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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 6040
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 5695
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)
AN ACT REQUIRING THE STATE COMMISSION ON CAPITOL
PRESERVATION AND RESTORATION TO DEVELOP A PROCESS
FOR ADDING STATUES TO THE STATE CAPITOL AND
ESTABLISHING THE STATE HISTORICAL COMMISSION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 4b-60 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 2
(a) There shall be a State Commission on Capitol Preservation and 3
Restoration to consist of twelve members to be appointed as follows: 4
Two members shall be appointed by the Governor, two by the speaker 5
of the House of Representatives, two by the president pro tempore of 6
the Senate, one by the House minority leader, one by the Senate 7
minority leader, two members of the Joint Committee on Legislative 8
Management, one appointed by each of the chairmen of said committee, 9
and one member of the Historic Preservation Council appointed by its 10
chairperson. The Commissioner of Administrative Services, or the 11
commissioner's designee, shall be an ex-officio member of the 12
commission and shall attend its meetings. Vacancies on the commission 13
shall be filled by the original appointing authority for the unexpired 14
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portion of the term. The members shall serve without compensation for 15
their services but shall be reimbursed for their actual and necessary 16
expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. The commission 17
shall meet at least quarterly, and more often on the call of the chairman 18
or on the written request of a majority of the members. The commission 19
may designate subcommittees to carry out its functions. Any member 20
who fails to attend three consecutive meetings or fails to attend fifty per 21
cent of all meetings held during any calendar year shall be deemed to 22
have resigned. 23
(b) The commission: (1) Shall undertake a continuing review and 24
study of the State Capitol building and grounds, with a view to 25
developing a master plan for the preservation and restoration of the 26
Capitol, including necessary structural changes, consistent with the 27
original historical character of the building, with due regard being given 28
to enhancing the interior and exterior beauty of the building, making 29
better use of existing space and reducing public safety hazards; (2) shall 30
develop a process for identifying and commissioning additional statues 31
to be added to the exterior of the State Capitol building that reflect the 32
diversity, character and accomplishments of the state; (3) may consult 33
with state, federal or private agencies with respect [thereto] to the duties 34
set forth in this subsection, and disseminate information on its activities; 35
and [(3)] (4) shall report on its activities to the Joint Committee on 36
Legislative Management annually or as often as the committee shall 37
direct. The Department of Administrative Services shall provide 38
professional staff assistance to the commission when available. If such 39
assistance cannot be provided within a reasonable time, the commission 40
may, with the approval of the Joint Committee on Legislative 41
Management, retain technical advisors to assist in reviewing project 42
plans and work. 43
(c) The commission is authorized to accept gifts, donations and grants 44
from the federal government or other public or private sources for the 45
purpose of such preservation and restoration. 46
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(d) The Joint Committee on Legislative Management may undertake 47
capital expenditure programs for which capital funds are authorized, in 48
connection with such preservation and restoration, including, but not 49
limited to, implementing the process developed pursuant to subdivision 50
(2) of subsection (b) of this section to commission additional statues. 51
Such programs shall be carried out by the committee, pursuant to plans 52
and specifications approved by the commission and in accordance with 53
the bidding procedures in part II of chapter 60. The commission shall 54
adopt regulations establishing basic artistic standards in keeping with 55
the original historical character of the Capitol to assist the committee in 56
the preparation of plans and specifications. 57
(e) The commission shall be an independent body within the 58
Legislative Department for administrative purposes only. 59
Sec. 2. (Effective from passage) Not later than February 1, 2026, the State 60
Commission on Capitol Preservation and Restoration shall (1) develop 61
a plan for the installation of exterior placards or other signage around 62
the exterior of the State Capitol building to provide a written historical 63
explanation of the various statues and other markers on the exterior of 64
the State Capitol building for the public, and (2) submit such plan to the 65
Joint Committee on Legislative Management. 66
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2025) (a) There is established a State 67
Historical Commission, which shall be an independent body within the 68
Legislative Department for administrative purposes only. The 69
commission shall examine and make recommendations to the 70
legislative, executive and judicial branches on questions of 71
memorialization and commemoration related to Connecticut and 72
United States history. 73
(b) The commission shall consist of the following members: (1) One 74
appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives; (2) one 75
appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives; (3) 76
one appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate; (4) one 77
appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; (5) one appointed by the 78
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minority leader of the House of Representatives; (6) one appointed by 79
the minority leader of the Senate; (7) two appointed by the Governor; 80
(8) two appointed by the chairpersons of the joint standing committee 81
of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to 82
government administration, with one member appointed by each 83
chairperson; and (9) two appointed by the ranking members of the joint 84
standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 85
matters relating to government administration, with one member 86
appointed by each ranking member. Members shall be scholars in the 87
areas of history, literature, law or philosophy with an affiliation with an 88
accredited institution of higher education located in this state. Any 89
member of the commission appointed under this subsection may be a 90
member of the General Assembly. 91
(c) All initial appointments to the commission shall be made not later 92
than September 1, 2025. Appointed members of the commission shall 93
serve for three-year terms which shall commence on the date of 94
appointment. Members shall continue to serve until their successors are 95
appointed. 96
(d) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president 97
pro tempore of the Senate shall select the chairperson of the commission 98
from among the members of the commission. Such chairperson shall 99
schedule the first meeting of the commission, which shall be held not 100
later than September 15, 2025. 101
(e) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the 102
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to government 103
administration shall serve as administrative staff of the commission. 104
(f) Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority. Any 105
vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled for the 106
balance of the unexpired term. 107
(g) A majority of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the 108
transaction of any business. 109
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(h) The members of the commission shall serve without 110
compensation, but shall, within the limits of available funds, be 111
reimbursed for expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of 112
their duties. 113
(i) The commission shall have the following powers and duties: To 114
(1) issue reports and recommendations to all three branches of 115
government concerning historical questions of memorialization and 116
commemoration related to Connecticut and United States history, either 117
upon the request of any executive, legislative or judicial department, 118
board, commission or other agency of the state or upon its own 119
initiative; (2) obtain from any executive, legislative or judicial 120
department, board, commission or other agency of the state such 121
assistance and data as necessary and available to carry out the purposes 122
of this section; (3) accept any gift, donation or bequest for the purpose 123
of performing the duties described in this section; and (4) perform such 124
other acts as may be necessary and appropriate to carry out the duties 125
described in this section. 126
(j) Not later than February 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, the 127
commission shall submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of 128
section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the Governor and the joint 129
standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 130
matters relating to government administration. Such report shall 131
include, but need not be limited to, a summary of the activities of the 132
commission during the prior year and any policy changes and 133
amendments to the general statutes necessary to implement the 134
recommendations of the commission. 135
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2025 4b-60
Sec. 2 from passage New section
Sec. 3 July 1, 2025 New section
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Statement of Purpose:
To develop a process for identifying and commissioning additional
statues for the exterior of the State Capitol that reflect the diversity of
the state, require the development of a plan for exterior placards and
other signage around the State Capitol building and to establish the
State Historical Commission.
[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.]
Co-Sponsors: REP. ROJAS, 9th Dist.
H.B. 6040