Is the Connecticut National Guard Foundation, Inc. subject to the state-foundation regulatory framework, and is the Governor's authority to use the Connecticut State Guard limited to actual emergencies?

Plain-English summary

Maj. Gen. Martin asked the AG two questions raised by the State Auditors' 2012-2013 audit of the Military Department. First, was the Connecticut National Guard Foundation, Inc. ("CNGFI") a "foundation" subject to the regulatory regime in Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 4-37e through 4-37k? Second, was the Governor's authority to order National Guard members to State Active Duty (SAD) under §§ 27-9 and 27-10 limited to actual emergencies?

The AG said no to both.

On CNGFI: Connecticut's foundation statute (Chapter 47) defines a "foundation" as a 501(c)(3) organization "established for the principal purpose of receiving or using private funds for charitable, scientific, cultural, educational or related purposes that support or improve a state agency or for coordinated emergency recovery purposes." The CNGFI is a 501(c)(3), but its primary purpose is to provide direct assistance to Guard members, organized-militia members, retirees, and reserve-component family-readiness groups, not to support the Connecticut Military Department (CTMD). The benefits go to individuals for personal needs (clothing, food, medical aid), not to the agency. The AG analogized to a 1992 opinion on the CCSU Alumni Association, which had similarly concluded that an organization whose principal purpose was student/alumni-focused, not university-supporting, was not a Chapter 47 foundation.

On State Active Duty: The Auditors had suggested that §§ 27-9 and 27-10 authorize SAD activation only for emergencies (natural disasters, civil disturbances, terrorism). The AG read the statutes much more broadly. Section 27-9 directs the Governor to raise the Connecticut State Guard "[w]henever the Connecticut National Guard is called into federal service or whenever such a call, in the opinion of the Governor, is deemed to be imminent." Since 2001, federalization has been continuous under the Authorization for Use of Military Force. Section 27-10 then grants the Governor power to "order the Connecticut State Guard into active service whenever he deems it necessary for the interests of the state." The AG read both as conferring broad discretion, and noted that §§ 27-11 and 27-14 reinforce the Governor's expansive role as commander-in-chief.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2017. 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

Chapter 47 of Title 4 (the foundation regime) was set up to ensure transparency in private-foundation arrangements that benefit state agencies. Section 4-37e(2) defines "foundation" as a 501(c)(3) organization "established for the principal purpose of receiving or using private funds for charitable, scientific, cultural, educational or related purposes that support or improve a state agency or for coordinated emergency recovery purposes." Sections 4-37f through 4-37k impose specific obligations: governing boards, annual board-list filings, written agreements regarding use of agency facilities, reimbursement, periodic audits, solicitation procedures, and prohibitions on state employees receiving compensation from foundations without competent-authority approval.

The AG's 1992 opinion (No. 1992-032) on the CCSU Alumni Association laid the framework. A "foundation" under Chapter 47 must be a 501(c)(3) whose "principal purpose" (meaning "first or highest in rank, importance, value"; "chief"; "foremost") is to receive or use private funds to benefit a state agency. The principal-purpose test requires case-by-case scrutiny of the entity's articles, bylaws, financial statements, and operations.

Applying that framework to CNGFI, the AG noted: CNGFI's stated purpose is "need based and educational assistance" to Guard members, organized-militia members, retirees, and reserve-component family readiness groups. Benefits are clothing, food, medical/surgical aid, and general care and relief, all paid to individuals for personal needs. CTMD provides only office space and utilities at no cost; it provides no other support to CNGFI. CNGFI's IRS Form 990s show no donations to the agency. And the federal reserve-component family-readiness groups CNGFI supports are federal entities, not state agencies. Whatever benefit CTMD might derive from a stronger Guard membership is incidental, not principal.

By contrast, the CTMD itself is established under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-19 and § 27-20(b), with the Adjutant General responsible for "command, discipline, employment and administration of the armed forces of the state." CNGFI's purpose does not correlate with those agency duties.

On the SAD program. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-2 divides Connecticut's militia into four classes: unorganized militia, organized militia, National Guard, and naval militia. The organized militia includes the Governor's Guards, the State Guard, and "such other military forces as may be designated by the Governor." Section 27-19 places the Military Department under the command of the Adjutant General. Section 27-61 defines "military duty" as service "pursuant to competent state military orders, whether paid or unpaid . . . including training, performance of emergency response missions and traveling directly to or returning directly from the location of such military service."

