Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Issues Legislative Update #15
Targeted News Service |
There is a week left before session ends and there are many issues that need to be addressed. The budget adjustment bill has not yet been taken up because the revenue picture does not look as rosy as predicted. We will send out budget information as soon as it becomes available. It looks like the projected surplus is significantly less than was anticipated making it necessary to reduce spending. This update contains information on a few bills of interest to the behavioral health community.
Bills of interest
SB 24 AN ACT CONCERNING THE GOVERNOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING ELECTRONIC NICOTINE DELIVERY SYSTEMS AND YOUTH SMOKING PREVENTION. This bill makes it illegal for a minor (under age 18) to buy or possess in public an "electronic nicotine delivery system" ("e-cigarette," which for the purposes of this analysis includes similar electronic devices described below), and for anyone to sell, give, or deliver one to a minor. It subjects violators to some of the same penalties the law imposes on those who commit similar violations regarding tobacco cigarettes.
It tightens the law pertaining to the sale of tobacco cigarettes to minors by extending the look-back period for determining if a prior offense occurred from 18 to 24 months. At the same time, it makes this law more lenient for first offenders by waiving the civil penalty for those who successfully complete an online tobacco education course.
Under the bill, minors charged for a second or subsequent time with illegally buying tobacco cigarettes are subject to the higher penalty imposed on subsequent offenders only if they commit a second or subsequent violation within 24 months of the first violation.
The bill imposes fines, in addition to existing civil penalties, on people who sell improperly packaged or individual tobacco cigarettes.
It increases the amount of money the
Finally, the bill corrects a statutory reference concerning the
SB 261 AN ACT CONCERNING THE INHERITANCE RIGHTS OF A BENEFICIARY OR SURVIVOR WHO IS FOUND NOT GUILTY OF MURDER OR MANSLAUGHTER OF THE DECEASED BY REASON OF MENTAL DISEASE OR DEFECT. Existing law prohibits defendants found guilty of certain serious crimes from inheriting from, or receiving part of, the victim's estate or receiving life insurance or annuity benefits from the victim. This bill extends the prohibition to defendants found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. It also adds two crimes to those covered by the prohibition: 2nd degree manslaughter and 2nd degree manslaughter with a firearm (see BACKGROUND).
Under existing law, the covered crimes are murder, murder with special circumstances, felony murder, arson murder, and 1st degree manslaughter with or without a firearm.
The bill also makes technical and conforming changes. On
SB 322 AN ACT CONNECTING THE PUBLIC TO BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE SERVICES. This bill requires the
The bill requires the office, by
SB 364 AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING'S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REVISIONS TO THE SUPPORTIVE HOUSING INITIATIVE STATUTE. This bill adds the departments of Developmental Services and Veterans' Affairs to the entities with which the
It gives the entities administering the initiative more discretion in determining eligibility by eliminating a provision under which services must be directed to:
1. people or families affected by psychiatric disabilities, chemical dependencies, or both, and who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless;
2. families who qualify for the temporary assistance for needy families program;
3. 18-to-23-year-olds who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless because they are transitioning out of foster care or other residential programs; and
4. community-supervised offenders with serious mental health needs who are under Judicial Branch or
The bill also specifies that all homeless individuals and families, not only those listed above, are eligible for the initiative. By law, individuals and families who are at-risk of becoming homeless or who have special needs are also eligible.
The other entities that administer the initiative with DMHAS are, by law, the
SB 417 AN ACT CONCERNING THE PROVISION OF PSYCHIATRIC AND SUBSTANCE USE TREATMENT SERVICES. This bill allows certain
The bill applies to psychiatric outpatient clinics for adults, free-standing clinics for the care or treatment of people with substance use disorders, hospitals for psychiatric disabilities, and acute care hospitals that provide outpatient psychiatric services. On
HB 5124 AN ACT CONCERNING THE PRESERVATION OF HISTORICAL RECORDS AND ACCESS TO RESTRICTED RECORDS IN THE STATE ARCHIVES. This bill opens to the public, 75 years after their creation, government records (excluding medical records) deemed confidential, classified, or private, regardless of any prohibition or state law.
It opens medical records housed in the state archives 50 years after the death of the person who is the subject of those records, regardless of any prohibition or state law. But it requires that the person's name, address, and social security number be obscured or removed from the records before they are released.
