CHAPTER 506
VETERANS

Table of Contents

Sec. 27-102n. Board of Trustees for the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Members. Duties. Annual Report.
Sec. 27-106. Duties of commissioner re Veterans' Home. Expenditures from institutional general welfare fund regulated.
Sec. 27-122a. Establishment of veterans' cemetery.
Sec. 27-138c. Hearing on denial of aid. Appeal.
Sec. 27-140ii. Assistance to members of the Connecticut National Guard and veterans to obtain federal treatment services for depleted uranium exposure. Report re adequacy of training and feasibility of predeployment training.

PART I
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS

      Sec. 27-102n. Board of Trustees for the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Members. Duties. Annual Report. (a) There shall be a Board of Trustees for the Department of Veterans' Affairs. The board shall be comprised of the commissioner and sixteen members who by education or experience shall be qualified in health care, business management, social services or law and who shall have a demonstrated interest in the concerns of veterans. A majority of the members of the board shall be veterans, including veterans of World War II, the Korean hostilities and the Vietnam era. Members shall be appointed as follows: Ten by the Governor who shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor and one member each by the president pro tempore of the Senate, the speaker of the House of Representatives, the majority leader of the Senate, the majority leader of the House of Representatives, the minority leader of the Senate and the minority leader of the House of Representatives, whose terms shall be coterminous with the term of the appointing authority. Members shall be sworn to the faithful performance of their duties. They shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be reimbursed for their reasonable expenses in the performance of their duties.

      (b) The board shall meet at least quarterly and upon the call of the commissioner. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum.

      (c) The board shall advise and assist the commissioner in the operation of the Veterans' Home, the veterans' advocacy and assistance unit, the administration, expansion or modification of existing programs and services of the department and the development of new programs and services.

      (d) The board shall review and approve any regulations prior to adoption by the commissioner concerning: (1) Procedures relating to admission and discharge or transfer of veterans in the home; (2) a per diem fee schedule for programs, services and benefits provided therein; and (3) the participation of eligible family members in programs or services provided by the home.

      (e) The board shall submit an annual report to the Governor, the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public safety and the select committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to military and veterans' affairs, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, on its activities with its recommendations, if any, for improving the delivery of services to veterans and the addition of new programs.

      (P.A. 88-285, S. 8, 35; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-12, S. 38, 55; P.A. 01-58; P.A. 04-41, S. 1; 04-169, S. 4; P.A. 05-288, S. 122; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-3, S. 19.)

      History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-12 in Subsec. (a) replaced the advisory board for the veterans' assistance unit and the board of trustees for the Veterans' Home and Hospital with a board of trustees for the department of veterans' affairs and made corresponding technical changes in Subsecs. (b) to (e), inclusive; P.A. 01-58 changed meeting schedule in Subsec. (b) from monthly to quarterly and made a technical change in Subsec. (d); P.A. 04-41 amended Subsec. (a) to increase membership on the board from nine to sixteen members, to specify that veterans who shall be a majority of the members of the board include veterans of World War II, the Korean hostilities and the Vietnam era, to require the Governor to appoint ten members and the six legislative leaders to appoint one member each, whose term is coterminous with the term of the appointing authority, and amended Subsec. (e) to require the board to submit an annual report to the public safety committee of the General Assembly; P.A. 04-169 amended Subsec. (a) to eliminate provision that requires deputy commissioner of the veterans' advocacy and assistance unit to be a nonvoting member of the board, and amended Subsecs. (c) and (d) to eliminate references to "and hospital", effective June 1, 2004; P.A. 05-288 made technical changes in Subsec. (a), effective July 13, 2005; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-3 amended Subsec. (e) to require board to submit an annual report to the select committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to military and veterans' affairs, effective June 30, 2005.

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PART Ia
GENERAL PROVISIONS

      Sec. 27-106. Duties of commissioner re Veterans' Home. Expenditures from institutional general welfare fund regulated. (a) The commissioner shall adopt and enforce such rules as may be necessary to ensure order, enforce discipline and preserve the health and ensure the comfort of the patients in the Veterans' Home, and shall discipline or dismiss any officer or patient of the home who disobeys or infringes upon such rules. The commissioner shall appoint, subject to the provisions of chapter 67, such officers and employees as are necessary for the administration of the affairs of the home, shall prescribe the relative rank, if any, of such officers and employees, and shall commission each such officer, who shall wear such uniform, if any, as is prescribed by the commissioner.

