Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that requires emergency abortion care for pregnant patients in Connecticut.

Highlights:

• Requires that water treatment plants maintain an average monthly fluoride content of 0.7 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water with an accepted deviation of 0.15 milligrams per liter

• Repeals a provision setting fluoride requirements based on federally-set guidelines (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes the Connecticut Commissioner of Public Health to establish an advisory committee on matters relating to recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration (Sec. 2).

• Specifies the composition of the committee’s membership (Sec. 2).

• Prohibits health care entities from limiting the ability of health care providers to provide comprehensive and informative patient counseling with respect to reproductive health and gender affirming care (Sec. 3).

• Prohibits health care entities from discharging or disciplining providers for providing such information or counseling (Sec. 3).

• Prohibits health care entities from limiting the ability of health care providers to provide emergency care with an emphasis on reproductive care (Sec. 3).

• Prohibits health care entities from discharging or disciplining providers for providing such emergency care (Sec. 3).

• Requires licensed hospitals to render emergency care to individuals in specified instances of medical risk without immediate regard for payment (Sec. 5).

• Exempt hospital staff from liability in the event that the hospital does not identify medical risk or does not have capacity to render emergency care to an individual (Sec. 5).

• Prohibits hospitals from transferring patients seeking emergency care to other facilities for non-medical reasons including a patient’s inability to pay for such care (Sec. 6).

• Specifies the circumstances when such a transfer is to be deemed acceptable out of medical necessity and specifies transfer procedures (Sec. 6).

• Authorizes the Department of Public Health to take actions necessary to implement the aforementioned provisions (Sec. 6).

• Requires receiving hospitals to accept and provide emergency care to patients transferred out of medical necessity (Sec. 7).

• Requires hospitals to adopt certain policies and transfer protocols consistent with the aforementioned provisions as a condition of licensure (Sec. 8).

• Requires that hospitals submit such policies and protocols to the department within 30 days (Sec. 8).

• Requires that hospitals maintain certain records relating to transfers and submit potential violations of transfer policy (Sec. 9).

• Prohibits retaliation against individuals submitting such alleged violations (Sec. 10).

• Requires that the commissioner investigate alleged violations and authorizes the commissioner to take responsive action (Sec. 10).

• Prohibits the administration of emergency services based on the following characteristics (Sec. 11):

• Ethnicity;

• Citizenship; 

• Age; 

• Preexisting medical condition(s); 

• Insurance status; 

• Economic status; 

• Ability to pay for medical services; 

• Sex; 

• Race; 

• Color; 

• Religion; 

• Disability; 

• Genetic information; 

• Marital status; 

• Sexual orientation; 

• Gender identity or expression; 

• Primary language; and 

• Immigration status.

• Authorizes the amendment of certain contracts in accordance with the aforementioned provisions (Sec. 11).

• Authorizes individuals harmed by the aforementioned provision to bring civil action within 180 days (Sec. 12).

• Specifies that hospitals found to be in violation shall be liable for compensatory damages including reasonable attorney's fees and lost wages (Sec. 12).

• Authorizes courts to award such amounts and provide injunctive relief (Sec. 12).

• Establishes the Safe Harbor Account as an account of the State Treasurer (Sec. 13). 

• Authorizes the collection of donations to the account and authorizes the Board of Trustees to make expenditures to fulfill the following purposes (Sec. 13):

• Provide grants to health care providers who provide reproductive health care services or gender-affirming health care services;

• Provide grants to nonprofit organizations whose mission includes providing funding for reproductive health care services; and

• Provide grants to nonprofit organizations that serve LGBTQ+ youth or families in the state.

• Specifies the composition of the board’s membership (Sec. 13).

• Requires that the board adopt certain policies and procedures relating to the administration of grants on or before September 1, 2025 (Sec. 13).

• Defines opioid use disorder as a public health crisis (Sec. 14).

• Requires that the Connecticut Alcohol and Drug Policy Council convene a working group to establish goals in the state’s efforts to combat opioid use disorder and requires that the council report these goals to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2026 (Sec. 15).

