Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

General Assembly                       Raised Bill No. 454
       February Session, 2020                LCO No. 2820
     Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
     Introduced by:
       (JUD)
 AN ACT CONCERNING THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE SANDY
 HOOK WORKERS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AND FUND.
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
 Assembly convened:
       Section 1. Section 1 of special act 13-1 is amended to read as follows
    (Effective from passage):
       (a) As used in this section and sections 2 and 3 of [this act] special act
    13-1, as amended by this act:
       (1) "Sandy Hook Workers Assistance program" or "program" means
    the mechanism for providing monetary assistance to affected persons in
    accordance with the provisions of this section.
       (2) "Affected person" means (A) any person who was or was
   scheduled to be at the affected area during the time of crisis for purposes
   of such person's employment or by virtue of such person's status as a
   volunteer who (i) was at the time of crisis (I) a salaried officer or paid
   member of a police department, fire department or state police troop;
   (II) a volunteer police officer or firefighter, whether the officer or
   firefighter is designated as special or auxiliary, upon vote of the
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 legislative body of the town, city or borough in which the officer or
 firefighter serves; (III) a volunteer who is a member or an auxiliary
 member of any police or fire department; (IV) a licensed medical
 professional, including, but not limited to, a physician, physician
 assistant, nurse, emergency medical technician or paramedic; (V) a
 teacher or paraprofessional employed by the town of Newtown or the
 board of education of the town of Newtown; (VI) employed at the Sandy
 Hook Elementary School in an administrative or service capacity,
 including, but not limited to, as a secretary, food service provider or
 janitor; (VII) a therapist or counselor employed by a state agency or
 licensed under chapter 370, 371, 382a, 383b or 383c of the general
 statutes; or (VIII) a response coordinator employed by the Department
 of Public Health or the Department of Emergency Services and Public
 Protection, and (ii) suffered mental or emotional impairment as a result
 of (I) his or her perception of and proximity to the affected area at the
 time of crisis, or (II) his or her absence from the affected area at the time
 of crisis; (B) a licensed medical examiner, forensic technician, laboratory
 assistant, principal physician, special investigator or forensic science
 examiner employed by or working at the direction of the Chief Medical
 Examiner or the Department of Emergency Services and Public
 Protection, who suffered mental or emotional impairment as a result of
 performing his or her duties necessitated by the events that occurred at
 the affected area during the time of crisis; (C) an emergency service
 dispatcher who suffered mental or emotional impairment as a result of
 performing his or her duties necessitated by the events that occurred at
 the affected area during the time of crisis; or (D) a Department of Mental
 Health and Addiction Services employee providing mental health
 services who suffered mental or emotional impairment as a result of
 performing his or her duties necessitated by the events that occurred at
 the affected area during the time of crisis.
    (3) "Affected area" means (A) from 8:00 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. on
 December 14, 2012, the Sandy Hook Elementary School, its grounds and
 the immediate vicinity, including the Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire
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 Department, and (B) from 12:00 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. on December 15,
 2012, the Sandy Hook Elementary School and its grounds.
    (4) "Time of crisis" means from 8:00 a.m. on December 14, 2012, until
 11:59 p.m. on December 15, 2012.
    (5) "Administrator" means (A) the Office of Victim Services, or (B) a
 charitable trust or entity authorized pursuant to subsection (e) of section
 2 of special act 13-1, as amended by this act.
    (6) "Victim compensation commissioner" or "commissioner" means
 any individual appointed by the Governor pursuant to section 54-202 of
 the general statutes who has agreed to review claims of affected persons
 pursuant to this section.
   (7) "Assistance" means moneys payable by the State Treasurer, or a
 charitable trust or entity authorized pursuant to subsection (e) of section
 2 of special act 13-1, as amended by this act, from the Sandy Hook
 Workers Assistance Fund, established pursuant to section 2 of [this act]
 special act 13-1, as amended by this act, to assist affected persons
 pursuant to this section.
