Rep. Tammy Exum

Maddy summaryHB 6951 requires Connecticut's Transforming Children's Behavioral Health Policy and Planning Committee to study current behavioral health services for children and future demand. The study will examine crisis services (like suicide hotlines and mobile crisis teams), referral sources, funding allocation, and marketing strategies. The committee must also develop a survey for school-based health centers about data collection practices and work with the Public Health Commissioner to create reporting requirements. Both findings will be reported to the legislature by January 1, 2026. This procedural bill focuses on gathering data to inform future policy, with no direct funding changes or immediate service impacts.

Maddy summaryHB 6771 establishes a state task force to develop Alzheimer's and dementia care policies, directly affecting patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers. It requires health insurers to cover biomarker testing for diagnosis and creates new rules for residential care home transfers, discharges, and emergency closures. The bill also provides tuition waivers for nursing home residents taking courses at local community-technical colleges. Signed into law as Public Act 25-16 on June 3, 2025, it mandates concrete policy changes for dementia care access and facility operations.

Maddy summaryHB 7109 implements recommendations from Connecticut's Transforming Children's Behavioral Health Policy and Planning Committee. It directs state agencies to use federal grant funds to develop new payment models that reward providers for improved child behavioral health outcomes, create better care coordination systems, and require at least one hour of in-person supervision for every ten hours of behavioral therapy provided to children under 26 with autism spectrum disorder. The bill also mandates a review of Yale University's IICAPS program for children at risk of hospitalization and updates definitions of "behavioral therapy" to clarify supervision requirements. Additionally, it directs health officials to examine private insurance coverage for urgent crisis center care for children.

Maddy summaryHB 7009 establishes a Connecticut State Seal of Civics Education and Engagement for high school diplomas, requiring students to complete two years of social studies (including a U.S. government or civics course), participate in a civic engagement project, and demonstrate civics proficiency through assessments. It mandates expanded transparency in school data tracking, requiring public schools to collect and report detailed information about multilingual learners (including home language and bilingual program participation) starting in 2026. The bill also creates a parent bill of rights for multilingual learners to protect their educational rights and requires school districts to make Islamic and Arab studies curriculum materials available. These provisions directly affect Connecticut public schools, students, and families, focusing on civic education standards, data transparency, and equitable resource access.

Maddy summaryHB 7263 amends the membership structure of the Transforming Children's Behavioral Health Policy and Planning Committee, effective October 1, 2025. The bill adds three new voting members: two substance abuse treatment providers for young adults (jointly appointed by committee leaders) and the Behavioral Health Advocate or their designee. This expands the committee’s representation to include specialized providers and advocates while maintaining its focus on improving children’s behavioral health services. The change has no fiscal impact on the state or municipalities, as noted in the official fiscal analysis.

Maddy summaryHB 7021 appropriates $10 million from the General Fund for Connecticut’s Supplemental Nutrition Commodities Assistance Program, effective July 2025. The program funds Connecticut Foodshare (formerly the Connecticut Food Bank) to buy bulk nutritious food in-state and distribute it free to soup kitchens, food pantries, and emergency shelters. It requires at least 15% of annual funds to purchase produce from Connecticut farmers and mandates a 3% annual funding increase starting July 2026. The bill allows, but does not require, these organizations to charge a 5-cent-per-pound handling fee to cover distribution costs.

Maddy summaryHB 6912 establishes a state Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Task Force to examine the needs of individuals with these conditions and their caregivers, along with available services and healthcare capacity. The task force must develop a comprehensive State Alzheimer's Plan covering long-term care options, family caregiver support, early detection strategies, healthcare provider availability, home-based services, and public awareness initiatives. The plan will specifically address fiscal impacts on public health programs, dementia care costs, training requirements for healthcare workers, and safety needs. The task force, composed of 11 governor-appointed members (including people living with early-stage dementia and family caregivers) plus state agency representatives, must complete its work by October 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 6397 adopts specific recommendations from the Transforming Children's Behavioral Health Policy and Planning Committee regarding children's Medicaid behavioral health services. The bill directly affects children receiving Medicaid-funded behavioral health care by implementing changes to reimbursement rates for providers, stabilizing the behavioral health workforce, expanding insurance coverage, establishing a crisis services study, and conducting studies on school-based health centers and school health services. Key provisions include updating Medicaid reimbursement rates, addressing workforce shortages, and creating structured studies to improve service access. The bill does not create new policies but codifies the committee's proposed actions. It applies to Connecticut's Medicaid program and school health systems serving children.

Maddy summaryHB 6617 expands the existing CRISIS Initiative pilot program to include juvenile services. It requires the Division of State Police (within the Department of Emergency Services) to partner with the Department of Mental Health to provide mobile crisis intervention teams for juveniles in emergency situations. These teams will assist with the emergency transport of juveniles to urgent care facilities or hospitals. The bill directly affects juveniles experiencing mental health crises and the state agencies responsible for emergency response and mental health services.

Maddy summaryHB 6319 expands eligibility for municipalities to propose projects to the Community Investment Fund 2030 Board. It allows any municipality containing at least one economically distressed neighborhood (census tract) to submit projects for consideration. The bill amends existing law to explicitly include these municipalities as eligible applicants. This change directly affects towns and cities with designated economically distressed areas, enabling them to access the fund for community development projects. The policy change is limited to adjusting who can apply, not altering the fund's funding mechanisms or approval processes.