Section 4-158 - Decision by Claims Commissioner, Deputy Claims Commissioner or temporary deputy. Request for legislative review. Payment of smaller claims. Annual report to General Assembly(a) The Claims Commissioner, the Deputy Claims Commissioner or a temporary deputy may (1) order that a claim be denied or dismissed, (2) order immediate payment of a just claim in an amount not exceeding thirty-five thousand dollars, (3) recommend to the General Assembly payment of a just claim in an amount exceeding thirty-five thousand dollars, or (4) authorize a claimant to sue the state, as provided in section 4-160.(b) Any person who has filed a claim may request the General Assembly to review a decision of the Claims Commissioner, the Deputy Claims Commissioner or a temporary deputy (1) ordering the denial or dismissal of the claim pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section, including denying or dismissing a claim that requests permission to sue the state, or (2) ordering immediate payment of a just claim in an amount not exceeding thirty-five thousand dollars pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section. A person who has filed a claim that has been denied or dismissed by a temporary deputy pursuant to subsection (d) of section 4-160 may request the General Assembly to review such denial or dismissal. A request for review shall be in writing and filed with the Office of the Claims Commissioner not later than twenty days after the date the person requesting such review receives a copy of the decision. The filing of a request for review shall automatically stay the decision of the Claims Commissioner or temporary deputy.(c) The Office of the Claims Commissioner shall submit each claim for which a request for review is filed pursuant to this section to the General Assembly pursuant to section 4-159.(d) If the Claims Commissioner orders immediate payment of a just claim in an amount not exceeding thirty-five thousand dollars pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section and a request for review is not timely filed pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the Office of the Claims Commissioner shall deliver to the Comptroller a certified copy of the Claims Commissioner's order and the Comptroller shall make payment from such appropriation as the General Assembly may have made for the payment of claims or, in the case of contractual claims for goods or services furnished or for property leased, from the appropriation of the agency which received such goods or services or occupied such property.(e) Whenever the Claims Commissioner deems it just and equitable, the Claims Commissioner may, at any time prior to the submission of a claim to the General Assembly pursuant to subsection (a) of section 4-159, vacate the decision made pursuant to subsection (a) of this section and undertake such further proceedings in accordance with this chapter as the Claims Commissioner may, in his or her discretion, deem appropriate.(f) Not later than five days after the convening of each regular session, the Office of the Claims Commissioner shall report to the General Assembly on all claims decided pursuant to this section during the preceding calendar year. Such report shall include, but not be limited to, the following information for the preceding calendar year: (1) The total number of new claims filed;(2) the total number of claims disposed of;(3) the total number of claims that were dismissed;(4) the total number of claims that were denied;(5) a description of each order of immediate payment of a just claim in an amount not exceeding thirty-five thousand dollars, which description shall minimally include, the name of the claimant, the amount paid to the claimant and the reasoning for the payment to the claimant; and(6) the total number of claimants who were authorized to sue the state.(1959, P.A. 685, S. 11; 1961, P.A. 476, S. 6; P.A. 75-605, S. 15, 27; P.A. 84-407, S. 1, 5; P.A. 05-170 , S. 1 ; P.A. 09-44 , S. 1 ; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-7, S. 174; P.A. 13-225 , S. 6 ; P.A. 16-127 , S. 16 .)
Amended by P.A. 23-0131, S. 8 of the Connecticut Acts of the 2023 Regular Session, eff. 7/1/2023.Amended by P.A. 22-0079, S. 1 of the Connecticut Acts of the 2022 Regular Session, eff. 10/1/2022.Amended by P.A. 21-0091, S. 4 of the Connecticut Acts of the 2021 Regular Session, eff. 6/28/2021.Amended by P.A. 19-0182, S. 2 of the Connecticut Acts of the 2019 Regular Session, eff. 10/1/2019.Amended by P.A. 16-0127, S. 16 of the Connecticut Acts of the 2016 Regular Session, eff. 6/9/2016. Cited. 186 Conn. 300 ; 204 Conn. 17 ; 209 C. 679 ; 211 Conn. 199 ; 222 C. 280 . Subsec. (e): Subsec. unambiguously confers broad discretion to commissioner to vacate prior decision if the decision being vacated was made pursuant to Subsec. (a), the decision has not been submitted to the General Assembly pursuant to Sec. 4-159(a) , and vacating the decision would be "just and equitable"; commissioner has discretion to vacate the three types of decisions to which Subsec. (a) applies whenever he deems it just and equitable for the limited period of time prior to submission of the claim to the General Assembly, but with respect to all other decisions that commissioner has made pursuant to Subsec. (a), he retains discretion to vacate those decisions at any time in the future; plain language of Subsec. does not reference request for review process, and there is no express textual basis for limiting the provision's application to cases in which a request for review has been filed or to impute a request for review requirement. 305 C. 654 .