    (b) There is established the Sandy Hook Workers Assistance
 program. The program shall be administered by the administrator and
 shall offer assistance, within available funds, to affected persons eligible
 for assistance under this section and section 2 of [this act, provided no
 assistance shall be paid to any affected person after August 31, 2015]
 special act 13-1, as amended by this act. The [administrator] Office of
 Victim Services shall accept applications for assistance on and after
 [April 1, 2013] the date the office recovers moneys pursuant to
 subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 2 of special act 13-1, as
 amended by this act, for deposit in the Sandy Hook Workers Assistance
 Fund established under section 2 of special act 13-1, as amended by this
 act, provided a charitable trust or entity authorized pursuant to
 subsection (e) of section 2 of special act 13-1, as amended by this act,
 shall accept applications for assistance on and after the effective date of
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 such authorization. For the purposes of this section and section 2 of [this
 act] special act 13-1, as amended by this act, the administrator shall have
 the power to (1) determine whether an affected person meets the
 requirements for eligibility for assistance under this section; (2) summon
 and examine under oath such witnesses as may provide information
 relevant to the eligibility of an affected person, and direct the production
 of, and examine or cause to be produced or examined, such books,
 records, vouchers, memoranda, documents, letters, contracts or other
 papers in relation to any matter at issue as the administrator may find
 proper; and (3) take or cause to be taken affidavits or depositions within
 or without the state.
    (c) An affected person shall be eligible to receive assistance from the
 Sandy Hook Workers Assistance Fund established pursuant to section
 2 of [this act] special act 13-1, as amended by this act, provided the
 affected person meets the following requirements:
     (1) The affected person shall provide an opinion written by a medical
 professional providing mental health services and licensed pursuant to
 title 20 of the general statutes, that such affected person has a mental or
 emotional impairment (A) causing partial or total disability preventing
 such affected person from performing his or her volunteer or
 employment duties, or (B) requiring medical and surgical aid or hospital
 and nursing service, including, but not limited to, medical rehabilitation
 services, mental health therapy services and prescription drugs;
    (2) Such opinion shall include a finding that such mental or emotional
 impairment is directly attributable to the affected person's (A)
 perception of and proximity to or absence from the affected area during
 the time of crisis, or (B) performance of his or her duties necessitated by
 the events that occurred at the affected area during the time of crisis;
    (3) The affected person shall have suffered such mental or emotional
 impairment because (A) the affected person's employment or volunteer
 responsibilities necessitated or, if such person was absent, would have
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 necessitated, the affected person's presence in the affected area during
 the time of crisis, or (B) the affected person was (i) a licensed medical
 examiner, forensic technician, laboratory assistant, principal physician,
 special investigator or forensic science examiner, employed by or
 working at the direction of the Chief Medical Examiner or the
 Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, or (ii) an
 emergency services dispatcher or Department of Mental Health and
 Addiction Services employee providing mental health services, and the
 performance of his or her duties was necessitated by the events that
 occurred at the affected area during the time of crisis; and
    (4) The affected person has submitted, in writing, a notice of claim, in
 such form as required by the administrator, to the administrator [on or
 before June 30, 2014,] that shall include: (A) A certificate issued by the
 medical professional documenting the opinion, required under
 subdivision (1) of this subsection detailing the mental or emotional
 impairment (i) preventing such affected person from performing his or
 her volunteer or employment duties, or (ii) requiring medical and
 surgical aid or hospital and nursing service, including, but not limited
 to, medical rehabilitation services, mental health therapy services and
 prescription drugs; (B) if the affected person is requesting assistance for
 uncompensated leave, evidence of such affected person's weekly
 earnings during the fifty-two calendar weeks immediately preceding
 the time of impairment; and (C) any additional information as requested
 or required by the administrator.