• Requires that the Connecticut Department of Education and the Connecticut Department of Children and Families establish a mental and behavioral health awareness and treatment pilot program in priority school districts and establishes the goals of the program (Sec. 16).

• Specifies various requirements of the web-program awareness and treatment tool(s) required by the aforementioned provision (Sec. 16).

• Requires that the Commissioner of Education submit to the Legislature a report on the success of the aforementioned program on or before January 1, 2026 (Sec. 16).

• Allocates $3.6 million from the General Fund for the administration of the aforementioned program in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026 (Sec. 17).

• Establishes the Public Health Urgent Communication Account and specifies the parameters in which its funds must be spent (Sec. 18).

• Allocates $5 million from the General Fund to the aforementioned account for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026 (Sec. 19).

• Establishes the Emergency Public Health Financial Safeguard Account and specifies the parameters in which its funds must be spent (Sec. 20).

• Allocates $30 million from the General Fund to the aforementioned account for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026 (Sec. 21).

• Prohibits individuals from practicing as a health care administrator or identifying themselves as such without a license (Sec. 23).

• Requires that the commissioner grant licenses to applicants meeting specified criteria (Sec. 24).

• Exempts current license holders from examination and establishes a renewal fee of $105 (Sec. 24).

• Authorizes the commissioner to review license holders and requires that holders provide specified information during the application process (Sec. 24).

• Requires that the commissioner and certain rules and procedures relating which (Sec. 24):

• Define basic requirements for continuing education programs;

• Delineate qualifying programs;

• Establish a system of control and reporting; and 

• Provide for waiver of the continuing education requirement for good cause.

• Authorizes the department to hear all charges of unacceptable conduct brought against a person licensed as a health care administrator and specifies hearing procedures (Sec. 25).

• Authorizes the department to take specific legal actions (Sec. 25).

• Requires that license holders who regularly treat patients with epilepsy provide each such patient with information concerning the risk of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy and methods to mitigate such risk on or after October 1, 2025 (Sec. 27)

• Specifies the various dates upon which specific provisions shall take effect (Sec. 27).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that requires emergency abortion care for pregnant patients in Connecticut.

Highlights:

• Requires that water treatment plants maintain an average monthly fluoride content of 0.7 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water with an accepted deviation of 0.15 milligrams per liter

• Repeals a provision setting fluoride requirements based on federally-set guidelines (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes the Connecticut Commissioner of Public Health to establish an advisory committee on matters relating to recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration (Sec. 2).

• Specifies the composition of the committee’s membership (Sec. 2).

• Prohibits health care entities from limiting the ability of health care providers to provide comprehensive and informative patient counseling with respect to reproductive health and gender affirming care (Sec. 3).

• Prohibits health care entities from discharging or disciplining providers for providing such information or counseling (Sec. 3).

• Prohibits health care entities from limiting the ability of health care providers to provide emergency care with an emphasis on reproductive care (Sec. 3).

• Prohibits health care entities from discharging or disciplining providers for providing such emergency care (Sec. 3).

• Requires licensed hospitals to render emergency care to individuals in specified instances of medical risk without immediate regard for payment (Sec. 5).

• Exempt hospital staff from liability in the event that the hospital does not identify medical risk or does not have capacity to render emergency care to an individual (Sec. 5).

• Prohibits hospitals from transferring patients seeking emergency care to other facilities for non-medical reasons including a patient’s inability to pay for such care (Sec. 6).

• Specifies the circumstances when such a transfer is to be deemed acceptable out of medical necessity and specifies transfer procedures (Sec. 6).

• Authorizes the Department of Public Health to take actions necessary to implement the aforementioned provisions (Sec. 6).

• Requires receiving hospitals to accept and provide emergency care to patients transferred out of medical necessity (Sec. 7).

• Requires hospitals to adopt certain policies and transfer protocols consistent with the aforementioned provisions as a condition of licensure (Sec. 8).

• Requires that hospitals submit such policies and protocols to the department within 30 days (Sec. 8).

• Requires that hospitals maintain certain records relating to transfers and submit potential violations of transfer policy (Sec. 9).

