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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 343
February Session, 2022
LCO No. 2634
Referred to Committee on VETERANS' AFFAIRS
Introduced by:
(VA)
AN ACT CONCERNING A MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY
WORKING GROUP AND A GRANT PROGRAM FOR THE
REIMBURSEMENT OF CERTAIN LICENSING, CERTIFICATION,
REGISTRATION OR TUITION FEES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a working 1
group to (1) reexamine the study conducted by the military occupational 2
specialty task force established pursuant to special act 13-5, (2) review 3
the efficacy of the legislative changes enacted in public act 14-131 as a 4
result of such study, and (3) identify areas for improvement in achieving 5
the purpose of such task force to aid veterans in securing employment. 6
(b) The working group shall consist of the following members: 7
(1) The Commissioner of Veterans Affairs, or the commissioner's 8
designee; 9
(2) The Adjutant General of the Military Department, or the Adjutant 10
General's designee; 11
(3) The executive director of the Office of Military Affairs, or the 12 Raised Bill No. 343
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executive director's designee; 13
(4) The Labor Commissioner, or the commissioner's designee; 14
(5) The president of the Board of Regents for Higher Education, or the 15
president's designee; 16
(6) The chairperson of the Board of Trustees for The University of 17
Connecticut, or the chairperson's designee; 18
(7) The executive director of the Office of Higher Education, or the 19
executive director's designee; 20
(8) The Commissioner of Consumer Protection, or the commissioner's 21
designee; 22
(9) The Commissioner of Education, or the commissioner's designee; 23
(10) One appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives; 24
(11) One appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate; 25
(12) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of 26
Representatives; 27
(13) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; 28
(14) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of 29
Representatives; and 30
(15) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate. 31
(c) All appointments to the working group shall be made not later 32
than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall 33
be filled by the appointing authority. 34
(d) The members appointed by the speaker of the House of 35
Representatives and the president pro tempore of the Senate shall be the 36
chairpersons of the working group. Such chairpersons shall schedule 37 Raised Bill No. 343
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the first meeting of the working group, which shall be held not later than 38
sixty days after the effective date of this section. 39
(e) Not later than January 1, 2023, the working group shall submit a 40
report on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing 41
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 42
relating to veterans' affairs, in accordance with the provisions of section 43
11-4a of the general statutes. The working group shall terminate on the 44
date that it submits such report or January 1, 2023, whichever is later. 45
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2022) (a) Not later than January 1, 2023, 46
the Commissioner of Consumer Protection, in consultation with the 47
Labor Commissioner and the executive director of the Technical 48
Education and Career System, shall establish a grant program through 49
which any veteran in this state, and any person sponsoring an 50
apprenticeship program in which any such veteran participates, may 51
apply for reimbursement of licensure, certification, registration or 52
tuition fees associated with occupations, apprenticeships or trade 53
programs within the jurisdiction of boards or councils in the 54
Department of Consumer Protection or Labor Department, as 55
applicable. As used in this section, "veteran" has the same meaning as 56
provided in section 27-103 of the general statutes. 57
(b) The following shall be eligible for reimbursement through the 58
grant program established in this section: 59
(1) Any fee paid to the Department of Consumer Protection by a 60
veteran for any (A) examination, (B) initial licensure or certification, or 61
(C) annual renewal for the five years immediately following such initial 62
licensure or certification; 63
(2) Any fee paid to the Labor Department by a person sponsoring an 64
apprenticeship program for any apprentice who (A) participates in such 65
program, and (B) is a veteran; and 66
(3) Up to one thousand dollars, in the aggregate, in tuition fees 67
charged by the Technical Education and Career System board for a 68 Raised Bill No. 343
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student who is a veteran, and paid to said board by (A) such veteran, or 69
(B) the person sponsoring an apprenticeship program in which such 70
veteran participates. 71
(c) The Commissioner of Consumer Protection, in consultation with 72
the Labor Commissioner and the executive director of the Technical 73
Education and Career System, shall prescribe the manner in which 74
eligible veterans or persons sponsoring apprenticeship programs shall 75
apply for reimbursement through the grant program established in this 76
section. 77
(d) Not later than January 1, 2024, and every six months thereafter, 78
the Commissioner of Consumer Protection, the Labor Commissioner 79
and the executive director of the Technical Education and Career System 80
shall jointly submit a report, in accordance with section 11-4a of the 81
general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General 82
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to veterans' affairs. 83
Such report shall contain (1) information detailing the number of 84
applications approved, and the total amount reimbursed, under the 85
grant program established in this section, and (2) recommendations for 86
legislation to address any areas for improvement in the administration 87
of such grant program that have been identified in such report. 88
Sec. 3. (Effective July 1, 2022) The sum of one hundred thousand 89
dollars is appropriated to the Department of Consumer Protection from 90
the General Fund, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, for the grant 91
program established in section 2 of this act. 92
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2022 New section
Sec. 3 July 1, 2022 New section
VA Joint Favorable Raised Bill No. 343
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APP Joint Favorable