AN ACT ESTABLISHING A MINORITY HEALTH ADVISORY COMMISSION.

This bill establishes a 32-member Commission on Health Equity within the Office of the Health Care Advocate for administrative purposes. It must work to (1) eliminate disparities in health status based on race, ethnicity, and linguistic ability and (2) improve the quality of health for all state residents.

The commission may (1) employ necessary staff within available appropriations and in compliance with the State Personnel Act contract and (2) use any funds available from federal, state, or other sources to carry out its purposes.

The bill repeals the Advisory Commission on Multicultural Health. That commission's mission is the elimination of disparities in health status among the state's cultural and ethnic communities and the overall improvement of state residents' health.

*Senate Amendment “A” (1) changes the name of the commission, (2) increases its membership; (3) changes its focus from the health status of multicultural, multilingual, and multiethnic populations to the health status of populations experiencing racial, ethnic, cultural, or linguistic disparities in health status; and (4) expands its duties to include advising and directing agencies with purview over eliminating health disparities; collecting and analyzing data; recommending proposed legislation, regulations, and policies; and receiving testimony pertinent to its mission.

In a preamble to the establishment of the commission, the bill states the legislature's finding that (1) equal enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is a human right and one of the state's priorities; (2) research and experience show that the state's inhabitants experience barriers to good health based on race, ethnicity, national origin, and linguistic ability; and (3) it requires a variety of actions to address these barriers and others that may arise, including the collection, analysis, and reporting of information; identification of causes; and the development and implementation of policy solutions.

1. review and comment on any proposed state legislation and regulations that would affect the health of the state's populations experiencing racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic disparities in health status;

2. advise and provide information to the governor and legislature on the state policies concerning the health of these populations;

3. work as a liaison between these populations and state agencies to eliminate health disparities;

4. evaluate the impact of policies, procedures, activities, and resource allocations on eliminating these health disparities;

5. review and comment on the Department of Public Health's (DPH) health disparities performance measures;

6. (a) explore successful programs in other sectors and states and (b) pilot and provide grants for new creative programs that may diminish or contribute to the elimination of health disparities in this state and culturally appropriate health education demonstration projects that the commission funds with public and private funds; and

7. submit to the governor and legislature an annual report on both a retrospective and prospective view of health disparities and the state's efforts to ameliorate those among the state's populations experiencing racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic disparities in health status.

1. collect and analyze government and other data regarding the health status of state inhabitants based on race, ethnicity, national origin, and linguistic ability, including access, services, and outcomes in private and public health care institutions within the state, including the data collected by the Connecticut Health Information Network;

2. draft and recommend proposed legislation, regulations, and other policies designed to address disparities in health status;

3. conduct hearings and interviews, and receive testimony, regarding matters pertinent to its mission; and

4. convene the directors of state agencies with purview over the elimination of health disparities, including the Office of Health Care Access, Housing Finance Authority, and departments of the Public Health, Social Services, Children and Families, Developmental Services, Education, Mental Health and Addiction Services, Labor, and Transportation to advise and direct the implementation of policies, procedures, activities, and resource allocations to eliminate these health disparities;

Additionally, the commission is required to determine if its duties are duplicated by any other state agency, office, bureau, or commission and include information on the duplication in a report to the governor and legislature by June 1, 2010 (see BACKGROUND).

1. commissioners of public health, mental health and addiction services, developmental services, social services, correction, children and families, and education;

2. deans of UConn Health Center, Yale University Medical School, and Public Health and the School of Epidemiology at Yale University, or their designees;

3. directors of UConn Health Center, Center for Public Health and Health Policy, and Hispanic Health Council, or their designees; and

4. chairperson of the Office of the Health Care Advocate; Permanent Commission on the Status of Women; and African-American Affairs, Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs, and Asian Pacific American Affairs commissions, or their designees; and

The membership also consists of the following public members appointed by the following authorities.

*These members must represent communities facing disparities in health status based on race, ethnicity, and linguistic ability.

The appointing authority fills vacancies. The commission elects its own chairperson and vice-chairperson from its members and meets as often as the chairperson or a commission majority deems necessary. Members are considered to have resigned if they miss three consecutive meetings or half of the meetings in a calendar year.

Commission members are not paid but may be reimbursed for necessary expenses they incur while performing their duties.

Office of Multicultural Health. The office is charged with improving the health of all Connecticut residents by eliminating differences in disease, disability, and death rates among ethnic, racial, and cultural populations.

Connecticut Health Disparities Project. In June 2006, the Connecticut Health Foundation awarded DPH a two-year grant of $ 539,317 to improve the statewide infrastructure for documenting, reporting, and addressing health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities. The “Connecticut Health Disparities Project” is designed to collect and evaluate relevant sociodemographic information from across DPH databases with the idea of improving data collection as well as coordinating all DPH planning objectives related to eliminating health disparities. Additional objectives include publishing a comprehensive Connecticut health disparities surveillance report and developing a statewide network of researchers and policy analysts focused on measuring health disparities in the state.

Additional partners in the project are DPH's Office of Multicultural Health, the Connecticut Multicultural Health Advisory Commission, the Connecticut Center for Eliminating Health Disparities Among Latinos, and the University of Connecticut.

These commissions are charged with advising and providing information to the legislature on state policies concerning their respective target communities, maintaining a liaison between these communities and government entities, and advising the legislature on the coordination and administration of state programs serving these communities.

HB 5321 (File 743), reported favorably by the Government Administration and Elections Committee, establishes an Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission and charges it with working with state agencies to develop plans and programs that address, among other things, health care access by members of the Asian Pacific American community.

*Members*	*Appointing Authority*
Member of a National Urban League affiliate Two public members*	Senate president pro tempore
Member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Two public members*	House speaker
Representative of the Native American community	Senate majority leader with the advice of the Native American Heritage Advisory Council or the chairperson of the Indian Affairs Council
Member of the legislative Black and Puerto Rican Caucus	House majority leader
Representative of an advocacy group for Hispanics Two public members*	Senate minority leader
Representative of the state-wide Multicultural Health Network Two public members*	House minority leader