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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5492
February Session, 2022
LCO No. 2931
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)
AN ACT CONCERNING THE PROCESS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH AND
CIVIL PREPAREDNESS EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 19a-131a of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 2
(a) (1) In the event of a state-wide or regional public health 3
emergency, the Governor shall make a good faith effort to inform the 4
[legislative leaders specified in subsection (b) of this section] president 5
pro tempore of the Senate, the speaker of the House of Representatives 6
and the majority and minority leaders of both houses of the General 7
Assembly before declaring that the public health emergency exists. 8
[and] Any declaration issued pursuant to this section shall become 9
effective upon its filing with both the Secretary of the State and with the 10
clerks of the House of Representatives and Senate and shall not exceed 11
one hundred eighty days in duration. The declaration shall state the 12
nature of the public health emergency, the political subdivisions or 13
geographic area subject to the declaration, the conditions that have 14 Raised Bill No. 5492
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brought about the public health emergency, the duration of the public 15
health emergency and the public health authority responding to the 16
emergency. Any such declaration issued by the Governor may be 17
disapproved and nullified by majority vote at a meeting of a committee 18
consisting of the president pro tempore of the Senate, the speaker of the 19
House of Representatives, the majority and minority leaders of both 20
houses of the General Assembly and the cochairpersons and ranking 21
members of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly 22
having cognizance of matters relating to public health, provided at least 23
one of the members of the minority party votes for such disapproval. 24
Such disapproval shall not be effective unless filed with the Secretary of 25
the State not later than seventy-two hours after the filing of the 26
Governor's declaration with the Secretary of the State. Any meetings of 27
such committee held pursuant to this section may be conducted on a 28
virtual platform that can be viewed by the public. 29
(2) Upon the declaration of a public health emergency, the Governor 30
may do any of the following: [(1)] (A) Order the commissioner to 31
implement all or a portion of the public health emergency response plan 32
developed pursuant to section 19a-131g; [(2)] (B) authorize the 33
commissioner to isolate or quarantine persons in accordance with 34
section 19a-131b; [(3)] (C) order the commissioner to vaccinate persons 35
in accordance with section 19a-131e; [(4)] (D) apply for and receive 36
federal assistance; or [(5)] (E) order the commissioner to suspend certain 37
license renewal and inspection functions during the period of the 38
emergency and during the six-month period following the date the 39
emergency is declared to be over. 40
[(b) (1) Any declaration issued pursuant to this section shall become 41
effective upon its filing with the Secretary of the State and with the 42
clerks of the House of Representatives and Senate. The declaration shall 43
state the nature of the public health emergency, the political 44
subdivisions or geographic area subject to the declaration, the 45
conditions that have brought about the public health emergency, the 46
duration of the public health emergency and the public health authority 47
responding to the emergency. Any such declaration issued by the 48 Raised Bill No. 5492
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Governor may be disapproved and nullified by majority vote of a 49
committee consisting of the president pro tempore of the Senate, the 50
speaker of the House of Representatives, the majority and minority 51
leaders of both houses of the General Assembly and the cochairpersons 52
and ranking members of the joint standing committee of the General 53
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public health. Such 54
disapproval shall not be effective unless filed with the Secretary of the 55
State not later than seventy-two hours after the filing of the Governor's 56
declaration with the Secretary of the State.] 57
[(2)] (b) (1) Any declaration issued pursuant to this section may be 58
renewed by the Governor upon its filing with the Secretary of the State 59
and with the clerks of the House of Representatives and Senate. Not less 60
than five days prior to filing the renewal of any such declaration with 61
the Secretary of the State, the Governor shall provide electronic notice 62
of such renewal to the president pro tempore of the Senate, the speaker 63
of the House of Representatives, the majority leader of the Senate, the 64
minority leader of the Senate, the majority leader of the House of 65
Representatives and the minority leader of the House of 66
Representatives. The renewal declaration shall state the nature of the 67
continuing public health emergency, the political subdivisions or 68
geographic area subject to the renewal, the conditions that have brought 69