      (b) The chief fiscal officer shall submit an itemized list of expenditures made from the institutional general welfare fund to the commissioner at intervals not greater than two months. Such list shall include all such expenditures made during the two-month period preceding its submission. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 4-56, the commissioner shall prescribe procedures to limit and specify the uses for which expenditures may be made from the institutional general welfare fund so that only expenditures which, in the opinion of the commissioner and the board of trustees for the department appointed pursuant to section 27-102n, directly benefit veterans or the Veterans' Home are permitted.

      (c) In addition to the estimate of expenditure requirements required under section 4-77, the commissioner shall submit an accounting of all planned expenditures for the next fiscal year from the institutional general welfare fund to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies at the time such estimate is submitted.

      (1949 Rev., S. 2928; 1971, P.A. 48; 105, S. 4; P.A. 81-473, S. 35, 43; P.A. 82-314, S. 40, 63; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-32, S. 6, 8; P.A. 88-285, S. 4, 35; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-12, S. 39, 55; P.A. 04-169, S. 6; P.A. 05-288, S. 123.)

      History: 1971 act added "and hospital" following "home" where appearing, substituted "patient(s)" for "inmate(s)", substituted reference to chapter 67 for chapter 63; P.A. 81-473 added requirement that an itemized list of expenditures from institutional general welfare fund be submitted to the commission at least every two months and added Subsecs. (b) and (c) requiring that commission adopt regulations limiting expenditures from said fund to those which directly benefit veterans and that commission submit an accounting of planned expenditures from said fund to the general assembly's appropriations committee; P.A. 82-314 changed official name of appropriations committee; June Sp. Sess. 83-32 amended Subsec. (b) to authorize the commission to prescribe procedures rather than adopt regulations to prescribe use of the general welfare fund and added "in the opinion of the commission" and "or the veterans' home and hospital"; P.A. 88-285 (1) replaced commission with commissioner throughout the section, (2) amended Subsec. (a) to require commissioner to appoint a commandant of the home and hospital, subject to governor's approval and to make technical changes and (3) amended Subsec. (b) to include reference to the board of trustees for the home and hospital appointed pursuant to Sec. 27-102m; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-12 in Subsec. (a) eliminated the commandant's position and in Subsec. (b) required the chief fiscal officer to submit a list of expenses from the institutional general welfare fund at least every two years; P.A. 04-169 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) to change the name of the Veterans' Home and Hospital to the Veterans' Home, effective June 1, 2004; P.A. 05-288 made a technical change in Subsec. (a), effective July 13, 2005.

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      Sec. 27-122a. Establishment of veterans' cemetery. (a) The Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services shall transfer to the Veterans' Home and Hospital Commission two certain pieces or parcels of land known as Plot # 6, containing thirty acres, more or less, situated on the north side of River Road in the town of Middletown, county of Middlesex, and state of Connecticut, and being bounded and described as follows: As to the first piece or parcel; Commencing at a point in the northerly side of River Road being the southeast corner of the land herein described, thence running N 31 degrees E a distance of 286 feet, more or less, to the right-of-way of the Penn Central Railroad (Valley Line), thence running westerly along said right-of-way a distance of 2720 feet, more or less, thence running southerly 80 feet, more or less, to River Road, thence running southeasterly along the northern boundary of River Road a distance of 530 feet, more or less, to a brook, thence running N 80 degrees E along the north side of River Road to a bend in said road a distance of 380 feet, more or less, thence S 82 degrees E a distance of 1160 feet, more or less along the northern side of River Road to the point and place of beginning. As to the second piece or parcel of land being a small piece or parcel located on the northerly side of the Penn Central Railroad (Valley Line) right-of-way, bounded on the northerly and westerly side by the Connecticut River and on the southerly side by said railroad right-of-way and on the easterly side by property of the Feldspar Corporation. Said two pieces or parcels of land contain a total area of thirty acres, more or less, and are shown on a map or plan titled, "The Connecticut State Hospital Middletown, Conn. Scale 1" = 200' 1922".

      (b) The Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services shall transfer to the Veterans' Home certain land in the city of Middletown, under the supervision and control of said commissioner, in exchange for the transfer by the Veterans' Home and Hospital Commission to the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services of certain land comprised of pieces and parcels of the land described in subsection (a) of equal acreage, the exact boundaries of the lands to be exchanged to be decided by the Commissioner of Administrative Services, with the advice and assistance of all parties within the six-month period following June 14, 1979.

