General Assembly		Raised Bill No. 6909
January Session, 2015		LCO No. 4250
		*04250_______HS_*
Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES
Introduced by:
(HS)

AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE CONNECTICUT TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY ADVISORY BOARD.

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

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2015) (a) As used in this section, "traumatic brain injury" or "TBI" means damage to the brain tissue and any combination of focal and diffuse central nervous system dysfunction, both immediate or delayed, at the brain stem level and above, sustained through external forces including, but not limited to, blows to the head, falls, vehicular crashes, assaults, sports accidents, intrauterine and birth injuries and violent movement of the body. There is established a Connecticut Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Board to address the needs of persons with traumatic brain injuries.

(b) The board shall make recommendations for the implementation of a state-wide plan to address the needs of persons with traumatic brain injury, including, but not limited to: (1) Increasing efforts for prevention of and community education about TBI, (2) increasing provider capacity and provider competency, skills and knowledge, (3) improving the coordination of services, (4) opening a dialogue with private community-based agencies to develop services for persons with TBI, (5) assessing and identifying methods to expand programs and services for persons with TBI, (6) making recommendations to address the needs of persons with TBI not covered by existing services, and (7) establishing a comprehensive TBI tracking system to collect data on incidence, patient demographics, nature of injury, cause of injury, injury locale, details on severity of injury and outcomes.

(c) The board shall consist of the following members:

(1) Three appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall be TBI survivors;

(2) Three appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, who shall be relatives of TBI survivors;

(3) Three appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, two of whom shall be representatives of private provider agencies currently providing support for persons with TBI and one of whom shall be a representative of the Brain Injury Alliance of Connecticut;

(4) Three appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, two of whom shall be representatives from the medical community, such as a pediatrician, a neurologist, a physiatrist or a neuropsychologist, with experience working with persons with TBI, and one of whom shall be a representative from the educational community, such as a school nurse, a school guidance counselor, an educator or a representative from special education;

(5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, who shall be a representative of a federally recognized tribe located in Connecticut;

(6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, who shall be a licensed professional, such as a clinical social worker, rehabilitation specialist, speech pathologist, vocational rehabilitation counselor, occupational therapist or physical therapist, with experience working with persons with TBI;

(7) Two representatives of the Department of Public Health, appointed by the Governor;

(8) One representative each from the Department of Developmental Services, Department of Children and Families, Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Department of Corrections, Department of Education, Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities, Department of Social Services, Department of Rehabilitation Services, Department of Veterans' Affairs, and the Department of Labor, appointed by the Governor.

(d) All appointments to the board shall be made not later than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority. Members of the board shall serve without compensation for terms as set forth in the bylaws adopted pursuant to subsection (e) of this section.

(e) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons and secretary of the board from among the members of the board. Such chairpersons shall schedule the first meeting of the board, which shall be held not later than sixty days after the effective date of this section. The chairpersons and secretary shall conduct the affairs of the board and draft bylaws to be approved by the board. A majority of the board may amend the bylaws or recommend to the appointing authority removal of a board member for cause. For purposes of this subsection, "cause" means gross dereliction of duty, excessive absenteeism or undisclosed conflicts of interest involving paid providers of services.

(f) The Department of Public Health shall provide administrative support to the board, including, but not limited to, providing meeting space, a place to house records and space on the department's Internet web site dedicated to the board.

(g) There shall be Memoranda of Understanding between the board, the Department of Public Health and other state or private entities to share information and resources deemed reasonably necessary in order to accomplish the goals of the board subject to the provisions of subsection (i) of this section.

(h) Not later than the end of each fiscal year on June thirtieth, the board shall report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the Governor and the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to human services and public health. The annual report shall include, but not be limited to: (1) The incidence and geographical distribution of such incidences of TBI in Connecticut, (2) demographic data concerning persons with TBI, (3) a review of the use of public-private partnerships to serve persons with TBI, (4) assessment of current services from both public and private providers, and (5) identification of gaps or deficits in programs and services for persons with TBI.

(i) The board's transmission, storage and dissemination of data and records related to persons with TBI shall be in accordance with federal and state law and regulations concerning the privacy, security, confidentiality and safeguarding of individually identifiable information, including, but not limited to, the provisions of section 19a-25f of the general statutes concerning electronic health information and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-191) (HIPAA), as amended from time to time, and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, 20 USC 1232g, (FERPA), as amended from time to time, and any regulations promulgated thereunder.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	July 1, 2015	New section

Statement of Purpose:

To establish an advisory board to make recommendations concerning a state-wide plan to address the needs of persons with traumatic brain injuries.

[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.]