Senate Bill No. 763
Public Act No. 21-122
AN ACT REQUIRING DRIVERS OF PARATRANSIT VEHICLES TO
REPORT SUSPECTED ABUSE, NEGLECT, EXPLOITATION OR
ABANDONMENT OF ELDERLY PERSONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 17b-451 of the general statutes is
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1,
2021):
(a) A mandatory reporter [, as defined in this section,] who has
reasonable cause to suspect or believe that any elderly person has been
abused, neglected, exploited or abandoned, or is in a condition that is
the result of such abuse, neglect, exploitation or abandonment, or is in
need of protective services, shall, not later than seventy-two hours after
such suspicion or belief arose, report such information or cause a report
to be made in any reasonable manner to the Commissioner of Social
Services or to the person or persons designated by the commissioner to
receive such reports. [The term "mandatory reporter" means (1) any
physician or surgeon licensed under the provisions of chapter 370, (2)
any resident physician or intern in any hospital in this state, whether or
not so licensed, (3) any registered nurse, (4) any nursing home
administrator, nurse's aide or orderly in a nursing home facility or
residential care home, (5) any person paid for caring for a resident in a Senate Bill No. 763
Public Act No. 21-122 2 of 3
nursing home facility or residential care home, (6) any staff person
employed by a nursing home facility or residential care home, (7) any
residents' advocate, other than a representative of the Office of the Long-
Term Care Ombudsman, as established under section 17a -405,
including the State Ombudsman, (8) any licensed practical nurse,
medical examiner, dentist, optometrist, chiropractor, podiatrist, social
worker, clergyman, police officer, pharmacist, psychologist or physical
therapist, (9) any person paid for caring for an elderly person by any
institution, organization, agency or facility, including without
limitation, any employee of a community-based services provider,
senior center, home care agency, homemaker and companion agency,
adult day care center, village-model community and congregate
housing facility, and (10) any person licensed or certified as an
emergency medical services provider pursuant to chapter 368d or
chapter 384d, including any such emergency medical services provider
who is a member of a municipal fire department.] Any mandatory
reporter who fails to make such report within the prescribed time
[period] shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars, except that,
if such person intentionally fails to make such report within the
prescribed time period, such person shall be guilty of a class C
misdemeanor for the first offense and a class A misdemeanor for any
subsequent offense. Any institution, organization, agency or facility
employing individuals to care for persons sixty years of age or older
shall provide mandatory training on detecting potential abuse, neglect,
exploitation and abandonment of such persons and inform such
employees of their obligations under this section. For purposes of this
subsection, ["person paid for caring for an elderly person by any
institution, organization, agency or facility" includes an employee of a
community-based services provider, senior center, home health care
agency, homemaker and companion agency, adult day care center,
village-model community and congregate housing facility] "mandatory
reporter" means any (1) physician or surgeon licensed under the
provisions of chapter 370, (2) resident physician or intern in any hospital Senate Bill No. 763
Public Act No. 21-122 3 of 3
in this state, whether or not so licensed, (3) registered nurse, (4) nursing
home administrator, nurse's aide or orderly in a nursing home facility
or residential care home, (5) person paid for caring for a resident in a
nursing home facility or residential care home, (6) staff person
employed by a nursing home facility or residential care home, (7)
residents' advocate, other than a representative of the Office of the Long-
Term Care Ombudsman, as established under section 17a -405,
including the State Ombudsman, (8) licensed practical nurse, medical
examiner, dentist, optometrist, chiropractor, podiatrist, social worker,
clergyman, police officer, pharmacist, psychologist or physical
therapist, (9) person paid for caring for an elderly person by any
institution, organization, agency or facility, including but not limited to,
any employee of a community-based services provider, senior center,
home care agency, homemaker and companion agency, adult day care
center, village-model community and congregate housing facility, (10)
person licensed or certified as an emergency medical services provider
pursuant to chapter 368d or 384d, including any such emergency
medical services provider who is a member of a municipal fire
department, and (11) driver of a paratransit vehicle, as defined in section
13b-38k.