Bill Text: CT SB01009 | 2015 | General Assembly | Introduced

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

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Bill Title: An Act Concerning Persons With Mental Disabilities Who Have Court-appointed Conservators.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-19 - Favorable Change of Reference, House to Committee on Judiciary [SB01009 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2015-SB01009-Introduced.html

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General Assembly		Raised Bill No. 1009
January Session, 2015		LCO No. 4251
		*04251_______HS_*
Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES
Introduced by:
(HS)

AN ACT CONCERNING PERSONS WITH MENTAL DISABILITIES WHO HAVE COURT-APPOINTED CONSERVATORS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2015) The Commissioner of Social Services shall designate staff to expedite Medicaid eligibility determinations and redeterminations filed by a court-appointed conservator on behalf of a person with mental disabilities. To the extent permissible under federal law, the commissioner may extend the period of Medicaid eligibility for any person with mental disabilities who has a court-appointed conservator.

Sec. 2. (Effective July 1, 2015) (a) There is established a task force to study issues concerning conservatorships for persons with mental disabilities. Such study shall include, but not be limited to, (1) compensation provided to attorneys and other persons who are appointed by the courts to represent such persons, (2) the qualifications and training needed to be appointed a conservator for such persons, (3) the allocation and amount of funding and resources to provide services for such persons, and (4) barriers to public assistance posed by the mental disabilities of such persons and ways to streamline eligibility determinations and redeterminations.

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

(1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, one of whom shall be a representative of the Connecticut chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill;

(2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one of whom shall be a public assistance recipient with mental disabilities or his or her conservator;

(3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, who shall be a representative of the Probate Court Administrator's office;

(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, who shall be a provider of support services for persons with mental disabilities who have a court-appointed conservator;

(5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, who shall be a person who is not an attorney who has been appointed as a conservator to represent such persons;

(6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, who shall be an attorney who has been appointed as a conservator to represent such persons;

(7) The Commissioner of Social Services, or the commissioner's designee; and

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

(c) 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.

(d) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro tempore of the Senate shall select the 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.

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

(f) 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 the judiciary, public health and human services, 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	July 1, 2015	New section
Sec. 2	July 1, 2015	New section

Statement of Purpose:

To streamline Medicaid eligibility determinations for persons with mental disabilities who have court-appointed conservators and to study issues concerning the effective delivery of services to such persons.

[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.]