The bill requires the state archives to own and retain for posterity any record transferred to them that the state archivist determines to be of historical value. On House floor awaiting action then needs to go to
HB 5145 AN ACT CONCERNING VARIOUS REVISIONS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION SERVICES' STATUTES. This bill makes several changes to mental health and addiction services (DMHAS) statutes. Among other things, it:
1. specifies that all private agencies treating psychiatric disabilities or substance abuse, regardless of whether they are state-funded, must comply with the commissioner's data collection requirements;
2. grants the commissioner authority to allow private agencies who provide housing assistance to carry over unused funds to the following year;
3. codifies existing practice by allowing DMHAS clients to receive services outside the designated mental health region where they live (section 3);
4. codifies existing practice by requiring DMHAS, within available appropriations, to assess certain people charged with felonies to determine whether they should be referred for community-based mental health services;
5. increases information sharing concerning such arrestees and others in the criminal justice system who may need treatment; and
6. removes term limits for appointed members of the
The bill also makes minor and technical changes. Passed House and is now on
HB 5367 AN ACT CONCERNING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ENHANCED PROTECTIONS AGAINST DISCRIMINATION. This bill makes it a discriminatory practice to deprive someone of any legally guaranteed right because of his or her mental disability. By law, "mental disability" refers to a person who has a record of, or is regarded as having, one or more mental disorders, as defined in the most recent edition of the
The bill also makes it a discriminatory practice to place a noose or simulation of one (1) on public property or on private property without the owner's written consent and (2) with the intent to intimidate or harass someone based on gender identity or expression or mental disability. By law, "gender identity or expression" means a person's gender-related identity, appearance, or behavior, whether or not that identity, appearance, or behavior differs from that traditionally associated with the person's physiology or assigned sex at birth.
Committing a discriminatory practice is a class A misdemeanor, but it is a class D felony if property damage over
HB 5438 AN ACT CONCERNING THE RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF LANDLORDS AND TENANTS REGARDING THE TREATMENT OF BED BUG INFESTATIONS. This bill establishes a framework for identifying and treating bed bug infestations in residential rental properties, including public housing. It sets separate duties and responsibilities for landlords and tenants, including notice, inspection, and treatment requirements. It also gives landlords and tenants remedies when either party fails to comply with these duties and responsibilities.
The bill requires landlords to hire and pay for a pest control agent to treat bed bug infestations if they are unable to successfully treat the infestation on their own. However, it makes tenants financially responsible for subsequent treatment costs of their unit and contiguous units if they knowingly and unreasonably fail to comply with treatment measures. It also prohibits landlords from renting units that they know or suspect are infested with bed bugs.
The bill requires the
The bill makes technical and conforming changes to the statute allowing tenants to enforce a landlord's duties (CGS section 47a-14h).
*House Amendment "C" (1) authorizes landlords to institute summary process proceedings against a tenant who fails to make an agreed-upon payment for costs associated with preparing his or her unit for treatment when he or she is physically unable to do so and (2) extends, from six months to one year, the
maximum repayment term for these costs, unless the landlord and tenant agree to an extension. Passed in House on
HB 5487 AN ACT PROVIDING IMMUNITY TO A PERSON WHO ADMINISTERS AN OPIOID ANTAGONIST TO ANOTHER PERSON EXPERIENCING AN OPIOID-RELATED DRUG OVERDOSE. This bill authorizes anyone to administer an opioid antagonist (such as Narcan) to a person he or she believes, in good faith, is experiencing an opioid-related drug overdose. The bill gives civil and criminal immunity to such a person who acts with reasonable care in administering the opioid antagonist, unless he or she is a licensed health care professional acting in the ordinary course of employment.
Existing law allows licensed health care practitioners authorized to prescribe an opioid antagonist, if acting with reasonable care, to prescribe, dispense, or administer it to treat or prevent a drug overdose without being civilly or criminally liable for the action or for its subsequent use. Thus, these practitioners can prescribe opioid antagonists to people who are not their patients to assist a person experiencing a drug overdose.
By law, an "opioid antagonist" is naloxone hydrochloride (Narcan) or any other similarly acting and equally safe drug that the
*House Amendment "A" expands the immunity provided by the original bill (File 444) to cover licensed health care professionals acting outside the course of employment. Passed House and is now on
HB 5537 AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH'S RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING VARIOUS REVISIONS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH STATUTES. This bill makes numerous substantive, minor, and technical changes to
The bill changes the definition and regulation of environmental laboratories, including expanding the type of testing such labs may conduct and allowing DPH to impose penalties for violating laboratory laws, regulations, or standards.
The bill extends the process for voluntary acknowledgements of paternity to include such acknowledgements of adult children. It allows school nurses to access the immunization registry to determine which students are overdue for immunizations. It expands the DPH commissioner's authority to waive regulatory requirements.
The bill makes several changes to the emergency medical services (EMS) statutes. For example, it (1) adds paramedic intercept services to the list of licensed providers, (2) removes licensing requirements for EMS staffing agencies that do not own EMS vehicles, and (3) requires EMS organizations to file strike contingency plans if they receive notice from their employees' labor organization of an intention to strike.
The bill also makes changes affecting outpatient surgical facilities; the office of multicultural health; burial depth and proximity to homes; nursing facility management services; childhood lead testing; nursing homes; sale of water company land; the DPH commissioner's authority to issue emergency
summary orders; the Connecticut Tumor Registry; the fine for violating lead abatement statutes; and DPH's authority to contract with other states.
The bill also makes changes to several licensed or certified professions, including hairdressers, professional counselors, and nuclear medicine technologists. A section-by-section analysis follows. On House floor awaiting action then needs to go to
Accessing Information via the
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