Connecticut 2022 Regular Session Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 1 R · 1 D cosponsors

HB 5300 — AN ACT REQUIRING LEGISLATIVE APPROVAL FOR THE MERGER OR CLOSING OF INSTITUTIONS WITHIN THE CONNECTICUT STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES AND PROHIBITING THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE REGIONAL COMMUNITY-TECHNICAL COLLEGES.

Last action — FILE NO. 278

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 2022 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

160 added · 47 removed

160 line(s) added, 47 removed.

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General Assembly Raised Bill No.
House of Representatives General Assembly File No.
5300 February Session, 2022 LCO No.
278 February Session, 2022 Substitute House Bill No.
2260 Referred to Committee on HIGHER EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT ADVANCEMENT Introduced by:
5300 House of Representatives, April 4, 2022 The Committee on Higher Education and Employment Advancement reported through REP.
(HED) AN ACT REQUIRING LEGISLATIVE APPROVAL FOR THE MERGER OR CLOSING OF INSTITUTIONS WITHIN THE CONNECTICUT STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES AND PROHIBITING THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE REGIONAL COMMUNITY-TECHNICAL COLLEGES.
ELLIOTT of the 88th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT REQUIRING LEGISLATIVE APPROVAL FOR THE MERGER OR CLOSING OF INSTITUTIONS WITHIN THE CONNECTICUT STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES AND PROHIBITING THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE REGIONAL COMMUNITY-TECHNICAL COLLEGES.
(3) establish tuition and student fee policies for the Connecticut State University System, the regional community-technical college system LCO No.
(3) establish tuition and student fee policies for the Connecticut State sHB5300 / File No.
2260 1 of 4 Raised Bill No.5300 and Charter Oak State College;
278 1 sHB5300 File No.
278 University System, the regional community-technical college system and Charter Oak State College;
(5) [merge or close] recommend a merger or closing of institutions within the Connecticut State University System, the regional community-technical college system and Charter Oak State College in accordance with criteria established by the board, provided (A) such [recommended merger or closing] recommendation shall require a two-thirds vote of the board, [and] (B) notice of such recommended merger or closing shall be sent, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the joint standing committee oftheGeneralAssembly having cognizance [over]ofmatters relating to higher education, and [to the General Assembly] (C) such recommended merger or closing shall be approved by a majority vote of both houses of the General Assembly or rejected by a majority vote of either house of the General Assembly not later than one year after receiving notice by the board pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this subdivision or the adjournment of the next regular session of the General Assembly, whichever is later, provided, if the General Assembly fails to act, such recommended merger or closing shall be deemed approved;
(5) [merge or close] recommend a merger or closing of institutions within the Connecticut State University System, the regional community-technical college system and Charter Oak State College in accordance with criteria established by the board, provided (A) such [recommended merger or closing] recommendation shall require a two-thirds vote of the board, [and] (B) the board shall send notice of such recommended merger or closing, [shall be sent] in accordance with the provisions of section 11- 4a, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance [over] of matters relating to higher education, and [to the General Assembly] (C) such recommended merger or closing shall be approved by a majority vote of both houses of the General Assembly or rejected by a majority vote of either house of the General Assembly not later than one year after receiving notice by the board pursuant to subparagraph (B) of this subdivision or the adjournment of the next regular session of the General Assembly, whichever is later, provided, if the General Assembly fails to act, such recommended merger or closing shall be deemed approved;
(7) review and approve any recommendations for the establishment of new academic programs submitted to the board by the state universities within the Connecticut State University System, the regional community-technical colleges and Charter Oak State College, and, in consultation with the affected constituent units, provide for the initiation, consolidation or termination of academic programs;
(7) review and approve any recommendations for the establishment of new academic programs submitted to the board by the state universities within the Connecticut State University System, the regional community-technical colleges and Charter Oak State College, and, inconsultationwiththeaffectedconstituent units,provide for the initiation, consolidation or termination of academic programs;