about the renewal declaration, the duration of the renewal declaration 70
and the public health authority responding to the public health 71
emergency. Any such renewal declaration issued by the Governor less 72
than one hundred eighty days after the initial declaration or that does 73
not result in a public health emergency being declared for more than 74
one hundred eighty days may be disapproved and nullified by majority 75
vote at a meeting of [a committee consisting of the legislative leaders 76
specified in subsection (b) of this section] the committee described in 77
subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section, provided at least one of 78
the members of the minority party votes for such disapproval. Such 79
disapproval shall not be effective unless filed with the Secretary of the 80
State not later than seventy-two hours after the filing of the Governor's 81
renewal declaration with the Secretary of the State. Any such renewal 82 Raised Bill No. 5492
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declaration issued one hundred eighty days or more after the initial 83
declaration or that would result in a public health emergency being 84
declared for more than one hundred eighty days (A) shall have a 85
duration of not more than ninety days, and (B) shall cease to be effective 86
unless approved by (i) a majority vote of each house of the General 87
Assembly by resolution not later than seventy-two hours after the date 88
of filing such renewal declaration with the Secretary of the State, or (ii) 89
if the president pro tempore of the Senate, the speaker of the House of 90
Representatives and the majority and minority leaders of both houses of 91
the General Assembly determine at a meeting by majority vote that the 92
convening of the General Assembly to approve such declaration would 93
cause an undue risk to the health or safety of the members of the General 94
Assembly, would exacerbate the emergency or is physically impossible, 95
a majority vote of the committee described in subdivision (1) of 96
subsection (a) of this section. Any meeting held by the leaders specified 97
in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision may be conducted on a virtual 98
platform that can be viewed by the public. 99
[(3)] (2) The Governor shall declare a public health emergency to be 100
terminated before the duration stated in the declaration, upon a finding, 101
after informing the [legislative leaders specified in subsection (b) of this 102
section] committee described in subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this 103
section, that the circumstances that caused such emergency to be 104
declared no longer pose a substantial risk of a significant number of 105
human fatalities or incidents of permanent or long-term disability. 106
(3) Any executive order issued pursuant to a declaration of public 107
health emergency under this section shall not exceed the duration of the 108
declaration under which it has been issued and shall be filed with the 109
Secretary of the State and the clerks of the House of Representatives and 110
Senate. Any such executive order issued one hundred eighty days or 111
more after the initial emergency declaration may be disapproved by a 112
majority vote at a meeting of a committee consisting of the president pro 113
tempore of the Senate, the speaker of the House of Representatives and 114
the majority and minority leaders of both houses of the General 115
Assembly, which meeting may be conducted on a virtual platform that 116 Raised Bill No. 5492
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can be viewed by the public. Any disapproval of an executive order by 117
such committee shall not be effective unless filed with the Secretary of 118
the State not later than thirty-six hours after the Governor's filing of the 119
order with the Secretary of the State. 120
(c) The Governor shall ensure that any declaration or order issued 121
pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be (1) published in full at 122
least once in a newspaper having general circulation in each county, (2) 123
provided to news media, and (3) posted on the state Internet web site. 124
Failure to take the actions specified in subdivisions (1) to (3), inclusive, 125
of this subsection shall not impair the validity of such declaration or 126
order. 127
(d) Any individual who, during the course of a public health 128
emergency declared under this section, violates the provisions of any 129
order issued pursuant to sections 19a-131 to 19a-131i, inclusive, or who 130
intentionally obstructs, resists, hinders or endangers any person who is 131
authorized to carry out, and who is engaged in an activity that carries 132
out, any of the provisions of the order shall be fined not more than one 133
thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year, or both, for 134
each offense. 135
(e) The commissioner may request the Attorney General to apply to 136
the Superior Court for an order enforcing the provisions of any order 137
issued by the commissioner pursuant to sections 19a-131 to 19a-131i, 138
inclusive, and such other equitable relief as the court deems 139
appropriate. 140
(f) The commissioner may delegate to an employee of the Department 141
of Public Health or any local health director, as much of the authority of 142
