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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6662
January Session, 2021
AN ACT DECLARING RAC ISM AS A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS AND
ESTABLISHING THE COM MISSION ON RACIAL EQUITY IN PUBLIC
HEALTH.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) It is hereby declared that 1
racism constitutes a public health crisis in this state and will continue to 2
constitute a public health crisis until the goal set forth in section 2 of this 3
act is attained, and the Commission on Racial Equity in Public Health is 4
terminated pursuant to said section. 5
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a 6
Commission on Racial Equity in Public Health, to document and make 7
recommendations to decrease the effect of racism on public health. The 8
commission shall be part of the Legislative Department. 9
(b) The commission shall consist of the following members: 10
(1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, 11
one who is a representative of a nonprofit organization that focuses on 12
racial equity issues and one who is a representative of Health Equity 13
Solutions; 14
(2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one 15 Substitute Bill No. 6662
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who is a representative of a violence intervention program using a 16
health-based approach to examine individuals post-incarceration and 17
policies for integration and one who is a representative of the 18
Connecticut Health Foundation; 19
(3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of 20
Representatives, who is a representative of the Katal Center for Equity, 21
Health, and Justice; 22
(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, who is a 23
representative of the Connecticut Children's Office for Community 24
Child Health; 25
(5) Two appointed by the minority leader of the House of 26
Representatives, one who is a physician educator associated with The 27
University of Connecticut who has experience and expertise in infant 28
and maternal care and who has worked on diversity and inclusion 29
policy and one who is a representative of the Partnership for Strong 30
Communities; 31
(6) Two appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, one who is a 32
medical professional with expertise in mental health and one who is a 33
representative of the Open Communities Alliance; 34
(7) The chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General 35
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public health; 36
(8) Two members of the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, appointed 37
by the caucus chairperson, 38
(9) One appointed by the Governor, who is a representative of the 39
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee of the Connecticut Bar 40
Association; 41
(10) The Commissioner of Public Health, or the commissioner's 42
designee; 43 Substitute Bill No. 6662
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(11) The Commissioner of Children and Families, or the 44
commissioner's designee; 45
(12) The Commissioner of Early Childhood, or the commissioner's 46
designee; 47
(13) The Commissioner of Social Services, or the commissioner's 48
designee; 49
(14) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, 50
or the commissioner's designee; 51
(15) The Commissioner of Education, or the commissioner's designee; 52
(16) The chief executive officer of the Connecticut Health Insurance 53
Exchange, or the chief executive officer's designee; 54
(17) The executive director of the Commission on Women, Children, 55
Seniors, Equity and Opportunity, or the executive director's designee; 56
(18) The executive director of the Office of Health Strategy, or the 57
executive director's designee; 58
(19) The Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, or the 59
secretary's designee; 60
(20) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, or 61
the commissioner's designee; and 62
(21) The Commissioner of Correction, or the commissioner's 63
designee. 64
(c) Any member of the commission appointed under subdivisions (1) 65
to (8), inclusive, of subsection (b) of this section may be a member of the 66
General Assembly. All initial appointments to the commission made 67
under subdivisions (1) to (9), inclusive of subsection (b) of this section 68
shall be made not later than sixty days after the effective date of this 69
section. Appointed members shall serve a term that is coterminous with 70 Substitute Bill No. 6662
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the appointing official and may serve more than one term. 71
(d) The Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, or the 72
secretary's designee, and the representative appointed under 73
subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this section as a representative of 74
Health Equity Solutions, shall serve as chairpersons of the commission. 75
Such chairpersons shall schedule the first meeting of the commission, 76
which shall be held not later than sixty days after the effective date of 77
this section. If appointments under subsection (b) of this section are not 78
made within such sixty-day period, the chairpersons may designate 79
individuals with the required qualifications stated for the applicable 80
appointment to serve on the commission until appointments are made 81
pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. 82
(e) Members shall continue to serve until their successors are 83
appointed. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority. Any 84
vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled for the 85
balance of the unexpired term. 86
(f) A majority of the membership shall constitute a quorum for the 87
transaction of any business and any decision shall be by a majority vote 88