Section 27-9 says: "[w]henever the Connecticut National Guard is called into federal service or whenever such a call, in the opinion of the Governor, is deemed to be imminent, the Governor shall forthwith raise, organize, maintain and govern, from the unorganized militia, a body of troops for military duty. Said body of troops, when so organized, shall be known as 'the Connecticut State Guard.'" Section 27-10 says: "[t]he Governor shall order the Connecticut State Guard into active service whenever he deems it necessary for the interests of the state and shall prescribe the number of officers and the enlisted personnel required for that service, from time to time, as the necessity of the public interest requires."

The AG's textual reading of these statutes was straightforward. Section 27-9 has only one trigger: federal service of the National Guard, or the Governor's belief that such service is imminent. Section 27-10 confers discretion ("whenever he deems it necessary for the interests of the state") with no emergency requirement. DiLieto v. County Obstetrics and Gynecology Group establishes that courts cannot read additional requirements into a statute that the legislature did not include. And the term "military duty" in § 27-61 includes emergency response missions but is not limited to them.

The 2001 federalization point matters. Connecticut National Guard units have been called into federal service continuously since September 11, 2001, under the Authorization for Use of Military Force (P.L. 107-40), and the Persian Gulf War period under 38 U.S.C. § 101(33) continues. The statutory trigger for § 27-9 is therefore continuously satisfied.

Sections 27-11 and 27-14 reinforce the breadth of the Governor's authority. Section 27-11 lets the Governor disband the State Guard "[w]henever it appears . . . that the public interest no longer requires the active service of the Connecticut State Guard." Section 27-14 makes the Governor "the Captain-General and . . . commander-in-chief of the militia" with power to employ "it, or any part of it, for the defense or relief of the state or any part of its inhabitants or territory."

The AG's footnote on § 27-16 deserves note. That statute requires the Governor to call out the militia "[i]n time of war, invasion, rebellion, riot or disaster, or reasonable apprehension thereof." Reading § 27-16 in harmony with §§ 27-9, 27-10, and 27-11 (per Dorry v. Garden), the AG concluded § 27-16 specifies mandatory triggers for calling out the militia, not the exclusive set of circumstances under which the Governor may do so. Other circumstances (the public interest more generally) remain a permissible ground for calling up the State Guard.

Common questions

What practical difference does Chapter 47 status make?

A "foundation" under Chapter 47 must establish a governing board, file an annual list of board members, enter written agreements about use of agency facilities, reimburse the agency for expenses incurred for foundation operations, undergo periodic audits reviewable by the Auditors of Public Accounts, follow specific solicitation procedures, and ensure no state officer or employee receives compensation from the foundation without express approval. Falling outside Chapter 47 means the CNGFI is regulated only by the IRS and its own bylaws, not by these state-specific oversight measures.

What does CNGFI actually do?

The opinion explains that CNGFI provides need-based and educational assistance to members of the Connecticut National Guard, organized-militia members, their families, retirees, and reserve-component family-readiness groups. Benefits include clothing, food, medical and surgical aid, and general care and relief. The Foundation also funds scholarships and special projects. Funds are raised from the public, corporations, and corporate and governmental employees.

Why does the broad reading of §§ 27-9 and 27-10 matter?

The State Active Duty program lets the Governor staff specific military requirements without calling on full-time civilian state employees, often at federal reimbursement and at military pay scales. The flexibility includes ordering members to duty without pay, with consent. If §§ 27-9 and 27-10 were read narrowly (only true emergencies), the program would have been unavailable for the wide range of land surveys, event security, training support, and document drafting tasks the SAD program had been used for, even though those tasks fell within the broad statutory definition of "military duty."

Are SAD members state employees?

No. The opinion explicitly notes that members performing duty under SAD orders are not state employees and are not subject to many of the state-employment restrictions. Section 31-58(e) excludes from "employee" status "a member of the armed forces of the state performing military duty."

