(a) There is established a Connecticut Competitiveness Council, which shall be part of the Legislative Department.

(b) The council shall consist of the following members:

(1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives;

(2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate;

(3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives;

(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate;

(5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives;

(6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate; and

(7) Two appointed by the Governor.

(c) Any member of the council appointed under subdivision (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) of subsection (b) of this section may be a member of the General Assembly.

(d) All initial appointments to the council shall be made not later than October 1, 2015. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority.

(e) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the council from among the members of the council. Such chairpersons shall schedule the first meeting of the council, which shall be held not later than sixty days after October 1, 2015.

(f) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to finance, revenue and bonding shall serve as administrative staff of the council.

(g) Appointed members of the council shall serve for four-year terms which shall commence October 1, 2015, except that members first appointed shall have the following terms: Members initially appointed by the Governor and members appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives and the minority leader of the House of Representatives shall serve a term of two years, and members appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, the president pro tempore of the Senate, the majority leader of the Senate and the minority leader of the Senate shall initially serve a term of four years. The appointing authority shall fill any vacancy by appointment for the unexpired portion of the term vacated.

(h) A majority of the council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business.

(i) The members of the council shall serve without compensation, except for necessary expenses incurred in performing their duties.

(j) The council shall have the following powers and duties: (1) Encourage and assist private sector business growth in this state and evaluate and promote economic competitiveness as compared to other jurisdictions; (2) not later than January 31, 2017, and annually thereafter, develop a Connecticut Competitiveness Scorecard to provide a comprehensive statistical assessment of Connecticut's economic competitiveness performance; (3) outline the primary challenges to Connecticut's economic competitiveness and policy responses required to meet those challenges; (4) advise and assist the executive and legislative departments and the private sector on matters relating to economic competitiveness; (5) obtain from any executive department, board, commission or other agency of the state such assistance and data as necessary and available to carry out the purposes of this section; (6) accept any gift, donation or bequest for the purpose of performing the duties described in this section; and (7) perform such other acts as may be necessary and appropriate to carry out the duties described in this section.

(k) The council shall meet at least quarterly.

(l) Not later than January 31, 2017, and annually thereafter, the council shall submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the Governor, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development and the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to labor, commerce and finance, revenue and bonding on the competitiveness of the state's industry and economy which shall include, but need not be limited to, (1) the Connecticut Competitiveness Scorecard described in subdivision (2) of subsection (j) of this section, (2) the outline of primary challenges to Connecticut's economic competitiveness and policy responses required to meet those challenges described in subdivision (3) of subsection (j) of this section, and (3) recommendations for policy changes and amendments to the general statutes necessary to promote economic competitiveness.

(P.A. 15-212, S. 1.)

History: P.A. 15-212 effective July 1, 2015.