June 24, 2005

The Honorable Susan Bysiewicz

Secretary of the State

20 Trinity Street

Hartford, CT 06106

Dear Secretary Bysiewicz:

I am returning to you without my signature, Senate Bill 801, An Act Concerning Legislative Review and Approval Of Waiver Applications Prior To Submittal To The Federal Government.  I will not sign Senate Bill 801 because it unnecessarily constrains the authority of the Commissioner of Social Services, on behalf of the State of Connecticut, to submit waiver applications to the federal government.  In my opinion, these constraints create ill-advised bureaucratic burdens and potential financial risks to the state.

Senate Bill 801 requires the Commissioner of the State of Connecticut Department of Social Services (the “Commissioner”) to file, prior to submission to the federal government, an application for a federal waiver of any assistance program requirements with the committees of cognizance within the General Assembly.  The bill also requires that the committees of cognizance advise the Commission of their approval, rejection, or modification of a waiver application submitted to the committees.  In the event that an individual committee of the General Assembly rejects a waiver application submitted by the Commissioner, the bill prohibits the Commissioner from submitting the waiver to the federal government.  If enacted, Senate Bill 801 would also require that the Commissioner modify waivers in the manner directed by the committees of cognizance, before submission to the federal government.  These procedural requirements of Senate Bill 801 impose a series of prolonged and unnecessary bureaucratic steps.  Imposition of such steps does not promote the timely and efficient management of the Department’s budgeted objectives.

State budgets are adopted by the full General Assembly, after discussions and negotiations between legislative leadership and the administration, and often assume financial savings achieved through waivers granted by the federal government.  The law requires the Department of Social Services to implement its departmental budget in a manner consistent with budget acts passed by the General Assembly.  However, enactment of Senate Bill 801 raises the possibility that individual committees of the General Assembly can circumvent the budget process by rejecting or modifying waiver applications relied upon by the full General Assembly and the Administration when negotiating the Department’s budget. In instances where waiver applications are included within the state budget, rejection or substantial modification by the individual committees of the General Assembly can prevent the Department from implementing its departmental budget and can have a dramatic negative effect on the state’s financial condition. 

Additionally, the legislative review and approval process mandated by the bill could cause delays in responding to changes in federal law, thus putting at risk much-needed federal funds.  Should delays result from a rejection or modification of a waiver application, the State of Connecticut could lose substantial federal funding.  In contrast, the current process of department submission, with legislative consultation, has proven to be timely and efficient.

Under current law, the Commissioner must already submit to the committees of cognizance within the General Assembly waiver applications before submitting the applications to the federal government.  However, the individual committees of the legislature presently serve an advisory role and do not have authority to mandate changes to the Commissioner or the Administration on behalf of the full General Assembly.  It should be noted that the statutory scheme amended by Senate Bill 801 has existed since 1993.  At that time, statutory provisions substantially similar to those in the proposed bill were deemed burdensome and unnecessarily onerous and as a result were subsequently changed to the present process.  Since 1993, the waiver process with the current advisory role of the committees has resulted in the timely and efficient submission of federal waivers.   

The state budget continues to be strained by pressures from the federal government to limit federal participation in assistance programs.  As such, the Commissioner must retain the flexibility to act in a timely and efficient manner to maximize federal funding consistent with budgets adopted after discussions and negotiations by the full General Assembly and the Administration.  I fully support continuing the legislature’s existing role in the waiver application process.  The experience and skills of legislators on committees dealing with human services and appropriations is a valuable asset to be used by the Commissioner. Preserving current law does not create additional bureaucratic obstacles to achieving savings and does not eliminate the meaningful role the General Assembly plays in advising the Administration of the interests of the citizens of the State of Connecticut.  However, the proposed bill imposes unnecessary burdens on the Department of Social Services by amending current law to revert to a process the entire legislature once considered to be too burdensome.  The potential risks to the state budget, including from unnecessary delays caused by the actions of a single committee of the legislature, is an unacceptable consequence of Senate Bill 801.

For the reasons stated herein, I disapprove of Senate Bill 801, An Act Concerning Legislative Review and Approval Of Waiver Applications Prior To Submittal To The Federal Government.  Pursuant to Article Four, Section 15 of the Constitution of the State of Connecticut and Article III of the Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut, I am returning Senate Bill 801 bill without my signature.

Very truly yours,

M. Jodi Rell

                                                                        Governor