Citations

Statutes

• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 4-37e through § 4-37k (Chapter 47 foundation regime)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 1-2z (statutory construction)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-2 (militia classes)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-9 (raising State Guard upon federalization)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-10 (Governor orders State Guard to active service)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-11 (Governor's authority to disband State Guard)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-14 (Governor as commander-in-chief of militia)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-16 (militia call-out in war, invasion, rebellion, riot, or disaster)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-19 (Military Department composition)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-20(b) (Adjutant General authority)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-61 (definitions, including "military duty")
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-103(a) (Persian Gulf War period)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-58(e) (employee definition excluding state militia members)

Federal authorities

• 10 U.S.C. §§ 10101, 10102 (federal reserve components)
• 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3) (tax-exempt status)
• 38 U.S.C. § 101(33) (Persian Gulf War period)
• P.L. 107-40 (Authorization for Use of Military Force)

Cases and prior opinions

• Rhodes v. Hartford, 202 Conn. 89 (1986) (plain-meaning rule)
• DiLieto v. County Obstetrics and Gynecology Group, 316 Conn. 790 (2015)
• Dorry v. Garden, 313 Conn. 516 (2014) (statutes read in harmony)
• Renaissance Management Co. v. Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, 281 Conn. 227 (2007)
• Conn. AG Op. No. 1992-032 (Nov. 23, 1992) (CCSU Alumni Association)

Source

• Landing page: https://portal.ct.gov/AG/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/ag/opinions/2017/2017-09_opinion_general_martin-pdf.pdf?rev=d6ab0672f2be4029af97e43716f6c3eb

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 JEPSEN
ATTORNEY GENERAL

Tel: (860) 808-5319
Office of the Attorney General

State of Connecticut
December 11, 2017

Major General Thaddeus J. Martin, Adjutant General
Connecticut National Guard
360 Broad Street
Hartford, CT 06105-3795

Dear Major General Martin:

You have requested a formal opinion concerning two matters identified in the State of Connecticut Auditors' Report, Military Department, for the Fiscal Years Ended June 30, 2012 and 2013 ("Auditors' Report"). First, you have asked whether the requirements under Connecticut General Statutes § 4-37e et seq. pertaining to foundations established for the principal purpose of supporting or improving state agencies or for coordinated emergency recovery purposes apply to the Connecticut National Guard Foundation, Inc. (CNGFI). Second, you have asked whether the authority of the Governor of the State of Connecticut pursuant to the provisions of Connecticut General Statutes §§ 27-9 and 27-10, as delegated to and administered by the Connecticut Military Department (CTMD), is restricted to ordering members of the Connecticut State Guard to active service under the "State Active Duty" (SAD) program only for "emergency situations" as suggested by the Auditors' Report.

We conclude that the CNGFI is not a "foundation" as that term is defined in Conn. Gen. Stat. § 4-37e et seq., and is, therefore, not subject to the requirements pertaining to foundations established for the principal purpose of supporting or improving state agencies or for coordinated emergency recovery purposes. We further conclude that the authority of the Governor of the State of Connecticut, as delegated to and administered by the CTMD pursuant to the provisions of Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 27-9 and 27-10, is not restricted to ordering members of the Connecticut State Guard to service under the SAD program only for "emergency situations" as suggested by the Auditors' Report.

I. Connecticut National Guard Foundation, Inc.

You have informed us that the CNGFI is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation and has an independent governing body that is separate from the CTMD. As stated in the CNGFI's charter, the Foundation's primary purpose is to provide need based and educational assistance to members of the Connecticut National Guard, the Connecticut Organized Militia, their families, and Reserve Component Family Readiness Groups (e.g. Army Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Navy Reserve, and the Marine Corps Reserve). The Foundation raises funds from the general public, corporations, and corporate and governmental employees for temporary financial assistance, scholarships, special projects, and endowment for those needs. Benefits, in the form of clothing, food, medical/surgical aid, and general care and relief, are provided to eligible candidates via an application process. The CTMD provides office space and utilities to the Foundation within the State Armory located at 360 Broad Street in Hartford, Connecticut at no cost, but offers no further support to the CNGFI.

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 4-37e(2) defines a "foundation" as "an organization, fund or any other legal entity which is (A) exempt from taxation pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time amended, and (B) established for the principal purpose of receiving or using private funds for charitable, scientific, cultural, educational or related purposes that support or improve a state agency or for coordinated emergency recovery purposes." Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 4-37f through 4-37k set forth specific requirements for both foundations and for the state agencies that they were established to support. These requirements include, among others, the establishment of governing boards for foundations, the annual filing of an updated list of board members, written agreements regarding use of the agency's facilities and resources, reimbursement to state agencies for expenses incurred as a result of foundation operations if the supported agencies would not have otherwise incurred such expenses, periodic audits of foundation accounts, review of audits by the Auditors of Public Accounts, procedures for foundation solicitations, and prohibitions on state officers or employees receiving compensation or anything of value from a foundation without the express approval of a competent authority.

