Sec. 27-102n. Board of Trustees for the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Members. Duties. Annual Report. - Connecticut Statutes

      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 9 to 16 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 10 members and the 6 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.