New laws or provisions of existing laws will take effect Friday, including an expansion on who can perform abortions, certain protections for people who obtain abortions, an increase to the state minimum wage, and some prohibitions on the sale of catalytic converters.
The following are summaries of some of the new measures that take effect July 1:
Abortion
In light of the leaked Supreme Court draft decision released in early May that would overturn Roe v. Wade (subsequently officially released with some minor modifications last Friday), the state legislature passed a measure that expands who can provide aspiration abortions to include advanced practice registered nurses, nurse midwives and physician assistants. The new laws also authorize those providers to perform medication abortions.
In addition, a new law protects individuals’ privacy by preventing the disclosure of medical information related to reproductive health that is legal in Connecticut. The law prohibits the extradition to anti-abortion states of anyone who seeks, provides or assists others who seek reproductive health care that is legal in Connecticut.
Finally, the law enables individuals to recover costs incurred defending an out-of-state action based on reproductive health care services that are legal in the state.
Minimum wage increase
Following a state law that passed in 2019, the minimum wage in the state is set to increase to $14 an hour. It’s the fourth increase since 2019, when the minimum wage was $10.10 an hour.
The minimum wage under the law signed by Gov. Ned Lamont three years ago will increase one more time, to $15 an hour on July 1, 2023. Further increases will be automatic starting in 2024 and will be tied to an index calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor. Critics of the measure say it’s unduly burdensome on businesses, particularly smaller ones. With a tightening pool of labor, employers have also been paying workers at rates higher than the minimum wage.
School-based children’s health measures
The legislature passed several sweeping laws to increase access and resources for children’s mental health services. Among the provisions that take effect is that the state Department of Education, over the next three years, will provide grants to boards of education to hire and retain more school social workers, school psychologists, school counselors, marriage and family therapists and nurses.
Further, the state education department must, by Sept. 1, 2023, develop for school boards a truancy intervention model that takes into account mental and behavioral health. Also by Sept. 1, 2023, the education department, along with the Department of Children and Families, must issue best practice guidance to school boards relating to intervention in certain behavioral health situations and when it’s appropriate to contact the 2-1-1 program or use alternative interventions.
Starting Friday, classroom teachers of record may request a behavior intervention meeting with the school’s crisis intervention team for any student “whose behavior has caused a serious disruption to the instruction of other students, or caused self-harm or physical harm to such teacher or another student or staff member in such teacher’s classroom.” The crisis intervention team must then convene a behavior intervention meeting concerning that student to identify resources and supports to address the student’s social, emotional and instructional needs.
Law enforcement body and dashboard cameras
A provision of the state’s Police Accountability Act that went into effect in 2020, and takes effect Friday, expands the use of police body cameras and dashboard cameras. State law already requires state police, municipal police departments that have received reimbursement for body camera purchases under the state’s grant program and college police in the course of their duties to use body cameras. The measure that starts Friday requires all sworn members of law enforcement units and members of those units who perform police duties to wear body cameras. In addition, the act requires each law enforcement unit to use dashboard cameras in each police patrol vehicle. The law also contains provisions that, among other things, prohibits editing, erasing, sharing, altering or distributing camera recordings or data except as required by law.
Employee protections
A new law provides protections to employees who refuse to attend employers’ meetings where employees are asked to listen to speeches or view communications concerning religious or political matters, including on whether to join or support unions. The law provides exceptions for employers to communicate information required by law or that the employees need to perform their jobs.
A portion of the state’s existing Family and Medical Leave Act also takes effect Friday requiring employers to provide their employees notice of their rights under the FMLA. For example, employers must notify their employees at the time of their hiring, and every year thereafter, about employees’ right to family and medical leave and family violence leave and the terms under which the leave may be used. The employer must also notify employees that retaliation is prohibited for applying for or using family and medical leave. Employers must also tell employees that they may file a complaint with the Department of Labor.
Catalytic converters
A rash of catalytic converter thefts in the state and nationwide led the legislature to change the existing law to prohibit anyone other than a motor vehicle recycler or motor vehicle repair shop from selling more than one converter to a scrap metal processor, junk dealer or junkyard owner or operator in a day. The provision also establishes recordkeeping requirements for motor vehicle recyclers.
Solitary confinement
A new law limits the amount of time and circumstances that an incarcerated person may be held in solitary confinement. Under the law, the Department of Correction is prevented from holding minors in solitary confinement altogether. Further, the law requires that incarcerated people in solitary confinement be allowed out of their cells for four hours per day. The amount of time increases to four-and-a-half hours per day starting Oct. 1, and increases again to five hours per day on April 1, 2023. The law also requires that any use of solitary confinement keep the least restrictive environment necessary for the safety of incarcerated individuals, staff and facility security.
School indoor air quality
The state budget includes $150 million — $75 million from American Rescue Plan funds and $75 million in bonding — to reimburse school boards for the cost of installing, replacing or upgrading the HVAC systems or other air quality improvements in schools.
The law also requires school boards to conduct a uniform inspection and evaluation of the HVAC system in each of their school buildings every five years and take any necessary corrective actions.
Increased mandatory reporting
A new law expands the list of mandatory reporters to include paid youth camp staff ages 21 and older and requires school boards every year to distribute electronically the board’s mandated reporter policy to all school employees.
