Connecticut 2021 Regular Session

Connecticut House Bill HB05614 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

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4		-	House Bill No. 5614
	7	+	General Assembly Corrected Copy
	8	+	Committee Bill No. 5614
	9	+	January Session, 2021
	10	+	LCO No. 4506
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6		-	Special Act No. 21-37
	12	+
	13	+	Referred to Committee on COMMERCE
	14	+
	15	+
	16	+	Introduced by:
	17	+	(CE)
	18	+
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9	21		AN ACT ESTABLISHING A COMMISSION ON THE DISPARATE
10	22		IMPACT OF COVID-19.
11	23		Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
12	24		Assembly convened:
13	25
14		-	Section 1. (Effective July 1, 2021) (a) As used in this section, "COVID-
15		-	19" means the respiratory disease designated by the World Health
16		-	Organization on February 11, 2020, as coronavirus 2019, and any related
17		-	mutation thereof recognized by the World Health Organization as a
18		-	communicable respiratory disease.
19		-	(b) There is established a Commission on the Disparate Impact of
20		-	COVID-19, which shall be part of the Legislative Department. The
21		-	commission shall expire on June 20, 2023, or upon a two-thirds vote of
22		-	the membership of the commission, whichever is earlier.
23		-	(c) The commission, established in subsection (b) of this section, shall
24		-	consist of the following members:
25		-	(1) Four appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives,
26		-	who have expertise in evaluating disparities in education, housing and
27		-	human services;
28		-	(2) Four appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, who
29		-	have expertise in evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on essential House Bill No. 5614
	26	+	Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) As used in this section, 1
	27	+	"COVID-19" means the respiratory disease designated by the World 2
	28	+	Health Organization on February 11, 2020, as coronavirus 2019, and any 3
	29	+	related mutation thereof recognized by the World Health Organization 4
	30	+	as a communicable respiratory disease. 5
	31	+	(b) There is established a Commission on the Disparate Impact of 6
	32	+	COVID-19, which shall be part of the Legislative Department. 7
	33	+	(c) The commission, established in subsection (b) of this section, shall 8
	34	+	consist of the following members: 9
	35	+	(1) Four appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives 10
	36	+	who have expertise in evaluating disparities in education, housing and 11
	37	+	human services; 12 Committee Bill No. 5614
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31		-	Special Act No. 21-37 2 of 4
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33		-	workers;
34		-	(3) Three appointed by the majority leader of the House of
35		-	Representatives, two of whom have expertise in public health and
36		-	infectious diseases and one of whom shall be a teacher;
37		-	(4) Three appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, two of
38		-	whom have expertise in small business and one of whom shall be a
39		-	housing advocate;
40		-	(5) Three appointed by the minority leader of the House of
41		-	Representatives, two of whom have expertise in nursing homes and one
42		-	of whom shall be a representative of higher education;
43		-	(6) Three appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, two of
44		-	whom have expertise in health care delivery and one of whom has
45		-	expertise in the hospitality industry;
46		-	(7) A representative of the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus of the
47		-	General Assembly, who shall be appointed by the chairperson of said
48		-	caucus; and
49		-	(8) The executive director of the Commission on Women, Children,
50		-	Seniors, Equity and Opportunity, or the executive director's designee,
51		-	who shall be a nonvoting ex-officio member.
52		-	(d) Any member of the commission appointed under subsection (c)
53		-	of this section may be a member of the General Assembly.
54		-	(e) All initial appointments to the commission shall be made not later
55		-	than September 1, 2021.
56		-	(f) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro
57		-	tempore of the Senate shall select the chairperson of the commission
58		-	from among the members of the commission. Such chairperson shall
59		-	schedule the first meeting of the commission, which shall be held not House Bill No. 5614
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61		-	Special Act No. 21-37 3 of 4
	44	+	(2) Four appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate who 13
	45	+	have expertise in evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on essential 14
	46	+	workers; 15
	47	+	(3) Three appointed by the majority leader of the House of 16
	48	+	Representatives, two of whom have expertise in public health and 17
	49	+	infectious diseases and one of whom shall be a teacher; 18
	50	+	(4) Three appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, two of 19
	51	+	whom have expertise in small business and one of whom shall be a 20
	52	+	housing advocate; 21
	53	+	(5) Three appointed by the minority leader of the House of 22
	54	+	Representatives, two of whom have expertise in nursing homes and one 23
	55	+	of whom shall be a representative of higher education; 24
	56	+	(6) Three appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, two of 25
	57	+	whom have expertise in health care delivery and one of whom has 26
	58	+	expertise in the hospitality industry; 27
	59	+	(7) Four appointed by the Governor, who have expertise in 28
	60	+	evaluating racial, economic and health disparities; 29
	61	+	(8) A representative of the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus of the 30
	62	+	General Assembly, who shall be appointed by the chairperson of said 31
	63	+	caucus; and 32
	64	+	(9) The executive director of the Commission on Women, Children, 33
	65	+	Seniors, Equity and Opportunity, or the executive director's designee, 34
	66	+	who shall be a nonvoting ex-officio member. 35
	67	+	(d) Any member of the commission appointed under subsection (c) 36
	68	+	of this section may be a member of the General Assembly. 37
	69	+	(e) All initial appointments to the commission shall be made not later 38
	70	+	than September 1, 2021, and shall terminate on August 31, 2022, 39
	71	+	regardless of when the initial appointment was made. Any member of 40 Committee Bill No. 5614
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63		-	later than September 1, 2021.
64		-	(g) The administrative staff of the Commission on Women, Children,
65		-	Seniors, Equity and Opportunity shall serve as administrative staff of
66		-	the commission.