Because you have already informed us that the CNGFI is a tax-exempt organization pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, the only remaining issue for our consideration is whether, pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. § 4-37e(2)(B), the CNGFI was "established for the principal purpose of receiving or using private funds for charitable, scientific, cultural, educational or related purposes that support or improve [the Connecticut Military Department]." We find that the CNGFI was not so established.

This office previously issued an opinion to the state auditors regarding a similarly situated organization, the Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) Alumni Association, Inc. See Conn. Op. Atty Gen. No. 1992-032, 1992 WL 532121 (Nov. 23, 1992). That opinion provides a useful analysis for determining whether a specific tax-exempt corporation or organization, such as the CNGFI, is one established for the principal purpose described above. This office reasoned as follows therein:

Distilled to its simplest terms, a "foundation" is a § 501(c)(3) organization whose principal purpose is to receive or use private funds to benefit a state agency. The touchstone here is the straightforward term "principal purpose." "When the words of a statute are plain and unambiguous, we need look no further for interpretive guidance because we assume that the words themselves express the intent of the legislature;" Rhodes v. Hartford, 202 Conn. 89, 93 (1986); and those words are read "according to the commonly approved usage of the language." Conn. Gen. Stat. § 1-1(a). The adjective "principal" is defined as "[f]irst or highest in rank, importance, value, etc.; chief; foremost." Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language (1989); see also, Black's Law Dictionary (5th ed.). A purpose is thus principal when it is dominant or exceeds all others in importance. See, e.g., Employees Ins. of Wausau, Inc. v. Crown Cork and Seal, Inc., 942 F.2d 862, 864 (3d Cir. 1991); Bobsee Corp. v. United States, 411 F.2d 231, 238 (5th Cir. 1969). It follows, therefore, in the matter at hand that to be a foundation a § 501(c)(3) entity must exist first or foremost to receive or use private funds for the betterment of a state agency. Yet whether a particular entity so exists is usually not readily discernible from its title. Each entity must be scrutinized before its Chapter 47 status can be definitively ascertained. In other words, determinations of foundation status involve case-by-case analyses.

A similar review of the CNGFI yields the same result. The primary purpose of the CNGFI is to provide temporary financial assistance and support, not for the CTMD, but for the members of the National Guard, including National Guard retirees, members of the organized militia as defined by Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-2, and authorized reserve component family readiness groups, including those of the Army Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Navy Reserve, and Marine Corps Reserve. The Foundation provides benefits in the form of direct monetary grants, clothing, food, medical and surgical aid, and general care and relief to qualified applicants. A review of financial documentation (IRS Form 990s and internal audits) indicates that no donations are made directly to the state agency to support any of its programs or personnel. While there may be some support provided to individual members of the armed forces of the state which partly comprise the CTMD, such support is provided to the individual to be used for his or her personal needs that may be, at most, only tangentially related to his or her service in the armed forces of the state. Moreover, support provided to authorized reserve component family readiness groups is, by definition, wholly unrelated to the CTMD as the Reserve components, and the National Guard when activated for federal service, are federal, not state, entities. See generally, 10 U.S.C. § 10101 (Reserve components named); 10 U.S.C. § 10102 (Purpose of reserve components). Finally, the CNGFI Director has stated that communication between the foundation and the CTMD is limited, that corporate business activities are conducted without regard to creating a benefit for the CTMD, and that the primary purpose of the foundation is not to support the CTMD or any other state agency.

By way of contrast, the CTMD is established by Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-19, which succinctly states that the Department shall be comprised of the armed forces of the state and its civilian employees, and shall be under the military command and control of the Adjutant General. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-20(b) makes clear that the Adjutant General is charged with the "command, discipline, employment and administration of the armed forces of the state." There is no correlation between these duties and the primary purpose of the CNGFI. As such, the primary purpose of the CNGFI is not to support or improve the CTMD. Accordingly, we conclude that the CNGFI is not a "foundation" as that term is defined in Conn. Gen. Stat. § 4-37e, the requirements of Conn. Gen. Stat. § 4-37e et seq. do not apply to the CNGFI, and the CTMD is therefore not required to establish procedures for compliance with those provisions.

