Substitute House Bill No. 6302
Special Act No. 21-16
AN ACT STUDYING THE CONSOLIDATION OF PUBLIC SAFETY
ANSWERING POINTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a task force
to study the current system of public safety answering points and make
recommendations for consolidating such answering points while
prioritizing the need to ensure public safety. The task force shall
consider and make recommendations regarding: (1) The establishment
of state goals regarding consolidation, (2) the definition of regional
public safety answering point, (3) any challenges to consolidation
presented by existing collective bargaining agreements, (4) issues that
may arise in municipalities that would no longer have an individual
physically located within the municipality to act as a dispatcher at all
times after consolidation, (5) timeframes for consolidation, (6) where
and how to locate regional public safety answering points, (7) ways to
enhance the skills of telecommunicators, as defined in section 28-30 of
the general statutes, and personnel providing emergency medical
dispatch, as defined in section 28-25 of the general statutes, including
recommendations regarding training standards and performance
accountability, (8) the governance structure for regional public safety
answering points, and (9) any other related issues the task force deems
appropriate. Substitute House Bill No. 6302
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(b) The task force shall consist of the following members:
(1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives,
one of whom is a representative of the Connecticut Conference of
Municipalities and one of whom is a representative of a labor
organization representing employees of public safety answering points;
(2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one of
whom is a representative of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association
and one of whom is a representative of the Uniformed Professional Fire
Fighters Association of Connecticut;
(3) Two appointed by the majority leader of the House of
Representatives, one of whom is a member of the joint standing
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters
relating to public safety and security and one of whom is a current or
former director of a regional public safety answering point;
(4) Two appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, one of whom
is a representative of the Managers of Emergency Communication
Centers Association and one of whom is a representative of the
Connecticut Emergency Medical Services Advisory Board;
(5) Two appointed by the minority leader of the House of
Representatives, one of whom is a representative of the Connecticut Fire
Chiefs Association and one of whom is a representative of the
Connecticut Council of Small Towns;
(6) Two appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, one of whom
is a representative of the Connecticut Association of Councils of
Government and one of whom is a member of the joint standing
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters
relating to planning and development;
(7) The commanding officer of the Division of State Police within the Substitute House Bill No. 6302
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Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, or the
commanding officer's designee;
(8) The director of the Division of State-Wide Emergency
Telecommunications within the Department of Emergency Services and
Public Protection, or the director's designee; and
(9) The undersecretary of the Intergovernmental Policy and Planning
Division within the Office of Policy and Management, or the
undersecretary's designee.
(c) Any member of the task force appointed under subdivision (1),
(2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) of subsection (b) of this section may be a member
of the General Assembly.
(d) All initial appointments to the task force shall be made not later
than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall
be filled by the appointing authority.
(e) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro
tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force from
among the members of the task force. Such chairpersons shall schedule
the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than sixty
days after the effective date of this section. Such chairpersons may
establish subcommittees of the members as needed and designate a
chairperson of each such subcommittee.
(f) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public safety
and security shall serve as administrative staff of the task force.
(g) The task force shall submit, in accordance with the provisions of
section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committees of
the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public
safety and security and planning and development: (1) An interim Substitute House Bill No. 6302
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report on the findings and recommendations of the task force not later
than February 1, 2022, and (2) a final report on the findings and
recommendations of the task force not later than January 1, 2023. The
task force shall terminate on the date that it submits such final report or
January 1, 2023, whichever is later.