(b) (1) The members of the panel shall be appointed jointly by the Governor and the chairpersons and ranking members of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to finance, revenue and bonding. The panel shall be comprised of up to fifteen members, and all such appointments shall be made not later than sixty days after the effective date of this section.
(2) The following persons or their designees shall be ex-officio, nonvoting members of the panel: (A) The chairpersons and ranking members of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to finance, revenue and bonding, (B) the president pro tempore of the Senate, (C) the speaker of the House of Representatives, (D) the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, and (E) the Commissioner of Revenue Services. (3) The chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to finance, revenue and bonding shall convene the first meeting of the panel not later than August 1, 2014. The voting members of the panel shall elect chairpersons at such meeting.
(c) The panel shall organize itself into four subcommittees as follows: (1) Personal income taxes, including estate and gift taxes; (2) business taxes, including excise taxes; (3) consumer taxes; and (4) property taxes. Additional experts may, with the approval of the chairpersons of the panel, be invited to participate, without vote, on such subcommittees. (d) Not later than January 1, 2015, the panel shall report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the Governor and the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to finance, revenue and bonding, on the results of its considerations and evaluations, and submit any findings and recommendations for further action. Such recommendations may include an extension of time for the work of the panel, except in no event shall the panel continue beyond January 1, 2016.