1995 PROPOSALS TO CONSOLIDATE STATE AGENCIES

GOVERNMENT, STATE - REORGANIZATION;

OLR Research Report


January 31, 2003		2003-R-0117
1995 PROPOSALS TO CONSOLIDATE STATE AGENCIES

By: Sandra Norman-Eady, Chief Attorney Mary M. Janicki, Assistant Director

You asked us to identify the proposals to consolidate state agencies that the General Assembly considered in its 1995 session.

SUMMARY

In 1995, the General Assembly considered a number of proposals to reorganize, and in most cases consolidate, state government agencies. Most of the proposals were part of Governor Rowland’s budget recommendations. The legislation that passed:

1. transferred the Liquor Control Commission to the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) and eliminated the Department of Liquor Control while moving its powers and duties to DCP,

2. consolidated the departments of Housing and Economic Development into the Department of Economic and Community Development,

3. (a) established the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services as the successor to the Department of Mental Health with the addiction services component of the former Department of Public Health and Addiction Services and (b) closed or merged certain health care facilities,

4. eliminated the Connecticut Appeals Board for Property Valuation, and

5. established the Office of the Child Advocate.

Unsuccessful proposals would have:

1. eliminated the Department of Public Works and transferred its responsibilities to various other state agencies;

2. eliminated the Department of Agriculture (DOA) and transferred its responsibilities to various other state agencies;

3. changed the name of the Department of Mental Health to the Department of Behavioral Health;

4. made the commissions on Women, Children and Youth, and Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs nonprofit organizations;

5. moved the then-Office of Information and Technology from the Office of Policy and Management to the Department of Administrative Services;

6. transferred occupational health clinics from the Department of Labor to the Workers’ Compensation Commission;

7. merged the Connecticut State University (CSU) system and the regional community-technical colleges; and

8. moved the Commission on the Arts from the Department of Education to the State Library.

CONSOLIDATION MEASURES ENACTED

PA 95-195 (HB 6695), An Act Abolishing the Department of Liquor Control and Transferring its Duties to the Department of Consumer Protection

This act made the Liquor Control Commission a part of the DCP and abolished the Department of Liquor Control, transferring its powers and duties to DCP.

PA 95-250 (HB 7011), An Act Concerning Establishing the Department of Economic and Community Development

This act replaced the departments of Housing and Economic Development with a new Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD). It gave the new DECD commissioner the same powers and duties the housing and economic commissioners previously had and delineated other powers and duties, including providing funds and other assistance to the state’s quasi-public development agencies.

PA 95-309 (SB 934), An Act Clarifying the Authority of the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, the Connecticut Development Authority, and Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated with Respect to the Department of Economic and Community Development, amended PA 95-250 to give the state’s quasi-public development agencies authority to transfer financial resources to DECD if it is practicable. SB 934 was introduced as part of the governor’s budget recommendations and would have called the new department the Department of Business and Community Development.

PA 95-257 (SB 1164), An Act Concerning the Consolidation of State-Operated Programs at Fairfield Hills, Norwich and Connecticut Valley Hospitals, Transfer of Addiction Services to the Former Department of Mental Health, Medicaid Waiver, and the Office of Health Care Access

This act created a new Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) as the successor to the Department of Mental Health and the addiction services component of the Department of Public Health and Addiction Services (DPHAS). DPHAS became the Department of Public Health to reflect the shift of its addiction services component. The act made the Office of Health Care Access the successor agency to the Commission on Hospitals and Health Care.

The act also required the DMHAS commissioner to develop a plan for closing the state-operated programs at Fairfield Hills and Norwich hospitals and established a Connecticut Valley Hospital Advisory Council to advise the commissioner on the future use of that facility.

PA 95-283 (HB 6998), An Act Concerning the Improvement of Process and Administration of the Property Tax

This act eliminated the Connecticut Appeals Board for Property Evaluation, which was never constituted, and required all appeals of local board decisions to go to Hartford-New Britain Superior Court.

OTHER AGENCY REORGANIZATION

PA 95-242 (SB 1), An Act Concerning the Office of the Child Advocate

This act created the Office of the Child Advocate whose head is authorized to represent a child, with parental consent, in any state proceeding. The act also established an advisory committee responsible for reviewing patterns of treatment and services for children. The act established a child fatality review panel to review all deaths of children receiving state services.

