Substitute Senate Bill No. 457
Substitute Senate Bill No. 457
PUBLIC ACT NO. 98-191
AN ACT CONCERNING OVERSIGHT OF THE EFFICIENCY AND
EFFECTIVENESS OF LARGE STATE CONTRACTORS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 4-61dd of the general
statutes, as amended by public act 97-55, is
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu
thereof:
(a) Any person having knowledge of any matter
involving corruption, unethical practices,
violation of state laws or regulations,
mismanagement, gross waste of funds, abuse of
authority or danger to the public safety occurring
in any state department or agency or any
quasi-public agency, as defined in section 1-120,
OR ANY PERSON HAVING KNOWLEDGE OF ANY MATTER
INVOLVING CORRUPTION, VIOLATION OF STATE OR
FEDERAL LAWS OR REGULATIONS, GROSS WASTE OF FUNDS,
ABUSE OF AUTHORITY OR DANGER TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY
OCCURRING IN ANY LARGE STATE CONTRACT, may
transmit all facts and information in his
possession concerning such matter to the Auditors
of Public Accounts. The Auditors of Public
Accounts shall review such matter and report their
findings and any recommendations to the Attorney
General. Upon receiving such a report, the
Attorney General shall make such investigation as
he deems proper. At the request of the Attorney
General or on their own initiative, the auditors
shall assist in the investigation. The Attorney
General shall have power to summon witnesses,
require the production of any necessary books,
papers or other documents and administer oaths to
witnesses, where necessary, for the purpose of
investigation. Upon the conclusion of his
investigation, the Attorney General shall where
necessary, report his findings to the Governor, or
in matters involving criminal activity, to the
Chief State's Attorney. The Auditors of Public
Accounts and the Attorney General shall not, after
receipt of any information from a person under the
provisions of this section, disclose the identity
of such person without his consent unless the
Auditors of Public Accounts or the Attorney
General determine that such disclosure is
unavoidable during the course of the
investigation.
(b) No state officer or employee, as defined
in section 4-141, no quasi-public agency officer
or employee, NO OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE OF A LARGE
STATE CONTRACTOR and no appointing authority shall
take or threaten to take any personnel action
against any state or quasi-public agency employee
OR ANY EMPLOYEE OF A LARGE STATE CONTRACTOR in
retaliation for such employee's disclosure of
information to the Auditors of Public Accounts or
the Attorney General under the provisions of this
section. [An] A STATE OR QUASI-PUBLIC AGENCY
employee alleging that such action has been
threatened or taken may file an appeal within
thirty days of knowledge of the specific incident
giving rise to such claim with the Employees'
Review Board under section 5-202, or, in the case
of [an] A STATE OR QUASI-PUBLIC AGENCY employee
covered by a collective bargaining contract, in
accordance with the procedure provided by such
contract. AN EMPLOYEE OF A LARGE STATE CONTRACTOR
ALLEGING THAT SUCH ACTION HAS BEEN THREATENED OR
TAKEN MAY, AFTER EXHAUSTING ALL AVAILABLE
ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES, BRING A CIVIL ACTION IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF SUBSECTION (c)
OF SECTION 31-51m.
(c) Any employee OF A STATE OR QUASI-PUBLIC
AGENCY OR LARGE STATE CONTRACTOR, WHO IS found to
have knowingly and maliciously made false charges
under subsection (a) of this section shall be
subject to disciplinary action by his appointing
authority up to and including dismissal. [Such] IN
THE CASE OF A STATE OR QUASI-PUBLIC AGENCY
EMPLOYEE, SUCH action shall be subject to appeal
to the Employees' Review Board in accordance with
section 5-202, or in the case of STATE OR
QUASI-PUBLIC AGENCY employees included in
collective bargaining contracts, the procedure
provided by such contracts.
(d) On or before September first, annually,
the Auditors of Public Accounts shall submit to
the clerk of each house of the General Assembly a
report indicating the number of matters for which
facts and information were transmitted to the
auditors pursuant to this section during the
preceding state fiscal year and the disposition of
each such matter.
(e) EACH CONTRACT BETWEEN A STATE OR
QUASI-PUBLIC AGENCY AND A LARGE STATE CONTRACTOR
SHALL PROVIDE THAT, IF AN OFFICER, EMPLOYEE OR
APPOINTING AUTHORITY OF A LARGE STATE CONTRACTOR
TAKES OR THREATENS TO TAKE ANY PERSONNEL ACTION
AGAINST ANY EMPLOYEE OF THE CONTRACTOR IN
RETALIATION FOR SUCH EMPLOYEE'S DISCLOSURE OF
INFORMATION TO THE AUDITORS OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS OR
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THIS
SECTION, THE CONTRACTOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR A
CIVIL PENALTY OF NOT MORE THAN FIVE THOUSAND
DOLLARS FOR EACH OFFENSE, UP TO A MAXIMUM OF
TWENTY PER CENT OF THE VALUE OF THE CONTRACT. EACH
VIOLATION SHALL BE A SEPARATE AND DISTINCT OFFENSE
AND IN THE CASE OF A CONTINUING VIOLATION EACH
CALENDAR DAY'S CONTINUANCE OF THE VIOLATION SHALL
BE DEEMED TO BE A SEPARATE AND DISTINCT OFFENSE.
THE EXECUTIVE HEAD OF THE STATE OR QUASI-PUBLIC
AGENCY MAY REQUEST THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO BRING A
CIVIL ACTION IN THE SUPERIOR COURT FOR THE
JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF HARTFORD-NEW BRITAIN TO SEEK
IMPOSITION AND RECOVERY OF SUCH CIVIL PENALTY.
(f) EACH LARGE STATE CONTRACTOR SHALL POST A
NOTICE OF THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION RELATING
TO LARGE STATE CONTRACTORS IN A CONSPICUOUS PLACE
WHICH IS READILY AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING BY THE
EMPLOYEES OF THE CONTRACTOR.
(g) AS USED IN THIS SECTION:
(1) "LARGE STATE CONTRACT" MEANS A CONTRACT
BETWEEN AN ENTITY AND A STATE OR QUASI-PUBLIC
AGENCY, HAVING A VALUE OF FIVE MILLION DOLLARS OR
MORE, EXCEPT FOR A CONTRACT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION,
ALTERATION OR REPAIR OF ANY PUBLIC BUILDING OR
PUBLIC WORK; AND
(2) "LARGE STATE CONTRACTOR" MEANS AN ENTITY
THAT HAS ENTERED INTO A LARGE STATE CONTRACT WITH
A STATE OR QUASI-PUBLIC AGENCY.
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect July 1,
1998.
Approved June 4, 1998