the commissioner described in this section as the commissioner 143
determines appropriate. Such authorized employee or director shall act 144
as an agent of the commissioner. 145
Sec. 2. Section 28-9 of the general statutes is repealed and the 146
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 147 Raised Bill No. 5492
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(a) In the event of serious disaster, enemy attack, sabotage or other 148
hostile action or in the event of the imminence thereof, the Governor 149
may [proclaim] declare that a state of civil preparedness emergency 150
exists. [, in which event] Prior to making such declaration, the Governor 151
shall make a good faith effort to inform the president pro tempore of the 152
Senate, the speaker of the House of Representatives, the majority and 153
minority leaders of both houses of the General Assembly of the 154
anticipated declaration. Pursuant to such declaration, the Governor may 155
personally take direct operational control of any or all parts of the civil 156
preparedness forces and functions in the state. Any such [proclamation] 157
declaration shall be effective upon its filing with both the Secretary of 158
the State and the clerks of the House of Representatives and Senate and 159
shall not exceed one hundred days in duration . Any such 160
[proclamation] declaration, or order issued pursuant thereto, [issued by 161
the Governor because of a disaster resulting from man-made cause] may 162
be disapproved by majority vote at a meeting of a joint legislative 163
committee consisting of the president pro tempore of the Senate, the 164
speaker of the House of Representatives and the majority and minority 165
leaders of both houses of the General Assembly, provided at least one 166
of the minority leaders votes for such disapproval. Such disapproval 167
shall not be effective unless filed with the Secretary of the State not later 168
than seventy-two hours after the filing of the Governor's [proclamation] 169
declaration with the Secretary of the State. Any meetings of such 170
committee held pursuant to this section may be conducted on a virtual 171
platform that can be viewed by the public. As soon as possible after such 172
[proclamation] declaration, if the General Assembly is not then in 173
session, the Governor shall meet with the president pro tempore of the 174
Senate, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and the majority 175
and minority leaders of both houses of the General Assembly and shall 176
confer with them on the advisability of calling a special session of the 177
General Assembly. 178
(b) Upon such [proclamation] declaration, the following provisions 179
of this section and the provisions of section 28-11 shall immediately 180
become effective and shall continue in effect until the Governor 181 Raised Bill No. 5492
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[proclaims] declares the end of the civil preparedness emergency: 182
(1) Following the Governor's [proclamation] declaration of a civil 183
preparedness emergency pursuant to subsection (a) of this section or 184
declaration of a public health emergency pursuant to section 19a-131a, 185
as amended by this act, the Governor may modify or suspend in whole 186
or in part, by order as [hereinafter] provided in this section, any statute, 187
regulation or requirement or part thereof whenever the Governor finds 188
such statute, regulation or requirement, or part thereof, is in conflict 189
with the efficient and expeditious execution of civil preparedness 190
functions or the protection of the public health. The Governor shall 191
specify in such order the reason or reasons therefor and any statute, 192
regulation or requirement or part thereof to be modified or suspended 193
and the period, not exceeding [six months] the duration of the civil 194
preparedness or public health emergency unless sooner revoked, 195
during which such order shall be enforced. Any such order shall have 196
the full force and effect of law upon the filing of the full text of such 197
order in the office of the Secretary of the State and such order shall also 198
be filed with the clerks of the House of Representatives and Senate. The 199
Secretary of the State shall, not later than four days after receipt of the 200
order, cause such order to be printed and published in full in at least one 201
issue of a newspaper published in each county and having general 202
circulation therein, but failure to publish shall not impair the validity of 203
such order. Any statute, regulation or requirement, or part thereof, 204
inconsistent with such order shall be inoperative for the effective period 205
of such order. [Any such order shall be communicated by the Governor 206
at the earliest date to both houses of the General Assembly.] 207
(2) The Governor may order into action all or any part of the 208
department or local or joint organizations for civil preparedness mobile 209
support units or any other civil preparedness forces. 210
(3) The Governor shall order and enforce such blackouts and radio 211
silences as are authorized by the United States Army or its duly 212
designated agency and may take any other precautionary measures 213
