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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 817
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 1708
Referred to Committee on AGING
Introduced by:
(AGE)
AN ACT CONCERNING SE NIOR CENTERS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 7-127b of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 2
(a) The chief elected official or the chief executive officer if by 3
ordinance of each municipality shall appoint a municipal agent for 4
elderly persons. Such agent shall be a staff member of a senior center, a 5
member of an agency that serves elderly persons in the municipality or 6
a responsible resident of the municipality who has demonstrated an 7
interest in the elderly or has been involved in programs in the field of 8
aging. 9
(b) The duties of the municipal agent may include, but shall not be 10
limited to: [,] (1) [disseminating] Disseminating information to elderly 11
persons, assisting such persons in learning about the community 12
resources available to them and publicizing such resources and benefits; 13
(2) assisting elderly persons to apply for federal and other benefits 14
available to such persons; and (3) reporting to the chief elected official 15 Raised Bill No. 817
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or chief executive officer of the municipality and the Department of 16
Aging and Disability Services any needs and problems of the elderly 17
and any recommendations for action to improve services to the elderly. 18
(c) Each municipal agent shall serve for a term of two or four years, 19
at the discretion of the appointing authority of each municipality, and 20
may be reappointed. If more than one agent is necessary to carry out the 21
purposes of this section, the appointing authority, in its discretion, may 22
appoint one or more assistant agents. The town clerk in each 23
municipality shall notify the Department of Aging and Disability 24
Services immediately of the appointment of a new municipal agent. 25
Each municipality may provide to its municipal agent resources 26
sufficient for such agent to perform the duties of the office. 27
(d) The Department of Aging and Disability Services shall adopt and 28
disseminate to municipalities guidelines as to the role and duties of 29
municipal agents and such informational and technical materials as may 30
assist such agents in performance of their duties. The department, in 31
cooperation with the area agencies on aging, may provide training for 32
municipal agents within the available resources of the department and 33
of the area agencies on aging. 34
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2021) (a) Any one or more 35
municipalities, or any one or more private organizations that serve older 36
persons and are designated to act as agents of one or more 37
municipalities, may establish a multipurpose senior center, as defined 38
in Title I of the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended from time to 39
time. 40
(b) A multipurpose senior center established pursuant to subsection 41
(a) of this section may, but need not be limited to, providing: (1) 42
Nutrition services; (2) health programs, including, but not limited to, 43
mental health, behavioral health and wellness programs; (3) 44
employment assistance; (4) intergenerational initiatives; (5) community 45
service and civic engagement opportunities; (6) public benefits 46
counseling; (7) socialization and educational opportunities; (8) 47 Raised Bill No. 817
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transportation; (9) peer counseling; (10) financial and retirement 48
counseling; (11) arts and recreation programs; and (12) case 49
management services. 50
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2021) Within available 51
appropriations, the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity 52
and Opportunity shall provide assistance to senior centers, which may 53
include, but need not be limited to: (1) Establishment and maintenance 54
of a list of senior centers and municipal services for older persons; (2) 55
establishment and maintenance of a list of resources for staff of senior 56
centers and municipal services for older persons; (3) development of 57
technical assistance for staff of senior centers and municipal services for 58
older persons through direct assistance or referral to expert resources; 59
(4) regular communication with staff of senior centers and municipal 60
services for older persons; (5) dissemination of information about local, 61
state and federal support and services of interest to senior centers and 62
municipal services for older persons; and (6) establishment and 63
facilitation of a state-wide senior center work group as described in 64
section 4 of this act. The executive director of the Commission on 65
Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity shall assign or 66
appoint necessary personnel to perform such duties. 67
Sec. 4. (Effective October 1, 2021) (a) There is established a state-wide 68
senior center working group to develop a coordinated plan of 69
development for senior centers and municipal services for older 70
persons. 71
(b) The working group shall: (1) Develop an annual plan for the 72
support and development of senior centers and municipal services for 73
older persons, including, but not limited to, training needs and the 74
coordination of existing resources; (2) evaluate the feasibility of 75
implementing standards for the delivery of core services and make 76
recommendations for such standards, including, but not limited to, 77
standards that allow for parity of core services across municipalities 78
while maintaining flexibility for delivery of those core services; (3) 79
consult with the five area agencies on aging and other agencies; (4) 80 Raised Bill No. 817
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facilitate coordination and communication between senior centers and 81
municipal services for older persons with executive branch 82
departments, including, but not limited to, the Departments of Aging 83
and Disability Services, Housing, Mental Health and Addiction 84
Services, Public Health, Social Services, Transportation and agencies 85
and initiatives that impact older persons in the community; (5) develop 86
and provide access to best practices and procedures for senior centers 87
and municipal services for older persons; and (6) make 88
recommendations to the joint standing committees of the General 89
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to aging, human 90
services, housing, planning and development, public health and 91
transportation for any necessary appropriations or legislative changes. 92
(c) The working group shall consist of the following members: 93
(1) Five representatives of senior centers, one from each of the five 94
planning and services areas, as described in section 17a-304 of the 95
general statutes, two appointed by the speaker of the House of 96
Representatives, two appointed by the president pro tempore of the 97
Senate, and one appointed by the majority leader of the House of 98
Representatives; 99
(2) Two representatives of the Connecticut Association of Senior 100
Center Personnel appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; 101
(3) One representative of the Connecticut Local Administrators of 102
Social Services appointed by the minority leader of the House of 103
Representatives; 104
(4) One representative from a senior center that is accredited by the 105
National Institute of Senior Centers appointed by the minority leader of 106
the Senate; 107
(5) One representative of the Connecticut Association of Municipal 108
Agents for the Elderly and one representative of a nonprofit senior 109
center, appointed by the Governor; 110 Raised Bill No. 817
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(6) The executive director of the Commission on Women, Children, 111
Seniors, Equity and Opportunity, who shall serve as chairperson of the 112
working group; 113
(7) The Commissioner of the Department of Aging and Disability 114
Services, or the commissioner's designee; and 115
(8) The Commissioner of Social Services, or the commissioner's 116
designee. 117
(d) Any member of the working group appointed under subdivision 118
(1), (2), (3) or (4) of subsection (c) of this section may be a member of the 119
General Assembly. 120
(e) All initial appointments to the working group shall be made not 121
later than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy 122
shall be filled by the appointing authority. 123
(f) The chairperson of the working group shall schedule the first 124
meeting, which shall be held not later than sixty days after the effective 125
date of this section. 126
(g) The administrative staff of the Commission on Women, Children, 127
Seniors, Equity and Opportunity shall serve as administrative staff of 128
the working group. 129
(h) Not later than January 1, 2023, the working group shall submit a 130
report on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing 131
committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 132
relating to aging, human services, housing, planning and development, 133
public health and transportation, in accordance with the provisions of 134
section 11-4a of the general statutes. The working group shall terminate 135
on the date that it submits such report or January 1, 2023, whichever is 136
later. 137
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
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Section 1 October 1, 2021 7-127b
Sec. 2 October 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 3 October 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 4 October 1, 2021 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To support and expand services offered by senior centers.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]