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Substitute Senate Bill No. 132
Public Act No. 26-78
AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE CONNECTICUT -GERMANY AND
CONNECTICUT-INDIA TRADE COMMISSIONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) ( Effective from passage ) (a) There is established a
Connecticut-Germany Trade Commission, which shall be part of the
Legislative Department.
(b) The commission 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) Two appointed by the majority leader of the House of
Representatives;
(4) Two appointed by the majority leader of the Senate;
(5) Two appointed by the minority leader of the House of
Representatives;
(6) Two appointed by the minority leader of the Senate;
(7) Two members of the joint standing committee of the General
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Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to commerce, one of
whom shall be appointed by the Senate chairperson of such committee
and one of whom shall be appointed by the House chairperson of such
committee;
(8) The ranking members of the joint standing committee of the
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to commerce,
or their designees;
(9) Three persons appointed by the Governor;
(10) A representative of a public institution of higher education in the
state, who shall be appointed by the Governor;
(11) A representative of a chamber of commerce in the state, who shall
be appointed by the Governor;
(12) Two representatives of German or German -American
communities in the state, who shall be appointed by the Governor and
shall not be members of the same political party;
(13) A diplomatic representative of Germany in an honorary consular
capacity if such diplomatic representative is willing to fulfill the duties
of the trade commission, who shall be appointed by the Governor; and
(14) Any additional members, as deemed necessary by the
chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly
having cognizance of matters relating to commerce.
(c) The members of the commission shall each have current or past
involvement in organizations that promote German affairs or are
interested in the well -being of trade relations between the state and
Germany.
(d) Any member of the commission appointed under subdivisions (1)
to (6), inclusive, and subdivision (14) of subsection (b) of this section
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may be a member of the General Assembly.
(e) (1) All initial appointments to the commission shall be made not
later than October 1, 2026. Initial appointments made by the Governor,
the majority leader of the House of Representatives and the minority
leader of the House of Representatives shall terminate on September 30,
2029. Initial appointments made 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 terminate
on September 30, 2030. The initial and subsequent terms of members
appointed by the chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to commerce
shall be coterminous with the terms of the appointing authority for each
such member in accordance with the provisions of section 4 -1a of the
general statutes.
(2) Appointed members of the commission shall serve for four -year
terms which shall commence on the date of appointment, except as
provided in subdivision (1) of this subsection. Members shall continue
to serve until their successors are appointed.
(f) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro
tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the commission
from among the members of the commission. Such chairpersons shall
schedule the first meeting of the commission, whic h shall be held not
later than November 1, 2026.
(g) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to consumer
protection shall serve as administrative staff of the commission.
(h) Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority. Any
vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled for the
balance of the unexpired term.
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(i) A majority of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the
transaction of any business.
(j) The members of the commission shall serve without
compensation, but shall, within the limits of available funds, be
reimbursed for expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of
their duties.
(k) The commission shall have the following powers and duties: (1)
To advance bilateral trade and investment between the state and
Germany; (2) to initiate joint action on policy issues of mutual interest
to the state and Germany; (3) to promote business a nd academic
exchanges between the state and Germany; (4) to encourage mutual
economic support between the state and Germany; (5) to encourage
mutual investment in the infrastructure of the state and Germany; (6) to
address such other issues as determined by the commission; (7) to obtain
from any executive department, board, commission or other agency of
the state such assistance and data as are necessary and available to carry
out the purposes of this section; (8) to accept any gift, donation or
bequest for the purpose of performing the duties described in this
section; and (9) to perform such other acts as may be necessary and
appropriate to carry out the duties described in this section.
(l) The commission shall meet quarterly, or as often as deemed
necessary by the chairpersons or a majority of the commission. Any
appointed member who fails to attend three consecutive meetings or
who fails to attend fifty per cent of all meetings held dur ing any
calendar year shall be deemed to have resigned from the commission.
(m) Not later than February 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, the
commission shall submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of
section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the Governor, the Commissioner
of Economic and Community Development and the joint standing
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters
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relating to commerce on the activities of the commission during the
preceding year, which shall include, but need not be limited to, any
recommendations for policy changes and amendments to the general
statutes necessary to effectuate the purposes of the commission.
Sec. 2. (NEW) ( Effective from passage ) (a) There is established a
Connecticut-India Trade Commission, which shall be part of the
Legislative Department.
