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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6887
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 4315
Referred to Committee on HIGHER EDUCATION AND
EMPLOYMENT ADVANCEMENT
Introduced by:
(HED)
AN ACT CONCERNING HIGHER EDUCATION MANAGEMENT AND
FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2025) The Board of Regents for 1
Higher Education shall adopt or update policies concerning the 2
management and fiscal accountability of each constituent unit and 3
institution of higher education governed by said board and the central 4
office of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities. Such policies 5
shall include, but need not be limited to, the following: 6
(1) The use of purchasing cards pursuant to subsection (c) of section 7
4-98 of the general statutes, that includes, but need not be limited to, the 8
(A) permitted and restricted uses of purchasing cards, (B) provision of 9
uniform training to each cardholder on such permitted and restricted 10
uses and required record-keeping, (C) requirement for a secondary 11
review and sign-off on any exceptions to the spending limits on 12
purchasing cards, (D) use of purchasing cards by persons in executive 13
positions for food and entertainment costs, and (E) establishment and 14
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enforcement of accountability measures to address any purchasing card 15
misuse, including, but not limited to, the revocation of purchasing cards 16
when necessary. 17
(2) The use of state vehicles that includes, but need not be limited to, 18
the (A) establishment of rules on the use of state vehicles and related 19
record-keeping, (B) treatment of state vehicle use for compensation and 20
tax purposes, and (C) establishment and enforcement of accountability 21
measures to address any state vehicle misuse and noncompliance with 22
such policy. 23
(3) Residency requirements for certain executive positions, including, 24
but not limited to, the chancellor, vice-chancellors, president, vice-25
presidents and other equivalent positions. 26
(4) The development and provision of uniform training to all 27
executives, administrators and staff at each such constituent unit, 28
institution of higher education and central office regarding the business 29
functions and compliance practices relevant to such position. 30
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2025) The Board of Trustees of The 31
University of Connecticut shall adopt or update policies concerning the 32
management and fiscal accountability of The University of Connecticut. 33
Such policies shall include, but need not be limited to, the following: 34
(1) The use of purchasing cards pursuant to subsection (c) of section 35
4-98 of the general statutes, that includes, but need not be limited to, the 36
(A) permitted and restricted uses of purchasing cards, (B) provision of 37
uniform training to each cardholder on such permitted and restricted 38
uses and required record-keeping, (C) requirement for a secondary 39
review and sign-off on any exceptions to the spending limits on 40
purchasing cards, (D) use of purchasing cards by persons in executive 41
positions for food and entertainment costs, and (E) establishment and 42
enforcement of accountability measures to address any purchasing card 43
misuse, including, but not limited to, the revocation of purchasing cards 44
when necessary. 45
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(2) The use of state vehicles that includes, but need not be limited to, 46
the (A) establishment of rules on the use of state vehicles and related 47
record-keeping, (B) treatment of state vehicle use for compensation and 48
tax purposes, and (C) establishment and enforcement of accountability 49
measures to address any state vehicle misuse and noncompliance with 50
such policy. 51
(3) Residency requirements for certain executive positions, including, 52
but not limited to, the president, vice-presidents and other equivalent 53
positions. 54
(4) The development and provision of uniform training to all 55
executives, administrators and staff at said university regarding the 56
business functions and compliance practices relevant to such position. 57
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2025) (a) Not later than January 1, 2026, 58
the Board of Regents for Higher Education shall establish an internal 59
audit office. The duties of such office shall include, but need not be 60
limited to, (1) conducting an annual audit of the records and 61
expenditures at each constituent unit and institution of higher education 62
governed by said board and the central office of the Connecticut State 63
Colleges and Universities to measure (A) compliance with applicable 64
laws and regulations and policies adopted by said board, (B) reliability 65
of financial reporting and record-keeping, and (C) effectiveness and 66
efficiency of operations; (2) regularly assessing the adequacy and 67
uniformity of internal controls and compliance practices at each such 68
institution and the central office; (3) reporting to said board on the 69
findings of such audit and assessment and making recommendations 70
for improvement; and (4) performing the audit required pursuant to 71
subsection (r) of section 1-84 of the general statutes. 72
(b) The Comptroller shall conduct a randomized post -audit 73
examination of the records and expenditures of the Connecticut State 74
Colleges and Universities. The Board of Regents for Higher Education 75
shall submit or allow access to all accounting records and expenditures 76
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of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities to the office of the 77
Comptroller for the purposes of such post-audit examination. 78
Sec. 4. Section 10a-9b of the general statutes is repealed and the 79
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 80
(a) The constituent units of the state system of higher education, as 81
defined in section 10a-1, shall [use best efforts to] work with the 82
Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, the Department of 83
Administrative Services and the Comptroller to fully utilize the CORE-84
CT system in carrying out accounting processes and financial reporting 85
that meet constitutional needs and providing for budgetary and 86
financial reporting needs. 87
(b) [The] Each constituent [units of the state system of higher 88
education, as defined in section 10a-1,] unit shall [use best efforts to] 89
work with the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, the 90
Department of Administrative Services and the Comptroller to fully 91
utilize the CORE-CT system to provide for human resources and payroll 92
reporting and to initiate the process of determining consistent 93
classification and compensation for employees not represented by an 94
employee organization, as defined in section 5-270. 95
(c) Not later than October 1, 2025, and quarterly thereafter, each 96
constituent unit shall submit to the Comptroller, in the form and manner 97
prescribed by the Comptroller, data on the budget and expenditures of 98
such constituent unit and such constituent unit's central office, if any, 99
for inclusion in any program concerning state-wide fiscal transparency 100
and the databases maintained by the office of the Comptroller pursuant 101
to section 2-53l. 102
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2025 New section
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Sec. 3 July 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 4 July 1, 2025 10a-9b
Statement of Purpose:
To require (1) the Board of Regents for Higher Education and the Board
of Trustees of The University of Connecticut to establish policies
concerning the use of a purchase card and a state vehicle, a residency
requirement for certain executive positions and uniform training; (2) the
Board of Regents for Higher Education to establish an internal audit
office and comply with a post-audit examination by the Comptroller;
and (3) each constituent unit to submit data for inclusion on public
databases maintained by the Comptroller.
[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.]