Rep. Dianne Hart-Lowman

Emergency Drills in Public Schools; Revises district school board duties relating to fire drills & emergency drills for active shooter & hostage situations; expands requirements for district school board procedures relating to drills for active shooter & hostage situations; requires district school boards to establish procedures to provide advance notification of drills for active shooter & hostage situations to parents & to provide parents with option to excuse their students from physical drills; requires such procedures to allow certain students to elect to remain on school premises during physical drills & remain excused from drills.

Criminal Rehabilitation; Specifies to rehabilitate offender to transition back to community successfully is one of primary purposes of sentencing; reduces minimum sentence that must be served by defendant from 85 percent of sentence to 65 percent; revises provisions concerning gain time to provide for outstanding deed gain-time, good behavior time, & rehabilitation credits; revises limits on awards.

Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders; Provides that peer specialists are essential element of coordinated system of care in recovery from substance use disorder or mental illness; revises background screening requirements for certain peer specialists; revises requirements for certification as peer specialist; requires DCF to develop training program for peer specialists; provides for reimbursement of peer specialist services; encourages Medicaid managed care plans to use peer specialists in providing recovery services.

Treatment of Inmates; Specifies certain rights of inmates in state correctional system; requires written copy of rights to be provided to each inmate; authorizes relief for deprivation of rights.

Jackson House Preservation; Provides an appropriation for the Jackson House Preservation. APPROPRIATION: $500,000

Pub. Meetings and Rec./Conditional Medical Release; Exempts from public meetings requirements that portion of panel review hearing at which exempt or confidential information of specified inmates being considered for conditional medical release program is discussed; exempts from public records requirements certain records used by review panel to make determination of appropriateness of conditional medical release & recordings & transcripts of closed panel review hearings; provides for legislative review & repeal of exemptions; provides statement of public necessity.

Pub. Meetings and Rec./Conditional Aging Inmate Release; Exempts from public meetings requirements that portion of panel review hearing at which exempt or confidential information of specified inmates being considered for conditional aging inmate release program is discussed; exempts from public records requirements certain records used by review panel to make determination of appropriateness of conditional aging inmate release & recordings & transcripts of closed panel review hearings; provides for legislative review & repeal of exemptions; provides statement of public necessity.

Public Records/Court-ordered Sealing of Eviction Records; Requires court to seal, upon request, court record relating to action by landlord for possession of dwelling unit based upon nonpayment of rent if certain requirements are met; exempts such court records from public records requirements; provides statement of public necessity.

Criminal Justice; Requires custodial interrogation conducted at place of detention in connection with covered offenses be electronically recorded; revises provisions concerning review of juvenile offender sentences; establishes conditional medical release program; requires DOC to notify persons within specified timeframe of an inmate's diagnosis of terminal medical condition & allow visits; establishes conditional aging inmate release program.

Citizens Oversight of Correctional Facilities; Creates Citizens Oversight Council within DOC; provides for membership & terms; specifies duties & responsibilities concerning correctional & juvenile facilities; prohibits interference with day-to-day operations of DOC & DJJ or certain facilities; prohibits discussion of council business with certain persons.