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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6887
January Session, 2025
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) Not later than January 1, 2026, 1
the Board of Regents for Higher Education shall adopt or update the 2
management and fiscal accountability policies applicable to each 3
constituent unit and institution of higher education governed by said 4
board and the central office of the Connecticut State Colleges and 5
Universities. Such policies shall include, but need not be limited to, the 6
following: 7
(1) The use of purchasing cards pursuant to subsection (c) of section 8
4-98 of the general statutes, that includes, but need not be limited to, the 9
(A) permitted and restricted uses of purchasing cards, (B) provision of 10
uniform training to each cardholder on such permitted and restricted 11
uses and required record-keeping, and a signed acknowledgment of 12
receiving such training, (C) requirement for a secondary review and 13
sign-off on any exceptions to the spending limits on purchasing cards, 14
(D) provision of uniform training to each supervisor to regularly 15
monitor the use of purchasing cards, (E) use of purchasing cards by 16
persons in executive positions for food and entertainment costs, and (F) 17
establishment and enforcement of accountability measures to address 18
any purchasing card misuse, including, but not limited to, written 19 Substitute Bill No. 6887
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acknowledgment of such misuse, an agreement to remedy such misuse 20
and the revocation of purchasing cards when necessary. 21
(2) The use of state vehicles that includes, but need not be limited to, 22
the (A) establishment of rules on the use of state vehicles and related 23
record-keeping, (B) treatment of state vehicle use for compensation and 24
tax purposes, and (C) establishment and enforcement of accountability 25
measures to address any state vehicle misuse and noncompliance with 26
such policy. 27
(3) Residency requirements for certain executive positions, including, 28
but not limited to, the chancellor, vice-chancellors, president, vice-29
presidents and other equivalent positions. Any employment contract 30
negotiated on and after July 1, 2025, for the chancellor of the Connecticut 31
State College and Universities shall include a requirement to maintain 32
such chancellor's primary residence in the state. 33
(4) The development and provision of uniform training to all 34
executives, administrators and staff at each such constituent unit, 35
institution of higher education and central office regarding the business 36
functions and compliance practices relevant to such position. 37
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2025) Not later than January 1, 2026, 38
the Board of Trustees of The University of Connecticut shall adopt or 39
update policies concerning the management and fiscal accountability of 40
The University of Connecticut. Such policies shall include, but need not 41
be limited to, the following: 42
(1) The use of purchasing cards pursuant to subsection (c) of section 43
4-98 of the general statutes, that includes, but need not be limited to, the 44
(A) permitted and restricted uses of purchasing cards, (B) provision of 45
uniform training to each cardholder on such permitted and restricted 46
uses and required record-keeping, and a signed acknowledgment of 47
receiving such training, (C) requirement for a secondary review and 48
sign-off on any exceptions to the spending limits on purchasing cards, 49
(D) provision of uniform training to each supervisor to regularly 50
monitor the use of purchasing cards, (E) use of purchasing cards by 51 Substitute Bill No. 6887
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persons in executive positions for food and entertainment costs, and (F) 52
establishment and enforcement of accountability measures to address 53
any purchasing card misuse, including, but not limited to, written 54
acknowledgment of such misuse, an agreement to remedy such misuse 55
and the revocation of purchasing cards when necessary. 56
(2) The use of state vehicles that includes, but need not be limited to, 57
the (A) establishment of rules on the use of state vehicles and related 58
record-keeping, (B) treatment of state vehicle use for compensation and 59
tax purposes, and (C) establishment and enforcement of accountability 60
measures to address any state vehicle misuse and noncompliance with 61
such policy. 62
(3) Residency requirements for certain executive positions, including, 63
but not limited to, the president, vice-presidents and other equivalent 64
positions. Any employment contract negotiated on and after July 1, 65
2025, for the president of The University of Connecticut shall include a 66
requirement to maintain such president's primary residence in the state. 67
(4) The development and provision of uniform training to all 68
executives, administrators and staff at said university regarding the 69
business functions and compliance practices relevant to such position. 70
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2025) (a) Not later than January 1, 2026, 71
the Board of Regents for Higher Education shall establish an internal 72
audit office. The duties of such office shall include, but need not be 73
limited to, (1) conducting audits on a regular basis of the records and 74
expenditures at each constituent unit and institution of higher education 75
governed by said board and the central office of the Connecticut State 76
Colleges and Universities to measure, as often as deemed necessary by 77
such office, (A) compliance with applicable laws and regulations and 78
policies adopted by said board, (B) reliability of financial reporting and 79
record-keeping, (C) effectiveness and efficiency of operations, and (D) 80
assessing the adequacy and uniformity of internal controls and 81
compliance practices at each such institution and the central office; (2) 82
reporting to said board on the findings of such audit and assessment 83 Substitute Bill No. 6887
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and making recommendations for improvement; and (3) performing the 84
audit required pursuant to subsection (r) of section 1-84 of the general 85
statutes. 86
(b) The Comptroller shall conduct a randomized post -audit 87
examination of the records and expenditures of the Connecticut State 88
Colleges and Universities. The Board of Regents for Higher Education 89
shall submit or allow access to all accounting records and expenditures 90
of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities to the office of the 91
Comptroller for the purposes of such post-audit examination. 92
Sec. 4. Section 10a-9b of the general statutes is repealed and the 93
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 94
(a) The constituent units of the state system of higher education, as 95
defined in section 10a-1, shall use best efforts to work with the Secretary 96
of the Office of Policy and Management, the Department of 97
Administrative Services and the Comptroller to fully utilize the CORE-98
CT system in carrying out accounting processes and financial reporting 99
that meet constitutional needs and providing for budgetary and 100
financial reporting needs. 101
(b) [The] Each constituent [units of the state system of higher 102
education, as defined in section 10a-1,] unit shall use best efforts to work 103
with the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, the 104
Department of Administrative Services and the Comptroller to fully 105
utilize the CORE-CT system to provide for human resources and payroll 106
reporting and to initiate the process of determining consistent 107
classification and compensation for employees not represented by an 108
employee organization, as defined in section 5-270. 109
(c) Not later than October 1, 2025, and quarterly thereafter, each 110
constituent unit shall submit to the Comptroller, in the form and manner 111
agreed upon by the Comptroller and such constituent unit, data, as 112
prescribed by the Comptroller, on the budget and expenditures of such 113
constituent unit and such constituent unit's central office, if any, for 114
inclusion in any program concerning state-wide fiscal transparency and 115 Substitute Bill No. 6887
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the databases maintained by the office of the Comptroller pursuant to 116
section 2-53l. 117
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
Sec. 3 July 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 4 July 1, 2025 10a-9b
HED Joint Favorable Subst.