      (c) The land transferred to the commission under subsections (a) and (b) of this section and not transferred to the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services and the Connecticut Valley Hospital shall be used by the Commissioner of Veterans' Affairs for the establishment and maintenance of a veterans' cemetery.

      (1971, P.A. 352, S. 1; P.A. 79-478, S. 1, 2; P.A. 88-285, S. 19, 35; P.A. 95-257, S. 11, 58; P.A. 04-169, S. 12; P.A. 05-288, S. 124.)

      History: P.A. 79-478 provided, in new Subsec. (b), for an exchange of land between the commissioner of mental health and the veterans' home and hospital commission; P.A. 88-285 amended Subsec. (c) to replace commission with commissioner of veterans' affairs; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Mental Health with Commissioner and Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 04-169 amended Subsec. (b) to change the name of the Veterans' Home and Hospital to the Veterans' Home, effective June 1, 2004; P.A. 05-288 made a technical change in Subsec. (c), effective July 13, 2005.

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PART II
SOLDIERS, SAILORS AND MARINES FUND

      Sec. 27-138c. Hearing on denial of aid. Appeal. Any person aggrieved by a decision of the administrator rendered under section 27-138b may appeal such decision to a review board composed of the Adjutant General or his or her designee, the Attorney General or his or her designee, and the Commissioner of Veterans' Affairs or his or her designee. All appeals taken pursuant to this section shall be based solely upon the record of the hearing conducted pursuant to section 27-138b. A person aggrieved by a decision of the review board may appeal to the Superior Court pursuant to the provisions of chapter 54.

      (1969, P.A. 347, S. 4; P.A. 88-317, S. 31, 107; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-12, S. 41, 55; P.A. 04-169, S. 15; P.A. 05-288, S. 125.)

      History: P.A. 88-317 added provision re appeal to superior court in accordance with chapter 54, effective July 1, 1989, and applicable to all agency proceedings commencing on or after that date; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-12 transferred from the commandant to the commissioner the responsibility for sitting on the review board; P.A. 04-169 made technical changes, effective June 1, 2004; P.A. 05-288 made technical changes, effective July 13, 2005.

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PART VI
DEPLETED URANIUM EXPOSURE

      Sec. 27-140ii. Assistance to members of the Connecticut National Guard and veterans to obtain federal treatment services for depleted uranium exposure. Report re adequacy of training and feasibility of predeployment training. (a) As used in this section:

      (1) "Eligible member" means a member of the Connecticut National Guard who served in the Persian Gulf War, as defined in 38 USC 101, or in an area designated as a combat zone by the President of the United States during Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom;

      (2) "Veteran" means a veteran, as defined in subsection (a) of section 27-103, who served as an eligible member;

      (3) "Military physician" includes a physician who is under contract with the United States Department of Defense to provide physician services to members of the armed forces; and

      (4) "Depleted uranium" means uranium containing less uranium-235 than the naturally occurring distribution of uranium isotopes.

      (b) On and after October 1, 2005, the Adjutant General and the Commissioner of Veterans' Affairs shall assist any eligible member or veteran who (1) has been assigned a risk level I, II or III for depleted uranium exposure by his or her branch of service, (2) is referred by a military physician, or (3) has reason to believe that he or she was exposed to depleted uranium during such service, in obtaining federal treatment services, including a best practice health screening test for exposure to depleted uranium using a bioassay procedure involving sensitive methods capable of detecting depleted uranium at low levels and the use of equipment with the capacity to discriminate between different radioisotopes in naturally occurring levels of uranium and the characteristic ratio and marker for depleted uranium. No state funds shall be used to pay for such tests or such other federal treatment services.

      (c) On or before October 1, 2005, the Adjutant General shall submit a report to the select committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to military and veterans' affairs, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, on the scope and adequacy of training received by members of the Connecticut National Guard on detecting whether their service as eligible members is likely to entail, or to have entailed, exposure to depleted uranium. The report shall include an assessment of the feasibility and cost of adding predeployment training concerning potential exposure to depleted uranium and other toxic chemical substances and the precautions recommended under combat and noncombat conditions while in a combat zone.

      (June Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-3, S. 33.)

      History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-3 effective June 30, 2005.

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