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Senate
SB124 / File No. 68 1
General Assembly File No. 68
February Session, 2026 Senate Bill No. 124
Senate, March 19, 2026
The Committee on Aging reported through SEN. HOCHADEL
of the 13th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of
the Senate, that the bill ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF AGING AND
DISABILITY SERVICES' RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING
MUNICIPAL AGENTS FOR AGING.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 7 -127b of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 2
(a) The chief elected official or the chief executive officer if by 3
ordinance of each municipality shall appoint a municipal agent for 4
[elderly persons] aging. Such agent (1) shall be a (A) staff member of a 5
senior center, [a] (B) member of an agency that serves [elderly persons] 6
older adults in the municipality , or [a] (C) responsible resident of the 7
municipality who has demonstrated an interest in assisting [elderly 8
persons] older adults or has been involved in programs in the field of 9
aging, and (2) shall not have a conflict of interest or a perceived conflict 10
of interest that may interfere with the municipal agent's ability to 11
provide unbiased information, assistance or referral services. Two or 12
more municipalities may jointly appoint one or more municipal agents 13
to carry out the duties and responsibilities of a municipal agent, 14
provided such municipalities enter into a memorandum of agreement 15
or understanding for such purpose, which may include, but need not be 16
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limited to, terms concerning the sharing of any expenses relating to the 17
municipal agent or agents. 18
(b) The duties of the municipal agent shall include, but need not be 19
limited to: (1) Disseminating information to [elderly persons ] older 20
adults, assisting such persons in learning about the community 21
resources available to them and publicizing such resources and benefits; 22
(2) assisting [elderly persons] older adults in applying for federal and 23
state benefits, and accessing community resources, available to such 24
persons; and (3) reporting to the chief elected official or chief executive 25
officer of the municipality and the Department of Aging and Disability 26
Services any needs and problems of [the elderly] older adults and any 27
recommendations for action to improve services to [the elderly] older 28
adults. For the purposes of this subsection, "community resources" 29
means resources that assist [elderly persons ] older adults in gaining 30
access to housing opportunities, including, but not limited to, 31
information regarding access to waitlists for housing designated for 32
[elderly persons] older adults, applications and consumer reports. 33
(c) Each municipal agent shall serve for a term of two or four years, 34
at the discretion of the appointing authority of each municipality, and 35
may be reappointed. If more than one agent is necessary to carry out the 36
purposes of this section, the appointing authority, in its discretion, may 37
appoint one or more assistant agents. The town clerk in each 38
municipality shall notify the Department of Aging and Disability 39
Services immediately of the appointment of a new municipal agent. 40
Each municipality may provide to its municipal agent resources 41
sufficient for such agent to perform the duties of the office. 42
(d) The Department of Aging and Disability Services shall adopt and 43
disseminate to municipalities guidelines as to the role and duties of 44
municipal agents and such informational and technical materials as may 45
assist such agents in performance of their duties. The department, in 46
cooperation with the area agencies on aging, may provide training for 47
municipal agents within the available resources of the department and 48
of the area agencies on aging. 49
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(e) On or before January 1, 2025, the Commissioner of Aging and 50
Disability Services shall create a directory of municipal agents 51
appointed pursuant to the provisions of this section, which shall 52
include, but need not be limited to, the name, title, telephone number, 53
electronic mail address and mailing address of each municipal agent. 54
The commissioner shall post a link to the directory on the Department 55
of Aging and Disability Services' Internet web site. 56
(f) On and after July 1, 2026, each municipal agent, at the time of such 57
municipal agent's appointment or reappointment, shall certify, in 58
writing, that such municipal agent is unaware of any conflict of interest 59
or perceived conflict of interest that may interfere with the municipal 60
agent's ability to provide unbiased information, assistance or referral 61
services and submit such certification to the Commissioner of Aging and 62
Disability Services in a form and manner prescribed by the 63
commissioner. If, during the term of a municipal agent, such a conflict 64
of interest or perceived conflict of interest arises, any interested party 65
may, and a municipal agent shall, immediately report such conflict of 66
interest or perceived conflict of interest to the appointing authority to 67
determine whether another municipal agent or municipal employee can 68
act in lieu of the affected municipal agent to nullify such conflict of 69
interest or perceived conflict of interest. The appointing authority may 70
consult with the Department of Aging and Disability Services in making 71
such determination. For the purposes of this subsection, the term 72
"conflict of interest" includes, but is not limited to, the receipt of any 73
financial or personal benefit by a municipal agent, such agent's spouse, 74
parent, sibling, child or child's spouse or a business associated with such 75
agent. 76
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage 7-127b
AGE Joint Favorable
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The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact:
Municipalities Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
All Municipalities Potential
Savings
See Below See Below
Explanation
The bill results in potential savings beginning in FY 27 to
municipalities that choose to jointly appoint municipal agents for aging,
as expenses relating to the agents can now be shared across multiple
municipalities.
The bill also adds a requirement concerning conflicts of interest that
does not have a fiscal impact.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to the number of municipalities that
choose to jointly appoint municipal agents for aging.
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OLR Bill Analysis
SB 124
AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF AGING AND
DISABILITY SERVICES' RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING
MUNICIPAL AGENTS FOR AGING.
SUMMARY
By law, each municipality must appoint a municipal agent to help
seniors learn about community resources and file for benefits, among
other things. This bill makes several changes in the law on these agents.
Specifically, it:
1. allows municipalities to jointly appoint agents, rather than
requiring each municipality to have its own, by entering into a
memorandum of understanding that may lay out terms ( for
example, sharing agent expenses);
2. prohibits appointing or reappointing anyone as a municipal
agent who has a real or perceived conflict of interest and
establishes a process to handle conflicts that happen after an
agent is appointed; and
3. renames them “municipal agents for aging” (under current law
they are called “municipal agents for elderly persons”) and
replaces the word “elderly” with “older adults” throughout.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
MUNICIPAL AGENTS’ CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
The bill requires anyone appointed as a municipal agent to be free of
any real or perceived conflicts of interest that could interfere with his or
her ability to give unbiased information, help, or referral services.
Under the bill, a conflict of interest exists if the agent, a business
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associated with the agent, or a member of the agent’s immediate family
(spouse, parent, sibling, child, or child’s spouse) receive a financial or
personal benefit. Other situations may also be conflicts of interest under
the bill.
Certification
Beginning July 1, 2026, the bill requires each municipal agent to
certify in writing that he or she is unaware of any conflict of interest or
perceived conflicts of interest that could interfere with his or her ability
to serve in this role, as described a bove. Agents must provide this
certification when they are appointed or reappointed and submit it to
the Department of Aging and Disability Services (ADS) commissioner
in the way she sets out.
Conflicts That Arise
If a real or perceived conflict of interest happens after an agent has
been appointed, the bill requires the agent to immediately report it to
the appointing authority (the municipality or municipalities). It allows
other interested parties to report an ag ent’s conflict of interest, or a
perceived one, as well.
The bill requires the appointing authority to decide whether the real
or perceived conflict of interest would be nullified by having another
municipal agent or a municipal employee act instead of the potentially
conflicted agent. In doing so, the appointing authority may consult with
ADS.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Aging Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 14 Nay 0 (03/05/2026)