§ 17a-836a — (Formerly Sec. 46a-28). Advisory Board for Persons Who are Deaf, Deafblind or Hard of Hearing: Members, meetings.

Connecticut § 17a-836a

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 17a: Social and Human Services and Resources
• Ch. 319l: Department of Aging and Disability Services

Text

(a) The Advisory Board for Persons Who are Deaf, Deafblind or Hard of Hearing shall consist of the following members: (1) The consultant appointed by the State Board of Education in accordance with section 10-316a, or the consultant's designee; (2) the president of the Connecticut Council of Organizations Serving the Deaf, or the president's designee; (3) the president of the Connecticut Association of the Deaf, or the president's designee; (4) the president of the Connecticut Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, or the president's designee; (5) the president of Hear Here Hartford, the Connecticut chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America, or the president's designee; (6) the executive director of the American School for the Deaf, or the executive director's designee; (7) a representative of an organization representing Connecticut hospitals, appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives; and (8) eight members appointed by the Governor as follows: (A) A person who is deaf; (B) a person who is hard of hearing; (C) a person who is deafblind; (D) an interpreting professional who serves deaf, deafblind or hard of hearing persons; (E) a healthcare professional who works with persons who are deaf, deafblind or hard of hearing; (F) a parent of a student in a predominantly oral education program; (G) an educator who works with children who are deaf, deafblind or hard of hearing; and (H) a parent of a student at the American School for the Deaf. The members of the advisory board shall elect two chairpersons of the advisory board from among the members of the advisory board. On and after October 1, 2024, the director of the Bureau of Services for Persons Who Are Deaf, Deafblind or Hard of Hearing shall serve as administrator of the advisory board. (b) The advisory board shall meet at least quarterly or more often at the call of the chairpersons or a majority of the members. A majority of members in office but not less than nine voting members shall constitute a quorum. (c) Any appointed member who fails to attend three consecutive meetings or who fails to attend fifty per cent of all meetings held during any calendar year shall be deemed to have resigned. Vacancies occurring otherwise than by expiration of term in the membership of the advisory board shall be filled by the Governor or the appointing authority, as the case may be. See Sec. 46a-34 re definitions of “deaf”, “hard of hearing” and “deafblind”.

Legislative History

(P.A. 74-252, S. 2, 11; P.A. 75-420, S. 4, 6; 75-638, S. 18, 23; P.A. 77-614, S. 302, 323, 521, 539, 610; P.A. 80-210; P.A. 83-167; P.A. 84-361, S. 3, 7; P.A. 93-91, S. 1, 2; 93-262, S. 66, 87; 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 07-73, S. 2(b); P.A. 11-44, S. 36; P.A. 17-30, S. 2; 17-146, S. 25; P.A. 19-157, S. 92; P.A. 21-72, S. 5; 21-151, S. 5; P.A. 22-21, S. 1; P.A. 24-81, S. 67.) History: P.A. 75-420 replaced welfare commissioner with commissioner of social services; P.A. 75-638 replaced deputy commissioner of health on mental retardation with commissioner of mental retardation; P.A. 77-614 replaced secretary of the state board of education with commissioner of education, commissioner of health with commissioner of health services and commissioner of social services with commissioner of human resources in Subsec. (a), replaced appointment provisions in Subsec. (b) with simple statement that appointments are made by governor and provided that qualifications and compensation of executive director be determined by commissioner of administrative services with approval of secretary of office of policy and management rather than by abolished personnel policy board and that director be under direction of human resources commissioner in Subsec. (e), effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 80-210 increased commission membership from 15 to 23, adding commissioners of income maintenance and children and youth services, increasing gubernatorial appointees from 9 to 11 and deaf appointees from 5 to 7; P.A. 83-167 amended Subsec. (a) by decreasing commission membership from 23 to 22, deleting the ex officio membership of the superintendent of the Mystic Oral School and providing that one member be a parent of a student in a predominantly oral education program rather than of a student at the Mystic Oral School; P.A. 84-361 added provisions requiring that meetings be held at least quarterly, establishing number of members required for quorum and setting standards of attendance required to retain membership and made commission rather than human resources commissioner responsible for supervision of executive director; Sec. 17-137m transferred to Sec. 46a-28 in 1991; P.A. 93-91 substituted commissioner and department of children and families for commissioner and department of children and youth services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-262 reduced commission membership from 22 to 21 to reflect reorganization of social services, replacing reference to commissioners of income maintenance and human resources with commissioner of social services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-381 replaced commissioner of health services with commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995 (Revisor's note: A reference to “Commissioners of Public Health ... Labor, Education, Mental Retardation, and Children and Families” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioners of Public Health ... Education, Mental Retardation, and Children and Families and the Labor Commissioner” for consistency with customary statutory usage); pursuant to P.A. 07-73 “Commissioner of Mental Retardation” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Developmental Services”, effective October 1, 2007; P.A. 11-44 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “commission” with “Commission on the Deaf and Hearing Impaired”, deleted former Subsec. (e) re position of executive director, and deleted former Subsec. (f) re employment of clerical and other assistance, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 17-30 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “Commission on the Deaf and Hearing Impaired” with “Advisory Board for Persons Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing”, substantially amending provisions re members including replacing “twenty-one members, three of whom shall be ex officio” with “fifteen members appointed by the Governor”, and replacing provisions re members with provisions re same, amended Subsec. (b) by replacing 7 voting members with 8 voting members, deleted Subsec. (d) re expenses, and made technical and conforming changes, effective June 6, 2017; P.A. 17-146 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “fifteen” with “sixteen” re members, adding Subdiv. (16) re director of Connecticut Chapter of We the Deaf People, amended Subsec. (b) by replacing “eight” with “nine” re voting members, and made a technical change, effective June 30, 2017; P.A. 19-157 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services” with “Commissioner of Aging and Disability Services”; P.A. 21-72 amended Subsec. (a) by changing name of board to Advisory Board for Persons Who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing or Deafblind and substantially revising appointment provisions, including by deleting reference to 16 members appointed by Governor, redesignating existing Subdivs. (9) to (16) as Subdivs. (9)(A) to (9)(H) and adding reference to 8 members appointed by Governor and adding references to deafblind, effective July 1, 2021; P.A. 21-151 made identical changes as P.A. 21-72, effective July 1, 2021; P.A. 22-21 amended Subsec.(a) by removing Governor's liaison to disability community in Subdiv. (7), redesignated Subdivs. (8) and (9) as new Subdivs. (7) and (8), deleted requirement Commissioner of Aging and Disability Services, Governor's liaison to disability community and member chosen by board majority be chairpersons and added requirement board members elect 2 chairpersons, effective July 1, 2022; Sec. 46a-28 transferred to Sec. 17a-836a in 2023; P.A. 24-81 changed title of board from “Advisory Board for Persons Who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing or Deafblind” to “Advisory Board for Persons Who Are Deaf, Deafblind or Hard of Hearing”, changed references throughout from “deaf, hard of hearing or deafblind” to “deaf, deafblind or hard of hearing”, amended Subsec. (a)(5) by substituting president of Hear Here Hartford for Commissioner of Aging and Disability Services and Subsec. (a)(7) by substituting hospital representative for president of Connecticut chapter of We the Deaf People and adding bureau director as administrator, and amended Subsec. (c) by adding reference to appointing authority, as the case may be.