(b) The commission shall consist of the following members:
(1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives,
one of whom shall have expertise in domestic nonprofit affairs or
matters relating to the governance of international nonprofit
organizations or nongovernmental organizations that may have
information concerning opportunities for social and economic
collaboration between Connecticut and India;
(2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one of
whom shall have expertise in domestic legal affairs or international law
that may impact legal agreements, trade partnerships or opportunities
for institutional collaboration between Connecticut and India;
(3) Two appointed by the majority leader of the House of
Representatives, one of whom shall have expertise in matters of
domestic or global public health, and an ability to explore opportunities
for collaboration between Connecticut and India;
(4) Two appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, one of whom
shall have expertise in local, domestic or global economic development
and investment opportunities intended to strengthen the partnership
between Connecticut and India;
(5) Two appointed by the minority leader of the House of
Representatives, one of whom shall have expertise in opportunities in
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the arts intended to foster and enhance cultural exchange between
Connecticut and India;
(6) Two appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, one of whom
shall have expertise in domestic or global advanced manufacturing
intended to establish opportunities for investment, partnership and
collaboration between Connecticut and India;
(7) Two members of the joint standing committee of the General
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to commerce, one of
whom shall be appointed by the Senate chairperson of such committee
and one of whom shall be appointed by the House chairperso n of such
committee;
(8) The ranking members of the joint standing committee of the
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to commerce,
or their designees;
(9) Two members of the bipartisan Asian -American and Pacific
Islander Issues Caucus of the General Assembly, both of whom shall
have expertise in Asian -American and Pacific Islander cultural and
social engagement;
(10) One member of the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors,
Equity and Opportunity, who is a member of the subcommission
concerning matters relating to the Asian Pacific-American population;
(11) Three persons appointed by the Governor, one of whom shall
have expertise in matters relating to aerospace, information technology,
cybersecurity, renewable energy or clean energy;
(12) Two representatives of a public institution of higher education in
the state, who shall be appointed by the Governor;
(13) A representative of a chamber of commerce in the state, who shall
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be appointed by the Governor;
(14) Two representatives of Indian or Indian-American communities
in the state, who shall be appointed by the Governor and shall not be
members of the same political party; and
(15) Any additional members, as deemed necessary by the
chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly
having cognizance of matters relating to commerce.
(c) The members of the commission shall each have current or past
involvement in organizations that promote Indian affairs or are
interested in the well -being of trade relations between the state and
India.
(d) Any member of the commission appointed under subdivisions (1)
to (6), inclusive, and subdivision (15) of subsection (b) of this section
may be a member of the General Assembly.
(e) (1) All initial appointments to the commission shall be made not
later than October 1, 2026. Initial appointments made by the Governor,
the majority leader of the House of Representatives and the minority
leader of the House of Representatives shall terminate on September 30,
2029. Initial appointments made 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 terminate
on September 30, 2030. The initial and subsequent terms of members
appointed by the chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to commerce
shall be coterminous with the terms of the appointing authority for each
such member in accordance with the provisions of section 4 -1a of the
general statutes.
(2) Appointed members of the commission shall serve for four -year
terms which shall commence on the date of appointment, except as
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provided in subdivision (1) of this subsection. Members shall continue
to serve until their successors are appointed.
(f) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro
tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the commission
from among the members of the commission. Such chairpersons shall
schedule the first meeting of the commission, whic h shall be held not
later than November 1, 2026.
(g) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to government
oversight shall serve as administrative staff of the commission.
(h) Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority. Any
vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled for the
balance of the unexpired term.
(i) A majority of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the
transaction of any business.
(j) The members of the commission shall serve without
compensation, but shall, within the limits of available funds, be
reimbursed for expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of
their duties.
(k) The commission shall have the following powers and duties: (1)
To advance bilateral trade and investment between the state and India;
(2) to initiate joint action on policy issues of mutual interest to the state
and India; (3) to promote business and academic exchanges between the
state and India; (4) to encourage mutual economic support between the
state and India; (5) to encourage mutual investment in the infrastructure
of the state and India; (6) to explore new opportunities for collaboration
in the arts and technology between the state and India; (7) to address
such other issues as determined by the commission; (8) to obtain from
any executive department, board, commission or other agency of the
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state such assistance and data as are necessary and available to carry out
the purposes of this section; (9) to accept any gift, donation or bequest
for the purpose of performing the duties described in this section; and
(10) to perform such other acts as may be necessary and appropriate to
carry out the duties described in this section.
(l) The commission shall meet quarterly, or as often as deemed
necessary by the chairpersons or a majority of the commission. Any
appointed member who fails to attend three consecutive meetings or
who fails to attend fifty per cent of all meetings held dur ing any
calendar year shall be deemed to have resigned from the commission.
(m) Not later than February 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, the
commission shall submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of
section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the Governor, the Commissioner
of Economic and Community Development and the joint standing
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters
relating to commerce on the activities of the commission during the
preceding year, which shall include, but need not be limited to, any
recommendations for policy changes and amendments to the general
statutes necessary to effectuate the purposes of the commission.