reasonably necessary in the light of the emergency. 214 Raised Bill No. 5492
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(4) The Governor may designate such vehicles and persons as shall 215
be permitted to move and the routes which they shall follow. 216
(5) The Governor shall take appropriate measures for protecting the 217
health and safety of inmates of state institutions and children in schools. 218
(6) The Governor may order the evacuation of all or part of the 219
population of stricken or threatened areas and may take such steps as 220
are necessary for the receipt and care of such evacuees. 221
(7) The Governor may take such other steps as are reasonably 222
necessary in the light of the emergency to protect the health, safety and 223
welfare of the people of the state, to prevent or minimize loss or 224
destruction of property and to minimize the effects of hostile action. 225
(8) In order to insure the automatic and effective operation of civil 226
preparedness in the event of enemy attack, sabotage or other hostile 227
action, or in the event of the imminence thereof, the Governor may, at 228
the Governor's discretion, at any time prior to actual development of 229
such conditions, issue such proclamations and executive orders as the 230
Governor deems necessary, such proclamations and orders to become 231
effective only under such conditions. 232
(9) Any executive order issued pursuant to this subsection one 233
hundred days or more after the initial declaration of a civil preparedness 234
emergency or declaration of a public health emergency may be 235
disapproved by a majority vote at a meeting of the joint legislative 236
committee described in subsection (a) of this section. Any disapproval 237
of an executive order by such committee shall not be effective unless 238
filed with the Secretary of the State not later than thirty-six hours after 239
the Governor's filing of the order with the Secretary of the State. 240
(c) (1) Any declaration issued pursuant to this section may be 241
renewed by the Governor upon its filing with both the Secretary of the 242
State and with the clerks of the House of Representatives and Senate. 243
Not less than five days prior to filing the renewal of any such declaration 244
with the Secretary of the State, the Governor shall provide electronic 245 Raised Bill No. 5492
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notice of such renewal to the president pro tempore of the Senate, the 246
speaker of the House of Representatives, the majority leader of the 247
Senate, the minority leader of the Senate, the majority leader of the 248
House of Representatives and the minority leader of the House of 249
Representatives. 250
(2) Any such renewal declaration issued by the Governor less than 251
one hundred eighty days after the initial declaration or that does not 252
result in a civil preparedness emergency being declared for more than 253
one hundred eighty days may be disapproved and nullified by majority 254
vote at a meeting of the joint legislative committee described in 255
subsection (a) of this section, provided at least one of the members of 256
the minority party votes for such disapproval. Such disapproval shall 257
not be effective unless filed with the Secretary of the State not later than 258
seventy-two hours after the filing of the Governor's renewal declaration 259
with the Secretary of the State. 260
(3) Any such renewal declaration issued one hundred eighty days or 261
more after the initial declaration or that would result in a civil 262
preparedness emergency being declared for more than one hundred 263
eighty days (A) shall have a duration of not more than ninety days, and 264
(B) shall cease to be effective unless approved by (i) a majority vote of 265
each house of the General Assembly by resolution not later than three 266
business days after the date of filing such renewal declaration with the 267
Secretary of the State, or (ii) if the president pro tempore of the Senate, 268
the speaker of the House of Representatives and the majority and 269
minority leaders of both houses of the General Assembly determine at a 270
meeting by majority vote that the convening of the General Assembly to 271
approve such declaration would cause an undue risk to the health or 272
safety of the members of the General Assembly, would exacerbate the 273
emergency or is physically impossible, a majority vote at a meeting of 274
the joint legislative committee described in subsection (a) of this section. 275
Any meeting held by the leaders specified in subparagraph (B) of this 276
subdivision may be conducted on a virtual platform that can be viewed 277
by the public. 278 Raised Bill No. 5492
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage 19a-131a
Sec. 2 from passage 28-9
Statement of Purpose:
To modify the process of public health and civil preparedness
emergency declarations, including by requiring legislative approval for
renewal declarations issued one hundred eighty days or more after the
initial declaration, permitting the legislative disapproval of executive
orders issued one hundred eighty days or more after the initial
declaration and permitting the legislative disapproval of any
declaration of civil preparedness emergency regardless of cause.
[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.]