Connecticut HB 5477: AN ACT CONCERNING RETIRED TEACHERS' HEALTH INSURANCE BENEFITS.

Bill Text

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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 5477
February Session, 2026

AN ACT CONCERNING THE WELL-BEING OF EMPLOYEES OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION AND PERSONS WHO ARE
INCARCERATED IN CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 18-81cc of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 2
(a) As used in this section, "sexual abuse" has the same meaning as 3
provided in 28 CFR 115.6, as amended from time to time. Any agency of 4
the state or any political subdivision of the state that incarcerates or 5
detains adult or juvenile offenders, including persons detained for 6
immigration violations, shall [, within available appropriations,] adopt 7
and comply with the applicable standards recommended by the 8
National Prison Rape Elimination Commission for the prevention, 9
detection and monitoring of, and response to, sexual abuse in adult 10
prisons and jails, community correctional centers, juvenile facilities and 11
lockups. 12
(b) Such standards include, but are not limited to: 13
(1) Zero tolerance of sexual abuse or written or verbal threats of 14
sexual abuse; 15
(2) Contracting with other entities for the confinement of inmates or 16

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detainees; 17
(3) Inmate or detainee supervision; 18
(4) Heightened protection for vulnerable inmates or detainees; 19
(5) [Limits to cross-gender] Privacy limits on viewing and searches of 20
individuals who have a gender identity that differs from the inmate's 21
assigned sex at birth; 22
(6) Accommodating inmates or detainees with special needs; 23
(7) Hiring and promotion decisions; 24
(8) Assessment, [and] use and implementation of monitoring 25
technology, to ensure there are no areas that are not subject to video 26
surveillance, unless otherwise prohibited by law; 27
(9) Evidence protocol and forensic medical examinations; 28
(10) Agreements with outside public entities and community service 29
providers, including, but not limited to, for purposes of ensuring access 30
to crisis and emotional support services and ongoing mental health 31
support and treatments; 32
(11) Agreements with outside law enforcement agencies for purposes 33
of conducting investigations; 34
(12) Agreements with the prosecuting authority; 35
(13) Employee training; 36
(14) Volunteer and contractor training; 37
(15) Inmate education; 38
(16) Detainee, inmate, attorney [,] and contractor [and inmate worker] 39
notification of agency's zero-tolerance policy; 40
(17) Specialized training: Investigations and internal administrative 41

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investigations; 42
(18) Specialized training: Medical and mental health care, including 43
trauma-informed methods of care for victims of sexual abuse; 44
(19) Screening for risk of victimization and abusiveness; 45
(20) Use of screening information for inmate classification, 46
management and treatment; 47
(21) Inmate or detainee reporting; 48
(22) Exhaustion of administrative remedies; 49
(23) Inmate access to outside confidential support services or legal 50
representation with no interference from the Department of Correction; 51
(24) Third-party reporting; 52
(25) Staff and facility or agency head reporting duties; 53
(26) Reporting to other confinement facilities; 54
(27) Staff first responder duties; 55
(28) Coordinated response; 56
(29) Agency protection against retaliation; 57
(30) Duty to investigate; 58
(31) Duty to intervene; 59
[(31)] (32) Criminal and administrative agency investigations; 60
[(32)] (33) Evidence standard for administrative investigations; 61
[(33)] (34) Disciplinary sanctions for staff, including, but not limited 62
to, for any delay in investigating; 63
[(34) Disciplinary] (35) Graduated disciplinary sanctions for inmates 64

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who are the aggressor for which the agency has substantiated 65
allegations against the inmate who is the aggressor; 66
[(35)] (36) Referrals for prosecution for staff-on-inmate, inmate-on-67
inmate or detainee-on-detainee sexual abuse; 68
[(36)] (37) Medical and mental health screenings: History of sexual 69
abuse, assault, trauma and victimization; 70
[(37)] (38) Access to emergency medical and mental health services; 71
[(38)] (39) Ongoing medical and mental health care for sexual abuse 72
victims and abusers; 73
[(39)] (40) Sexual abuse incident reviews; 74
[(40)] (41) Data collection; 75
[(41)] (42) Data review for corrective action; 76
[(42)] (43) Data storage, publication, and destruction; and 77
[(43)] (44) Audits of standards. 78
(c) The agency head of any agency of the state or the chief elected 79
official or governing legislative body of any political subdivision of the 80
state that incarcerates or detains juvenile offenders shall, annually, not 81
later than January fifteenth, certify its compliance with the provisions of