CHAPTER 46
STATE APPOINTIVE OFFICERS

      Sec. 4-5. "Department head" defined. 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 Developmental Services, 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, the Ombudsman for Property Rights and the executive director of the Office of Military Affairs. As used in sections 4-6 and 4-7, "department head" also means the Commissioner of Education.

      (March, 1950, 1953, S. 27d; 1959, P.A. 412, S. 3; 637, S. 1; 1967, P.A. 152, S. 4; 522, S. 4; 657, S. 80; 1969, P.A. 664, S. 17; 768, S. 57; 814, S. 7; 1971, P.A. 872, S. 3; P.A. 73-599, S. 7; 73-677, S. 2; P.A. 75-519, S. 2, 12; 75-537, S. 17, 55; 75-638, S. 8, 23; P.A. 77-614, S. 4, 610; P.A. 79-598, S. 2, 27; P.A. 80-482, S. 3, 345, 348; P.A. 84-342, S. 2, 13; P.A. 86-175, S. 2, 4; P.A. 87-9, S. 2, 3; 87-496, S. 1, 110; P.A. 93-91, S. 1, 2; 93-262, S. 26, 87; 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-250, S. 13, 42; 95-257, S. 11, 12, 21, 40, 58; 95-309, S. 11, 12; P.A. 96-211, S. 1, 5, 6; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-9, S. 14, 50; P.A. 03-84, S. 4; 03-217, S. 2; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(c),(e), 147, 241; P.A. 04-189, S. 1; 04-205, S. 5; 04-219, S. 1; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 04-2, S. 30; P.A. 06-187, S. 11; P.A. 07-73, S. 2(b); 07-114, S. 2; 07-205, S. 2.)

      History: 1959 acts deleted milk administrator and athletic commissioner and changed titles of commissioner of agriculture to commissioner of agriculture and natural resources and commissioner of food and drugs to commissioner of consumer protection; 1967 acts included commissioner of correction, commissioner of community affairs and personnel commissioner in definition; 1969 acts included commissioner of children and youth services and commissioner on aging in definition and substituted commissioner of transportation for highway commissioner; 1971 act removed responsibility for natural resources from commissioner of agriculture and included commissioner of environmental protection; P.A. 73-599 included commissioner of the department of commerce; P.A. 73-677 replaced personnel commissioner with commissioner of personnel and administration; P.A. 75-519 replaced commissioner of personnel and administration with personnel commissioner; P.A. 75-537 included commissioner of planning and energy policy; P.A. 75-638 included commissioner of mental retardation; P.A. 77-614 rewrote section to reflect changes mandated by reorganization of executive branch, deleting finance and control, banking, social services, insurance, health, public works, tax, community affairs, personnel, commerce and planning and energy commissioners and including secretaries of the office of policy and management and of business regulation, the state board of education and administrative services, revenue services, economic development, health services, public safety, income maintenance and human resources commissioners; P.A. 79-598 included commissioner of housing; P.A. 80-482 replaced secretary of business regulation with commissioner of banking and included the commissioner of insurance, the liquor control commission and the public utilities control authority; P.A. 84-342 replaced public utilities control authority with chairperson of the authority; P.A. 86-175 added commissioner of veterans' affairs; (Revisor's note: Pursuant to P.A. 87-9, "banking commissioner" was changed editorially by the Revisors to "commissioner of banking"); P.A. 87-496 added commissioner of public works to definition of "department head"; P.A. 93-91 substituted commissioner and department of children and families for commissioner and department of children and youth services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-262 removed reference to the commissioner on aging, department of income maintenance and department of human resources, substituting reference to department of social services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-381 replaced commissioner of health services with commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-250 and P.A. 96-211 replaced Commissioners of Economic Development and Housing with Commissioner of Economic and Community Development; P.A. 95-257 added the Commissioner of Health Care Access, replaced Commissioner of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner of Public Health and replaced Commissioner of Mental Health with Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-309 changed effective date of P.A. 95-250 but did not affect this section; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-9 included "Chief Information Officer" in definition of "department head", effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 03-84 changed "Commissioner of Banking" to "Banking Commissioner", effective June 3, 2003; P.A. 03-217 added "executive director of the Board of Education and Services for the Blind" to definition of "department head", effective July 9, 2003; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 added "executive director of the Connecticut Commission on Arts, Tourism, Culture, History and Film" to definition of "department head", effective August 20, 2003, and changed "Commissioner of Consumer Protection" to "Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Protection" and removed reference to "Commissioner of Agriculture", effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-189 repealed Secs. 146 and 147 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004; P.A. 04-205, effective June 3, 2004, and May Sp. Sess. P.A. 04-2, effective May 12, 2004, both replaced Connecticut Commission on Arts, Tourism, Culture, History and Film with Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism; P.A. 04-219 added Commissioner of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, effective January 1, 2005; P.A. 06-187 added the Ombudsman for Property Rights, effective July 1, 2006; pursuant to P.A. 07-73 "Commissioner of Mental Retardation" was changed editorially by the Revisors to "Commissioner of Developmental Services", effective October 1, 2007; P.A. 07-114 added language re Commissioner of Education; P.A. 07-205 added the executive director of the Office of Military Affairs.

