AN ACT REQUIRING ELECTION OF THE INSURANCE COMMISSIONER.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 9-181 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2007):

(a) At the state election to be held in 1966, and quadrennially thereafter, there shall be elected a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary, Treasurer, Comptroller and Attorney General to hold their respective offices from the Wednesday following the first Monday of the January next succeeding their election until the Wednesday following the first Monday of the fifth January succeeding their election and until their successors are qualified. When any political party has nominated candidates for the offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor, their names shall be so placed upon the ballot in any such election that any elector will cast a single vote for both candidates.

(b) At the state election to be held in 2010, and quadrennially thereafter, there shall be elected an Insurance Commissioner who shall hold office from the Wednesday following the first Monday of the January next succeeding his or her election until the Wednesday following the first Monday of the fifth January succeeding his or her election and until a successor is qualified.

Sec. 2. Section 9-600 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2007):

This chapter applies to: (1) The election, and all primaries preliminary thereto, of all public officials, except presidential electors, United States senators and members in Congress, and (2) any referendum question. This chapter also applies, except for the provisions of sections 9-611 to 9-620, inclusive, to persons who are candidates in a primary for town committee members. On and after the effective date of this section, the provisions of this chapter shall apply to the election, and any primaries preliminary thereto, of the Insurance Commissioner.

Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2007) Not later than February 1, 2008, the State Elections Enforcement Commission shall make recommendations to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to elections concerning the election of the Insurance Commissioner under the Citizens' Election Program. Such recommendations shall include, but not be limited to, the appropriate level of qualifying contributions to be received by a participating candidate for the office of the Insurance Commissioner, the appropriate amount for a primary and general election grant for such a participating candidate and any other recommendations the commission determines are relevant to the election of the Insurance Commissioner.

Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2007) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, no exploratory or campaign committee of a candidate for Insurance Commissioner shall accept contributions from: (1) Individuals, firms or corporations holding contracts with a value of five thousand dollars or more with the Insurance Department; or (2) individuals who own a firm or corporation that is subject to regulation by the Insurance Department or any individual who is a manager, officer, director, partner or employee with managerial responsibilities at such a firm or corporation.

Sec. 5. Section 4-5 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2007):

As used in sections 4-6, 4-7 and 4-8, the term "department head" means Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, Commissioner of Administrative Services, Commissioner of Revenue Services, Banking Commissioner, Commissioner of Children and Families, Commissioner of Consumer Protection, Commissioner of Correction, Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, State Board of Education, Commissioner of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, Commissioner of Environmental Protection, Commissioner of Agriculture, Commissioner of Public Health, [Insurance Commissioner,] Labor Commissioner, Liquor Control Commission, Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Commissioner of Public Safety, Commissioner of Social Services, Commissioner of Mental Retardation, Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, Commissioner of Transportation, Commissioner of Public Works, Commissioner of Veterans' Affairs, Commissioner of Health Care Access, Chief Information Officer, the chairperson of the Public Utilities Control Authority, the executive director of the Board of Education and Services for the Blind, the executive director of the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism and the Ombudsman for Property Rights.

Sec. 6. Section 38a-7 of the general statutes is repealed. (Effective October 1, 2007)

Statement of Purpose:

To require the Insurance Commissioner to be a state-wide elected official.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]

H.B. 5619