General Assembly Proposed Bill No. 55
January Session, 2021 LCO No. 129
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
SEN. ANWAR, 3rd Dist.
AN ACT DESIGNATING RACISM AS A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS IN
THE STATE AND ESTABLISHING A COMMISSION TO STUDY THE
IMPACT OF INSTITUTIONAL RACISM ON PUBLIC HEALTH.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
1 That the general statutes be amended to designate racism as a public
2 health crisis in the state and to establish a commission to study and
3 make recommendations on the following: (1) Institutional racism in the
4 state's laws and regulations impacting public health, (2) racial disparity
5 present in our criminal justice system and its impact on the health and
6 well-being of individuals and families, including overall health
7 outcomes and rates of depression, suicide substance use disorder and
8 chronic disease, (3) racial disparities in access to the resources to healthy
9 living, including, but not limited to, access to fresh food, produce and
10 physical activity, public safety and the presence of pollution in
11 communities, (4) racial disparities in access to health care, (5) racial
12 disparities in health outcomes in hospitals, nursing homes and long-
13 term care facilities, and (6) the impact of zoning restrictions on the
14 creation of housing disparities and such disparities' impact on public
LCO No. 129 1 of 2
 Proposed Bill No. 55
15 health.
Statement of Purpose:
To designate racism as a public health crisis in the state and establish a
commission to study the impact of institutional racism on public health.
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