    (d) The level of assistance offered to affected persons shall be
 calculated as follows, subject to available funds, and payable on a
 retroactive and prospective basis at the discretion of the administrator:
 (1) If the mental or emotional impairment suffered by an affected person
 results in total incapacity to work, such person shall be eligible to receive
 weekly assistance for all uncompensated leave, whether such person
 has exhausted his or her compensated leave or elected to take
 uncompensated leave from his or her employment, equal to seventy-
 five per cent of such person's average weekly earnings during the fifty-
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 two calendar weeks immediately preceding the date of the impairment
 after such earnings have been reduced by any deduction for federal or
 state taxes, or both, and for the federal Insurance Contributions Act,
 provided such assistance shall not exceed the average weekly earnings
 of all workers in the state as calculated by the Labor Commissioner
 pursuant to section 31-309 of the general statutes; (2) if the mental or
 emotional impairment suffered by an affected person results in partial
 incapacity to work, or requires such person to be absent from work for
 medical treatment for such impairment, such person shall be eligible to
 receive weekly assistance for all uncompensated leave, whether such
 person has exhausted his or her compensated leave or elected to take
 uncompensated leave from his or her employment, equal to seventy-
 five per cent of the difference between (A) such person's average weekly
 earnings during the fifty-two calendar weeks immediately preceding
 the date of impairment, after such earnings have been reduced by any
 deduction for federal or state taxes, or both, and for the federal
 Insurance Contributions Act; and (B) the amount such affected person
 is able to earn after the impairment, after such amount has been reduced
 by any deduction for federal or state taxes, or both, and for the federal
 Insurance Contributions Act, provided such assistance shall not exceed
 the average weekly earnings of all workers in the state as calculated by
 the Labor Commissioner pursuant to section 31-309 of the general
 statutes; and (3) if the mental or emotional impairment suffered by an
 affected person requires, in the opinion of a medical professional
 providing mental health services and licensed pursuant to title 20 of the
 general statutes, medical and surgical aid or hospital and nursing
 service, including, but not limited to, medical rehabilitation services,
 mental health therapy services and prescription drugs, such person
 shall be eligible for weekly assistance equal to the costs of such aid or
 services, including deductibles and copayments, not covered under any
 benefit plan applicable to such affected person during the calendar year.
 For purposes of this section, the average weekly wage of an affected
 person working as a volunteer at the time of crisis shall be construed to
 be not less than the average production wage in the state as determined
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 by the Labor Commissioner under the provisions of section 31-309 of
 the general statutes.
    (e) (1) In calculating the level of assistance offered to an affected
 person under subsection (d) of this section, the administrator may
 consider special circumstances that may have decreased such affected
 person's average weekly earnings during the fifty-two calendar weeks
 immediately preceding the date of impairment, including, but not
 limited to, maternity or paternity leave or other compensated or
 uncompensated leave, periods of disability, seasonal employment and
 voluntary or involuntary periods of unemployment.
     (2) In calculating the level of assistance offered to an affected person,
 if, under the terms of an applicable collective bargaining agreement, the
 affected person is entitled to receive a greater amount for such person's
 total or partial incapacity to work than the maximum weekly
 compensation calculated by the Labor Commissioner pursuant to
 section 31-309 of the general statutes, the administrator shall offer
 additional assistance in the amount provided for under the terms of
 such agreement.
    (f) The administrator shall promptly review all claims submitted
 pursuant to the provisions of subdivision (4) of subsection (c) of this
 section. The administrator shall evaluate each claim and determine, on
 the basis of information provided by the affected person, or additional
 information provided at the request of the administrator, whether or not
 such claim should be approved and, if approved, the weekly amount of
 assistance offered and the duration thereof, provided such duration
 shall not exceed fifty-two weeks, inclusive of any retroactive assistance,
 or the solvency of the fund. For purposes of this section, a pending
 worker's compensation claim submitted by an affected person shall not
 prevent the administrator from approving such person's claim for
 assistance. The administrator shall provide such determination, in
 writing, to such affected person not later than ten business days after
 having received the notice of claim, or, if the administrator requested
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 additional information, not later than ten business days after receiving
 such additional information, and shall direct the State Comptroller and
 the State Treasurer to pay, or directly pay, if the administrator is a
 charitable trust or entity authorized pursuant to subsection (e) of section
 2 of special act 13-1, as amended by this act, any such assistance offered
 to such affected person in the amount and for the duration determined
 by the administrator, if applicable. Assistance shall continue to be
 offered to the affected person for the duration determined by the
 administrator, provided such affected person submits to the
 administrator, in writing and prior to the first day of each month,
 beginning after the completion of the first full month that assistance has
 been provided, (1) a certificate issued by a medical professional
 providing mental health services and licensed pursuant to title 20 of the
 general statutes describing such affected person's continued incapacity
 to work, and (2) documentation of any uncompensated expenses
 relating to medical and surgical aid or hospital and nursing service,
 including, but not limited to, medical rehabilitation services, mental
 health therapy services and prescription drugs. Upon receiving such
 submissions, the administrator may, within his or her discretion, modify
 the amount of assistance as appropriate.
    (g) An affected person may request that a determination made
 pursuant to subsection (f) of this section be reviewed by a victim
 compensation commissioner by filing a request for review