(8) develop criteria to ensure acceptable quality in (A) programs at the Connecticut State University System, the regional community-technical college system and Charter Oak State College, and (B) institutions within the Connecticut State University System and the regional community-technical college system and enforce standards through LCO No.
(8) develop criteria to ensure acceptable quality in (A) programs at the Connecticut State University System, the regional community-technical college system and Charter Oak State College, and (B) institutions within the Connecticut State University System and the regional sHB5300 / File No.
2260 2 of 4 Raised Bill No.5300 licensing and accreditation;
278 2 sHB5300 File No.
278 community-technical college system and enforce standards through licensing and accreditation;
(18) develop and maintain a central higher education information system and establish definitions and data requirements for LCO No.
(18) develop and maintain a central higher education sHB5300 / File No.
2260 3 of 4 Raised Bill No.
278 3 sHB5300 File No.
5300 the Connecticut State University System, the regional community- technical college system and Charter Oak State College;
278 information system and establish definitions and data requirements for the Connecticut State University System, the regional community- technical college system and Charter Oak State College;
(Effective from passage) The Board of Regents for Higher Education and the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities shall not pursue consolidation of the regional community-technical colleges through any regional accrediting association recognized by the Secretary of the United States Department of Education.
(Effective from passage) Notwithstanding subdivision (5) of subsection(a)ofsection10a-6ofthegeneralstatutes,asamendedby this act, the Board of Regents for Higher Education shall not pursue merger, closure or consolidation of the regional community-technical colleges into one community-technical college through any regional accrediting association recognized by the Secretary of theUnited States Department of Education.
2 from passage New section Statement of Purpose:
2 from passage New section Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
To require legislative approval for the merger or closing of institutions within the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities and prohibiting the consolidation of the regional community-technical colleges.
In Section 1(a)(5)(B), "the board shall send" was added and "shall be sent" was bracketed for clarity, and in Section 1(a)(5)(C), "subparagraph (A)" was changed to "subparagraph (B)" for accuracy.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets.
HED Joint Favorable Subst.
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.] LCO No.
sHB5300 / File No.
2260 4 of 4
278 4 sHB5300 File No.
278 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.
In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.
Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 23 $ FY 24 $ Board of Regents for Higher Various - Cost Significant Significant Education Note:
Various=Various Municipal Impact:
None Explanation The bill, which prevents community college consolidation, is anticipated to result in a significant cost to the Board of Regents (BOR), potentially beginning in FY 22 and continuing into the future.
The bill also establishes a new legislative approval process of certain other communitycollegechangesthatmayoccur,whichmaypreventordelay any associated costs or savings.
Section 2 ends the community college consolidation process that is currently underway and prevents any similar future effort, effective immediately.
This results in a significant cost to the BOR community colleges, which may begin in FY 22, because the board consequently must re-hire numerous campus-level leadership positions for accreditation maintenance of the 12 community colleges.
It is anticipated that these costs will exceed, by millions of dollars, the savings from simultaneous layoffs and title downgrading of regional and consolidated-college personnel.
In FY 23, it is estimated that the net savings due to the consolidation will be $10.9 million (savings of $35 million partially offset by costs of $24.1 million).
The consolidation, which the BOR began in 2017, has resulted in a net savings through:
(1) many manager-level positions at the college level sHB5300 / File No.
278 5 sHB5300 File No.
278 being heldopen, combined,or refilledat lower costsonan interimbasis;
(2) the formation of a regional structure that contains several director- level positions being phased out at the 12 colleges along with new regional president and regional workforce development positions;
and (3) the formation of an executive-level structure along with shared services for some administrative functions.
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The costs of the new positions are substantial but less than the savings at the college level.
A few examples of theposition changes at thecollege level are:
(1) the DirectorofFinancepositionsarebeingphasedout tothehighestcollege- level position of Associate Director of Finance, as many functions move to shared services and leadership is shifted to the consolidated college;