UNSUCCESSFUL REORGANIZATION PROPOSALS

The governor’s budget included recommendations to reorganize certain state agencies. The minority legislative leaders, Senators Eads and Fleming and Representative Ward, sponsored bills to implement those changes. Table 1 lists the governor’s reorganization proposals that did not pass. The provisions of three of these bills were incorporated in others that passed.

Table 1: Reorganization Bills That Did Not Pass

Bill No.	Title and Purpose	Disposition
SB 935	An Act Terminating the Department of Public Works and Transferring its Functions to Other State Agencies would have spread DPW’s functions among a number of other agencies.	The Government Administration and Elections (GAE) Committee held a public hearing then took no action.
SB 936	An Act Transferring Functions of the Department of Agriculture to the Departments of Consumer Protection, Environmental Protection and a New Department of Business and Community Development would have eliminated the DOA, created a Bureau of Agriculture in the proposed Department of Business and Community Development and moved some of DOA’s responsibilities to DCP and DEP.	The Environment Committee took no action.
SB 937	An Act Concerning the Transfer of Responsibility for Aquaculture and Farmland Preservation from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Environmental Protection would have moved the responsibility for administering a property tax exemption from DOA to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).	The Environment Committee took no action.
SB 939	An Act Concerning the Department of Behavioral Health and the Department of Public Health would have made a Department of Behavioral Health the successor agency to the Department of Mental Health.	The Public Health Committee referred it to the Appropriations Committee, which took no action.
SB 965	An Act Changing the Status of Several Agencies would have made the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women, the Commission on Children and Youth, and the Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission nonprofit corporations with annual state grants, and would have removed the Connecticut Institute for Municipal Studies employees' eligibility for state pensions under the State Employees Retirement System and for the same health insurance benefits as state employees.	Petitioned out of the GAE Committee, recommitted in the Senate.
SB 966	An Act Transferring the Office of Information and Technology from the Office of Policy and Management to the Department of Administrative Services would have made the OIT (predecessor of DOIT) an office in DAS.	The GAE Committee held a public hearing then took no action.
SB 979	An Act Eliminating Fairfield Hills and Norwich Hospitals would have closed the two hospitals and required the appropriate commissioner to determine treatment options for their clients.	The Public Health Committee referred it to the Appropriations Committee, which took no action. The concept was addressed in PA 95-257.
SB 981	An Act Concerning the Transfer of the Occupational Health Clinics from the Department of Labor to the Workers’ Compensation Commission would have transferred control over occupational health clinics from the labor commissioner to the Workers’ Compensation Commission chairman and would have eliminated the separate Statistical, Worker Rehabilitation, and Worker Education divisions within the commission.	Petitioned out of the Labor Committee, recommitted in the Senate.
HB 6693	An Act Concerning Establishment of the Connecticut State University and Regional Community-Technical College System would have merged the CSU system and the regional community-technical colleges.	The Education Committee held a public hearing then took no action.
HB 6699	An Act Transferring the Whiting Forensic Institute to the Connecticut Valley Hospital would have made the Whiting Forensic Institute a division of the CVH.	The Public Health Committee referred it to the Appropriations Committee, which took no action. The transfer was enacted in PA 95-257.
HB 6703	An Act Concerning the Commission on the Arts and the State Building Works of Art Account would have moved the State Commission on the Arts from the Department of Education to the State Library.	Died on the House calendar.
HB 6720	An Act Concerning Elimination of the Connecticut Appeals Board for Property Valuation would have repealed the Connecticut Appeals Board for Property Valuation.	Died in the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee, which added its provisions to HB 6998, implementing the administrative recommendations of the Property Tax Reform Commission. That bill passed (PA 95-283).

OTHER STATE AGENCY PROPOSALS

Senator Gunther sponsored a bill (SB 17, An Act Establishing the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources) that would have created a new department with jurisdiction over all matters relating to agriculture and the conservation and preservation of natural resources. It was referred in the Environment Committee, which took no action.

Bills that died in the Judiciary Committee would have (1) changed the name of the Department of Correction to the Department of Prisons (Raised Bill 1045) and (2) created an Office of Administrative Hearings to impartially administer hearings under the Uniform Administrative Procedure Act’s contested cases provision (Raised Bill 6740).

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