General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6562
January Session, 2011 LCO No. 4367
*04367_______FIN*
Referred to Committee on Finance, Revenue and Bonding
Introduced by:
(FIN)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 6562
January Session, 2011
LCO No. 4367
*04367_______FIN*
Referred to Committee on Finance, Revenue and Bonding
Introduced by:
(FIN)
AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE CAPITAL DEBT AFFORDABILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) There is established the Capital Debt Affordability Advisory Committee. Such committee shall undertake a review of the size and affordability of the state's general obligation debt. Based on such review, the committee shall provide its findings, on or before October first annually, to the members of the State Bond Commission, and make recommendations for the maximum amount of new long-term general obligation debt that prudently may be authorized for the next two fiscal years.
(b) The committee shall consist of the following members:
(1) Two appointed by the Governor, who shall have expertise in the operations and regulation of bond markets.
(2) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall have expertise in public economics;
(3) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, who shall have expertise in government finance;
(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, who shall be a representative of the construction industry;
(5) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, who shall have expertise in economic development;
(6) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, who shall be a representative of the construction industry; and
(7) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, who shall have expertise in public infrastructure.
(c) All initial appointments to the committee shall be made not later than thirty days after the effective date of this section. The members appointed by the Governor shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor but not longer than the term of office of the Governor or until the member's successor is appointed and has qualified, whichever term is longer. Each board member appointed by a member of the General Assembly shall serve in accordance with the provisions of section 4-1a of the general statutes. The Governor shall fill any vacancy for the unexpired term of a member appointed by the Governor. The appropriate legislative appointing authority shall fill any vacancy for the unexpired term of a member appointed by such authority. Any member shall be eligible for reappointment.
(d) The chairperson of the committee shall be appointed by the Governor from among the members of the committee. The chairperson shall schedule the first meeting of the committee, which shall be held not later than sixty days after the effective date of this section. Thereafter, meetings of the committee shall be held quarterly and at such other time or times as the chairperson deems necessary.
(e) Appointed members may not designate a representative to perform in their absence their respective duties under this section. Any appointed member who fails to attend three consecutive meetings of the committee or who fails to attend fifty per cent of all meetings of the committee held during any calendar year shall be deemed to have resigned from the committee.
(f) All members of the committee may engage in private employment, or in a profession or business, subject to any applicable laws, rules and regulations of the state or federal government regarding official ethics or conflict of interest.
(g) Five members of the committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business or the exercise of any power of the committee. For the transaction of any business or the exercise of any power of the committee, the committee may act by a majority of the members present at any meeting at which a quorum is in attendance.
(h) The committee may consult with such parties, public or private, as it deems desirable in exercising its duties.
(i) The committee shall be located in the Office of the State Treasurer for administrative purposes only. The members of the committee shall serve without compensation but shall, within the limits of available funds, be reimbursed for expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
from passage
New section
Statement of Purpose:
To establish a committee of experts who will advise the State Bond Commission on the size and affordability of the state's general obligation debt, and make recommendations for future bond authorizations.
[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.]