(a) The Commissioner of Developmental Services shall appoint at least one advisory and planning council for each state developmental services region operated by the Department of Developmental Services, which council shall have the responsibility of consulting with and advising the director of the region on the needs of persons with intellectual disability in the region, the annual plan and budget of the region and other matters deemed appropriate by the council. The Commissioner of Developmental Services shall, at least annually, provide to any individual who receives annual funding or receives services from the department, or such individual's legal representative, information about the regional advisory and planning council's statutory responsibilities and the process to access information concerning such council's meetings.
(b) Each such council shall consist of at least ten members appointed from the state developmental services region. No employee of any state agency engaged in the care or training of individuals with intellectual disability shall be eligible for appointment. At least one member shall be designated by a local chapter of the Arc of Connecticut in the region. At least one member shall be an individual who is eligible for and receives services from the Department of Developmental Services. At least two members shall be a relative of an individual with intellectual disability. Members shall be appointed for terms of three years. No member may serve more than two consecutive terms, except a member may continue to serve until a successor is appointed. Each council shall appoint annually, from among its members, a chairperson, vice-chairperson and secretary. The council may make rules for the conduct of its affairs. The director of the region shall be an ex-officio member of the council without vote and shall attend its meetings.
(c) The council shall meet at least six times a year and at other times upon the call of the chair or the director of the state developmental services region or on the written request of any two members. A majority of the council members in office shall constitute a quorum. Any member who fails to attend three consecutive meetings or who fails to attend fifty per cent of all meetings held during any calendar year shall be deemed to have resigned from office.
(P.A. 73-207, S. 1–3; P.A. 75-638, S. 19, 23; P.A. 76-153, S. 11; P.A. 84-256, S. 14, 17; P.A. 85-373; P.A. 86-246, S. 2, 3; P.A. 07-73, S. 2(a), (b); P.A. 08-7, S. 6; P.A. 10-93, S. 10; P.A. 11-16, S. 24; P.A. 14-143, S. 1; P.A. 16-60, S. 2; P.A. 18-32, S. 23.)
History: P.A. 75-638 replaced office of mental retardation in health department with independent department of mental retardation; P.A. 76-153 replaced commissioner of health with commissioner of mental retardation as appointing authority for advisory and planning councils in Subsec. (a), reflecting creation of independent department of mental retardation; Sec. 19-4h transferred to Sec. 19-575 in 1977; Sec. 19-575 transferred to Sec. 19a-468 in 1983; P.A. 84-256 amended section to establish quorum and attendance requirements for members; P.A. 85-373 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) to give the council responsibility for the annual plan and budget of the regional center, increased the membership from nine to ten members, required at least two members to be parents of mentally retarded persons and precluded any member from serving more than two consecutive terms; P.A. 86-246 substituted “director” for “superintendent” and mental retardation “regions” for “regional centers” and made other technical changes; Sec. 19a-468 transferred to Sec. 17a-273 in 1991; pursuant to P.A. 07-73 “Commissioner of Mental Retardation” and “Department of Mental Retardation” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Developmental Services” and “Department of Developmental Services”, effective October 1, 2007; P.A. 08-7 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) by substituting persons “with mental retardation” for “mentally retarded” persons, amended Subsecs. (a) to (c) by renaming state mental retardation regions as state developmental services regions, and amended Subsec. (b) by changing “retarded citizens” to “mentally retarded citizens”, effective April 29, 2008; P.A. 10-93 amended Subsec. (b) by deleting provision that prohibited employee of a state institution from being eligible for appointment to council, by substituting “a local chapter of the Arc of Connecticut in the region” for provisions re incorporated local association in region, by deleting provision requiring at least 1 member to be attorney familiar with mental retardation issues and by adding provision requiring at least 1 member to be individual who is eligible for and receiving services from department; P.A. 11-16 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) by substituting “persons with intellectual disability” for “persons with mental retardation”, effective May 24, 2011; P.A. 14-143 amended Subsec. (b) by adding provision allowing member to continue to serve until successor appointed; P.A. 16-60 amended Subsec. (a) by adding provision re commissioner to provide information to individuals who receive annual funding or receive services from department and amended Subsec. (b) by replacing “persons” with “individuals”, effective May 26, 2016; P.A. 18-32 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting reference to guardian, and amended Subsec. (b) by replacing reference to parents with reference to relative, effective July 1, 2018.