§ 4-28f — Tobacco and Health Trust Fund. Transfers from Tobacco Settlement Fund. Board of trustees. Disbursements.

Connecticut § 4-28f

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 4: Management of State Agencies
• Ch. 47: State Property and Funds

Text

(a) There is created a Tobacco and Health Trust Fund which shall be a separate nonlapsing fund. The purpose of the trust fund shall be to create a continuing significant source of funds to support and encourage development of programs to reduce tobacco and nicotine use through prevention, education and cessation programs that use evidence-based best practices regarding (1) state and community interventions, (2) communication methods to disseminate health information to a wide audience, (3) cessation interventions, (4) surveillance and evaluation, and (5) infrastructure, administration and management. The trust fund shall be used to support the reduction in use of all tobacco and nicotine products, including, but not limited to, combustible, noncombustible, electronic and synthetic tobacco and nicotine products. (b) The trust fund may accept transfers from the Tobacco Settlement Fund and may apply for and accept gifts, grants, donations, assignments or transfers from public or private sources to enable the trust fund to carry out its objectives. (c) The trust fund shall be administered by a board of trustees, except that the board shall suspend its operations from July 1, 2003, to June 30, 2005, inclusive. The board shall consist of seventeen trustees. The appointment of the initial trustees shall be as follows: (1) The Governor shall appoint four trustees, one of whom shall serve for a term of one year from July 1, 2000, two of whom shall serve for a term of two years from July 1, 2000, and one of whom shall serve for a term of three years from July 1, 2000; (2) the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro tempore of the Senate each shall appoint two trustees, one of whom shall serve for a term of two years from July 1, 2000, and one of whom shall serve for a term of three years from July 1, 2000; (3) the majority leader of the House of Representatives and the majority leader of the Senate each shall appoint two trustees, one of whom shall serve for a term of one year from July 1, 2000, and one of whom shall serve for a term of three years from July 1, 2000; (4) the minority leader of the House of Representatives and the minority leader of the Senate each shall appoint two trustees, one of whom shall serve for a term of one year from July 1, 2000, and one of whom shall serve for a term of two years from July 1, 2000; and (5) the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, or the secretary's designee, shall serve as an ex-officio voting member. Following the expiration of such initial terms, subsequent trustees shall serve for a term of three years. The trustees shall continue to serve until their successors are appointed or designated. Any vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment for the balance of the unexpired term. The period of suspension of the board's operations from July 1, 2003, to June 30, 2005, inclusive, shall not be included in the term of any trustee serving on July 1, 2003. The trustees shall serve without compensation except for reimbursement for necessary expenses incurred in performing their duties. The board of trustees shall establish rules of procedure for the conduct of its business which shall include, but not be limited to, criteria, processes and procedures to be used in selecting programs to receive money from the trust fund. The trust fund shall be within the Office of Policy and Management for administrative purposes only. The board of trustees shall, not later than January first of each year, submit a report of its activities and accomplishments to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public health and appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, in accordance with section 11-4a . (d) (1) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, and each fiscal year thereafter, the board of trustees, by majority vote, shall recommend authorization of disbursement from the trust fund of the amount deposited in the trust fund for the fiscal year pursuant to subsection (c) of section 4-28e , for the purposes described in subsection (a) of this section and section 19a-6d . The board's recommendations shall give (A) priority to comprehensive tobacco and nicotine control programs for (i) prevention of initial tobacco and nicotine product use among youth and young adults, (ii) smoking cessation directed at adults and youth, (iii) elimination of exposure to secondhand smoke and aerosol, and (iv) identification and elimination of tobacco and nicotine-related disparities, and (B) consideration to the availability of private matching funds. Recommended disbursements from the trust fund shall be in addition to any resources that would otherwise be appropriated by the state for such purposes and programs. (2) The board of trustees shall submit such recommendations for the authorization of disbursement from the trust fund to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public health and appropriations and the budgets of state agencies. Not later than thirty days after receipt of such recommendations, said committees shall advise the board of their approval, modifications, if any, or rejection of the board's recommendations. If said joint standing committees do not concur, the speaker of the House of Representatives, the president pro tempore of the Senate, the majority leader of the House of Representatives, the majority leader of the Senate, the minority leader of the House of Representatives and the minority leader of the Senate each shall appoint one member from each of said joint standing committees to serve as a committee on conference. The committee on conference shall submit its report to both committees, which shall vote to accept or reject the report. The report of the committee on conference may not be amended. If a joint standing committee rejects the report of the committee on conference, the board's recommendations shall be deemed approved. If the joint standing committees accept the report of the committee on conference, the joint standing committee having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies shall advise the board of said joint standing committees' approval or modifications, if any, of the board's recommended disbursement. If said joint standing committees do not act within thirty days after receipt of the board's recommendations for the authorization of disbursement, such recommendations shall be deemed approved. Disbursement from the trust fund shall be in accordance with the board's recommendations as approved or modified by said joint standing committees. (3) After such recommendations for the authorization of disbursement have been approved or modified pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection, any modification in the amount of an authorized disbursement in excess of fifty thousand dollars or ten per cent of the authorized amount, whichever is less, shall be submitted to said joint standing committees and approved, modified or rejected in accordance with the procedure set forth in subdivision (2) of this subsection. Notification of all disbursements from the trust fund made pursuant to this section shall be sent to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public health and appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, through the Office of Fiscal Analysis. (4) The board of trustees shall submit a biennial report to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public health and appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a . Such report shall include, but need not be limited to, an accounting of the unexpended amount in the trust fund, if any, all disbursements and other expenditures from the trust fund and an evaluation of the performance and impact of each program receiving funds from the trust fund. Such report shall also include the measurable outcome and evaluation criteria and application process used to select programs to receive such funds. See Sec. 4-38f for definition of “administrative purposes only”.

