Labor & Employment (Public Safety)

This bill requires the University of Connecticut president to create a recruitment and retention program for its special police forces and fire department by July 1, 2027, to address staffing shortages and high resignation rates. The program must establish salary schedules that align with comparable municipal and state agencies to eliminate pay disparities and ensure supervisors earn more than those they supervise, while also creating an education benefit for sworn members and their dependents. The president must submit annual reports to state committees and the university board detailing staffing levels, resignations, coverage capabilities, and the financial costs of training personnel who leave within five years. Additionally, the bill mandates that special police positions be classified using objective job-related criteria based on knowledge, skills, effort, accountability, and jurisdiction responsibilities across multiple campuses.

HB 5279 expands workers' compensation coverage for post-traumatic stress injury (PTSD) by adding "witnessing a serious physical injury" as a qualifying event. It directly affects eligible public safety and healthcare workers - including police officers, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, correctional employees, telecommunicators, and health care providers - who witness such injuries while on duty. The bill amends existing law to include this new qualifying event (effective October 1, 2026), specifying it covers serious physical injuries that do not result in death or permanent disfigurement. This change ensures these workers can access PTSD-related workers' compensation benefits for trauma stemming from witnessing non-fatal but severe injuries.

HB 5046 modifies existing tuition waiver policies at Connecticut's community colleges and universities to specifically support public safety personnel. It waives tuition for current police officers (with 5+ years service) and firefighters (with 5+ years service), as well as for their dependents if the officer or firefighter was killed in the line of duty. The bill also expands waivers to include students enrolled in state fire school programs and police academy coordination courses. These changes apply to Connecticut State Community College and Connecticut State University System programs, effective July 1, 2026. The policy directly affects active and retired public safety workers and their families by reducing education costs.