      Sec. 4-7. Confirmation or rejection of nominations by house of General Assembly. Vacancy appointment. (a) On or before February 1, 1975, and quadrennially thereafter, the Governor shall submit each nomination for a department head to either house of the General Assembly. Such house shall immediately refer the nominations to its committee on executive nominations, which shall report thereon by resolution within fifteen calendar days from the date of reference. Such house, by resolution, shall confirm or reject the nomination. If confirmed, the nominee shall take office on the first day of March in the year in which the appointment is submitted, except as provided in section 4-6. If such house rejects the nomination before the first day of March in the year in which it is submitted, the procedure prescribed in subsection (b) of this section shall be followed.

      (b) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, if a vacancy occurs in the office of any department head while the General Assembly is in regular session, the Governor shall, within thirty calendar days of the occurrence of the vacancy, submit his nomination to fill the vacancy to either house of the General Assembly. The house to which the nomination is submitted shall immediately refer the nomination to its committee on executive nominations, which shall report thereon by resolution within ten legislative days from the date of reference. Such house shall confirm or reject said nomination. If such house, by resolution, confirms the nomination within thirty calendar days after it is submitted, the nominee shall forthwith take office to serve at the pleasure of the Governor but no longer than the original appointee could have served under his appointment. If such house rejects the nomination within thirty calendar days after it is submitted, the Governor shall, within thirty calendar days, submit another nomination to either house of the General Assembly, provided, if any nomination is submitted less than thirty calendar days before the date established by the Constitution for adjournment of the General Assembly, and the house to which it is submitted fails to confirm or reject the nomination before its adjournment on said date, the procedure prescribed in subsection (c) of this section shall be followed.

      (2) If a vacancy occurs in the office of any department head prior to the first day of March during the first regular session of the General Assembly following the election of a new Governor, the nominee of the newly elected Governor may exercise the powers and duties of the office as provided in section 4-8, as designate, until the nomination is confirmed or rejected pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection.

      (c) If a vacancy occurs in the office of any department head while the General Assembly is not in regular session, it shall be filled by the Governor until the sixth Wednesday of the next session of the General Assembly. At the beginning of the next regular session of the General Assembly, the Governor shall submit the name of the vacancy appointee to either house of the General Assembly as he elects and the procedure prescribed in subsection (b) of this section shall be followed.

      (d) No person who has been rejected by resolution of the house to which his name has been submitted by the Governor shall serve in the office for which he was nominated during the term of the house which rejected him.

      (March, 1950, 1953, S. 29d; February, 1965, P.A. 574, S. 48; 1967, P.A. 656, S. 1; 1969, P.A. 481, S. 2; 1972, P.A. 294, S. 19; P.A. 87-159, S. 2; P.A. 91-1, S. 1, 2; P.A. 05-288, S. 9; P.A. 07-250, S. 17.)

      History: 1965 act specified in Subsec. (c) the vacancy in office of department head be filled until sixth Wednesday of next session of general assembly; 1967 act changed deadline from 30 days before adjournment to 30 days before the first Wednesday after the first Monday in June; 1969 act made term of service "at the pleasure of the governor" but no longer than expiration of original appointees term; 1972 act changed deadline to constitutional date for adjournment; P.A. 87-159 amended Subsec. (a) to change reporting deadline for executive nominations committee from 10 legislative days from date of reference to 15 calendar days from date of reference, to change deadline for confirmation or rejection by house from "before the first day of March" to "within ten calendar days of the committee's report", and to change date on which nominee takes office from day of confirmation to March first, except as provided in Sec. 4-6; P.A. 91-1 added Subsec. (b)(2) re powers of nominee filling vacancy occurring prior to March first during first regular session following election of new governor; P.A. 05-288 made technical changes in Subsec. (b), effective July 13, 2005; P.A. 07-250 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting requirement that nomination be confirmed or rejected within 10 calendar days of the committee's report, effective June 14, 2007.