By Themis Klarides
State Rep., R-114
Themis Klarides
The legislature’s Transportation Committee held a hearing recently to tackle an Auditors of Public Accounts report detailing problems at the Connecticut Port Authority, including granting significant contracts without competitive bids and spending recklessly on unnecessary items.
The APA performs important work, and their reports offer legislators – and the public – valuable insight into the mechanics of state government.
Considering that, you may be surprised to know lawmakers rarely get the chance to ask questions about those reports in a formal setting. Despite a state law that requires it, Democrats who control relevant committees don’t hold these hearings.
State law requires committees of cognizance and the Government Administration and Elections Committee to hold hearings within 180 days from the time reports are submitted to the legislature. As it stands, there are nearly 40 reports that are overdue for hearings. There’s more to be heard in the near future, too.
Examples of problems outlined in APA reports include abuse of overtime; workplace violence complaints; massive financial reporting errors; benefits payments to deceased individuals; and IT security issues.
A report issued just last month detailed how more than $260,000 in checks submitted to the Department of Agriculture went uncashed for months.
I believe legislators should be able to ask questions about situations such as that, and it’s why my caucus issued a letter to Democratic leaders urging hearings.
We haven’t received a response yet, but I’ll let you know when we do. In the meantime, check out the APA website and its many reports at https://wp.cga.ct.gov/apa/.
As always, feel free to contact me if you have questions, comments or concern about state-related issues.