Bill Text: CT HB05438 | 2016 | General Assembly | Chaptered
Bill Title: An Act Deleting Obsolete Statutory Provisions Concerning Workshops For People With Disabilities.
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (Passed) 2016-06-06 - Signed by the Governor [HB05438 Detail]
Download: Connecticut-2016-HB05438-Chaptered.html
AN ACT DELETING OBSOLETE STATUTORY PROVISIONS CONCERNING WORKSHOPS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 17b-656 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2016):
Whenever any products made or manufactured by or services provided by persons with disabilities through community rehabilitation programs [described in subsection (b) of section 17b-655] or in any workshop established, operated or funded by nonprofit and nonsectarian organizations for the purpose of providing persons with disabilities training and employment suited to their abilities meet the requirements of any department, institution or agency supported in whole or in part by the state as to quantity, quality and price such products shall have preference over products or services from other providers, except (1) articles produced or manufactured by Department of Correction industries as provided in section 18-88, (2) emergency purchases made under section 4-98, and (3) janitorial or contractual services provided by a qualified partnership, pursuant to the provisions of subsections (b) to (d), inclusive, of section 4a-82. [All departments, institutions and agencies supported in whole or in part by the state shall purchase such articles made or manufactured and services provided by persons with disabilities from the Department of Rehabilitation Services. Any political subdivision of the state may purchase such articles and services through the Department of Rehabilitation Services. ] A list describing styles, designs, sizes and varieties of all such articles made by persons with disabilities and describing all available services provided by such persons shall be prepared by the Connecticut Community Providers Association.
Sec. 2. Subsection (d) of section 10-295 of the 2016 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2016):
(d) The Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services may expend up to ten thousand dollars per fiscal year per person twenty-one years of age or over who is both blind or visually impaired and deaf, in addition to any other expenditures for such person, for the purpose of providing community inclusion services through specialized public and private entities from which such person can benefit. The commissioner may determine the criteria by which a person is eligible to receive specialized services and may adopt regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this subsection. For purposes of this subsection, "community inclusion services" means the assistance provided to persons with disabilities to enable them to connect with their peers without disabilities and with the community at large.
Sec. 3. Section 46a-33b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2016):
Upon the request of any person or any public or private entity, the Department of Rehabilitation Services shall provide interpreting services to assist such person or entity to the extent such persons who provide interpreting services are available. Any person or entity receiving interpreting services through the department shall reimburse the department for such services at a rate set by the Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services. The commissioner [shall] may adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 to establish the manner of rate setting.
Sec. 4. Section 17b-650 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2016):
As used in this section and sections [17b-650] 17b-650a to 17b-663, inclusive: [, and sections 10-298b and 10-298c: ]
(1) "Person with a disability" means any individual with a disability, excluding blindness, as such term is applied to Title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 USC 701 et seq. , as amended from time to time;
(2) "Vocational rehabilitation service" means any goods and services necessary to render a person with a disability employable, in accordance with Title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 USC 701 et seq. , as amended from time to time;
(3) "Community rehabilitation program" means a program that provides directly for or facilitates the provision of vocational rehabilitation services to persons with disabilities, as defined in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 USC 701 et seq. , as amended from time to time;
(4) "Products are made or manufactured by or services are provided by persons with disabilities" if not less than seventy-five per cent of the hours of direct labor required for such products or services are performed by persons with disabilities.
Sec. 5. Section 10-309 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2016):
The Department of Rehabilitation Services may place in remunerative occupations persons whose capacity to earn a living has been lost or impaired by lessened visual acuity and who, in the opinion of the Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services, are susceptible of placement, and may make such regulations as are necessary for the administration of the provisions of this section and sections 10-306 to [10-310] 10-308a, inclusive.
Sec. 6. Subsection (e) of section 5-259 of the 2016 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2016):
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, [(1)] vending stand operators eligible for membership in the state employees' retirement system pursuant to section 5-175a shall be eligible for coverage under the group hospitalization and medical and surgical insurance plans procured under this section, provided the cost for such operators' insurance coverage shall be paid by the Department of Rehabilitation Services from vending machine income pursuant to section 10-303. [, and (2) blind persons employed in workshops, established pursuant to section 10-298a, on December 31, 2002, shall be eligible for coverage under the group hospitalization and medical and surgical insurance plans procured under this section, provided the cost for such persons' insurance coverage shall be paid by the Department of Rehabilitation Services. ]
Sec. 7. Sections 10-298a, 10-298b, 10-298c, 10-298d, 10-300, 10-300a, 10-304 and 10-310 of the general statutes are repealed. (Effective October 1, 2016)