CONNECTICUT, USA — With a new year comes some new laws set to take effect in Connecticut.
From prescription drugs to the air quality in local schools, here are some of the new laws for the state beginning Jan. 1, 2024.
Bottle Deposits
Beginning on January 1, the minimum beverage container deposit fee will increase from 5 to 10 cents when people redeem their empty drink containers.
The increase is part of a bill passed in 2021 that also expanded what kind of containers can be redeemed at any reverse vending machine (RVM). The bill included drink containers such as hard seltzer, hard cider, plant water, juice, juice drinks, tea, coffee, kombucha, sports, and energy drinks.
Cancer Relief for Firefighters
This act requires each town in Connecticut to make annual contributions to the state's firefighters' cancer relief account, which is used to provide wage replacement benefits to paid and volunteer firefighters diagnosed with cancer.
Beginning in January, each town must generally contribute $10 for each career or volunteer firefighter in its fire district(s) by December 15 of each year. However, the bill only requires towns to contribute funds who meet certain work experience and other criteria.
Early Voting
Early in-person voting for all general and special elections and primaries will now be in place beginning January 1. Every election and primary held after the first of the year will now require a 14-day early-voting period for general elections, seven days for most primaries, and four days for special elections and presidential preference primaries.
Under the bill, every town and city has to establish at least one early voting location. Any municipality with more than 20,000 people can establish more locations.
Workers' Compensation
Beginning Jan. 1, eligibility for workers' compensation benefits for post-traumatic stress injuries will be expanded to all employees covered by the workers' compensation law.
The previous law generally limited the eligibility for these benefits to certain first responders like police officers, fighters, emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, and dispatchers who were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress injury, or PTSI, as a direct result of working in the line of duty. The act now allows any employee covered by workers' compensation law to qualify for the benefits if the same qualifying event happens during the employment (i.e., witnesses someone's death).
The benefits provided to them are still subject to the same procedures and limitations applied to first responders.
Prescription Drugs
Various changes to the practice of pharmacy and access to medications will begin on January 1.
Pharmacists will be able to prescribe, in good faith, emergency or hormonal contraception to a patient. The pharmacist has to complete specific actions before they'd be allowed to, including undergoing an educational training program, completing a screening document before prescribing to a patient, counseling the patient, and notifying any healthcare provider the patient identifies as their primary care provider.
If a pharmacy is approved to dispense medication to terminate a pregnancy but does not have a supply of it, then the act requires the pharmacist to tell the patient who is looking for the medication a list of the nearest pharmacies that dispense it.
The act also allows prescribing practitioners and pharmacists to work with various groups to increase the public's access to medications that treat opioid overdoses, like Narcan. To do this, they can be found at pharmacy vending machines and needle exchange machines.
When it comes to medical marijuana, providers can now indefinitely certify medical marijuana patients and provide follow-up care via telehealth. Previous law allowed this only through June 30, 2023.
Opioid Battle
Beginning January 1, the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, in collaboration with the Department of Public Health, will be able to use an established fund to provide agents like Narcan to municipalities, EMS organizations, and other entities.
This act also requires EMS personnel to provide kits with agents like Narcan and an opioid-related fact sheet to certain patients.
Personal Care Attendants
The Department of Social Services will establish and administer a career pathways program for personal care attendants beginning January 1. The program aims to improve the care attendant's quality of care and incentivize their recruitment and retention in the state.
Personal care assistants provide in-home and community-based personal care aid and other non-professional services to the elderly and people with disabilities.
School Air Quality
This act requires school districts to do more frequent inspections and evaluations of public school indoor air quality and submit the results to the Department of Administrative Services (DAS). The department must then post them on its website.
Prior law required inspections every three years for any school built, extended, renovated, or replaced on or after January 1, 2003. Instead, the act requires them to be annual beginning January 1, 2024.
The act extends the deadline for school districts to start having five-year HVAC inspections done by a certified testing, adjusting, and balancing technician, industrial hygienist certified by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene or the Board for Global EHS Credentialing, or a mechanical engineer from January 1, 2024, to January 1, 2025.
By law, the inspection results must be made public at a school board meeting and posted online.
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These are just some of the laws going into effect at the beginning of the year. For more, head to the Connecticut General Assembly's website.
Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
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