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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 628
January Session, 2023
LCO No. 3852
Referred to Committee on TRANSPORTATION
Introduced by:
(TRA)
AN ACT CONCERNING THE NONEMERGENCY TRANSPORTATION
OF ELDERLY PERSONS AND PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
CONFINED TO A STRETCHER.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 13b-105 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2023): 2
The Department of Transportation may, with or without hearing, 3
issue temporary and permanent livery permits to applicants for the 4
express purpose of providing reasonable livery service to persons who 5
are elderly and persons with disabilities on regular or irregular routes 6
where the department finds no existing service or that the existing 7
service is not adequate to properly serve the special needs of persons 8
who are elderly and persons with disabilities. Temporary authority 9
shall not extend over a period of more than sixty days. In determining 10
the special needs of persons who are elderly and persons with 11
disabilities, the department may take into consideration the 12
convenience and the physical and mental frailties of, and the care, safety 13
and protection necessary for the best interest of, persons who are 14
elderly, persons with disabilities and the general public. No applicant 15
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shall be issued a temporary or permanent permit unless such applicant's 16
motor vehicle meets the requirements of subsection (e) of section 14-17
100a, as amended by this act, [. Applicants who were issued a temporary 18
or permanent permit prior to October 1, 2007, shall comply with the 19
requirements of subsection (e) of section 14-100a not later than October 20
1, 2007] or such applicant's stretcher van meets the requirements of 21
subsection (f) of section 14-100a, as amended by this act. A temporary 22
or permanent livery permit holder may use a stretcher van to transport 23
a person who is elderly or a person with disabilities who requires 24
nonemergency transportation on a stretcher but who does not require 25
medical services during transport, in accordance with subsection (f) of 26
section 14-100a, as amended by this act, provided (1) such person 27
obtains and provides to the operator of the stretcher van, prior to such 28
transport, a written statement from such person's primary care 29
provider, as defined in section 19a-7o, that such person may be 30
transported in a stretcher van, and (2) the operator of the stretcher van 31
has received training in the lifting, moving and transport of a person on 32
a stretcher that is equivalent to the training provided to emergency 33
medical services personnel, as defined in section 19a-180b. For the 34
purposes of this section, "stretcher van" means a van designed and 35
equipped to provide the nonemergency transportation of persons on a 36
stretcher. 37
Sec. 2. Section 14-100a of the general statutes is repealed and the 38
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2023): 39
(a) No new passenger motor vehicle may be sold or registered in this 40
state unless equipped with at least two sets of seat safety belts for the 41
front and rear seats of the motor vehicle, which belts comply with the 42
requirements of subsection (b) of this section. The anchorage unit at the 43
attachment point shall be of such construction, design and strength as 44
to support a loop load strength of not less than four thousand pounds 45
for each belt. 46
(b) No seat safety belt may be sold for use in connection with the 47
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operation of a motor vehicle on any highway of this state unless it is so 48
constructed and installed as to have a loop strength through the 49
complete attachment of not less than four thousand pounds, and the 50
buckle or closing device shall be of such construction and design that 51
after it has received the aforesaid loop belt load it can be released with 52
one hand with a pull of less than forty-five pounds. 53
(c) (1) The operator of and any passenger in any motor vehicle or fire 54
fighting apparatus originally equipped with seat safety belts complying 55
with the provisions of 49 CFR 571.209, as amended from time to time, 56
shall wear such seat safety belt while the vehicle or fire fighting 57
apparatus is being operated on any highway, except as follows: 58
(A) A child under eight years of age shall be restrained as provided 59
in subsection (d) of this section; and 60
(B) The operator of such vehicle shall secure or cause to be secured in 61
a seat safety belt any passenger eight years of age or older and under 62
sixteen years of age. 63
(2) The provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection shall not apply 64
to: (A) Any person whose physical disability or impairment would 65