of those present at a meeting. The commission may adopt rules of 89
procedure. 90
(g) The members of the commission shall serve without 91
compensation, but shall, within the limits of available funds, be 92
reimbursed for expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of 93
their duties. 94
(h) The commission, by majority vote, shall hire an executive director 95
to serve as administrative staff of the commission, who shall serve at the 96
pleasure of the commission. The commission may request the assistance 97
of the Joint Committee on Legislative Management in hiring the 98
executive director. The executive director may hire not more than two 99
executive assistants to assist in carrying out the duties of the 100
commission. 101 Substitute Bill No. 6662
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(i) The commission shall have the following powers and duties: To 102
(1) Support collaboration by bringing together partners from many 103
different sectors to recognize the links between health and other issue 104
and policy areas and build new partnerships to promote health and 105
equity and increase government efficiency; (2) create a comprehensive 106
strategic plan to eliminate health disparities and inequities across 107
sectors, in accordance with section 3 of this act; (3) study the impact that 108
the public health crisis of racism has on vulnerable populations within 109
diverse groups of the state population, including on the basis of race, 110
ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability, including, 111
but not limited to, Black American descendants of slavery; (4) obtain 112
from any legislative or executive department, board, commission or 113
other agency of the state or any organization or other entity such 114
assistance as necessary and available to carry out the purposes of this 115
section; (5) accept any gift, donation or bequest for the purpose of 116
performing the duties described in this section; (6) establish bylaws to 117
govern its procedures; and (7) perform such other acts as may be 118
necessary and appropriate to carry out the duties described in this 119
section, including, but not limited to, the creation of subcommittees. 120
(j) The commission shall engage with a diverse range of community 121
members, including people of color who identify as members of diverse 122
groups of the state population, including on the basis of race, ethnicity, 123
sexual orientation, gender identity and disability, who experience 124
inequities in health, to make recommendations to the relevant state 125
agencies or other entities on an ongoing basis concerning the following: 126
(1) Structural racism in the state's laws and regulations impacting public 127
health, where, as used in this subdivision, "structural racism" means a 128
system that structures opportunity and assigns value in a way that 129
disproportionally and negatively impacts Black, Indigenous, Latino or 130
Asian people or other people of color; (2) racial disparities in the state's 131
criminal justice system and its impact on the health and well-being of 132
individuals and families, including overall health outcomes and rates of 133
depression, suicide, substance use disorder and chronic disease; (3) 134
racial disparities in access to the resources necessary for healthy living, 135 Substitute Bill No. 6662
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including, but not limited to, access to adequate fresh food and physical 136
activity, public safety and the decrease of pollution in communities; (4) 137
racial disparities in health outcomes; (5) the impact of zoning 138
restrictions on the creation of housing disparities and such disparities' 139
impact on public health; (6) racial disparities in state hiring and 140
contracting processes; and (7) any suggestions to reduce the impact of 141
the public health crisis of racism within the vulnerable populations 142
studied under subdivision (3) of subsection (i) of this section. 143
(k) Not later than January 1, 2022, the commission shall determine, 144
using available scientifically based measurements, the percentages of 145
disparity in the state based on race, in the following areas: (1) Education 146
indicators, including kindergarten readiness, third grade reading 147
proficiency, scores on the mastery examination, administered pursuant 148
to section 10-14n of the general statutes, rates of school-based discipline, 149
high school graduation rates and retention rates after the first year of 150
study for institutions of higher education in the state, as defined in 151
section 3-22a of the general statutes; (2) health care utilization and 152
outcome indicators, including health insurance coverage rates, 153
pregnancy and infant health of outcomes, emergency room visits and 154
deaths related to conditions associated with exposure to environmental 155
pollutants, including respiratory ailments, quality of life, life 156
expectancy, lead poisoning and access to adequate healthy nutrition and 157
self-reported well-being surveys; (3) criminal justice indicators, 158
including rates of involvement with the justice system; and (4) economic 159
indicators, including rates of poverty, income and housing insecurity. 160
The commission shall not terminate until the commission determines 161
that the state has attained the goal of at least a seventy per cent reduction 162
in the racial disparities set forth in subdivisions (1) to (4), inclusive, of 163
this subsection from the percentage of disparities determined by the 164
commission on or before January 1, 2022. 165
(l) Not later than January 1, 2022, and every six months thereafter, the 166
commission shall submit a report to the Secretary of the Office of Policy 167
and Management and the joint standing committees of the General 168 Substitute Bill No. 6662
