Members Present:  Chris Blake, Council Vice Chair; April Burke,
Kevin Daly, Chair; Bryan Klimkiewicz, Gretchen Knauff

 

Absent: Ellyn Little, Robin Wood

 

Staff Present:  Donna Devin

 

1. Approval of Minutes:  The meeting was called to order at 11:46 a.m. Gretchen Knauff moved to approve the minutes from the November 14, 2017, LPP Committee meeting. April Burke seconded the motion. April and Bryan abstained. The minutes were approved.

 

2. Resignation of Co-Chair:  April Burke as if the Committee would accept her resignation as Co-Chair of the LPP Committee, due to personal reasons and her college course load. There was a general consensus among members and April was released from her responsibilities as Co-Chair. Kevin Daly graciously assumed the mantle of responsibility as Committee Chair.

3. Mission of Committee and Role of Members:  A lively discussion ensued as the group discussed their mission, roles and duties as keepers of the Council’s legislative flame. Because Robin is from the DDS, a state agency; and Bryan is from the DOE, another state agency; and Gretchen is the Executive Director of Disability Rights Connecticut and receives federal funding; they can’t testify on behalf of the Council. However, Chris, April, Kevin and Ellyn can offer testimony.
Kevin believes the Committee should advise the greater Council on legislation that ought to be considered by the Council. Chris thinks the Committee needs to testify, collaborate and report. Gretchen interjected that the planning piece is missing from the dialogue.
Donna possesses information that will be helpful to the group as they navigate the learning curve. She will assemble a packet of testimonials submitted by Shelagh McClure, Council Chair; as well as previous LPP Committee meeting minutes, and copy them for the group, so they will have an effective point of reference to work from in the future.
A portion of the group’s conversation centered around educating Council members on the legislative process. Chris has a handout he was given at an Advocacy training. Donna has a booklet from an Advocacy course: How to Get Your Legislators to Listen, A Guide to Taking Charge, published by Keep the Promise & NAMI. She will email the pdf to the group.

4. Legislative Committee Agendas and Hearing Room Accommodations for Persons with Disabilities:  With both Chris and April asking questions about accommodations on hearing days at the LOB, Gretchen suggested the group research how the various committees handle their agendas. Are they first come, first served or do they use the lottery system? If someone with a disability is testifying on more than one bill, are they able to give their testimonials all at once, or do they have to abide by the standard rules and wait? There have been many instances where people with disabilities have transportation providers waiting on them or rearranging their schedules to bring the individuals home. The Committee opted to make the above issues, action items. Kevin offered to call the committees, and Gretchen proposed they split up the list. Also, she said some questions should be developed, so everyone is working from the same script. Bryan will procure info from his Legislative Liaison at the DOE.

5. Legislative Phone Calls:  Donna will give Daria, the Smith, MSW, the Executive Director of SILC and the Chair of the Cross Disability Lifespan Alliance, the group’s email addresses for the Alliance’s legislative updates. The Committee will have a set conference call time for after the Legislative phone call updates. If the conference call is unnecessary, the group will cancel it. There needs to be a mechanism in place to decide if a conference call is required, while remaining mindful of the 24 hours advanced notice for SOTS and the Council’s website.

 
6. Adjourn:  Kevin Daly, Chair, made a motion to adjourn. April Burke seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 1:35 p.m.