and (2) the Director ofHuman Resources positions are being phased out to one director position in each of the three regions, with a generalist staff person on each college campus and specialized functions at the consolidated college.
Section 1 may prevent or delay for up to 12 to 16 months any savings or costsanticipatedto result fromany other college or university merger or closure recommended by the Board of Regents.
The bill requires an affirmative vote of the General Assembly within a specified timeframe equal to 12 to 16 months in order for the merger or closure to proceed (or the recommendation is deemed accepted), which delays any anticipated costs or savings.
The length of the delay would be equal to the amount of time between the General Assembly receiving merger or closure notice and the date of an affirmative vote (or deemed acceptance).
If within the voting timeframe one chamber of the General Assembly rejects the merger or closure, the merger or closure will be halted, whichprevents therealizationofany savingsor coststhat would have resulted.
The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation.
sHB5300 / File No.
278 6 sHB5300 File No.
278 OLR Bill Analysis sHB 5300 AN ACT REQUIRING LEGISLATIVE APPROVAL FOR THE MERGER OR CLOSING OF INSTITUTIONS WITHIN THE CONNECTICUT STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES AND PROHIBITING THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE REGIONAL COMMUNITY-TECHNICAL COLLEGES.
SUMMARY This bill eliminates the Board of Regents for Higher Education’s (BOR’s) authority to merge or close institutions within the Connecticut State University and regional community-technical college systems and Charter Oak State College.
The bill instead authorizes BOR to make merger or closing recommendations to the legislature, except as described below.
Relatedly, the bill (1) creates new legislative notice requirements that BOR must follow when recommending an institutional merger or closure and (2) establishes mechanisms for the legislature to approve or reject BOR’s recommendations.
The bill prohibits BOR from pursuing merger, closure, or consolidation of the community colleges into a single community college through a U.S.
Department of Education-approved regional accrediting association.
(The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) is Connecticut’s regional accrediting body.) BOR is currently pursuing thistypeofconsolidationwithNECHE withthegoal of operating as a single institution beginning in the fall 2023 semester.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Upon passage BOR’S MERGER AND CLOSURE AUTHORITY Under current law, BOR may merge or close the above institutions upon a two-thirds vote of its members and after notifying the General Assembly and the Education Committee about the recommended merger or closure.
The bill instead requires (1) BOR to notify only the sHB5300 / File No.
278 7 sHB5300 File No.
278 Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee and (2) a majority vote of both the House and Senate to approve a BOR- recommended merger or closure.
Under the bill, if the legislature fails to act within one year after receiving notice or by adjournment of the next regular legislative session, whichever is later, then the merger or closure is deemed approved.
Conversely, the merger or closure may be rejected by a majority vote of at least one chamber.
COMMITTEE ACTION Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee Joint Favorable Substitute Yea 19 Nay 4 (03/17/2022) sHB5300 / File No.
278 8
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Action History

  1. FILE NO. 278

  2. HOUSE CALENDAR NUMBER 209

  3. FAV. RPT., TABLED FOR HOUSE CALENDAR

  4. RPTD. OUT OF LCO

  5. REFERRED TO Office of Legislative Research AND Office of Fiscal Analysis 04/04/22

  6. FILED WITH LCO

  7. Joint Favorable Substitute

  8. PUBLIC HEARING 0308

  9. REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Higher Education and Employment Advancement

Sponsors

  • Kurt Vail · Primary
  • Lucy Dathan · Primary
  • Edwin Vargas · Primary
  • John K. Hampton · Primary
  • Robyn A. Porter · Primary
  • David Michel · Primary

Sponsorship breakdown

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6 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 181 not signed on

Sponsors (6)

  • Kurt Vail Republican
  • Lucy Dathan Democratic
  • Vargas, Edwin
  • Hampton, John K.
  • Porter, Robyn A.
  • Michel, David

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (181)

181 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 181 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

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Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors HB 5300?
HB 5300 is sponsored by Kurt Vail (Republican), Lucy Dathan (Democratic), Vargas, Edwin, Hampton, John K., Porter, Robyn A., and Michel, David.
What is the current status of HB 5300?
This bill died with 2022 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track HB 5300?
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