse, 178
permit the center to care for such child adequately and properly. 179
Sec. 7. Subsection (d) of section 17b-245e of the 2020 supplement to 180
the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 181
thereof (Effective July 1, 2020): 182 Raised Bill No. 5447
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(d) Not later than August 1, 2020, the commissioner shall submit a 183
report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the joint 184
standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of 185
matters relating to human services and public health on (1) the 186
categories of health care services in which the department is utilizing 187
telehealth services, (2) [in what] the cities or regions of the state such 188
services are being offered, and (3) any cost savings realized by the state 189
by providing telehealth services. 190
Sec. 8. Subsection (c) of section 17b-260a of the 2020 supplement to 191
the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 192
thereof (Effective July 1, 2020): 193
(c) There is established an advisory committee for the waiver 194
program established pursuant to subsection (b) of this section consisting 195
of the chairpersons and ranking members of the joint standing 196
committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 197
relating to human services, public health and appropriations and the 198
budgets of state agencies, or their designees, provided such designees 199
shall include consumers and providers of services under said waiver 200
program. The Commissioners of Social Services and Mental Health and 201
Addiction Services, or their designees, shall also serve on the advisory 202
committee. The chairpersons of the advisory committee shall be: (1) A 203
chairperson of said joint standing committees, or such chairperson's 204
designee, chosen by the chairpersons of said joint standing committees; 205
(2) a ranking member of said joint standing committees, or such ranking 206
member's designee, chosen by the ranking members of said joint 207
standing committees; and (3) the Commissioner of Social Services or the 208
Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, or [such] a 209
[commissioner's] designee, jointly chosen by [such] said commissioners. 210
The advisory committee shall meet once annually and shall submit an 211
initial report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, not 212
later than February 1, 2015, to the joint standing committees of the 213
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to human 214
services, public health and appropriations and the budgets of state 215
agencies on the impact of the individual cost cap for the waiver program 216 Raised Bill No. 5447
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established pursuant to subsection (b) of this section and any other 217
matters the advisory committee deems appropriate. For purposes of this 218
subsection, "individual cost cap" means the percentage of the cost of 219
institutional care for an individual that may be spent on any one waiver 220
program participant. 221
Sec. 9. Subsection (c) of section 17b-352 of the 2020 supplement to the 222
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 223
thereof (Effective July 1, 2020): 224
(c) A facility may submit a petition for closure to the Department of 225
Social Services. The Department of Social Services may authorize the 226
closure of a facility if the facility's management demonstrates to the 227
satisfaction of the Commissioner of Social Services in the petition for 228
closure that the facility (1) is not viable based on actual and projected 229
operating losses; (2) has an occupancy rate of less than seventy per cent 230
of the facility's licensed bed capacity; (3) closure is consistent with the 231
strategic rebalancing plan developed in accordance with section 17b-232
369, including bed need by geographical region; (4) is in compliance 233
with the requirements of Sections 1128I(h) and 1819(h)(4) of the Social 234
Security Act and 42 CFR 483.75; and (5) is not providing special services 235
that would [go unmet] not be available if the facility closes. The 236
department shall review a petition for closure to the extent it deems 237
necessary and the facility shall submit information the department 238
requests or deems necessary to substantiate that the facility closure is 239
consistent with the provisions of this subsection. The facility shall 240
submit information the department requests or deems necessary to 241
allow the department to provide oversight during this process. The 242
Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman shall be notified by the 243
facility at the same time as a petition for closure is submitted to the 244
department. Any facility acting pursuant to this subsection shall 245
provide written notice, on the same date that the facility submits its 246
petition for closure, to all patients, guardians or conservators, if any, or 247
legally liable relatives or other responsible parties, if known, and shall 248
post such notice in a conspicuous location at the facility. The facility's 249
written notice shall be accompanied by an informational letter issued 250 Raised Bill No. 5447
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jointly from the Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman and the 251
Department of [Rehabilitation] Aging and Disability Services on 252
patients' rights and services available as they relate to the petition for 253
closure. The informational letter shall also state the date and time that 254
the Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman and the Department of 255
Public Health will hold an informational session at the facility for 256
patients, guardians or conservators, if any, and legally liable relatives or 257
other responsible parties, if known, about their rights and the process 258
concerning a petition for closure. The notice shall state: (A) The date the 259
facility submitted the petition for closure, (B) that only the Department 260
of Social Services has the authority to either grant or deny the petition 261
for closure, (C) that the Department of Social Services has up to thirty 262
days to grant or deny the petition for closure, (D) a brief description of 263
the reason or reasons for submitting the petition for closure, (E) that no 264
patient shall be involuntarily transferred or discharged within or from 265
a facility pursuant to state and federal law because of the filing of a 266
petition for closure, (F) that all patients have a right to appeal any 267
proposed transfer or discharge, and (G) the name, mailing address and 268
telephone number of the Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman 269
and local legal aid office. The commissioner shall grant or deny a 270
petition for closure [within] not later than thirty days [of] after receiving 271
such request. 272
Sec. 10. Subsection (e) of section 17b-650a of the 2020 supplement to the 273
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 274
thereof (Effective July 1, 2020): 275
(e) The Department of Aging and Disability Services shall constitute 276
a successor department to the former Department on Aging and the 277
former Department of Rehabilitation Services, in accordance with the 278
provisions of sections 4-38d, 4-38e and 4-39. Wherever the words 279
"Commissioner on Aging" or "Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services" 280
are used in the general statutes, the words "Commissioner of Aging and 281
Disability Services" shall be substituted in lieu thereof. Wherever the 282
words "Department on Aging" or "Department of Rehabilitation 283
Services" are used in the general statutes, the words "Department of 284 Raised Bill No. 5447
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Aging and Disability Services" shall be substituted in lieu thereof. Any 285
order or regulation of the former Department on Aging or the former 286
Department of Rehabilitation Services that is in force on the effective 287
date of this section shall continue in force and effect as an order or 288
regulation of the Department of Aging and Disability Services until 289
amended, repealed or superseded pursuant to law.290
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2020 19a-132(d)
Sec. 2 July 1, 2020 17a-217a(a)
Sec. 3 July 1, 2020 17a-314(c)
Sec. 4 July 1, 2020 17a-422
Sec. 5 July 1, 2020 17b-112l(d)
Sec. 6 July 1, 2020 17b-236
Sec. 7 July 1, 2020 17b-245e(d)
Sec. 8 July 1, 2020 17b-260a(c)
Sec. 9 July 1, 2020 17b-352(c)
Sec. 10 July 1, 2020 17b-650a(e)
Statement of Purpose:
To make technical and clarifying changes to statutes concerning human
services.
[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.]