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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 5363 (as amended by House "A")*
AN ACT CONCERNING THE PLANNING COMMISSION FOR
HIGHER EDUCATION.
SUMMARY
This bill makes several changes to the laws governing the Planning
Commission for Higher Education, which is charged with revising and
updating the 2015 strategic master plan for higher education in
Connecticut. Among other things, it extends the commission’s reporting
deadlines by one year and requires (1) all initial commission
appointments to be made by June 1, 2024, and (2) the chairpersons to
jointly schedule the commission’s first meeting by July 1, 2024.
The bill eliminates requirements that the commission (1) be in the
Office of Higher Education (OHE), (2) be responsible for implementing
any policies it develops, and (3) collaborate with the Office of Policy and
Management in establishing subcommittees and working groups
needed to supplement its work. It requires the Higher Education and
Employment Advancement Committee’s administrative staff to serve in
that capacity for the commission.
The bill also makes technical and conforming changes.
*House Amendment “A” (1) makes the Higher Education and
Employment Advancement Committee’s chairpersons and ranking
members voting (rather than nonvoting) members of the commission;
(2) adds two additional chairpersons to the commission appointed by
the Senate president pro tempore and House speaker, respectively; (3)
eliminates the requirement that the commission appoint a vice
chairperson at its first meeting; and (4) removes a provision allowing
the commission’s chairperson to designate someone with the required
qualification for an applicable appointment if an appointment is not 2024HB-05363-R010655-BA.DOCX
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made by the deadline.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
COMMISSION MEMBERSHI P
The bill makes the chairpersons and ranking members of the Higher
Education and Employment Advancement Committee voting members
of the commission, rather than ex-officio nonvoting members. In doing
so, it increases the number of the commission’s voting members from 19
to 23, and correspondingly decreases the number of nonvoting members
from 14 to 10.
Current law requires the Governor to appoint the commission’s
chairperson from among its voting members. The bill additionally
requires the Senate president pro tempore and House speaker to each
appoint a chairperson from these members, which increases the number
of commission chairpersons from one to three. The bill also eliminates
the requirement that the commission elect a vice chairperson at its first
meeting.
Current law requires appointed members to serve three-year terms.
The bill requires that they continue to serve until their successor is
appointed. It also specifies that a majority of the membership constitutes
a quorum for transacting business.
REPORTING DEADLINES
The bill requires the commission to submit its:
1. preliminary report on the development of the updated strategic
master plan by September 1, 2025, rather than September 1, 2024,
and
2. updated plan by December 1, 2025, rather than December 1, 2024.
The bill correspondingly requires the plan to include specific goals
and benchmarks for 2026 and 2030, rather than 2025 and 2030.
The bill also delays, from January 1, 2026, to January 1, 2027, the
deadline for the commission to submit its next annual report to the 2024HB-05363-R010655-BA.DOCX
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governor and legislature on the plan’s implementation and progress
towards achieving its specified goals.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 22 Nay 0 (03/14/2024)