AN ACT CONCERNING WORKPLACE HEALTH, SAFETY AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION FOR PUBLIC TRANSIT WORKERS.

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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5236
February Session, 2026 LCO No. 1401

Referred to Committee on TRANSPORTATION

Introduced by:
(TRA)

AN ACT CONCERNING WORKPLACE HEALTH, SAFETY AND
VIOLENCE PREVENTION FOR PUBLIC TRANSIT WORKERS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) (a) (1) There is established 1
a Public Transit Workplace Health, Safety and Violence Prevention 2
Committee, which shall be in the Department of Transportation for 3
administrative purposes only. The committee shall consist of (A) two 4
public transit bus operator s from each transit district formed under 5
chapter 103a of the general statutes appointed pursuant to subdivision 6
(2) of this subsection, and (B) two representatives of management from 7
each transit district appointed by the board of directors of such transit 8
district. The Commissioner of Transportation, or the commissioner's 9
designee, shall be an ex-officio, nonvoting member of the committee. 10
(2) If public transit bus operators employed by a transit district are 11
members of a collective bargaining unit, the employee organization 12
designated as the exclusive bargaining representative for such unit shall 13
appoint the two public transit bus operators to such committee. If public 14
transit bus operators are not members of a collective bargaining unit, 15

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the public transit bus operators appointed to such committee shall be 16
selected through a process determined by the public transit bus 17
operators employed in such transit district. 18
(3) All initial appointments to the committee shall be made not later 19
than November 1, 2026 , and shall terminate on October 31, 2028 , 20
regardless of when the initial appointment was made. Any member of 21
the committee may serve more than one term. 22
(4) The committee shall have two cochairpersons, one of whom shall 23
be a public transit bus operator elected by the members of the committee 24
who are public transit bus operators, and one of whom shall be elected 25
by members of the committee who are representatives of management 26
from transit districts. 27
(b) The Commissioner of Transportation, or the commissioner's 28
designee, shall select two acting cochairpersons of the committee from 29
its members for the purpose of organizing the first committee meeting, 30
one of whom shall be a public transit bus operator and one of whom 31
shall be a representative of the management of a transit district. Such 32
acting cochairpersons shall schedule and convene the first meeting, 33
which shall be held not later than December 1, 2026 . During the first 34
meeting of the committee, (1) the members of the committee who are 35
public transit bus operators shall appoint, by majority vote, a permanent 36
cochairperson who is a public transit bus operator, and (2) the members 37
of the committee who represent the management of a transit district 38
shall appoint, by majority vote, a permanent cochairperson who 39
represents the management of a transit district. 40
(c) Appointed members of the committee shall serve for two -year 41
terms which shall commence on the date of appointment, except as 42
provided in subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of this section. Member s 43
shall continue to serve until their successors are appointed. 44
(d) Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority. Any 45
vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled for the 46

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balance of the unexpired term. 47
(e) The Department of Transportation shall assist the committee in 48
carrying out the committee's duties by posting on the department's 49
Internet web site records related to the committee's responsibilities, 50
including, but not limited to, the committee's meeting schedule, agenda, 51
minutes, plans and reports. 52
(f) The committee shall meet in person at least once a month and at 53
such other times as the cochairpersons deem necessary . A majority of 54
the members of the committee shall constitute a quorum for the 55
transaction of any business. Decisions of the committee shall be made 56
by majority vote of the members present at any meeting. 57
(g) The committee shall have the following powers and duties: (1) 58
Adopt, review and revise as necessary a workplace health, safety and 59
violence protection plan pursuant to subsection s (h) and (i) of this 60
section; (2) obtain from any executive department, board, commission 61
or other agency of the state such assistance and data as necessary and 62
available to carry out the purposes of this section; (3) accept any gift, 63
donation or bequest for the purpose of performing the duties described 64
in this section; and (4) perform such other acts as may be necessary and 65
appropriate to carry out the duties described in this section. 66
(h) Not later than January 1, 2028, the committee shall adopt an initial 67
workplace health, safety and violence protection plan that establishes 68
comprehensive and uniform protocols and procedures to address 69
workplace issues in transit district s. Such plan shall include : (1) 70
Procedures regarding the safe pick -up and discharge of passengers, 71
including passengers who require assistance, (2) protections for the 72
physical and mental health of public transit employees while 73
performing their duties , including the provision of reasonable breaks 74
throughout a shift and access to designated restrooms for public transit 75
bus operators, (3) risk reduction efforts to decrease the number and rates 76
of accidents, injuries and workplace violence, including assault of a 77

