Connecticut SB 1017: AN ACT ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE ON THE SHORTAGE OF FIREFIGHTERS AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES PERSONNEL IN THE STATE.

Bill Text

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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1017
January Session, 2023 LCO No. 3727

Referred to Committee on PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY

Introduced by:
(PS)

AN ACT ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE ON THE SHORTAGE OF
FIREFIGHTERS AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES
PERSONNEL IN THE STATE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a task force 1
to study the shortage of firefighters and emergency medical services 2
personnel in the state. The task force shall: 3
(1) Examine the factors associated with the shortage of firefighters 4
and emergency medical services personnel in the state; 5
(2) Study ways to alleviate such shortage, which shall include, but is 6
not limited to, an examination of (A) providing an income tax credit for 7
volunteer firefighters, (B) developing a pipeline from colleges and 8
universities into firefighting and emergency medical services, (C) 9
offering tuition incentives for volunteer firefighters and emergency 10
medical services personnel, (D) streamlining certification and 11
recertification processes for firefighters and emergency medical services 12
personnel, and (E) providing sustainable and consistent state funding 13
for training of firefighters and emergency medical services personnel; 14

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and 15
(3) Make recommendations to address such shortage. 16
(b) The task force shall consist of the following members: 17
(1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, 18
one of whom is a municipal chief executive officer; 19
(2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one of 20
whom is a municipal chief executive officer; 21
(3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of 22
Representatives, who is a firefighter; 23
(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, who provides 24
emergency medical services; 25
(5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of 26
Representatives, who provides emergency medical services; 27
(6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, who is a 28
firefighter; 29
(7) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection, 30
or the commissioner's designee; 31
(8) The Commissioner of Public Health, or the commissioner's 32
designee; and 33
(9) Three persons appointed by the Governor. 34
(c) Any member of the task force appointed under subdivision (1), 35
(2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) of subsection (b) of this section may be a member 36
of the General Assembly. 37
(d) All initial appointments to the task force shall be made not later 38
than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall 39
be filled by the appointing authority. 40

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(e) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro 41
tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force from 42
among the members of the task force. Such chairpersons shall schedule 43
the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than sixty 44
days after the effective date of this section. 45
(f) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the 46
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public safety 47
and security shall serve as administrative staff of the task force. 48
(g) Not later than January 1, 2024, the task force shall submit a report 49
on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committee of 50
the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public 51
safety and security, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a 52
of the general statutes. The task force shall terminate on the date that it 53
submits such report or January 1, 2024, whichever is later. 54
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 from passage New section

Statement of Purpose:
To establish a task force to examine and make recommendations to
address the shortage of firefighters and emergency medical services
personnel in the state.
[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.]