All meetings take place in the Legislative Office Building (LOB) in Hartford, CT. Information about any legislative activities need to be distributed as fast as quickly. Sometimes public hearing sessions on upcoming bills concerning the Deaf and Hard of hearing CT residents would happen on short notice.

SUPPORT OR OPPOSE THESE BILLS AFFECTING DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING PEOPLE

• Please attend the Public Hearing if any of the announcements appear during the legislation session and if possible with your testimony. Make twenty (20) copies. Check the schedule of these Public Hearing events at WWW.CT.GOV. 
  
  
• When you browse the CT gov web site, please be sure to see the quick search at the top of the homepage, and type the bill number. You will see the page of the bill and click "ADD NOTES" to leave your message in supporting or opposing the bill proposal.
  
  
• If you cannot attend, please write letters of support or opposition to the legislators who are on the committees of these bill proposals. Find the proper committee members in the CT Gov website or if you cannot make it in person to testify, you can submit your testimony by mail or email to the committee members. HINT: Go to www.ct.gov, to Legislature, to Committees, and then to General Law Committee to find the names of committee members.
  
  

Hearing Aid Regulation- Proposed Changes by the ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) Association

Attached is the draft of the proposed Hearing Aid Regulation changes (via Word) that the CT ENT Association is initiating. The original regs are written in black, deleted original wording is in blue and new language is in red. Please review and provide feedback and I will forward it to Scott Schoem. Senator Toni Harp has agreed to sponsor the bill and they are seeking co-sponsors. The full minutes from today's Task Force meeting will be sent at a later date.

Thank you!

Donna C. Maselli, RN, MPH
Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Program
Connecticut Department of Public Health
410 Capitol Avenue
MS # 11 MAT
Hartford, CT 06134-0308
Voice: 860.509.7505
Fax: 860.509.8132

SB 143 - "AN ACT CONCERNING THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND SERVICES FOR THE BLIND"

To implement legislative changes recommended by the Board of Education and Services for the Blind monitoring council.

Amended: The amendment makes changes to the membership of the Board of Education and Services for the Blind and will result in no fiscal impact.

Amended: The amendment eliminates the underlying bill which established an advisory council and replaces it with changes to the membership and activities of the Board of Education and Services for the Blind. The amendment will not result in a fiscal impact. (PASSED)

To require the Commissioner of Mental Retardation to establish and operate a pilot program to coordinate supports, services and case management for individuals with autism spectrum disorders who do not qualify for services from the Department of Mental Retardation.

Amended:
The amendment strikes the language of the bill and eliminates the associated fiscal impact.

The amendment instead increases the criminal penalty for the (first offense) possession of drug paraphernalia to be used for the unlawful mixing, compounding or otherwise preparing of methamphetamine. In FY 05 there were nine convictions under Section 21a-277(c) of the CGS. To the extent that these changes increase the likelihood that offenders would be prosecuted or receive harsher penalties, a potential revenue gain from criminal fines and potential cost for incarceration and/or probation supervision in the community exist. It is anticipated that relatively few fines would be imposed on an annual basis, and, consequently, any revenue gain under the bill is expected to be minimal. On average, it costs the state $2, 150 to supervise an offender on probation in the community as compared to $35, 040 to incarcerate the offender (note that both figures include fringe benefits) .

The amendment also provides for mandatory prison terms of five years for any person convicted of possessing certain quantities of methamphetamine. This would result in a significant state cost for incarceration. In FY 05 there were twenty nine convictions under Section 21a-278(c) of the CGS. The number of potential, additional convictions under this provision of the amendment is unknown. (TABLED)

The amendment strikes the underlying bill concerning a pilot program for autism services within the Department of Mental Retardation and its associated fiscal impact.

Provisions within the amendment concerning health care assistance programs can be accommodated within the anticipated budgetary resources of the Dept. of Public Health.