• Prohibits retaliation against individuals submitting such alleged violations (Sec. 10).

• Requires that the commissioner investigate alleged violations and authorizes the commissioner to take responsive action (Sec. 10).

• Prohibits the administration of emergency services based on the following characteristics (Sec. 11):

• Ethnicity;

• Citizenship; 

• Age; 

• Preexisting medical condition(s); 

• Insurance status; 

• Economic status; 

• Ability to pay for medical services; 

• Sex; 

• Race; 

• Color; 

• Religion; 

• Disability; 

• Genetic information; 

• Marital status; 

• Sexual orientation; 

• Gender identity or expression; 

• Primary language; and 

• Immigration status.

• Authorizes the amendment of certain contracts in accordance with the aforementioned provisions (Sec. 11).

• Authorizes individuals harmed by the aforementioned provision to bring civil action within 180 days (Sec. 12).

• Specifies that hospitals found to be in violation shall be liable for compensatory damages including reasonable attorney's fees and lost wages (Sec. 12).

• Authorizes courts to award such amounts and provide injunctive relief (Sec. 12).

• Establishes the Safe Harbor Account as an account of the State Treasurer (Sec. 13). 

• Authorizes the collection of donations to the account and authorizes the Board of Trustees to make expenditures to fulfill the following purposes (Sec. 13):

• Provide grants to health care providers who provide reproductive health care services or gender-affirming health care services;

• Provide grants to nonprofit organizations whose mission includes providing funding for reproductive health care services; and

• Provide grants to nonprofit organizations that serve LGBTQ+ youth or families in the state.

• Specifies the composition of the board’s membership (Sec. 13).

• Requires that the board adopt certain policies and procedures relating to the administration of grants on or before September 1, 2025 (Sec. 13).

• Defines opioid use disorder as a public health crisis (Sec. 14).

• Requires that the Connecticut Alcohol and Drug Policy Council convene a working group to establish goals in the state’s efforts to combat opioid use disorder and requires that the council report these goals to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2026 (Sec. 15).

• Requires that the Connecticut Department of Education and the Connecticut Department of Children and Families establish a mental and behavioral health awareness and treatment pilot program in priority school districts and establishes the goals of the program (Sec. 16).

• Specifies various requirements of the web-program awareness and treatment tool(s) required by the aforementioned provision (Sec. 16).

• Requires that the Commissioner of Education submit to the Legislature a report on the success of the aforementioned program on or before January 1, 2026 (Sec. 16).

• Allocates $3.6 million from the General Fund for the administration of the aforementioned program in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026 (Sec. 17).

• Establishes the Public Health Urgent Communication Account and specifies the parameters in which its funds must be spent (Sec. 18).

• Allocates $5 million from the General Fund to the aforementioned account for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026 (Sec. 19).

• Establishes the Emergency Public Health Financial Safeguard Account and specifies the parameters in which its funds must be spent (Sec. 20).

• Allocates $30 million from the General Fund to the aforementioned account for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026 (Sec. 21).

• Prohibits individuals from practicing as a health care administrator or identifying themselves as such without a license (Sec. 23).

• Requires that the commissioner grant licenses to applicants meeting specified criteria (Sec. 24).

• Exempts current license holders from examination and establishes a renewal fee of $105 (Sec. 24).

• Authorizes the commissioner to review license holders and requires that holders provide specified information during the application process (Sec. 24).

• Requires that the commissioner and certain rules and procedures relating which (Sec. 24):

• Define basic requirements for continuing education programs;

• Delineate qualifying programs;

• Establish a system of control and reporting; and 

• Provide for waiver of the continuing education requirement for good cause.

• Authorizes the department to hear all charges of unacceptable conduct brought against a person licensed as a health care administrator and specifies hearing procedures (Sec. 25).

• Authorizes the department to take specific legal actions (Sec. 25).

• Requires that license holders who regularly treat patients with epilepsy provide each such patient with information concerning the risk of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy and methods to mitigate such risk on or after October 1, 2025 (Sec. 27)

• Specifies the various dates upon which specific provisions shall take effect (Sec. 27).

Full Bill Text