AN ACT ESTABLISHING AN APPRENTICE, JOURNEYMEN AND CONTRACTOR WORKING GROUP.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a working group to discuss hiring ratios for apprentices, journeymen and contractors. The working group shall meet at least once annually and shall study and make recommendations related to apprentices, journeymen and contractors.

(b) The working group shall consist of the following ten members, and shall be evenly divided between members of union and nonunion industry trade groups representing the electrical, heating, cooling, plumbing, sprinkler fitter and sheet metal trades:

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

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

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

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

(5) Two nonunion members appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives; and

(6) Two nonunion members appointed by the minority leader of the Senate.

(c) All appointing authorities shall consult with the chairpersons and ranking members of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the Department of Consumer Protection prior to making any appointments pursuant to this section.

(d) Any member of the working group appointed under subsection (b) of this section may be a member of the General Assembly.

(e) All appointments to the working group shall be made not later than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority.

(f) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the working group from among the members of the working group. Such chairpersons shall schedule the first meeting of the working group.

(g) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the Department of Consumer Protection shall serve as administrative staff of the working group.

(h) Not later than December 1, 2017, and annually thereafter, the working group shall submit a report on its recommendations to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the Department of Consumer Protection, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes.

Sec. 2. Section 20-332b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

The Commissioner of Consumer Protection shall amend existing regulations of Connecticut state agencies adopted pursuant to section 20-332 to specify the following allowable hiring ratios regarding apprentices, journeymen and contractors for the following trades:

Statement of Purpose:

To establish an apprentice, journeymen and contractor working group and to amend current hiring ratios concerning apprentices, journeymen and contractors.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. 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.]

S.B. 353