Senate Passes Second Taskforce Bill

Senate approves second bill recommended by Correctional Staff Safety Taskforce
Senator John A. Kissel (R-Enfield) announced that HB 6684, An Act Establishing A Correctional Staff Health and Safety Subcommittee of the Criminal Justice Policy Advisory Commission was unanimously approved in the Senate late tonight. The bill, which implements recommendations of the Prison Population and Correctional Staff Safety Taskforce, is expected to be signed by the Governor later next week.

Sen. Kissel praised the passage of the bill saying, “The vital contribution to public safety made by our COs deserves our respect and our support. They have one of hardest jobs out there and work day in and day out to keep our correctional facilities and communities safe. The creation of this subcommittee is a huge step towards improving the safety of their working conditions and I know the involvement of members of the corrections community on this committee will prove to be invaluable.”

Specifically, HB 6684 creates a subcommittee of the Criminal Justice Policy Advisory Commission to review the policies and procedures of the Department of Corrections with respect to staff health and safety effective October, 2009.

“Rep. Jarmoc in particular and everyone on the taskforce as a whole did a great job bringing these recommendations together and I am happy that the Legislature recognized the importance of this legislation and unanimously voted it out of both the House and Senate,” said Sen. Kissel. “It’s particularly important to note, that many of the members of this taskforce were COs who work on the front lines every day and they will be directly represented on the subcommittee”.