O F F I C E O F L E G I S L A T I V E R E S E A R C H
P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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PA 23-3—sSB 1106
Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E FOUNDATIONS OF THE REGIONAL
COMMUNITY -TECHNICAL COLLEGES
SUMMARY: This act allows the individual campuses of the community-technical
colleges to establish or maintain respective foundations following their merger into
a single institution, Connecticut State Community College (“CT State”). It does so
by expanding the types of public higher education institutions that may establish or
maintain state agency foundations to include any campus of an accredited state
community-technical college. It also specifies that each campus chief executive
officer (CEO) is its “executive authority” for purposes of the foundation law, rather
than the institution’s CEO. By law, a foundation’s “executive authority” serves on
the foundation’s board and has specific duties related to the foundation (e.g.,
ensuring that the foundation has a full audit completed).
By law, a “foundation” is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that uses private
funds for charitable, scientific, cultural, or educational purposes to support a state
agency (e.g., the UConn Foundation) or for coordinated emergency recovery
purposes. Community-technical college foundations may only fund (1)
scholarships or other direct student financial aid or (2) programs, services, or
activities at the institution that the foundation supports (CGS § 4-37f(3)).
Additionally, the act extends existing contracting requirements for state
agencies to the community college campuses. They (1) must notify the state
auditors at least 15 days before contracting for auditing services and (2) cannot
enter into these contracts until the auditors advise whether they can perform the
work instead (CGS § 2-90d).
The act also makes the campus CEOs, rather than CT State’s CEO, the
executive authority for purposes of (1) deciding whether to conduct audits in
addition to the state single audit when necessary, based on evidence of fiscal
irregularities or noncompliance (CGS § 4-234) and (2) specified notices to
municipalities of plans to build or enlarge a building or underground utility facility
(CGS § 4b-28).
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2023