O F F I C E O F L E G I S L A T I V E R E S E A R C H
P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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PA 21-153—sHB 6034
Public Safety and Security Committee
AN ACT CONCERNING PR OJECT LONGEVITY
SUMMARY: This act expands the “Project Longevity Initiative” to Waterbury.
By law, Project Longevity is a comprehensive, community-based initiative to
reduce gun violence in Connecticut’s cities and is already required in New Haven,
Hartford, and Bridgeport.
Existing law requires the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) secretary,
in consultation with certain federal and state officials, to create a plan to
implement the initiative statewide. The act requires that the plan, at a minimum,
consider how to provide the initiative’s clients with access to courses and
apprentice programs provided by colleges, universities, community colleges, or
the Technical Education and Career System. By February 1, 2022, the secretary
must submit the plan to the Public Safety and Security Committee.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
IMPLEMENTATION
The act requires the OPM secretary, in order to ensure or support the
initiative’s implementation in Waterbury, to (1) provide planning and
management assistance to municipal officials in the city and (2) do anything
necessary to apply for and accept federal funds allotted or available to the state
under any federal act or program. As under existing law for the other cities, the
secretary may use state and federal funds as appropriated for the initiative’s
implementation.
To implement the initiative in Waterbury, the act also requires the secretary,
or her designee, to consult with Waterbury’s mayor; clergy members, nonprofit
service providers, and community leaders from the city; and the following federal
and state officials: (1) U.S. attorney for Connecticut, (2) chief state’s attorney, (3)
Department of Correction commissioner, and (4) Court Support Services Division
executive director.