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Senate Bill No. 156
Special Act No. 26-5
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE TO STUDY THE
VOLUNTARY SURRENDER OF INFANTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a task force
to study the voluntary surrender of infants in the state pursuant to
section 17a-58 of the general statutes. Such study shall include, but need
not be limited to, an analysis of the (1) provisions of sections 17a -57 to
17a-60, inclusive, of the general statutes and section 17a-61 of the general
statutes, (2) policies and procedures of the Department of Children and
Families concerning voluntarily surrendered infants, and (3) policies
and procedures of hospitals operating emergency rooms concerning the
voluntary surrender of infants, with an emphasis on the ways in which
such provisions, policies and procedures may create or perpetuate
racial, ethnic, health, economic and socioeconomic disparities among
parents who engage in such voluntary surrender.
(b) The task force shall consist of the following members:
(1) One appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives,
who shall have expertise in public health policy;
(2) One appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, who
shall have expertise in child welfare policy;
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(3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of
Representatives, who shall have expertise in the application of social
equity principles to public policy;
(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, who shall be
a hospital employee designated to take physical custody of an infant
pursuant to section 17a-57 of the general statutes;
(5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of
Representatives, who shall be a parent or lawful agent of a parent who
voluntarily surrendered an infant;
(6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, who shall be
an attorney with experience representing parents in termination of
parental rights cases following the voluntary surrender of such parents'
infants;
(7) The Commissioner of Children and Families, or the
commissioner's designee;
(8) The Commissioner of Public Health, or the commissioner's
designee;
(9) The Chief Public Defender, or the Chief Public Defender's
designee; and
(10) A representative of a state -wide association of hospitals, who
shall be appointed by the chairpersons of the task force.
(c) Any member of the task force appointed under subdivision (1),
(2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) of subsection (b) of this section may be a member
of the General Assembly.
(d) All initial appointments to the task force shall be made not later
than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall
be filled by the appointing authority.
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(e) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro
tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force from
among the members of the task force. Such chairpersons shall schedule
the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than sixty
days after the effective date of this section.
(f) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children
shall serve as administrative staff of the task force.
(g) Not later than May 1, 2027, the task force shall submit a report on
its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committee of the
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children, in
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes.
The task force shall terminate on the date that it submits such report or
May 1, 2027, whichever is later.