II. State Active Duty Program.

The SAD program is the means by which the members of the armed forces of the state are ordered to active state service. You have informed us that, for decades, the SAD program has been successfully utilized to quickly and efficiently staff specific manpower requirements in support of the CTMD's mission when, due to federal activation of the Connecticut National Guard, or components thereof, insufficient forces remain to accomplish the state mission. The program provides the state with the necessary flexibility to meet emergent, and often rapidly evolving, military requirements with military personnel that cannot be effectively accomplished by current members of the National Guard or by regular state civilian employees. The functions that SAD service members perform depend on the military needs of the state and include wide-ranging activities such as conducting land surveys, providing security for events, cleaning armories, training officer candidates, drafting legal documents, conducting investigations, and performing other tasks that support the state's military needs and are consistent with the service members' qualifications.

The SAD program is largely federally reimbursed. When called to State Active Duty, members are paid on a military pay scale commensurate with their rank, but do not receive state benefits, and are often ordered to work during holidays, weekends and hours in excess of a normal eight-hour workday without overtime pay. Moreover, the SAD program provides for members to be ordered to duty without pay, with the consent of the member. See Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-61(c) and (e). While performing duty pursuant to SAD orders, members are not considered to be state employees and are not subject to the many restrictions associated with that status.

The Auditors' Report questions whether the CTMD has been utilizing the SAD program for its intended purpose, suggesting that pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 27-9 and 27-10, the SAD program should be used only "for state emergencies such as natural disasters, civil disturbances, terrorism, and other threats to life or property." Auditors' Report, p. 26. The Auditors' Report further suggests that the CTMD should meet its intermittent but recurring needs not associated with emergencies with civilian state employees whose positions should be established, approved, and budgeted for as they would be by other state agencies.

In construing Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 27-9 and 27-10, we apply well settled rules of statutory construction. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 1-2z directs us first to consider the text of the statute itself and its relationship to other statutes. The intent of the legislature is to be found in the meaning of the words of the statute; that is, in what the legislature actually said, not in what it meant to say. Frazier v. Manson, 176 Conn. 638, 642 (1979); State v. Grant, 176 Conn. 17, 20, (1978); Friezo v. Friezo, 281 Conn. 166, 181-82 (2007). The requirement that a statute must be construed in relationship with other statutes reflects the well-established principle that the legislature is always presumed to have created a harmonious and consistent body of law. Renaissance Management Co., Inc. v. Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, 281 Conn. 227, 238-39 (2007). If, after examining the statutory text and considering its relationship to other statutes, the meaning of the text is plain and unambiguous and does not yield absurd or unworkable results, extratextual evidence of the meaning of the statute shall not be considered. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 1-2z.

The first statute cited by the Auditors, Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-9, provides that:

[w]henever the Connecticut National Guard is called into federal service or whenever such a call, in the opinion of the Governor, is deemed to be imminent, the Governor shall forthwith raise, organize, maintain and govern, from the unorganized militia, a body of troops for military duty. Said body of troops, when so organized, shall be known as "the Connecticut State Guard" and for and during the time of its existence as herein provided it shall be a part of the organized militia.

The other statute on which the Auditors rely is Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-10, which provides that:

[t]he Governor shall order the Connecticut State Guard into active service whenever he deems it necessary for the interests of the state and shall prescribe the number of officers and the enlisted personnel required for that service, from time to time, as the necessity of the public interest requires. He shall organize the Connecticut State Guard in such a manner as will best accomplish its mission. He shall appoint and commission qualified persons as officers of the Connecticut State Guard.

The text of the first statute, Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-9, explicitly directs the Governor to "raise, organize, maintain and govern" the Connecticut State Guard for military duty "[w]henever the Connecticut National Guard is called into the federal service or whenever such a call, in the opinion of the Governor, is deemed to be imminent." There is no requirement that there be a state emergency, such as a natural disaster, civil disturbance, terrorism, or other threat to life or property. Instead, the sole criterion triggering the directive that the Governor raise, organize, maintain and govern the Connecticut State Guard is that the Connecticut National Guard has been called, or will imminently be called, into federal service. In the absence of any further requirements, we cannot read them into the statute. DiLieto v. County Obstetrics and Gynecology Group, P.C., 316 Conn. 790, 803 (2015).