67		-	(h) Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority.
68		-	(i) A majority of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the
69		-	transaction of any business.
70		-	(j) The members of the commission shall serve without
71		-	compensation, but shall, within available funds, be reimbursed for
72		-	expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties.
73		-	(k) The commission shall have the following powers and duties: (1)
74		-	To analyze any disparate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on
75		-	different racial, ethnic, gender and socioeconomic groups in the state;
76		-	(2) to identify the causes for such disparate impact; (3) to assess the
77		-	effects of federal and state responses to the COVID-19 pandemic on such
78		-	disparate impact; (4) to appoint and convene at least two working
79		-	groups to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, one to focus
80		-	on the impact on education, housing and human services needs and
81		-	another to focus on the impact on labor, commerce and public health
82		-	needs; (5) to hold one or more public hearings as necessary to carry out
83		-	the purposes of this section; (6) to request from any executive
84		-	department, board, commission or other agency of the state such
85		-	assistance and data as necessary, reasonable and available to carry out
86		-	the purposes of this section; (7) to accept any gift, donation or bequest
87		-	for the purpose of performing the duties described in this section; (8) to
88		-	establish bylaws to govern its procedures; and (9) to perform such other
89		-	acts as may be necessary and appropriate to carry out the duties
90		-	described in this subsection.
91		-	(l) The commission shall meet as often as deemed necessary by the House Bill No. 5614
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93		-	Special Act No. 21-37 4 of 4
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95		-	chairperson.
96		-	(m) Not later than January 1, 2022, and annually thereafter, the
97		-	commission shall submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of
98		-	section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the Governor, the speaker of the
99		-	House of Representatives, the president pro tempore of the Senate, the
100		-	majority leader of the House of Representatives, the majority leader of
101		-	the Senate, the minority leader of the House of Representatives, the
102		-	minority leader of the Senate and the chairperson of the Black and
103		-	Puerto Rican Caucus of the General Assembly on (1) the results of the
104		-	commission's analysis pursuant to subsection (k) of this section, and (2)
105		-	recommendations for policy changes and amendments to the general
106		-	statutes necessary to address the causes for any disparate impact of the
107		-	COVID-19 pandemic and to improve outcomes during any future
108		-	pandemic.
	78	+	the commission may serve more than one term. 41
	79	+	(f) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro 42
	80	+	tempore of the Senate shall select the chairperson of the commission 43
	81	+	from among the members of the commission. Such chairperson shall 44
	82	+	schedule the first meeting of the commission, which shall be held not 45
	83	+	later than September 1, 2021. 46
	84	+	(g) The administrative staff of the Commission on Women, Children, 47
	85	+	Seniors, Equity and Opportunity shall serve as administrative staff of 48
	86	+	the commission. 49
	87	+	(h) Appointed members of the commission shall serve for two-year 50
	88	+	terms, which shall commence on the date of appointment, except as 51
	89	+	provided in subsection (e) of this section. Members shall continue to 52
	90	+	serve until their successors are appointed. 53
	91	+	(i) Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority. Any 54
	92	+	vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled for the 55
	93	+	balance of the unexpired term. 56
	94	+	(j) A majority of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the 57
	95	+	transaction of any business. 58
	96	+	(k) The members of the commission shall serve without 59
	97	+	compensation, but shall, within available funds, be reimbursed for 60
	98	+	expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties. 61
	99	+	(l) The commission shall have the following powers and duties: (1) 62
	100	+	To analyze any disparate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on 63
	101	+	different racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups in the state; (2) to 64
	102	+	identify the causes for such disparate impact; (3) to assess whether such 65
	103	+	disparate impact was worsened or corrected by state responses to the 66
	104	+	COVID-19 pandemic; (4) to appoint and convene at least two working 67
	105	+	groups to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, one to focus 68
	106	+	on the impact on education, housing and human services needs and 69
	107	+	another to focus on the impact on labor, commerce and public health 70 Committee Bill No. 5614
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	114	+	needs; (5) to hold one or more public hearings as necessary to carry out 71
	115	+	the purposes of this section; (6) to obtain from any executive 72
	116	+	department, board, commission or other agency of the state such 73
	117	+	assistance and data as necessary and available to carry out the purposes 74
	118	+	of this section; (7) to accept any gift, donation or bequest for the purpose 75
	119	+	of performing the duties described in this section; (8) to establish bylaws 76
	120	+	to govern its procedures; and (9) to perform such other acts as may be 77
	121	+	necessary and appropriate to carry out the duties described in this 78
	122	+	subsection. 79
	123	+	(m) The commission shall meet as often as deemed necessary by the 80
	124	+	chairperson. 81
	125	+	(n) Not later than January 1, 2022, and annually thereafter, the 82
	126	+	commission shall submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of 83
	127	+	section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the Governor, the speaker of the 84
	128	+	House of Representatives, the president pro tempore of the Senate, the 85
	129	+	majority leader of the House of Representatives, the majority leader of 86
	130	+	the Senate, the minority leader of the House of Representatives, the 87
	131	+	minority leader of the Senate and the chairperson of the Black and 88
	132	+	Puerto Rican Caucus of the General Assembly on (1) the results of the 89
	133	+	commission's analysis pursuant to subsection (l) of this section, and (2) 90
	134	+	recommendations for policy changes and amendments to the general 91
	135	+	statutes necessary to address the causes for any disparate impact of the 92
	136	+	COVID-19 pandemic and to improve outcomes during any future 93
	137	+	pandemic. 94
	138	+	This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
	139	+	sections:
	140	+
	141	+	Section 1 from passage New section
	142	+
	143	+	CE Joint Favorable
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