(a) There is established a Commission on Racial Equity in Public Health, to document and make recommendations to decrease the effect of racism on public health. The commission shall be part of the Legislative Department.

(b) The commission shall consist of the following members:

(1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, one of whom shall be a representative of a nonprofit organization that focuses on racial equity issues and one of whom shall be a representative of Health Equity Solutions;

(2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one of whom shall be a representative of a violence intervention program using a health-based approach to examine individuals post-incarceration and policies for integration and one of whom shall be a representative of the Connecticut Health Foundation;

(3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, who shall be a representative of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice;

(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, who shall be a representative of the Connecticut Children’s Office for Community Child Health;

(5) Two appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, one of whom shall be a physician educator associated with The University of Connecticut who has experience and expertise in infant and maternal care and who has worked on diversity and inclusion policy and one of whom shall be a representative of the Partnership for Strong Communities;

(6) Two appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, one of whom shall be a medical professional with expertise in mental health and one of whom shall be a representative of the Open Communities Alliance;

(7) The chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public health;

(8) Two members of the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, appointed by the caucus chairperson;

(9) One appointed by the Governor, who shall be a representative of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee of the Connecticut Bar Association;

(10) The Commissioner of Public Health, or the commissioner’s designee;

(11) The Commissioner of Children and Families, or the commissioner’s designee;

(12) The Commissioner of Early Childhood, or the commissioner’s designee;

(13) The Commissioner of Social Services, or the commissioner’s designee;

(14) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, or the commissioner’s designee;

(15) The Commissioner of Education, or the commissioner’s designee;

(16) The Commissioner of Housing, or the commissioner’s designee;

(17) The chief executive officer of the Connecticut Health Insurance Exchange, or the chief executive officer’s designee;

(18) The executive director of the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity, or the executive director’s designee;

(19) The executive director of the Office of Health Strategy, or the executive director’s designee;

(20) The Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, or the secretary’s designee;

(21) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, or the commissioner’s designee; and

(22) The Commissioner of Correction, or the commissioner’s designee.

(c) Any member of the commission appointed under subdivisions (1) to (8), inclusive, of subsection (b) of this section may be a member of the General Assembly. All initial appointments to the commission made under subdivisions (1) to (9), inclusive, of subsection (b) of this section shall be made not later than sixty days after June 14, 2021. Appointed members shall serve a term that is coterminous with the appointing official and may serve more than one term.

(d) The Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, or the secretary’s designee, and the representative appointed under subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this section as a representative of Health Equity Solutions, shall serve as chairpersons of the commission. Such chairpersons shall schedule the first meeting of the commission, which shall be held not later than sixty days after June 14, 2021. If appointments under subsection (b) of this section are not made within such sixty-day period, the chairpersons may designate individuals with the required qualifications stated for the applicable appointment to serve on the commission until appointments are made pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.

(e) Members shall continue to serve until their successors are appointed. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority. Any vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled for the balance of the unexpired term.

(f) A majority of the membership shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business and any decision shall be by a majority vote of those present at a meeting, except the commission may establish such committees, subcommittees or other entities as it deems necessary to further the purposes of the commission. The commission may adopt rules of procedure.

(g) The members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but shall, within the limits of available funds, be reimbursed for expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties.

(h) The commission, by majority vote, shall hire an executive director to serve as administrative staff of the commission, who shall serve at the pleasure of the commission. The commission may request the assistance of the Joint Committee on Legislative Management in hiring the executive director. The executive director may hire not more than two executive assistants to assist in carrying out the duties of the commission.

(i) The commission shall have the following powers and duties: To (1) support collaboration by bringing together partners from many different sectors to recognize the links between health and other issues and policy areas and build new partnerships to promote health and equity and increase government efficiency; (2) create a comprehensive strategic plan to eliminate health disparities and inequities across sectors, in accordance with § 19a-133b; (3) study the impact that the public health crisis of racism has on vulnerable populations within diverse groups of the state population, including on the basis of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability, including, but not limited to, Black American descendants of slavery; (4) obtain from any legislative or executive department, board, commission or other agency of the state or any organization or other entity such assistance as necessary and available to carry out the purposes of this section; (5) accept any gift, donation or bequest for the purpose of performing the duties described in this section; (6) establish bylaws to govern its procedures; and (7) perform such other acts as may be necessary and appropriate to carry out the duties described in this section, including, but not limited to, the creation of subcommittees.

(j) The commission shall engage with a diverse range of community members, including people of color who identify as members of diverse groups of the state population, including on the basis of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability, who experience inequities in health, to make recommendations to the relevant state agencies or other entities on an ongoing basis concerning the following: (1) Structural racism in the state’s laws and regulations impacting public health, where, as used in this subdivision, “structural racism” means a system that structures opportunity and assigns value in a way that disproportionally and negatively impacts Black, Indigenous, Latino or Asian people or other people of color; (2) racial disparities in the state’s criminal justice system and its impact on the health and well-being of individuals and families, including overall health outcomes and rates of depression, suicide, substance use disorder and chronic disease; (3) racial disparities in access to the resources necessary for healthy living, including, but not limited to, access to adequate fresh food and physical activity, public safety and the decrease of pollution in communities; (4) racial disparities in health outcomes; (5) the impact of zoning restrictions on the creation of housing disparities and such disparities’ impact on public health; (6) racial disparities in state hiring and contracting processes; and (7) any suggestions to reduce the impact of the public health crisis of racism within the vulnerable populations studied under subdivision (3) of subsection (i) of this section.

(k) Not later than January 1, 2022, and every six months thereafter, the commission shall submit a report to the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management and the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public health and appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, in accordance with the provisions of § 11-4a, concerning (1) the activities of the commission during the prior six-month period; (2) any progress made in attaining the goal described in subsection (c) of § 19a-133b; (3) any recommended changes to such goal based on the research conducted by the commission, any disparity study performed by any state agency or entity, or any community input received; (4) the status of the comprehensive strategic plan required under § 19a-133b; and (5) any recommendations for policy changes or amendments to state law.