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person who is a public transit employee, as provided in section 53a-167c 78
of the general statutes, (4) guidance to public transit employees 79
concerning how to report (A) incidents of workplace violence within 80
each transit district and to appropriate law enforcement agencies, and 81
(B) unsafe working conditions within each transit district, ( 5) 82
procedures for the reporting and collecting of data detailing accidents, 83
injuries and workplace violence for the purpose of establishing risk 84
reduction targets and monitoring progress to improve workplace health 85
and safety and reduce workplace violence, (6) the development of, and 86
schedule regarding, appropriate training programs, including safety 87
operations and de -escalation strategies, to be completed by all public 88
transit employees and management , an d (7) any other issue the 89
committee deems appropriate. No provision in such plan shall conflict 90
with any state or federal law regarding the safe operation of public 91
transit buses, including motor vehicle and traffic laws, reporting of 92
crimes or requirements for public transit bus operators to maintain a 93
commercial driver's license pursuant to section 14 -44 of the general 94
statutes. 95
(i) Not later than January 1, 2029, and at least annually thereafter, the 96
committee shall review such plan and may revise such plan as the 97
committee deems appropriate. 98
(j) In the event the committee fails to adopt a plan in accordance with 99
the provisions of this section, the cochairpersons of the committee shall 100
submit the dispute to the Board of Mediation and Arbitration in 101
accordance with the procedure set forth in section 31-97 of the general 102
statutes and shall incorporate the decision r endered under the 103
provisions of section 31-98 of the general statutes into the plan. 104
(k) Any collective bargaining agreement between a transit district 105
and an employee organization entered into or modified after the date a 106
plan is adopted pursuant to the provisions of this section shall 107
incorporate such plan by reference. 108

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(l) The committee shall (1) submit each plan adopted pursuant to this 109
section to the members of the committee, employee organizations that 110
are the exclusive representative public transit employees, the board of 111
directors of each transit district, the Department of Transportation and 112
the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having 113
cognizance of matters relating to transportation, and (2) have each such 114
plan published in a conspicuous pla ce on the Department of 115
Transportation's Internet web site. 116
(m) No transit district may take or threaten to take any retaliatory 117
action against an employee of such transit district who notifies a law 118
enforcement agency or the management of such transit district to report 119
incidents of workplace violence or violations of the workplace health, 120
safety and violence protection plan adopted pursuant to this section. 121
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 4-9a of the general statutes is repealed 122
and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 123
(a) The Governor shall appoint the chairperson and executive 124
director, if any, of all boards and commissions within the Executive 125
Department, except the State Properties Review Board, the State 126
Elections Enforcement Commission, the Commission on Human Rights 127
and Opportunities, the Commission on Fire Prevention and Control, the 128
Citizen's Ethics Advisory Board , [and] the Transportation Policy 129
Advisory Council and the Public Transit Workplace Health, Safety and 130
Violence Prevention Committee. 131
Sec. 3. (NEW) ( Effective October 1, 2026 ) (a) As used in this section, 132
"security barrier" means a protective partition made of hard, durable 133
and bulletproof materials designed to sh ield a public transit bus 134
operator from physical assault or projectiles while maintaining visibility 135
and communication with passengers that (1) extends from the bus floor 136
to the bus ceiling, (2) is capable of fully enclosing the public transit bus 137
operator's workstation and fully preventing the unwanted entry of 138
persons, limbs, fluids and objects into such workstation, and (3) does 139

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not impede the public transit bus operator's lines of sight from such 140
workstation to the exterior of the bus. 141
(b) On and after October 1, 2027, each public transit bus operated by 142
the Department of Transportation or a transit district formed under 143
chapter 103a of the general statutes shall be equipped with a security 144
barrier. 145
(c) Not later than January 1, 2027, the Commissioner of 146
Transportation and each transit district formed under chapter 103a of 147
the general statutes, in consultation with the labor organizations that 148
represent public transit bus operators employed by such transit 149
districts, shall (1) collaborate regarding (A) the use of security barriers 150
on public transit buses, including design, materials, specifications, 151
procurement and installation, (B) the use of panic buttons or other 152
technology designed to mitigate safety risks to public transit bus 153
operators, and (C) the development and installation of prominent 154
signage on board all public transit buses that inform the public of the 155
penalties for crimes against public transit bus operators, and (2) develop 156
a plan and timeline for the installation of security barriers on public 157
transit buses in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of this 158
section. Not later than January 15, 2027, the commissioner shall submit 159
such plan and timeline to the joint standing committee of the General 160
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to transportation , in 161
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes. 162
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 October 1, 2026 New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2026 4-9a(a)
Sec. 3 October 1, 2026 New section

Statement of Purpose:
To (1) establish a Public Transit Workplace Health, Safety and Violence
Prevention Committee, and (2) require each public transit bus operated
by the Department of Transportation or a transit district to be equipped

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with a security barrier for the protection and safety of public transit bus
operators.

[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.]