2004 Formal Opinions

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• The Honorable Mary Ann Handley and The Honorable Peter F. Villano Co-Chairs, Human Serices Committee, 2004-020 Formal Opinion, Attorney General of Connecticut

  You have asked for my opinion whether the contract entered into by the Department of Social Services (DSS) with the Community Health Network of Connecticut, Inc.(CHN) to provide medical services to eligible clients under the State-Administered General Assistance program (SAGA) is a personal service agreement which must comply with the competitive bidding or competitive negotiations provisions of Conn. Gen. Stat. § 4-212 et seq.

• The Honorable Linda Schwartz, Department of Veterans' Affairs, 2004-021 Formal Opinion, Attorney General of Connecticut

  You have raised several questions concerning the statutes governing the establishment and activities of the Soldiers', Sailors' and Marines' Fund (&quo;Fund"), as well as the current operation of the Fund. In particular, you have inquired whether: i) these statutes' apparent delegation of public functions to a private agency, in this instance the American Legion, violates constitutional principles; ii) whether current law restricts expending Fund assets for administrative expenses; and iii) whether the law would permit the Department of Veterans' Affairs ("DVA") to conduct the intake and processing of veterans' applications for benefits from the Fund.

• William Cibes, Chancellor, Connecticut State University System, 2004-012 Formal Opinion, Attorney General of Connecticut

  By letter dated July 23, 2004, you advised us that on June 23, 2004, Richard L. Judd, the former President of Central Connecticut State University (the "University"), signed a document entitled "University Manual Food Services Agreement," to which the University and the Chartwells Division of Compass Group USA, Inc. ("Chartwells") are the designated parties. The purported "Agreement" contemplates the payment to Chartwells of some forty million dollars over a term of ten years, commencing July 1, 2004.

• The Honorable Kevin B. Sullivan, Lieutenant Governor, 2004-018 Formal Opinion, Attorney General of Connecticut

  You have asked for an opinion as to the possible overcollection of sales tax on certain food items by supermarket vendors and the receipt of such overcollected taxes by the Department of Revenue Services ("DRS"). Specifically, you have asked for an opinion as to two questions: (1) Is DRS obligated to inform the retailer of its miscollection of taxes? and (2) Is the State obligated to disgorge the overtaxation received and is the retailer obligated to disgorge to consumers the taxation collected?

• The Honorable Jodi Rell, Office of the Governor, 2004-010 Formal Opinion, Attorney General of Connecticut

  You have asked me to determine whether the Ethics Commission adhered to applicable state statutes and regulations when it informed Alan Plofsky, the Commission's Executive Director, of the Commission's desire to suspend him without pay for two weeks as a result of remarks he made on June 3, 2004, to the League of Women voters concerning former Governor Rowland.