prevent restraint in such safety belt, provided such person obtains a 66
written statement from a licensed physician, a licensed physician 67
assistant or a licensed advanced practice registered nurse containing 68
reasons for such person's inability to wear such safety belt and including 69
information concerning the nature and extent of such condition. Such 70
person shall carry the statement on his or her person or in the motor 71
vehicle at all times when it is being operated, (B) an authorized 72
emergency vehicle, other than fire fighting apparatus, responding to an 73
emergency call or a motor vehicle operated by a rural letter carrier of 74
the United States postal service while performing his or her official 75
duties or by a person engaged in the delivery of newspapers, or (C) any 76
passenger on a bus, as defined in 49 USC 30127, as amended from time 77
to time. 78
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(3) Failure to wear a seat safety belt shall not be considered as 79
contributory negligence nor shall such failure be admissible evidence in 80
any civil action. 81
(4) No law enforcement official may stop a motor vehicle solely for 82
the apparent or actual failure of a back seat passenger who is sixteen 83
years of age or older to wear a seat safety belt. 84
(5) Any operator of a motor vehicle, who is eighteen years of age or 85
older, and any passenger in such motor vehicle, who violates any 86
provision of this subsection shall have committed an infraction and shall 87
be fined fifty dollars. Any operator of a motor vehicle who is under 88
eighteen years of age and any passenger in such motor vehicle who 89
violates any provision of this subsection shall have committed an 90
infraction and shall be fined seventy-five dollars. Points may not be 91
assessed against the operator's license of any person convicted of such 92
violation. 93
(d) (1) (A) Any person who transports a child under two years of age 94
or weighing less than thirty pounds in a motor vehicle on the highways 95
of this state shall provide and require the child to ride rear-facing in a 96
child restraint system equipped with a five-point harness approved 97
pursuant to regulations that the Department of Motor Vehicles shall 98
adopt in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54. 99
(B) Any person who transports a child under five years of age, but 100
not under two years of age, or weighing less than forty pounds, but not 101
less than thirty pounds, in a motor vehicle on the highways of this state 102
shall provide and require the child to ride rear-facing or forward-facing 103
in a child restraint system equipped with a five-point harness approved 104
pursuant to such regulations. 105
(C) Any person who transports a child under eight years of age, but 106
not under five years of age, or weighing less than sixty pounds, but not 107
less than forty pounds, in a motor vehicle on the highways of this state 108
shall provide and require the child to ride rear-facing or forward-facing 109
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in a child restraint system equipped with a five-point harness or a 110
booster seat secured by a seat safety belt approved pursuant to such 111
regulations. 112
(D) No person shall transport a child in a motor vehicle on the 113
highways of this state in a rear-facing child restraint system in the front 114
seat of any motor vehicle that is equipped with a functional air bag on 115
the passenger side of such motor vehicle. 116
(2) Any person who transports a child eight years of age or older and 117
weighing sixty or more pounds in a motor vehicle on the highways of 118
this state shall either provide and require the child to use an approved 119
child restraint system or require the child to use a seat safety belt. Failure 120
to use a child restraint system shall not be considered as contributory 121
negligence nor shall such failure be admissible evidence in any civil 122
action. As used in this subsection, "motor vehicle" does not mean a bus 123
having a tonnage rating of one ton or more. 124
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) of this 125
subsection, any person who transports a child four years of age or older 126
in a student transportation vehicle, as defined in section 14-212, on the 127
highways of this state shall either provide and require the child to use 128
an approved child restraint system or require the child to use a seat 129
safety belt. Any person who transports a child under four years of age 130
weighing less than forty pounds in a student transportation vehicle on 131
the highways of this state shall provide and require the child to use a 132
child restraint system approved pursuant to such regulations. 133
(4) No person shall restrain a child in a booster seat unless the motor 134
vehicle is equipped with a safety seat belt that includes a shoulder belt 135
