Sec. 46a-28. (Formerly Sec. 17-137m). Commission members, meetings, expenses, staff.
Sec. 46a-28. (Formerly Sec. 17-137m). Commission members, meetings, expenses, staff. (a) The commission shall consist of twenty-one members, three of whom
shall be ex officio. The ex-officio members shall consist of the following individuals:
The consultant appointed by the State Board of Education in accordance with section
10-316a, the president of the Connecticut Council of Organizations Serving the Deaf
and the superintendent of the American School for the Deaf. The following members
shall be voting members: The Commissioners of Public Health, Social Services, Mental
Health, Education, Developmental Services, and Children and Families and the Labor
Commissioner or their designees and eleven members appointed by the Governor. Of
the members appointed by the Governor one shall be a physician licensed to practice
medicine in this state and specializing in otolaryngology; one a parent of a student in a
predominantly oral education program, one a parent of a student at the American School
for the Deaf and one a parent of a student in a public school hearing impaired program,
and seven deaf persons, one of whom shall be a parent.
(b) The commission shall meet at least quarterly or more often at the call of the
chairperson or a majority of the members. A majority of the voting members in office
but not less than seven voting members shall constitute a quorum.
(c) Any appointed member who fails to attend three consecutive meetings or who
fails to attend fifty per cent of all meetings held during any calendar year shall be deemed
to have resigned. Vacancies occurring otherwise than by expiration of term in the membership of the commission shall be filled by the officer authorized to make the original
appointments.
(d) The members of the commission shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary
expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
(e) There shall be established the position of executive director who shall be the
chief executive officer of the commission. His qualifications and compensation shall
be determined by the Commissioner of Administrative Services, subject to the approval
of the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, pursuant to section 4-40. Said
executive director shall function under the direction of the commission.
(f) Subject to the provisions of chapter 67, the commission is authorized to employ
such clerical and other assistance as it requires to carry out the provisions of sections
46a-27 to 46a-32, inclusive.
(P.A. 74-252, S. 2, 11; P.A. 75-420, S. 4, 6; 75-638, S. 18, 23; P.A. 77-614, S. 302, 323, 521, 539, 610; P.A. 80-210;
P.A. 83-167; P.A. 84-361, S. 3, 7; P.A. 93-91, S. 1, 2; 93-262, S. 66, 87; 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A.
07-73, S. 2(b).)
History: P.A. 75-420 replaced welfare commissioner with commissioner of social services; P.A. 75-638 replaced deputy
commissioner of health on mental retardation with commissioner of mental retardation; P.A. 77-614 replaced secretary
of the state board of education with commissioner of education, commissioner of health with commissioner of health
services and commissioner of social services with commissioner of human resources in Subsec. (a), replaced appointment
provisions in Subsec. (b) with simple statement that appointments are made by governor and provided that qualifications and
compensation of executive director be determined by commissioner of administrative services with approval of secretary of
office of policy and management rather than by abolished personnel policy board and that director be under direction of
human resources commissioner in Subsec. (e), effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 80-210 increased commission membership
from 15 to 23, adding commissioners of income maintenance and children and youth services, increasing gubernatorial
appointees from 9 to 11 and deaf appointees from 5 to 7; P.A. 83-167 amended Subsec. (a) by decreasing commission
membership from 23 to 22, deleting the ex officio membership of the superintendent of the Mystic Oral School and
providing that one member be a parent of a student in a predominantly oral education program rather than of a student at
the Mystic Oral School; P.A. 84-361 added provisions requiring that meetings be held at least quarterly, establishing
number of members required for quorum and setting standards of attendance required to retain membership and made
commission rather than human resources commissioner responsible for supervision of executive director; Sec. 17-137m
transferred to Sec. 46a-28 in 1991; P.A. 93-91 substituted commissioner and department of children and families for
commissioner and department of children and youth services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-262 reduced commission
membership from 22 to 21 to reflect reorganization of social services, replacing reference to commissioners of income
maintenance and human resources with commissioner of social services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-381 replaced
commissioner of health services with commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A.
95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995 (Revisor's note: A reference to "Commissioners of Public Health ... Labor,
Education, Mental Retardation, and Children and Families" was changed editorially by the Revisors to "Commissioners
of Public Health ... Education, Mental Retardation, and Children and Families and the Labor Commissioner" for consistency
with customary statutory usage); pursuant to P.A. 07-73 "Commissioner of Mental Retardation" was changed editorially
by the Revisors to "Commissioner of Developmental Services", effective October 1, 2007.