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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 477
February Session, 2022
AN ACT CONCERNING THE PUBLIC HEALTH OF RESIDENTS OF
THE STATE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a task force 1
to study assisted living services agencies that provide services as a 2
dementia special care unit or program, as defined in section 19a-562 of 3
the general statutes. Such study shall include, but need not be limited 4
to, an examination of (1) the regulation of such agencies by the 5
Department of Public Health and whether additional oversight by the 6
department is required, (2) whether minimum staffing levels for such 7
agencies should be required, and (3) the maintenance of records by such 8
agencies of meals served to, bathing of, administration of medication to 9
and the overall health of each resident. 10
(b) The task force shall consist of the following members: 11
(1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives; 12
(2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate; 13
(3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of 14
Representatives; 15
(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; 16 Substitute Bill No. 477
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(5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of 17
Representatives; 18
(6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate; and 19
(7) The Commissioner of Public Health, or the commissioner's 20
designee. 21
(c) Any member of the task force appointed under subdivision (1), 22
(2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) of subsection (b) of this section may be a member 23
of the General Assembly. 24
(d) All initial appointments to the task force shall be made not later 25
than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall 26
be filled by the appointing authority. 27
(e) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro 28
tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force from 29
among the members of the task force. Such chairpersons shall schedule 30
the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than sixty 31
days after the effective date of this section. 32
(f) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the 33
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public 34
health shall serve as administrative staff of the task force. 35
(g) Not later than January 1, 2023, the task force shall submit a report 36
on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committee of 37
the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public 38
health, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general 39
statutes. The task force shall terminate on the date that it submits such 40
report or January 1, 2023, whichever is later. 41
Sec. 2. Section 19a-59i of the 2022 supplement to the general statutes 42
is amended by adding subsection (g) as follows (Effective from passage): 43
(NEW) (g) Not later than January 1, 2023, the maternal mortality 44 Substitute Bill No. 477
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review committee shall develop educational materials regarding: 45
(1) The health and safety of pregnant and postpartum persons with 46
mental health disorders, including, but not limited to, perinatal mood 47
and anxiety disorders, for distribution by the Department of Public 48
Health to each birthing hospital in the state. As used in this subdivision, 49
"birthing hospital" means a health care facility, as defined in section 19a-50
630, operated and maintained in whole or in part for the purpose of 51
caring for patients during the delivery of a child and for a postpartum 52
person and such person's newborn following birth; 53
(2) Evidence-based screening tools for screening patients for intimate 54
partner violence, peripartum mood disorders and substance use 55
disorder for distribution by the Department of Public Health to 56
obstetricians and other health care providers who practice obstetrics; 57
and 58
(3) Indicators of intimate partner violence for distribution by the 59
Department of Public Health to (A) hospitals for use by health care 60
providers in the emergency department and hospital social workers, 61
and (B) obstetricians and other health care providers who practice 62
obstetrics. 63
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2022) (a) As used in this section, 64
"birthing hospital" means a health care facility, as defined in section 19a-65
630 of the general statutes, operated and maintained in whole or in part 66
for the purpose of caring for a person during the delivery of a child and 67
for a postpartum person and such person's newborn following birth. 68
(b) On and after October 1, 2022, each birthing hospital shall provide 69
to each patient who has undergone a caesarean section written 70
information regarding the importance of mobility following a caesarean 71
section and the risks associated with immobility following a caesarean 72
section. 73
(c) Not later than January 1, 2023, each birthing hospital shall 74
establish a patient portal through which a postpartum patient can 75 Substitute Bill No. 477
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virtually access, through an Internet web site or application, any 76
educational materials and other information that the birthing hospital 77
provided to the patient during the patient's stay at the birthing hospital 78
and at the time of the patient's discharge from the birthing hospital. 79
(d) On and after January 1, 2023, each birthing hospital shall provide 80
to each postpartum patient the educational materials regarding the 81
health and safety of pregnant and postpartum persons with mental 82
health disorders, including, but not limited to, perinatal mood and 83
anxiety disorders, developed by the maternal mortality review 84
committee pursuant to subsection (g) of section 19a-59i of the general 85
statutes, as amended by this act. 86
Sec. 4. Subsection (a) of section 10-29a of the 2022 supplement to the 87
general statutes is amended by adding subdivisions (104) and (105) as 88
follows (Effective from passage): 89
(NEW) (104) Maternal Mental Health Month. The Governor shall 90
proclaim the month of May of each year to be Maternal Mental Health 91
Month, to raise awareness of issues surrounding maternal mental 92
health. Suitable exercises may be held in the State Capitol and elsewhere 93
as the Governor designates for the observance of the month. 94
(NEW) (105) Maternal Mental Health Day. The Governor shall 95
proclaim May fifth of each year to be Maternal Mental Health Day, to 96
raise awareness of issues surrounding maternal mental health. Suitable 97
exercises may be held in the State Capitol and elsewhere as the 98
Governor designates for the observance of the day. 99
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a 100
Commission on Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention to 101
coordinate the funding and implementation of evidence-based, 102
evidenced-informed, community-centric gun programs and strategies 103
to reduce community gun violence in the state. The commission shall be 104
part of the Legislative Department. 105
(b) The commission shall be composed of the following members: 106 Substitute Bill No. 477
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(1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, 107
one of whom shall be a representative of the Connecticut Hospital 108
Association and one of whom shall be a representative of Compass 109
Youth Collaborative; 110
(2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one of 111