and otherwise meets the requirement of subsection (b) of this section. 136
(5) Any person who violates the provisions of subdivision (1), (2), (3) 137
or (4) of this subsection shall, for a first violation, have committed an 138
infraction; for a second violation, be fined not more than one hundred 139
ninety-nine dollars; and, for a third or subsequent violation, be guilty of 140
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a class A misdemeanor. The commissioner shall require any person who 141
has committed a first or second violation of the provisions of this 142
subsection to attend a child car seat safety course offered or approved 143
by the Department of Motor Vehicles. The commissioner may, after 144
notice and an opportunity for a hearing, suspend for a period of not 145
more than two months the motor vehicle operator's license of any 146
person who fails to attend or successfully complete the course. 147
(e) (1) Any person who transports an individual who remains in a 148
wheelchair while being transferred into and out of a vehicle, in any 149
motor vehicle on the highways of this state, shall provide and require 150
the use of a device designed to secure individuals in wheelchairs while 151
transferring such individuals from the ground to the vehicle and from 152
the time the motor vehicle is brought to a stop until such individuals are 153
transferred from the vehicle to the ground. Such device shall be located 154
in the motor vehicle at all times. The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles 155
may, after consultation with the [Departments] Commissioners of 156
Transportation and Public Health, establish regulations to implement 157
the provisions of this section and sections 13b-105, as amended by this 158
act, and 14-102a, subsection (d) of section 14-103, subsection (a) of 159
section 14-275 and subsection (a) of section 19a-180. 160
(2) The following motor vehicles registered in this state for the first 161
time on or after October 1, 2007, that transport individuals who remain 162
in wheelchairs while being transported, shall, in addition to the 163
requirements of subdivision (1) of this subsection, install or provide and 164
require the use of a device that secures the wheelchair to the motor 165
vehicle's mechanical lift or otherwise prevents or seeks to prevent an 166
individual in a wheelchair from falling from such mechanical lift or 167
motor vehicle: (A) Motor vehicles in livery service, as defined in section 168
13b-101, (B) service buses, [as defined in section 14-1,] (C) invalid 169
coaches, as defined in section 19a-175, (D) vanpool vehicles, [as defined 170
in section 14-1,] (E) school buses, [as defined in section 14-1,] (F) motor 171
buses, [as defined in section 14-1,] (G) student transportation vehicles, 172
as defined in section 14-212, and (H) camp vehicles. [, as defined in 173
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section 14-1.] The provisions of this subsection shall also apply to all 174
motor vehicles used by municipal, volunteer and commercial 175
ambulance services and rescue services, as defined in section 19a-175. 176
(3) Violation of any provision of this subsection is an infraction. 177
(f) (1) Any livery permit holder who transports an individual who 178
remains on a stretcher while being transferred into and out of a stretcher 179
van, pursuant to section 13b-105, as amended by this act, shall provide 180
and require the use of a device designed to secure such individual in the 181
stretcher while transferring such individual from the ground to the 182
stretcher van and from the time the stretcher van is brought to a stop 183
until such individual is transferred from the stretcher van to the ground. 184
Such device shall be located in the stretcher van at all times. 185
(2) Any livery permit holder who transports an individual who 186
remains on a stretcher while being transported in a stretcher van shall 187
ensure that an attendant, in addition to the operator of the stretcher van, 188
accompany such individual during transport. For the purposes of this 189
subdivision, "attendant" means a person trained in the lifting, moving 190
and transport of a person on a stretcher that is equivalent to the training 191
provided to emergency medical services personnel, as defined in section 192
19a-180b. 193
(3) Violation of any provision of this subsection is an infraction. 194
[(f)] (g) The commissioner shall administer the provisions of this 195
section. 196
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2023 13b-105
Sec. 2 October 1, 2023 14-100a
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Statement of Purpose:
To provide elderly persons and persons with disabilities an opportunity
to travel in a stretcher van instead of an ambulance.
[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.]
Co-Sponsors: SEN. OSTEN, 19th Dist.
S.B. 628