Opportunities to Testify on the Budget

HARTFORD — Starting next week, Connecticut residents will have opportunities to learn more about the state’s finances and participate in public hearings on budgets of government agencies and departments. The legislature’s Appropriations Committee has issued a schedule for the hearings and instructions on how to participate: If you are unable to attend please visit www.ct-n.com for the daily schedule of On-Demand coverage.

APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
SCHEDULE OF STATE AGENCY BUDGET PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLIC HEARINGS

The Appropriations Committee will hold state agency budget presentations and public hearings from Monday, February 8, 2016 through Friday, February 19, 2016, to be held at the times and location listed below. Public speaker order for the public hearings will be determined by a lottery system. Lottery numbers will be drawn from 9:00 A.M. until 10:00 A.M. in the LOB First Floor Atrium and from 10:15 A.M. until 1:00 P.M. in Room 2700. Speakers arriving after the completion of the lottery will have their names placed at the end of the speaker list. The list of speakers registered through the lottery system will be posted outside the designated hearing room two hours prior to the start of the public hearing. On February 11 and February 18 the Committee will provide a separate sign-up sheet for persons with special needs, and on February 16 a separate sign-up sheet will be provided for students. Those speakers will be registered on a first-come, first-served basis. The Committee Chairs will alternate between the specialized lists and the standard list until the specialized lists have been exhausted. For the February 18 public hearing, Room 2B will be reserved for individuals with special needs in need of a quiet space while waiting to testify. Speakers will be limited to three minutes of testimony. Please submit 30 copies of written testimony at the time of sign-up, but not later than 2:00 P.M. Testimony received after the designated time may not be distributed until after the hearing. Please email written testimony in Word or PDF format to APPtestimony@cga.ct.gov. The Committee requests that testimony be limited to matters related to the items on the Agenda. All public hearing testimony, written & spoken, is public information. The Committee encourages witnesses to submit a written statement and to condense oral testimony to a summary of that statement. All public hearing testimony, written and spoken, is public information. As such, it will be made available on the CGA website and will be indexed by internet search engines. Unofficial sign-up sheets have no standing with the Committee.

Monday, February 8, Room 2C

TRANSPORTATION
1:00 -2:00 PM Department of Transportation
2:00- 3:00 PM Department of Motor Vehicles

4:00 PM Public Hearing

Public testimony will be heard on the following state agencies:
Department of Transportation
Department of Motor Vehicles

Tuesday, February 9, Room 2C

REGULATION AND PROTECTION
11:30 AM-12:30 PM Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection
12:30- 1:00 PM Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities

4:00 PM Public Hearing

Public testimony will be heard on the following state agencies:
Insurance Department
Office of the Healthcare Advocate
Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection
Department of Consumer Protection
Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities
Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities
Workers’ Compensation Commission
Military Department

Wednesday, February 10, Room 2C

HIGHER EDUCATION
10:00 – 11:00 AM University of Connecticut and the UConn Health Center
11:00 AM-12:00 PM Board of Regents for Higher Education

CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT
1:00-1:30 PM Department of Agriculture
1:30-2:00 Department of Housing
2:00-2:30 Department of Labor
2:30-3:00 Department of Economic and Community Development
3:00-3:30 Department of Energy and Environmental Protection

4:00 PM Public Hearing – Higher Education Panels
6:30 PM Public Hearing – Higher Education and Conservation & Development

Public testimony will be heard on the following state agencies:
Office Higher Education
Board of Regents for Higher Education
University of Connecticut
UConn Health Center
Department of Agriculture
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (including Public Utility Regulatory Authority)
Office of the Consumer Counsel
Department of Economic and Community Development
Department of Labor
Department of Housing
Agricultural Experiment Station
Council on Environmental Quality

Thursday, February 11, Room 2C

HUMAN SERVICES
11:00 AM-12:30 PM Department of Children and Families

12:30-1:30 LUNCH RECESS

1:30-3:00 Department of Social Services

4:00 PM Public Hearing

Public testimony will be heard on the following state agencies:
Department of Social Services
Department of Children and Families
Department of Rehabilitative Services
Department on Aging

Tuesday, February 16, Room 2C

GENERAL GOVERNMENT B
10:00-10:30 AM Department of Administrative Services
10:30-11:15 Office of Policy and Management
11:15-12:00 PM Office of the State Comptroller
12:00- 1:00 Office of the State Treasurer
Elementary and Secondary Education
1:30- 2:30 PM Department of Education
2:30- 3:00 Office of Early Childhood

4:00 PM Public Hearing

Public testimony will be heard on the following state agencies:
Department of Administrative Services
Office of the Attorney General
Office of the State Comptroller and Miscellaneous Accounts
Office of the State Treasurer (including Debt Service)
Office of Policy and Management
Department of Revenue Services
Department of Education
Office of Early Childhood
State Library
Teachers’ Retirement Board

Thursday, February 18, Room 2C

HEALTH
1:00-2:00 PM Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services
2:00-3:00 Department of Developmental Services
3:00-4:00 Department of Public Health

4:30 PM Public Hearing

Public testimony will be heard on the following state agencies:
Department of Public Health
Department of Developmental Services
Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services
Office of the Chief Medical Examiner
Psychiatric Security Review Board
Department of Veterans’ Affairs

Friday, February 19, Room 2C

JUDICIAL AND CORRECTIONS
1:00-2:00 PM Judicial Department
2:00-3:00 Department of Correction

4:00 PM Public Hearing

Public testimony will be heard on the following state agencies:
Judicial Department
Division of Criminal Justice
Public Defender Services Commission
Department of Correction (including the Board of Pardons and Parole)
Governor’s Office
Lt. Governor’s Office
Secretary of the State
Department of Banking
Office of Governmental Accountability
State Elections Enforcement Commission
Office of State Ethics
Freedom of Information Commission
Office of the Child Advocate
Office of the Victim Advocate
Board of Firearms Permit Examiners
Contracting Standards Board
Judicial Selection Commission
Judicial Review Council
Legislative Management
Auditors of Public Accounts
Permanent Commission on the Status of Women
Commission on Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs
African-American Affairs Commission
Commission on Aging
Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission
Commission on Children