(a) The Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services shall prepare and maintain a register of persons who are blind in this state which shall describe their condition, cause of blindness and capacity for education and rehabilitative training. The commissioner may register cases of persons who are liable to become visually impaired or blind, and may take such measures in cooperation with other authorities as the commissioner deems advisable for the prevention of blindness or conservation of eyesight and, in appropriate cases, for the education of children and for the vocational guidance of adults whose eyesight approaches visual impairment or blindness. The commissioner shall establish criteria for low vision care and maintain a list of ophthalmologists and optometrists that are exclusively authorized to receive agency funds through established and existing state fee schedules for the delivery of specifically defined low vision services that increase the capacity of eligible recipients of such services to maximize the use of their remaining vision.

(b) The Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services may accept and receive any bequest or gift of money or personal property and, subject to the consent of the Governor and Attorney General as provided in section 4b-22, any devise or gift of real property made to the Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services, and may hold and use such money or property for the purposes, if any, specified in connection with such bequest, devise or gift.

(c) The Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services shall provide the Department of Motor Vehicles with the names of all individuals sixteen years of age or older who, on or after October 1, 2005, have been determined to be blind by a physician, an advanced practice registered nurse or an optometrist, as provided in section 10-305. The Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services shall provide simultaneous written notification to any individual whose name is being transmitted by the Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services to the Department of Motor Vehicles. The Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services shall update the list of names provided to the Department of Motor Vehicles on a quarterly basis. The list shall also contain the address and date of birth for each individual reported, as shown on the records of the Department of Rehabilitation Services. The Department of Motor Vehicles shall maintain such list on a confidential basis, in accordance with the provisions of section 14-46d. The Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles to effectuate the purposes of this subsection.

(1949 Rev., S. 1611; September, 1957, P.A. 11, S. 13; 1961, P.A. 539, S. 7; 1963, P.A. 386, S. 5; P.A. 77-147; P.A. 83-307, S. 1, 2; P.A. 84-546, S. 27, 173; P.A. 89-12, S. 1, 3; P.A. 05-156, S. 1; P.A. 06-130, S. 7; P.A. 11-44, S. 12; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1, S. 44; P.A. 13-7, S. 2; P.A. 14-188, S. 10; 14-217, S. 161; P.A. 16-39, S. 73; P.A. 17-202, S. 29.)

History: 1961 act changed inspection requirement from once every three months to annually, made preparation of register compulsory and clarified right to aid those with defective eyesight but not blind; 1963 act changed the name of the board; P.A. 77-147 added Subsec. (b) re acceptance of bequest or gift of real or personal property; P.A. 83-307 inserted new Subsec. (b) to require Connecticut Institute for the Blind to submit proposed operating budget for Oak Hill School to board of education and services for the blind, relettering former Subsec. (b) as Subsec. (c); P.A. 84-546 made technical change in Subsec. (a), substituting “activities” for “doings”; P.A. 89-12 deleted provision re the power of the board of education and services for the blind to visit, inspect and report on the Connecticut Institute for the Blind in Subsec. (a), deleted former Subsec. (b) re annual submission of proposed operating budget for Oak Hill School and relettered the remaining Subsec. accordingly; P.A. 05-156 amended Subsec. (a) to require agency to establish criteria for low vision care and maintain a list of ophthalmologists and optometrists that are to deliver services to persons with low vision, and to substitute “rehabilitative” for “industrial” and “disabled” for “handicapped” and added new Subsec. (c) re board’s duty to provide Department of Motor Vehicles with the names of persons 16 years of age or older who have been determined to be blind; P.A. 06-130 amended Subsec. (c) to require the board to include addresses and dates of birth for each person reported to Department of Motor Vehicles and to require department to maintain the confidentiality of the list, effective June 2, 2006; P.A. 11-44 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “Board of Education and Services for the Blind” with “director of the Bureau of Rehabilitative Services”, adding provision specifying that bureau report re services provided to persons who are legally blind or visually impaired and making technical and conforming changes, amended Subsecs. (b) and (c) by replacing “board” with “director of the Bureau of Rehabilitative Services” or “Bureau of Rehabilitative Services” and making conforming changes, and amended Subsec. (c) by replacing “department” with “Department of Motor Vehicles”, effective July 1, 2011; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1 replaced “director of the Bureau of Rehabilitative Services” with “Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services”, replaced “Bureau of Rehabilitative Services” with “Department of Rehabilitation Services” and made conforming changes, effective July 1, 2012; P.A. 13-7 amended Subsec. (a) to remove requirement that Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services submit annual report to governor and make a technical change and amended Subsec. (c) to change “Department of Rehabilitation Services” to “Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services” and change “Department of Motor Vehicles” to “Commissioner of Motor Vehicles”, effective July 1, 2013; P.A. 14-188 amended Subsec. (b) to add references to money, effective June 12, 2014; P.A. 14-217 made identical changes as P.A. 14-188, effective June 13, 2014; P.A. 16-39 amended Subsec. (c) by adding reference to advanced practice registered nurse and making a technical change; P.A. 17-202 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “the blind” with “persons who are blind”, deleting “whose eyesight is seriously defective and”, replacing “disabled” with “impaired”, and replacing “having seriously defective sight but who are not blind” with “whose eyesight approaches visual impairment or blindness”.