Public Health Committee
JOINT FAVORABLE REPORT
Bill No.: SB-1083
AN ACT CONCERNING VARIOUS REVISIONS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH
Title: STATUTES.
Vote Date: 3/31/2021
Vote Action: Joint Favorable Substitute
PH Date: 3/29/2021
File No.: 540
Disclaimer: The following JOINT FAVORABLE Report is prepared for the benefit of the
members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and
explanation and does not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber
thereof for any purpose.
SPONSORS OF BILL:
The Public Health Committee
REASONS FOR BILL:
This legislation implements assorted recommendations regarding revisions to the public
health statutes.
Section 1 requires the Chief Medical Examiner to complete at least one hour of training in
sudden unexpected death in epilepsy as part of CME requirements.
Sections 2 and 3 requires health clubs to have at least one AED in a readily accessible
location and one employee trained in its use and CPR during staffed business hours;
exempts health clubs from liability for acts or omissions involving an AEDs non-use.
Section 4 requires hospitals to (1) ask admitted patients if they want a family member to be
notified of the admission and if so, (2) make reasonable efforts to do so within 24 hours.
Section 5 allows a 16-year-old, with a parents or guardians written authorization, to (1)
donate blood and (2) consent to blood withdrawal at a voluntary blood donation program.
Section 6 extends, from one to two years, the maximum length of an art therapist temporary
permit to practice before full licensure.
Section 7 requires hospitals to provide written notification to the mother of a stillborn child of
burial and cremation options either (1) upon admission to the hospital, when practicable or
the stillbirth is expected or (2) within 12 hours after delivery; provides the mother 24 hours
after receiving the notice to inform the hospital in writing of her decision on such
arrangements.
Section 8 requires the DPH commissioner, by January 1, 2022, to revise the marriage license
application to replace references to bride and groom with spouse 1 and spouse 2,
respectively.
Sections 9 to 87 allows physician assistants to certify, sign, or otherwise document medical
information in several situations that previously required a physicians or APRNs signature,
certification, or documentation.
RESPONSE FROM ADMINISTRATION/AGENCY:
Senator Matthew Lesser, 9th District:
Senator Lesser supports Section 1 of this bill, also known as "Halyn's Law" in honor of Halyn
Murtha who died from SUDEP just before her 10th birthday in 2019. This section requires the
Chief Medical Examiner (CME) to earn at least one hour of training in sudden unexpected
death in epilepsy (SUDEP) as part of their continued required medical education. SUDEP is a
leading cause of death for people with epilepsy. CMEs trained in detecting SUDEP will help
the state collect critical data needed to learn about this problem and possibly help us prevent
more deaths in the future.
NATURE AND SOURCES OF SUPPORT:
Emma Borys:
Ms. Borys supports Section 1 of this bill because she lives with epilepsy and the threat of
sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). She wants to raise awareness of SUDEP
and work with medical professionals in Connecticut so that no other family experiences the
death of their child like the Murtha family.
Michael Finley, Government Relations Advocate, Epilepsy Foundation of Connecticut:
Mr. Finley and the Epilepsy Foundation of Connecticut support Section 1 of this bill, also
known as Halyn's Law. They feel that educating medical examiners and collecting crucial
data, including accurate and uniform reporting of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy
(SUDEP), will lead to identification of the causes and risk factors leading to SUDEP.
Mr. Finley compared this effort to the work done by sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
advocates. They successfully lowered the SIDS death rate from 130.3 deaths per 100,000
live births in 1990 to 38 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1996 after a campaign to put babies
to sleep on their backs. They were only successful in that endeavor because they had data
that identified SIDS risk factors. Mr. Finley and the Epilepsy Foundation of Connecticut would
like to see a similar outcome for SUDEP.
Chris Murtha, Father:
Mr. Murtha supports Section 1 of this bill because he lost his 9-year-old daughter, Halyn
Murtha, to sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) on May 25, 2019. Halyn was
diagnosed with epilepsy at 1 years old and endured significant health challenges along with
subsequent medical treatments and hospital visits. Mr. Murtha and the rest of Halyn's family
want medical examiners in Connecticut to be trained on SUDEP and to collect data to be
Page 2 of 3 SB-1083
shared with the North American SUDEP Registry (NASR). In turn the research done by the
NASR will help lower the risk of the 36,000 Connecticut residents with epilepsy and possibly
prevent another family from experiencing the pain of losing a loved one.
Kathy Flaherty, Executive Director, Connecticut Legal Rights Project (CLRP):
Ms. Flaherty and the CLRP support Section 4 of this bill regarding notification of a family
member if someone is admitted to the hospital for treatment with the patient's consent. They
request to include "any other person of the patient's choosing" given that many people
consider their chosen people as family and not their family of origin.
Hartford HealthCare (HHC):
HHC supports Section 4 of this bill and request a language change from "any family member"
to "a designated family member, caregiver or support person". This gives patients more
options and does not limit them to a relative. Additionally, the addition of "support person" is
in alignment with the language used by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
and the State Department of Health (DPH).
Robert Purvis, Executive Vice President, New York Blood Center Enterprises (NYDCe):
Mr. Purvis and the NYDCe support Section 5 of this bill to allow 16-year-olds to donate blood
with their parent or guardian's written authorization. The pandemic has increased the demand
for blood donations while also decreasing the ways for people to donate blood. Allowing
younger people to donate blood increases the pool of donors and is already permitted in
several surrounding states.
Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA):
CHA supports Section 7 of this bill with a change on language from when notifying a mother
of a stillborn child of the burial and cremation options from 12 hours to 24 hours.
NATURE AND SOURCES OF OPPOSITION:
None
Reported by: Kate Hamilton Date: May 6, 2021
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Statutes affected:
Raised Bill: 20-195ppp
PH Joint Favorable Substitute: 20-195ppp, 12-94, 18-94, 20-14m, 26-29a, 26-29b, 31-294i
File No. 540: 20-195ppp, 12-94, 18-94, 20-14m, 26-29a, 26-29b, 31-294i
Public Act No. 21-26: 20-195ppp