From Norm Needleman, State Senator.
I hope you and your family are staying safe and healthy. Please take a couple minutes to read details of a newly announced draft police accountability bill, update from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and other developments in our area.
Police Accountability Bill Announced
Last Friday, the Democratic Co-Chairs and Republican Ranking Members on the Judiciary Committee unveiled the specifics of a new police accountability bill that the legislature hopes to debate and vote on in a special session later this month.
Some of the bill’s highlights are:
- The Police Officer Standards and Training Council (POST), which currently provides certification and trainings for only some police officers in Connecticut, will be reconstituted. Current membership will end on December 31, 2020, and there will be new criteria for appointments, including justice-impacted persons be members and different size towns be represented. Six appointments to the POST will be made by legislative leaders. If a member misses 50% or more of meetings in a calendar year, they will lose their seat.
- POST will issue an annual report on minority recruitment efforts at local police departments.
- All officers must become POST certified; periodic mental health screenings will be required at a police chief’s discretion where there is cause; a screening must be conducted no less than every five years and when an officer changes departments; uniformed officers must have their name and badge number readily visible on their outer garment; individuals providing police training at police departments or at the academy must be certified in their field of expertise.
- POST will develop a model crowd control policy; will require implicit bias training; and disciplinary records of officers will be subject to Freedom of Information Act requests.
- POST will have the ability to conduct hearings and make determinations to suspend, censor, or decertify an officer. POST can make these determinations when an officer has engaged in conduct that undermines public confidence in law enforcement or when an officer uses excess or unjustifiable force. If an officer is de-certified by POST, they cannot be employed as a security guard.
- Under the new bill, cities and towns will have the ability to appoint citizen review boards and extend subpoena power to those review boards through local legislative bodies.
- Local police departments will review the need to engage more social worker-based responses, either with an officer or by themselves.
- Body and dashboard cameras will be mandatory for officers interacting with public; this mandate will include funding for storage and allow the state Office of Policy and Management the ability to set conditions for grant funding.
- Quotas for pedestrian stops are banned, with such quotas already banned on traffic stops.
- Consent searches of vehicles will be banned unless there is probable cause.
- An objectively reasonable standard will be required for a police officer to use deadly force, meaning that an officer has exhausted all reasonable alternatives, that the force creates no significant risk of injury to a third party, and that such use of force is necessary.
- No tactic to restrain blood flow to the head, including chokeholds and strangleholds, can be used unless it’s deemed necessary to save the life of oneself or someone else.
- Officers must intervene and report excessive use of deadly force; whistleblower protections will be provided to those who do.
- The bill creates an independent Office of the Inspector General (IG), which will be housed under the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney’s Division of Criminal Justice. Use of force investigations would be conducted by the IG with prosecutorial authority. The IG would be nominated by the Chief State’s Attorney with a public hearing required before the Judiciary Committee and confirmation by the legislature to a four-year term. The IG can refer police officers to POST for de-certification.
- The bill implements increased penalties for making a false police report based on race, gender, national origin, or sexual identity, and it creates cause of action for civil rights violations.
- The Police Transparency and Accountability Task Force’s work will continue, focused on how to increase minority police officer recruitment, whether police officers should carry professional liability insurance, and whether to ban no-knock warrants.
The announced bill is a draft and details have yet to be finalized. As we approach the special session, I want to hear your thoughts and ideas. To send me your feedback, please email Needleman@senatedems.ct.gov.
Regional Water Authority Expanding Financial Assistance Program
The coronavirus pandemic has placed a financial strain on many families and businesses in Connecticut and because of this, Regional Water Authority (RWA) is expanding its Residential Water Assistance Program, which offers grants for use in paying water bills. RWA is also temporarily making assistance available to small commercial and industrial customers. Small businesses can apply for assistance online and submitting a copy of their most recent RWA bill. RWA residential customers living at or below 250 percent of the Federal Poverty Income Guidelines are eligible to receive a grant of up to $175. Residential customers interested in applying for the Residential Water Assistance Program should contact Dollar Energy, the RWA’s partner on this initiative, toll-free at 1-888-282-6816. Businesses can qualify for $200 grants through the program if they were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Connecticut Reinstates STEAP Program To Support Towns And Cities
The state recently announced it is reinstating the Small Town Economic Assistance Program, or STEAP, an initiative funding infrastructure improvement projects for towns otherwise unable to receive urban action bonds. Up to $15 million in bonds will be opened to support local economies and communities negatively impacted by COVID-19. This is the first time this program has been in use since 2016.
Under state law, STEAP grants can only be used for capital projects, meaning new construction, expansion, renovation or replacement of existing facilities. The project costs can include cost of land, design, engineering, architectural planning and contract services. Towns will be required to create contracts with the state agency assigned to administer their grant before incurring any project-related expenditures.
Towns are able to apply for STEAP grants as of July 13, with a deadline of August 14. For more information, please visit this link.
2020-2021 School Year Waives 180-Day Requirement
The Connecticut Board of Education has voted to waive the 180-day requirement for students for the upcoming 2020-2021 school year. The decision will shorten the state-required number of school days by three days, making the requirement for students to attend school for 177 days. Those three extra days will now be used for COVID-19 training.
New Certification Implementation for Travelers Entering Connecticut
Governor Lamont has decided that there will be a new certification process implemented for air travelers entering Connecticut from states with high COVID-19 infection rates. The certification process will require travelers who come from these hotspots to complete a form telling officials where they are coming from, who they are traveling with, and where they plan to quarantine. Travelers will provide this information to officials upon arrival in Connecticut. The process will allow for a better way to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Update from The Department of Veterans Affairs Regarding COVID-19
The Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) Healthcare Center (HCC) reported that in the month of June every resident was tested for COVID-19 in the DVA residential facility, with only one out of 120 veteran residents testing positive. Regular screenings are being continued and a broad one-day point prevalence test has been scheduled for all veteran residents on July 21. On July 9, all direct caregivers and front line staff who work in the HCC and residential facility were tested and results will be available soon. For more information on the safety and health procedures regarding COVID-19 at the DVA, you can click here.