At the current time, the units of the Connecticut National Guard have been called into federal service, and calls to federal service have been imminent, since the terror attack against the United States on September 11, 2001. The Persian Gulf War, by definition under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-103(a) means the period from August 2, 1990, to the date thereafter prescribed by Presidential proclamation or by law, and continues to the present. (38 U.S.C. § 101(33)). Likewise, the "Authorization for Use of Military Force" in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 also continues in force today. See P.L. 107-40, codified at 115 Stat. 224 and passed as S.J.Res. 23 by the United States Congress on September 18, 2001. Thousands of soldiers and airmen of the Connecticut National Guard have been called to federal service under the latter authorization and continue to be called presently. Thus, the Governor's authority to "raise, organize, maintain and govern" the Connecticut State Guard as a part of the organized militia of the State of Connecticut in order to fulfill the state mission of the Connecticut Military Department while other members of the National Guard are called away to perform federal military duty exists at the present time.

Turning to § 27-10, the text of the statute grants the Governor extraordinarily broad power to "order the Connecticut State Guard into active service whenever he deems it necessary for the interests of the state and [to] prescribe the number of officers and enlisted personnel required for that service, from time to time, as the necessity of the public interest requires." Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-10 (emphasis added). The Governor is further authorized to organize the Connecticut State Guard "in such a manner as will best accomplish its mission." Id. As in § 27-9, there is no language limiting the Governor's authority to times of state emergency, nor can we read any such limiting language into the statute. DiLieto, 316 Conn. at 803.

The same conclusion applies to the specific duties that the Governor may order the Connecticut State Guard to perform. Section 27-9 states that the Governor shall raise, organize, maintain and govern the Connecticut State Guard for "military duty." The term "military duty" is defined in Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-61(a)(2) as "the performance of military service by a member of the armed forces of the state pursuant to competent state military orders, whether paid or unpaid for such military service, including training, performance of emergency response missions and traveling directly to or returning directly from the location of such military service." While the performance of emergency response missions is included in the definition of "military duty," the legislature has not limited military duty to such service.

As noted above, the provisions of §§ 27-9 and 27-10 must be read in the context of other related statutes. Two related statutes, Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 27-11 and 27-14, support the conclusion that the legislature intended to grant broad authority to the Governor to decide how and when to use the armed forces of the state. Section 27-11 provides that, "[w]henever it appears to the Governor that the public interest no longer requires the active service of the Connecticut State Guard or any portion thereof, he shall forthwith order so many of said troops as he believes may safely be dispensed with into inactive service as members of the Connecticut State Guard reserve or may disband and discharge them, or any portion of them, as he may see fit." Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-11. As with § 27-10, this language ties the Connecticut State Guard's active service to the Governor's determination that their service is in the public interest, with no requirement that there be a state of emergency.

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-14 further emphasizes the Governor's broad authority by providing that "[t]he Governor shall be the Captain-General and, as such, commander-in-chief of the militia, and of the National Guard and the naval militia, not in the service of the United States, and may employ it, or any part of it, for the defense or relief of the state or any part of its inhabitants or territory; and shall have all the powers necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this chapter." (Emphasis added). The Governor exercises his expansive powers through the Adjutant General, whom he appoints as chief of staff with command and control of the CTMD. See Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 27-15 and 27-19.

Based on the language of §§ 27-9 and 27-10 and the related authority granted by §§ 27-11, and 27-14, we conclude that the Governor's authority to activate or disband the Connecticut State Guard, or any portion thereof, "whenever he deems it necessary for the interests of the state," is not limited solely to times of actual emergency. Rather, we conclude that the Governor possesses the authority to order military personnel to State Active Duty whenever he deems it necessary for the interests of the state, "as the necessity of the public interest requires." Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-10.

We trust that the foregoing analysis adequately responds to your questions.

GEORGE JEPSEN
ATTORNEY GENERAL

Note: Conn. Gen. Stat. § 27-16 states, in part, that "[i]n time of war, invasion, rebellion, riot or disaster, or reasonable apprehension thereof, or upon requisition by the President of the United States, the Governor shall order out for active service such portion of the militia as he deems necessary." Construing this statute so as not to conflict with §§ 27-9, 27-10, and 27-11, as we must, Dorry v. Garden, 313 Conn. 516, 531-532 (2014), we interpret this section to specify situations in which the Governor must call those portions of the militia that he deems necessary to active service, but not to limit the instances in which the Governor might determine that it is in the public interest to order the Connecticut State Guard to active service.