Ezel / AG Opinions / CT
CT Formal Opinion 2013-07 October 23, 2013

Does UConn need approval from the General Assembly's joint committees, or wait until the legislature is out of session, to acquire or dispose of real estate?

Short answer: No. The AG concluded that UConn's authority under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 4b-21(a) to handle real estate directly is not limited to recesses of the General Assembly and does not require joint-committee consultation, though the State Treasurer still signs instruments for federal tax compliance when bond-funded land is involved.
Currency note: this opinion is from 2013
Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is an official Connecticut Attorney General opinion. AG opinions are persuasive authority but not binding precedent. This summary is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed Connecticut attorney for advice on your specific situation.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official AG opinion. The original opinion (linked at the bottom of this page, or PDF in the sidebar) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original AG opinion (PDF)

Formal Opinion 2013-7: UConn's real estate authority is not session-limited and needs no committee approval

Plain-English summary

This opinion was a follow-up to CT AG 2013-5, which concluded UConn could acquire or dispose of real estate "directly" under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 4b-21(a) without Office of Policy and Management or State Properties Review Board pre-approval. President Herbst asked whether that authority was confined to times when the General Assembly was not in session, and whether joint standing committees of the legislature had to approve such transactions. The AG concluded no on both questions. UConn's authority is independent of whether the General Assembly is in session, and joint committees need not be consulted. The AG did add one caveat: under the final sentence of Conn. Gen. Stat. § 4b-21(c), the State Treasurer should continue to sign such instruments to ensure compliance with federal tax laws when the land disposed of had been acquired with tax-exempt bond proceeds.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2013. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Background and statutory framework

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 4b-21(a) opens with the phrase "When the General Assembly is not in session . . . ." That clause introduces the rule for trustees of state institutions, the State Board of Education, and the Commissioner of Correction. The same sentence then carves out UConn by stating that UConn "may purchase or acquire for the state and may dispose of or exchange any land or interest therein directly."

In the prior opinion (CT AG 2013-5), the AG read the UConn exception as a complete carve-out from the OPM/SPRB approval requirement. The follow-up question was whether the leading "when the General Assembly is not in session" clause also limited UConn's exception, or whether the exception stood on its own regardless of legislative session status.

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10a-109d(7) (part of the UConn 2000 Act, P.A. 95-230) gives UConn express authority to acquire or dispose of real estate for UConn 2000 projects. The two statutory provisions, read together, gave UConn parallel authority: § 10a-109d(7) for UConn 2000 projects and § 4b-21(a) for non-UConn 2000 real estate transactions.

What the AG concluded at the time

The AG reaffirmed the prior opinion's textual reasoning. "Directly," as defined in Black's Law Dictionary, meant without anything interfering. The legislature's choice to use that word, and to incorporate the exception into the UConn 2000 Act (P.A. 95-230) as part of a broader grant of operational autonomy, signaled that UConn's authority was not session-limited.

Three points:

  1. Session timing is not a limit on UConn's authority. The "when the General Assembly is not in session" phrase governs the general rule that runs through the Commissioner of Public Works. The UConn carve-out is a freestanding exception that does not borrow that timing restriction. Reading otherwise would frustrate the legislative goal of UConn autonomy.

  2. Joint standing committees need not preapprove. For the same reason that OPM and SPRB approval is not required, the AG concluded that joint legislative committees do not have to be consulted. The "directly" language is meant to exclude intermediate approvals, not just executive-branch approvals.

  3. Treasurer signature for federal tax compliance. The final sentence of Conn. Gen. Stat. § 4b-21(c) requires the State Treasurer to sign certain instruments. The AG advised that, consistent with that statute, the Treasurer should continue to sign UConn property instruments to ensure compliance with federal tax laws when the property had been acquired using tax-exempt bond proceeds. This addressed a federal-law concern (private business use of tax-exempt bond-funded property could jeopardize the bonds' tax status) without contradicting the UConn-direct-authority conclusion.

Common questions

Does UConn have to wait until the General Assembly adjourns to buy land?

Under this opinion, no. The session-status clause in § 4b-21(a)'s opening governs the general path through the Commissioner of Public Works for other state institutions. The UConn exception is separate.

Does any committee of the General Assembly have to approve UConn land deals?

The AG concluded no joint standing committee consultation is required. The opinion did not address committees or oversight that might exist under other statutes (such as UConn 2000-specific reporting).

Why does the State Treasurer still sign?

Federal tax law. If land was acquired with tax-exempt bond proceeds and the bond covenants restrict private business use, the Treasurer's involvement is one safeguard. The opinion preserved that safeguard despite removing OPM and SPRB approvals from the chain.

Is this opinion broader or narrower than the UConn 2000 Act authority in § 10a-109d(7)?

Broader. Section 10a-109d(7) is textually limited to UConn 2000 projects ("in order to . . . carry out its responsibilities and requirements under Sections 10a-109a to 10a-109y"). Section 4b-21(a) has no such limit. This opinion confirms the broader authority is not narrowed by the session-status clause or by committee consultation requirements.

Does this opinion affect any state agencies other than UConn?

No. The carve-out in § 4b-21(a) is specific to UConn. Other state institutions remain subject to the general rule, the session-status timing, and the OPM/SPRB review process.

Citations

  • Conn. Gen. Stat. § 4b-21(a) (state institution real estate; UConn exception; session-status clause)
  • Conn. Gen. Stat. § 4b-21(c) (Treasurer signing instruments)
  • Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10a-109d(7) (UConn 2000 Act real estate authority)
  • Public Act 95-230 (UConn 2000 Act)

Source

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain, the linked PDF is authoritative.

55 Elm Street
P.O. Box 120
Hartford, CT 06141-0120

GEORGE C. JEPSEN
ATTORNEY GENERAL

Office of The Attorney General
State of Connecticut

October 23, 2013

Susan Herbst, President
University of Connecticut
Office of the President
352 Mansfield Road, Unit 1048
Storrs, CT 06269-1048

Dear President Herbst:

In a follow up letter to this Office's formal opinion dated October 17, 2013, you have inquired whether the conclusion of that opinion -- that Conn. Gen. Stat. § 4b-21(a) empowers the University of Connecticut ("UConn") to acquire or dispose of land or interests in land without preapproval of the State's Office of Policy and Management ("OPM") and the State Properties Review Board ("SPRB") -- is confined to situations when the General Assembly is not in session. Additionally you ask whether UConn in any such circumstances must seek approval from certain joint standing committees of the General Assembly for such transactions.

As reflected in the opinion's discussion of the meaning of the term "directly" in § 4b-21(a), the purpose of the UConn 2000 Act (P.A. 95-230), and the relevant legislative history, please be advised that in our opinion UConn's authority to acquire or dispose of land or interests therein is not contingent on the General Assembly being out of session. In particular, UConn's independent authority to acquire or dispose of real estate is explicitly set forth in Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10a-109d(7) with respect to UConn 2000 projects. The exception covering UConn contained in Conn. Gen. Stat. § 4b-21(a), passed as part of the UConn 2000 Act, extended such autonomy to non-UConn 2000 projects. For the same reasons, relevant joint standing committees of the General Assembly need not be consulted. However, consistent with the final sentence of Conn. Gen. Stat. § 4b-21(c), the State Treasurer should continue to sign such instruments to ensure compliance with federal tax laws insofar as lands or interests in land to be disposed of may have been acquired with the proceeds of tax exempt bonds.

Very truly yours,

GEORGE JEPSEN
ATTORNEY GENERAL