Sec. 38a-1051. Commission on Health Equity. Membership. Duties. Report to Governor and General Assembly.
Sec. 38a-1051. Commission on Health Equity. Membership. Duties. Report to
Governor and General Assembly. (a) Whereas the General Assembly finds that: (1)
Equal enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is a human right and a
priority of the state, (2) research and experience demonstrate that inhabitants of the state
experience barriers to the equal enjoyment of good health based on race, ethnicity,
national origin and linguistic ability, and (3) addressing such barriers, and others that
may arise in the future, requires: The collection, analysis and reporting of information,
the identification of causes, and the development and implementation of policy solutions
that address health disparities while improving the health of the public as a whole therefore, there is established a Commission on Health Equity with the mission of eliminating
disparities in health status based on race, ethnicity and linguistic ability, and improving
the quality of health for all of the state's residents. Such commission shall consist of
the following commissioners, or their designees, and public members: (A) The Commissioners of Public Health, Mental Health and Addiction Services, Developmental Services, Social Services, Correction, Children and Families, and Education; (B) the dean
of The University of Connecticut Health Center, or his designee; (C) the director of The
University of Connecticut Health Center and Center for Public Health and Health Policy,
or their designees; (D) the dean of the Yale University Medical School, or his designee;
(E) the dean of Public Health and the School of Epidemiology at Yale University, or
his designee; (F) one member appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate,
who shall be a member of an affiliate of the National Urban League; (G) one member
appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall be a member of
the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; (H) one member
appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, who shall be a member
of the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus of the General Assembly; (I) one member appointed by the majority leader of the Senate with the advice of the Native American
Heritage Advisory Council or the chairperson of the Indian Affairs Council, who shall
be a representative of the Native American community; (J) one member appointed by
the minority leader of the Senate, who shall be a representative of an advocacy group
for Hispanics; (K) one member appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, who shall be a representative of the state-wide Multicultural Health Network;
(L) the chairperson of the African-American Affairs Commission, or his or her designee;
(M) the chairperson of the Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission, or his or her
designee; (N) the chairperson of the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women,
or his or her designee; (O) the chairperson of the Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission, or his or her designee; (P) the director of the Hispanic Health Council, or his
or her designee; (Q) the chairperson of the Office of the Healthcare Advocate, or his or
her designee; and (R) eight members of the public, representing communities facing
disparities in health status based on race, ethnicity and linguistic ability, who shall be
appointed as follows: Two by the president pro tempore of the Senate, two by the speaker
of the House of Representatives, two by the minority leader of the Senate, and two by
the minority leader of the House of Representatives. Vacancies on the council shall be
filled by the appointing authority.
(b) The commission shall elect a chairperson and a vice-chairperson from among
its members. Any member absent from either: (1) Three consecutive meetings of the
commission, or (2) fifty per cent of such meetings during any calendar year, shall be
deemed to have resigned from the commission.
(c) Members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but within available appropriations, and shall be reimbursed for expenses necessarily incurred in the
performance of their duties.
(d) The commission shall meet as often as necessary as determined by the chairperson or a majority of the commission, but not less than at least once per calendar quarter.
(e) The commission shall: (1) Review and comment on any proposed state legislation and regulations that would affect the health of populations in the state experiencing
racial, ethnic, cultural or linguistic disparities in health status, (2) review and comment
on the Department of Public Health's health disparities performance measures, (3) advise and provide information to the Governor and the General Assembly on the state's
policies concerning the health of populations in the state experiencing racial, ethnic,
cultural or linguistic disparities in health status, (4) work as a liaison between populations
experiencing racial, ethnic, cultural or linguistic disparities in health status and state
agencies in order to eliminate such health disparities, (5) evaluate policies, procedures,
activities and resource allocations to eliminate health status disparities among racial,
ethnic and linguistic populations in the state and have the authority to convene the
directors and commissioners of all state agencies whose purview is relevant to the elimination of health disparities, including but not limited to, the Departments of Public
Health, Social Services, Children and Families, Developmental Services, Education,
Mental Health and Addiction Services, Labor, Transportation, the Housing Finance
Authority and the Office of Health Care Access for the purpose of advising on and
directing the implementation of policies, procedures, activities and resource allocations
to eliminate health status disparities among racial, ethnic and linguistic populations in
the state, (6) prepare and submit to the Governor and General Assembly an annual report,
in accordance with section 11-4a, that provides both a retrospective and prospective
view of health disparities and the state's efforts to ameliorate identifiable disparities
among populations of the state experiencing racial, ethnic, cultural or linguistic disparities in health status, (7) explore other successful programs in other sectors and states,
and pilot and provide grants for new creative programs that may diminish or contribute
to the elimination of health disparities in the state and culturally appropriate health
education demonstration projects, for which the commission may apply for, accept and
expand public and private funding, (8) have the authority to collect and analyze government and other data regarding the health status of state inhabitants based on race, ethnicity, national origin and linguistic ability, including access, services and outcomes in
private and public health care institutions within the state, including, but not limited to,
the data collected by the Connecticut Health Information Network, (9) have the authority
to draft and recommend proposed legislation, regulations and other policies designed
to address disparities in health status, and (10) have the authority to conduct hearings
and interviews, and receive testimony, regarding matters pertinent to its mission.
(f) The commission may use such funds as may be available from federal, state or
other sources, and may enter into contracts to carry out the provisions of this section.
(g) The commission may, within available appropriations and subject to the provisions of chapter 67, employ any necessary staff.
(h) The commission shall be within the Office of the Healthcare Advocate for administrative purposes only.
(i) The commission shall report to the Governor and the General Assembly on its
findings not later than June 1, 2010.
(j) The commission shall make a determination as to whether the duties of the commission are duplicated by any other state agency, office, bureau or commission and shall
include information concerning any such duplication or performance of similar duties
by any other state agency, office, bureau or commission in the report described in subsection (i) of this section.
(P.A. 08-171, S. 1.)
History: P.A. 08-171 effective June 12, 2008.
See Sec. 4-38f for definition of "administrative purposes only".