SB 342 — AN ACT CONCERNING THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN PEER SUPPORT TEAM MEMBERS AND DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION EMPLOYEES.

Senate GeneralBill Assembly File No.

220342 FebruaryPublic Session,Act 2024 Senate Bill No.

34224-67 Senate,AN AprilACT 3,CONCERNING 2024THE TheCONFIDENTIALITY CommitteeOF onCOMMUNICATIONS PublicBETWEEN SafetyPEER andSUPPORT SecurityTEAM reportedMEMBERS throughAND SEN.DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION EMPLOYEES.

GASTON of the 23rd Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN PEER SUPPORT TEAM MEMBERS AND DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION OFFICERS.

and any SB342employee /of Filethe No.Department of Correction;

220and 1(3) SB342"Confidential Filecommunications" means all oral and written communications transmitted in confidence between a first responder Senate Bill No.

220342 officerand ofa peer support team member in the Departmentcourse of Correction;participation in an employer established peer support program and all records prepared by a peer support team member related to such first responder's participation in such program.

and (3) "Confidential communications" means all oral and written communications transmitted in confidence between a first responder and a peer support team member in the course of participation in an employer established peer support program and all records prepared by a peer support team member related to such first responder's participation in such program.

SB342Approved /May File30, 2024 Public Act No.

22024-67 2 SB342of File2 No.

220 This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:

Section 1 July 1, 2024 52-146v PS Joint Favorable SB342 / File No.

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220 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill makes oral and written communications between Department of Correction officers and a peer support team member confidential resulting in no fiscal impact to the state.

The Out Years State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None SB342 / File No.

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220 OLR Bill Analysis SB 342 AN ACT CONCERNING THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN PEER SUPPORT TEAM MEMBERS AND DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION OFFICERS.

SUMMARY This bill extends to all Department of Correction (DOC) officers existing provisions that make oral and written communications between a first responder and a peer support team member confidential with certain exceptions.

It does this by adding DOC officers to a statutory definition of the term “first responder,” hence adding them to the list of persons to whom these provisions apply.

(These provisions already apply to some DOC officials but only those who are authorized to make arrests in a correctional institution or facility because they are “peace officers” and therefore considered “first responders” under existing law.) By law, the confidentiality protection applies only to (1) communications made in confidence in the course of a first responder’s participation in a peer support program established by his or her employer and (2) all records prepared by a team member related to a firstresponder’sprogramparticipation.

Existinglawgenerallyprohibits a peer support team member from disclosing those communications unless the first responder waives the privilege.

(A “peer support team member” is any person who directs or staffs any employer-established peer support program for first responders.) EFFECTIVE DATE:

July 1, 2024 FIRST RESPONDERS Under current law, “first responder” means:

SB342 / File No.

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220 1.

certain peace officers and firefighters (see BACKGROUND);

2.

privately employed firefighters;

3.

ambulance drivers;

4.