Legislative History

(June Sp. Sess. P.A. 99-2, S. 27, 72; P.A. 00-216, S. 15, 28; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-4, S. 40, 58; P.A. 03-19, S. 3; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-3, S. 10; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-4, S. 24; P.A. 08-145, S. 1; P.A. 13-234, S. 151; P.A. 14-76, S. 4; P.A. 18-168, S. 56; P.A. 22-110, S. 39; 22-118, S. 197; P.A. 23-92, S. 4.) History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 99-2 effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 00-216 designated existing provisions as Subsecs. (a) and (b), added provisions in Subsec. (a) re purposes of trust fund and added Subsecs. (c) re board of trustees and (d) re disbursements, effective June 1, 2000; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-4 amended Subsec. (c) by adding provisions re bimonthly meeting and annual report of the board of trustees, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 03-19 made technical changes in Subsec. (c), effective May 12, 2003; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-3 amended Subsecs. (c) and (d) by adding provisions re suspension of the board's operations from July 1, 2003, to June 30, 2005, effective August 20, 2003; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-4 amended Subsec. (c) to require board to meet biannually instead of bimonthly, effective July 1, 2007; P.A. 08-145 amended Subsec. (c) by deleting requirement that each trustee approve annual report of board and amended Subsec. (d)(1) by adding new Subparas. (A) and (B), permitting board to authorize disbursement of funds for fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, and each fiscal year thereafter, and redesignating existing Subparas. (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), effective July 1, 2008; P.A. 13-234 amended Subsec. (c) by adding provisions re suspension of board operations from July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016, and making technical and conforming changes, and amended Subsec. (d) by adding provisions re recommendation by board for authorization of disbursement for fiscal years ending June 30, 2014, June 30, 2015, and June 30, 2017, in Subdiv. (1), by adding exception for fiscal year ending June 30, 2016, in Subdivs. (2) and (4) and making technical changes, effective June 19, 2013; P.A. 14-76 amended Subsec. (c) by deleting provisions suspending operations of the board from July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016, amended Subsec. (d)(1) by changing “section 19a-6c” to “section 19a-6d”, deleting former provision re limitations on disbursements and adding new provision re disbursements in Subpara. (B), and made conforming changes; P.A. 18-168 amended Subsec. (c) by deleting requirement that board meet not less than biannually, except during fiscal years ending June 30, 2004, and June 30, 2005 and replaced “during the fiscal years ending June 30, 2004, and June 30, 2005” with “following a fiscal year in which the trust fund does not receive a deposit from the Tobacco Settlement Fund” and amended Subsec. (d)(4) by replacing “during the fiscal years ending June 30, 2004, and June 30, 2005” with “following a fiscal year in which the trust fund does not receive a deposit from the Tobacco Settlement Fund”; P.A. 22-110 made a technical change in Subsec. (c); P.A. 22-118 amended Subsec. (c) by deleting provision re year in which trust fund does not receive a deposit, amended Subsec. (d) by deleting provisions re period commencing July 1, 2000, and ending June 30, 2003, replacing provisions re for fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, and each fiscal year thereafter board may recommend authorization of disbursement up to total unobligated balance in trust fund after certain disbursements not to exceed $12,000,000 with provisions re for fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, and each fiscal year thereafter board of trustees by majority vote shall recommend authorization of disbursement of amount deposited in trust fund for purposes described in Sec. 19a-6d(a) in Subdiv. (1), deleted reference to exception during fiscal years ending June 30, 2004, and June 30, 2005, and made a technical change in Subdiv. (2), and substantially amended provisions re board of trustees submission of report in Subdiv. (4), effective July 1, 2022; P.A. 23-92 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting Subdiv. designator (1), replacing “abuse” with “and nicotine use” and adding reference to “evidence-based best practices” in former Subdiv. (1), deleting existing Subdivs. (2) and (3), adding new Subdivs. (1) to (3) and Subdivs. (4) and (5) re evidence-based best practices, and adding provision re use of trust fund to support reduction in use of all tobacco and nicotine products, amended Subsec. (b) by adding references to assignments and transfers, amended Subsec. (c) by adding provisions re trustee service until successor appointment or designation and vacancy appointments, amended Subsec. (d)(1) by replacing clause designators (i) and (ii) with Subpara. designators (A) and (B), replacing provision re programs that address tobacco and substance abuse with provision re comprehensive tobacco and nicotine control programs in former clause (i), and adding Subparas. (A)(i) to (A)(iv) re purposes of comprehensive tobacco and nicotine control programs, amended Subsec. (d)(4) by adding “measurable outcome and evaluation”, and made technical and conforming changes throughout, effective July 1, 2023.