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Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public health and 169
appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, in accordance with the 170
provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, concerning (1) the 171
activities of the commission during the prior six-month period; (2) any 172
progress made in attaining the goal described in subsection (k) of this 173
section; (3) any recommended changes to such goal based on the 174
research conducted by the commission, any disparity study performed 175
by any state agency or entity, or any community input received; and (4) 176
any recommendations for policy changes or amendments to state law. 177
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) The Commission on Racial 178
Equity in Public Health, established under section 2 of this act, shall 179
develop and periodically update a comprehensive strategic plan to 180
eliminate health disparities and inequities across sectors, including 181
consideration of the following: Air and water quality, natural resources 182
and agricultural land, affordable housing, infrastructure systems, public 183
health, access to quality health care, social services, sustainable 184
communities and the impact of climate change. 185
(b) Such plan shall address the incorporation of health and equity into 186
specific policies, programs and government decision-making processes 187
including, but not limited to, the following: (1) Disparities in laws and 188
regulations impacting public health; (2) disparities in the criminal justice 189
system; (3) disparities in access to resources, including, but not limited 190
to, healthy food, safe housing, public safety and environments free of 191
excess pollution; and (4) disparities in access to quality health care. 192
Sec. 4. (Effective from passage) The Commissioner of Public Health shall 193
study the development and implementation of a recruitment and 194
retention program for health care workers in the state who are people of 195
color. Not later than January 1, 2022, the commissioner shall report the 196
results of such study, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a 197
of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General 198
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public health. Such 199
report shall include any legislative recommendations to improve the 200
recruitment and retention of people of color in the health care sector, 201 Substitute Bill No. 6662
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including, but not limited to, recommendations for the implementation 202
of such recruitment and retention program. 203
Sec. 5. (Effective from passage) The Department of Energy and 204
Environmental Protection shall perform an assessment of racial equity 205
within environmental health quality programs administered by said 206
department. Not later than January 1, 2022, the department shall submit 207
a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general 208
statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly 209
having cognizance of matters relating to the environment. Such report 210
shall include the results of such assessment and any legislative 211
recommendations to improve racial equity within such programs. 212
Sec. 6. (Effective from passage) (a) As used in this section, "cultural 213
humility" means a continuing commitment to (1) self-evaluation and 214
critique of one's own worldview with regard to differences in cultural 215
traditions and belief systems, and (2) awareness of, and active 216
mitigation of, power imbalances between cultures. 217
(b) The Office of Higher Education, in collaboration with the Board 218
of Regents for Higher Education and the Board of Trustees of The 219
University of Connecticut, shall evaluate the recruitment and retention 220
of people of color in health care preparation programs offered by the 221
constituent units of the state system of higher education and the 222
inclusion of cultural humility education in such programs. Not later 223
than January 1, 2022, the office shall submit a report, in accordance with 224
the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint 225
standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 226
matters relating to higher education. Such report shall include the 227
results of such evaluation and any legislative recommendations to 228
improve the recruitment and retention of people of color in such 229
programs and include additional cultural humility education in such 230
programs. 231
Sec. 7. Subsection (b) of section 2-128 of the general statutes is 232
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 233 Substitute Bill No. 6662
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passage): 234
(b) Not later than January first, annually, the executive director of the 235
commission shall submit a status report, organized by subcommission, 236
concerning its efforts in promoting the desired results listed in 237
subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section to the joint standing 238
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 239
relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies in 240
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a. On and after January 1, 241
2022, such report shall include the status of amendments to the joint 242
rules of the House of Representatives and the Senate concerning the 243
preparation of racial and ethnic impact statements pursuant to section 244
2-24b. 245
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 from passage New section
Sec. 3 from passage New section
Sec. 4 from passage New section
Sec. 5 from passage New section
Sec. 6 from passage New section
Sec. 7 from passage 2-128(b)
APP Joint Favorable Subst.