Press Releases
12/21/2022
Governor Lamont Announces Commissioner Seagull Will Depart the Department of Consumer Protection Early Next Year
(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that Commissioner Michelle Seagull is planning to step down from her position at the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) early next year to pursue other professional opportunities.
Commissioner Seagull will remain in the position over the coming weeks to oversee the successful launch of Connecticut’s adult-use cannabis retail market and assist with the transition needs of the agency and administration. She intends to depart the agency during the first quarter of 2023.
A lawyer with a background in unfair competition laws, Commissioner Seagull was appointed to the position by Governor Dannel P. Malloy in May of 2017, and then was re-nominated by Governor Lamont in January of 2019. From 2011 until her appointment as commissioner, she served as the agency’s deputy commissioner.
“The Department of Consumer Protection has an important responsibility to protect residents from unfair business practices and unsafe products, while enforcing federal and state laws that ensure a fair and regulated marketplace for everyone,” Governor Lamont said. “Michelle has been a strong and thoughtful advocate on behalf of both residents and businesses, and a well-respected leader of an agency that’s nearly doubled in size and scope during her tenure. She strengthened our response to the opioid epidemic, navigated the legalization of both medical and adult-use cannabis, and modernized many agency policies and procedures. Connecticut’s consumers are safer and our economy is stronger because of her and the team she built at DCP. I am thankful for Michelle’s service on behalf of the people of Connecticut.”
“It has been a privilege to serve in this role through two administrations,” Commissioner Seagull said. “Over the past decade at the Department of Consumer Protection, this agency has grown and evolved to meet consumers’ needs, regulate new industries, and protect businesses that play by the rules. I am proud of everything we have accomplished in the past two years alone, launching two newly regulated industries in record time, all while continuing to do the work we’ve always done to protect consumers and promote fair and regulated markets. The team at DCP is an incredibly dedicated, hardworking, and talented group of professionals who have risen to meet every challenge, whether that was pivoting to meet the needs of our licensees during a global pandemic, streamlining and modernizing our services to better serve consumers in a digital world, or developing and launching new industries in an efficient and fair manner. Our team has grown substantially, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have led such an important agency during this time.”
During her tenure, Commissioner Seagull oversaw the launch of the medical marijuana program, a continuous streamlining and modernization of licensing processes, the creation of more online options for consumers and regulated industries, the modernization of the liquor control act, the expansion of gaming to include sports wagering and online gaming, and the regulation and launch of the adult-use cannabis market, while continuing to provide regular support and services to both consumers and businesses across a variety of industries.
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