Bill Text: CT SB00303 | 2015 | General Assembly | Comm Sub

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: An Act Establishing A Task Force To Study The State-wide Response To Family Violence.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Passed) 2015-06-30 - Signed by the Governor [SB00303 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2015-SB00303-Comm_Sub.html

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General Assembly		Committee Bill No. 303
January Session, 2015		LCO No. 4321
		*04321SB00303KID*
Referred to Committee on COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN
Introduced by:
(KID)

AN ACT CONCERNING CHILDREN EXPOSED TO FAMILY VIOLENCE.

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 to study the state-wide response to incidents of family violence. Such study shall include, but not be limited to, (1) an examination of existing policies and procedures used by the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, health care professionals, law enforcement, guardians ad litem, attorneys for minor children and the Judicial Branch for minors who are exposed to family violence, and (2) the development of a state-wide model policy for use by (A) the Department of Children and Families, including organizations with which it contracts services; (B) the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, including organizations with which it contracts services; (C) health care professionals; (D) guardians ad litem; (E) attorneys for minor children; (F) law enforcement; (G) and the Judicial Branch, when responding to minors who are exposed to family violence.

(b) The task force shall consist of the following members:

(1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives;

(2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate;

(3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives;

(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate;

(5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives;

(6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate;

(7) The Commissioner of Children and Families, or the commissioner's designee;

(8) The Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, or the commissioner's designee;

(9) The Victim Advocate of the Office of the Victim Advocate, or the victim advocate's designee; and

(10) The executive director of the Court Support Services Division of the Judicial Branch, or the executive director's designee.

(c) Any member of the task force appointed under subdivision (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) of subsection (b) of this section may be a member of the General Assembly.

(d) All appointments to the task force shall be made not later than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority.

(e) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro tempore of the Senate shall select two chairpersons of the task force from among the members of the task force. Such chairpersons shall schedule the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than sixty days after the effective date of this section.

(f) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children shall serve as administrative staff of the task force.

(g) Not later than January 1, 2016, the task force shall submit a report on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children, mental health and addiction services and judiciary, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes. The task force shall terminate on the date that it submits such report or January 1, 2016, whichever is later.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	from passage	New section

Statement of Purpose:

To establish a task force to study the state-wide response to incidents of family violence.

[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. LOONEY, 11th Dist.; SEN. DUFF, 25th Dist. SEN. BYE, 5th Dist.; SEN. BARTOLOMEO, 13th Dist. SEN. CASSANO, 4th Dist.; SEN. COLEMAN, 2nd Dist. SEN. CRISCO, 17th Dist.; SEN. FLEXER, 29th Dist. SEN. KENNEDY, 12th Dist.; SEN. LARSON, 3rd Dist. SEN. MOORE, 22nd Dist.; SEN. OSTEN, 19th Dist. SEN. WINFIELD, 10th Dist.; REP. FRITZ, 90th Dist.

S.B. 303