Dive Summary:
- Connecticut's Higher Education Committee approved House Bill 6605 Monday, which would do away with secret expense accounts and require the state's colleges and universities to document every expense of every employee.
- The move comes three months after former Board of Regents President Robert Kennedy's $25,000, unvouchered expense account raised eyebrows in the state.
- Kennedy resigned last October due to controversy over unapproved salary raises, and the unvouchered expense account--which included everything from interstate tolls to $350 lunches for two--came to light later with other details of his salary and compensation package.
From the article:
... “I’m as stunned today as I was three months ago when I found out about that account. I believe the words I originally used were ‘stunned’ and ‘speechless’,” said state Senator Beth Bye (D-West Hartford), who is Senate Chairman of the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee. “I vowed then we would fix this terrible practice. It’s unfair. It’s unfair to the public, it’s unfair to the elected officials who were unaware of and now have to deal with this ugliness, and it’s unfair to higher education employees who work hard for a modest income and who are tarred with the same brush.” ...