(a) No person, group of persons, association, organization, corporation, institution or agency, public or private, shall maintain a child care center or group child care home without a license issued in accordance with sections 19a-77 to 19a-80, inclusive, and 19a-82 to 19a-87a, inclusive. Applications for such license shall be made to the Commissioner of Early Childhood on forms provided by the commissioner and shall contain the information required by regulations adopted under said sections. The forms shall contain a notice that false statements made therein are punishable in accordance with § 53a-157b.

(b) (1) Upon receipt of an application for a license, the commissioner shall issue such license if, upon inspection and investigation, said commissioner finds that the applicant, the facilities and the program meet the health, educational and social needs of children likely to attend the child care center or group child care home and comply with requirements established by regulations adopted under this section and sections 19a-77 to 19a-79a, inclusive, and sections 19a-82 to 19a-87a, inclusive. The commissioner shall offer an expedited application review process for an application submitted by a municipal agency or department. A currently licensed person or entity, as described in subsection (a) of this section, seeking a change of operator, ownership or location shall file a new license application, except such person or entity may request the commissioner to waive the requirement that a new license application be filed. The commissioner may grant or deny such request. Each license shall be for a term of four years, shall be nontransferable, and may be renewed upon receipt by the commissioner of a renewal application and accompanying licensure fee. The commissioner may suspend or revoke such license after notice and an opportunity for a hearing as provided in § 19a-84 for violation of the regulations adopted under this section and sections 19a-77 to 19a-79a, inclusive, and sections 19a-82 to 19a-87a, inclusive. In the case of an application for renewal of a license that has expired, the commissioner may renew such expired license within thirty days of the date of such expiration upon receipt of a renewal application and accompanying licensure fee.

(2) The commissioner shall collect from the licensee of a child care center a fee of five hundred dollars prior to issuing or renewing a license for a term of four years. The commissioner shall collect from the licensee of a group child care home a fee of two hundred fifty dollars prior to issuing or renewing a license for a term of four years. The commissioner shall require only one license for a child care center operated in two or more buildings, provided the same licensee provides child care services in each building and the buildings are joined together by a contiguous playground that is part of the licensed space.

(3) The commissioner, or the commissioner’s designee, shall make an unannounced visit, inspection or investigation of each licensed child care center and group child care home at least once each year. At least once every two years, the local health director, or the local health director’s designee, shall make an inspection of each licensed child care center and group child care home.

(c) The commissioner shall require each prospective employee of a child care center or group child care home for a position that requires the provision of care to a child or involves unsupervised access to any child in such child care center or group child care home, to submit to comprehensive background checks, including state and national criminal history records checks. The criminal history records checks required pursuant to this subsection shall be conducted in accordance with § 29-17a. The commissioner shall also request a check of the state child abuse registry established pursuant to § 17a-101k. The Commissioner of Early Childhood shall notify each licensee of the provisions of this subsection. No such prospective employee shall begin working in such child care center or group child care home until the provisions of 45 C.F.R. § 98.43(d)(4), as amended from time to time, have been satisfied.

(d) The commissioner shall inform each licensee, by way of a plain language summary provided not later than sixty days after the regulation’s effective date, of new or changed regulations adopted under sections 19a-77 to 19a-80, inclusive, or sections 19a-82 to 19a-87a, inclusive, with which a licensee must comply.