Eliminating the Bloated Bureaucracy and Making Do with Less

“We must not forsake this opportunity. We must do what every family has been doing – cutting back and doing more with less – and less.”
– M. Jodi Rell, February 2009

GOVERNOR RELL’S JULY 2009 BUDGET PLAN

Starting with Legislative Commissions

• Eliminate the Commission on Aging.
• Reduce funding for the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women by one-half of the originally requested amount.
• Reduce funding for the Commission on Children by one-half of the originally requested amount
• Reduce the original request for the Latino & Puerto Rican Affairs Commission and African-American Affairs Commission and the Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission by one-half and combine into a new Minority Affairs Commission

Merging, Consolidating and Eliminating State Agencies

• Consolidating Department of Higher Education into Department of Education
• Consolidating the Office of Health Care Access (OHCA) into the Dept. of Public Health (DPH).
• Placing the State Properties Review Board within the Department of Administrative Services.
• Placing the State Insurance and Risk Management Board within the Department of Administrative Services.
• Placing the Claims Commission within the Department of Administrative Services.
• Placing the State Board of Accountancy within the Department of Consumer Protection.
• Eliminating the Council on Environmental Quality and having its functions provided by the Department of Environmental Protection.
• Eliminating the Children’s Trust Fund as an agency. Core prevention grant programs consolidated into the Department of Social Services for administration.
• Eliminating the Office of the Child Advocate as an agency with the position of the Child Advocate placed within the Attorney General’s Office. The Child Advocate’s Advisory Committee and Child Fatality Review Panel are eliminated.
• Placing the Criminal Justice Commission within the Division of Criminal Justice.
• Eliminating the State Marshal Commission as an agency. Support functions will be the responsibility of the Department of Administrative Services.
• Eliminating the Board of Firearms Permit Examiners as an agency. Support functions will be the responsibility of the Department of Public Safety.
• Eliminating the Ombudsman of Property Rights.
• Eliminating the Office of the Healthcare Advocate.
• Consolidating the Commission on Deaf and Hearing Impaired into DSS.

Abolishing More than 70 Boards and Commissions

The Governor proposed in February to eliminate more than 70 state commissions and agencies. Many of these entities are advisory in nature; many are duplicative of other state functions. Additionally, there are agencies that provide similar functions as these boards and commissions. Such agencies will be able to handle the matters currently undertaken by the boards and commissions being eliminated. The proposed eliminations are similar to the fundamental changes she proposed in her February 2009 budget proposal.

The boards and commissions proposed for elimination include:

Employee Misclassification Advisory Board, section 31-57i, CGS;
Employment Security Division Advisory Board to the Labor Commissioner, section 31-250a, CGS;
Face of Connecticut Steering Committee, section 22a-27s, CGS;
Greater Hartford Flood Commission, number 72 of the special acts of the November 1955 special session, and number 292 of the special acts of 1957;
Citizens Advisory Council for Housing Matters, section 47a-71a, CGS;
Property Tax Cap Commission, section 101 of public act 07-4;
Blue Ribbon Commission for Higher Education, section 41 of public act 07-3 of the June special session;
Broadband Internet Coordinating Council, section 4d-100, CGS;
Advisory Committee for the Center for Real Estate and Urban Economic Studies, section 10a-124 , CGS;
Code Training and Education Board of Control, section 29-251c, CGS;
Connecticut Food Policy Council, section 22-456, CGS;
Operation Lifesaver Committee, section 13b-376, CGS;
Connecticut Seafood Advisory Council, section 22-455, CGS;
Technology Advisory Committee, section 4d-13, CGS;
Youth Futures Committee, section 1 of public act 06-182;
Youth Policy Council, special act 08-03;
Mobile Manufactured Home Advisory Council, section 21-84a, CGS;
State Board of Natureopathic Examiners, section 20-35, CGS;
State Board of Examiners of Shorthand Reporters, section 20-651, CGS;
Connecticut Allied Health Workforce Policy Board, section 4-124dd, CGS;
Blue Ribbon Commission on Housing and Economic Development, section 33 of public act 07-4;
Connecticut Boxing Commission, section 29-143i, CGS;
Comm’n on Business Opportunity, Defense Diversification, and Industrial Policy, section 32-245, CGS;
Commission on Nontraditional Loans and Home Equity Lines of Credit, section 77 of public act 08-176;
Community Economic Development Program Board of Directors, section 8-240l, CGS;
Community Mental Health Strategic Investment Fund, section 17a-485, CGS;
Connecticut Economic Conference Board, section 32-4f, CGS;
Connecticut Economic Information System Steering Committee, section 32-6i, CGS;
Connecticut International Trade Council, section 32-511, CGS;
Connecticut River Assembly, section 25-102dd, CGS;
Connecticut-Israel Exchange Commission, section 32-180, CGS;
Commission for Educational Technology, section 4d-80, CGS;
Five Mile River Commission, section 15-26a, CGS;
Automotive Glass Work and Flat Glass Work Board, section 20-331, CGS;
Connecticut Homeopathic Medical Examining Board, section 20-8, CGS;
Housing Sustainability Fund, section 104 of public act 07-4 of the June special session;
Advisory Committee to the Office of Managed Care Ombudsman, section 38a-1049, CGS;
Small Business Incubator Advisory Committee, section 32-356, CGS;
Special Contaminated Property Remediation / Insurance Fund Advisory Board, section 22a-133u, CGS;
Sports Advisory Board, section 10-425, CGS;
State Economic Development and Advisory Board, section 32-4b, CGS;
Child Day Care Council, section 17b-748, CGS;
Families with Service Needs Advisory Board, section 42 of public act 06-188;
Head Start Funds Advisory Committee, subsection (c) of section 10-16n, CGS;
Nurturing Families Network Advisory Commission, section 17a-56a, CGS;
Architectural Licensing Board, section 20-289, CGS;
Electrical Work Board, section 20-331, CGS;
Elevator Installation, Repair and Maintenance Board, subsection (e) of section 20-331 of e general statutes;
Fire Protection Sprinkler Systems Board, subsection (f) of section 20-331, CGS;
Heating, Piping, Cooling and Sheet Metal Work Board, subsection (c) of section 20-331, CGS;
Home Inspection Licensing Board, subsection (b) of section 20-490a , CGS;
State Board of Landscape Architects, section 20-368, CGS;
Plumbing and Piping Work Board, subsection (d) of section 20-331, CGS; and
State Board of Examiners for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, section 20-300 , CGS.