LCO \\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2021SB-01085-R01-
SB.docx
1 of 5
General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 1085
January Session, 2021
AN ACT CONCERNING SU ICIDE PREVENTION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 17a-52 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2021): 2
(a) There is established [a Youth] an Interagency Suicide Advisory 3
Board, within the Department of Children and Families, which shall be 4
a state-wide, interagency coordinating source for youth and adult 5
suicide prevention. The board shall consist of [twenty] twenty-two 6
members, which shall include one psychiatrist licensed to practice 7
medicine in this state, one psychologist licensed in this state, one 8
representative of a local or regional board of education, one high school 9
teacher, one high school student, one college or university faculty 10
member, one college or university student and one parent, all appointed 11
by the Commissioner of Children and Families, one representative of 12
the Department of Public Health appointed by the Commissioner of 13
Public Health, one representative of the state Department of Education 14
appointed by the Commissioner of Education, [and] one representative 15
of the Board of Regents for Higher Education appointed by the 16
president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, the 17
executive director of the Court Support Services Division of the Judicial 18
Branch, or the executive director's designee, and the executive director 19 Substitute Bill No. 1085
LCO {\\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2021SB-01085-
R01-SB.docx }
2 of 5
of the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and 20
Opportunity, or the executive director's designee. The balance of the 21
board shall be comprised of persons with expertise in the mental health 22
of children and adults or mental health issues with a focus on suicide 23
prevention, and shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Children 24
and Families. Members of the board shall serve for two-year terms, 25
without compensation. Any member who fails to attend three 26
consecutive meetings or fifty per cent of all meetings held during any 27
calendar year shall be deemed to have resigned from the board. [The 28
Commissioner of Children and Families shall be a nonvoting, ex-officio 29
member of the board.] The board shall elect a [chairman,] chairperson 30
and a [vice-chairman] vice-chairperson to act in the [chairman's] 31
chairperson's absence. 32
(b) The board shall: (1) Increase public awareness of the existence of 33
youth and adult suicide and means of suicide prevention across a 34
person's lifespan; (2) make recommendations [to the commissioner] for 35
the development of state-wide training in the prevention of youth and 36
adult suicide; (3) develop a strategic state-wide, interagency youth and 37
adult suicide prevention plan; (4) recommend interagency policies and 38
procedures for the coordination of services for youths and families in 39
the area of suicide prevention; (5) make research-based and data-driven 40
recommendations for the establishment and implementation of suicide 41
prevention procedures in schools and communities; (6) establish a 42
coordinated system for the utilization of data for the prevention of 43
youth and adult suicide; (7) make recommendations concerning the 44
integration of suicide prevention and intervention strategies into [other] 45
youth-focused prevention and intervention programs; and (8) 46
periodically offer, within available appropriations, youth and adult 47
suicide prevention training for health care providers, school employees 48
and other persons who provide services to children, young adults, [and] 49
families and the aging population of the state. 50
(c) On or before November 1, 2021, and annually thereafter, the 51
chairperson of the board shall report, in accordance with the provisions 52 Substitute Bill No. 1085
LCO {\\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2021SB-01085-
R01-SB.docx }
3 of 5
of section 11-4a, to the joint standing committee of the General 53
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public health 54
regarding the operations of the board and any recommendations for 55
legislation concerning suicide prevention. 56
Sec. 2. Subsection (b) of section 20-10b of the general statutes is 57
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 58
2021): 59
(b) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (d), (e) and (f) of this 60
section, a licensee applying for license renewal shall earn a minimum of 61
fifty contact hours of continuing medical education within the 62
preceding twenty-four-month period. Such continuing medical 63
education shall (1) be in an area of the physician's practice; (2) reflect the 64
professional needs of the licensee in order to meet the health care needs 65
of the public; and (3) during the first renewal period in which continuing 66
medical education is required and not less than once every six years 67
thereafter, include at least one contact hour of training or education in 68
each of the following topics: (A) Infectious diseases, including, but not 69
limited to, acquired immune deficiency syndrome and human 70
immunodeficiency virus, (B) risk management, including, but not 71
limited to, prescribing controlled substances and pain management, 72
and, for registration periods beginning on or after October 1, 2019, such 73
risk management continuing medical education may also include 74
screening for inflammatory breast cancer and gastrointestinal cancers, 75
including colon, gastric, pancreatic and neuroendocrine cancers and 76
other rare gastrointestinal tumors, (C) sexual assault, (D) domestic 77
violence, (E) cultural competency, and (F) behavioral health, provided 78
further that on and after January 1, 2016, such behavioral health 79
continuing medical education may include, but not be limited to, at least 80
two contact hours of training or education during the first renewal 81
period in which continuing education is required and not less than once 82
every six years thereafter, on (i) suicide prevention, or (ii) diagnosing 83
and treating [(i)] (I) cognitive conditions, including, but not limited to, 84
Alzheimer's disease, dementia, delirium, related cognitive impairments 85 Substitute Bill No. 1085
LCO {\\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2021SB-01085-
R01-SB.docx }
4 of 5
and geriatric depression, or [(ii)] (II) mental health conditions, 86
including, but not limited to, mental health conditions common to 87
veterans and family members of veterans. Training for mental health 88
conditions common to veterans and family members of veterans shall 89
include best practices for [(I)] determining whether a patient is a veteran 90
or family member of a veteran, [(II)] screening for conditions such as 91
post-traumatic stress disorder, risk of suicide, depression and grief, and 92
[(III)] veteran suicide prevention training. For purposes of this section, 93
qualifying continuing medical education activities include, but are not 94
limited to, courses offered or approved by the American Medical 95
Association, American Osteopathic Association, Connecticut Hospital 96
Association, Connecticut State Medical Society, Connecticut 97
Osteopathic Medical Society, county medical societies or equivalent 98
organizations in another jurisdiction, educational offerings sponsored 99
by a hospital or other health care institution or courses offered by a 100
regionally accredited academic institution or a state or local health 101
department. The commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, may 102
grant a waiver for not more than ten contact hours of continuing medical 103
education for a physician who [: (I) Engages] engages in activities 104
related to the physician's service as a member of the Connecticut 105
Medical Examining Board, established pursuant to section 20-8a, [; (II)] 106
engages in activities related to the physician's service as a member of a 107
medical hearing panel, pursuant to section 20-8a [; or (III)] or assists the 108
department with its duties to boards and commissions as described in 109
section 19a-14. 110
Sec. 3. Subdivision (6) of subsection (b) of section 10-222q of the 111
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 112
thereof (Effective July 1, 2021): 113
(6) Three appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, one of 114
whom is a representative of the Connecticut Education Association; one 115
of whom is a representative of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 116
Connecticut; and one of whom is a representative of the [Youth] 117
Interagency Suicide Advisory Board established pursuant to section 118 Substitute Bill No. 1085
LCO {\\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2021SB-01085-
R01-SB.docx }
5 of 5
17a-52, as amended by this act; 119
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2021 17a-52
Sec. 2 July 1, 2021 20-10b(b)
Sec. 3 July 1, 2021 10-222q(b)(6)
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 1(b)(1), "and adult" was inserted after "youth" for consistency
and Section 3 was added to make conforming changes to section 10-222q
of the general statutes.
PH Joint Favorable Subst.