whom shall be a representative of the Connecticut Violence Intervention 112
Program and one of whom shall be a representative of the Regional 113
Youth Adult Social Action Partnership; 114
(3) Two appointed by the majority leader of the House of 115
Representatives, one of whom shall be a representative of Hartford 116
Communities That Care, Inc. and one of whom shall be a representative 117
of CT Against Gun Violence; 118
(4) Two appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, one of whom 119
shall be a representative of Project Longevity and one of whom shall be 120
a representative of Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center; 121
(5) Two appointed by the minority leader of the House of 122
Representatives, one of whom shall be a representative of Yale New 123
Haven Hospital and one of whom shall be a representative of the 124
Greater Bridgeport Adolescence Program; 125
(6) Two appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, one of whom 126
shall be a representative of Hartford Hospital and one of whom shall be 127
a youth representative of the Connecticut Justice Alliance; 128
(7) Two appointed by the House chairperson of the joint standing 129
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 130
relating to public health, one of whom shall be a representative of the 131
Greater Bridgeport Area Prevention Program and one of whom shall be 132
a parent member of the Two Generation Initiative; 133
(8) Two appointed by the Senate chairperson of the joint standing 134
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 135
relating to public health, one of whom shall be a representative of 136 Substitute Bill No. 477
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Mothers United Against Violence and one of whom shall be a 137
representative of Violent Crime Survivors; 138
(9) One appointed by the executive director of the Commission on 139
Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity, who shall be a 140
representative of the Health Alliance for Violence Intervention; 141
(10) Two appointed by the Commissioner of Public Health, who shall 142
be representatives of the Department of Public Health's Injury and 143
Violence Surveillance Unit; 144
(11) The Commissioner of Education, or the commissioner's designee; 145
and 146
(12) The executive director of the Commission on Women, Children, 147
Seniors, Equity and Opportunity, or the executive director's designee. 148
(c) Any member of the commission appointed under subdivision (1), 149
(2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7) or (8) of subsection (b) of this section may be a 150
member of the General Assembly. All initial appointments to the 151
commission shall be made not later than sixty days after the effective 152
date of this section. Appointed members shall serve a term that is 153
coterminous with the appointing official and may serve more than one 154
term. 155
(d) The executive director of the Commission on Women, Children, 156
Seniors, Equity and Opportunity, or the executive director's designee, 157
shall schedule the first meeting of the commission, which shall be held 158
not later than sixty days after the effective date of this section. At such 159
meeting, the chairperson of the commission shall be elected from among 160
the members of the commission. 161
(e) If an appointment under subsection (b) of this section is not made 162
within the sixty-day period required under subsection (c) of this section, 163
the chairperson may designate an individual with the required 164
qualifications stated for the applicable appointment to serve on the 165
commission until an appointment is made pursuant to subsection (b) of 166 Substitute Bill No. 477
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this section. 167
(f) A majority of the membership of the commission shall constitute 168
a quorum for the transaction of any business and any decision shall be 169
by a majority vote of those present at a meeting, except the commission 170
may establish such subcommissions, advisory groups or other entities 171
as it deems necessary to further the purposes of the commission. The 172
commission shall adopt rules of procedure. 173
(g) The members of the commission shall serve without 174
compensation, but shall, within the limits of available funds, be 175
reimbursed for expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of 176
their duties. 177
(h) The commission, by majority vote, shall hire an executive director, 178
who shall serve at the pleasure of the commission to carry out the duties 179
and serve as administrative staff of the commission. The commission 180
may request the assistance of the Joint Commission on Legislative 181
Management in hiring the executive director. The executive director 182
may hire not more than two executive assistants to assist in carrying out 183
the duties and serving as administrative staff of the commission. The 184
administrative staff of the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, 185
Equity and Opportunity shall serve as administrative staff of the 186
commission until such time as such executive director is hired. 187
(i) The commission shall have the following powers and duties: (1) 188
Coordinate the funding and implementation of evidence-based, 189
evidenced-informed, community-centric programs and strategies to 190
reduce community gun violence in the state; (2) secure state, federal and 191
other funds for the purposes of reducing community gun violence; (3) 192
determine community-level needs by engaging with communities 193
impacted by gun violence; (4) (A) establish and implement a grant 194
program, and (B) award grants and offer guidance to organizations or 195
other entities working toward reducing community gun violence in the 196
state; (5) obtain from any legislative or executive department, board, 197
commission or other agency of the state or any organization or other 198 Substitute Bill No. 477
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entity such assistance as necessary and available to carry out the 199
purposes of this section; (6) accept any gift, donation or bequest for the 200
purpose of performing the duties described in this subsection; (7) 201
establish bylaws to govern its procedures; and (8) perform such other 202
acts as may be necessary and appropriate to carry out the duties 203
described in this subsection. 204
(j) Not later than January 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, the 205
commission shall submit a report to the joint standing committee of the 206
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public 207
health, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general 208
statutes, concerning the activities of the commission during the prior 209
twelve-month period. 210
Sec. 6. (Effective July 1, 2022) The sum of two hundred fifty thousand 211
dollars is appropriated to the Department of Public Health Fund, for the 212
fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, for promotion of the National Centers 213
for Disease Control and Prevention's "Hear Her" campaign to prevent 214
pregnancy-related deaths to obstetricians, other health care providers 215
who practice obstetrics, birthing hospitals and emergency departments. 216
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 from passage 19a-59i
Sec. 3 July 1, 2022 New section
Sec. 4 from passage 10-29a(a)
Sec. 5 from passage New section
Sec. 6 July 1, 2022 New section
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 5(d), the phrase, "or the executive director's designee" was
added for consistency with the provisions of section 5(b)(12).
PH Joint Favorable Subst.