State Senator Edward Meyer
April 22, 2009
Meyer, Secretary Bysiewicz Issue Earth Day Call for Electronic Filing of Annual Business Reports
State Senator Ed Meyer and Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz at a press event to celebrate Earth Day and call on the General Assembly to pass House Bill 6644. (April 22, 2009)
Hartford — State Senator Ed Meyer (D-Guilford) and Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz today issued an Earth Day call to the General Assembly seeking the passage of House Bill 6644, “An Act Concerning Business Entity Filings,” which would require state businesses to file their annual reports with the Secretary of the State’s office online instead of filling out paper documents and sending them in by mail.
If enacted, the bill could save taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, streamline and improve customer service, and eliminate at least two tons of paper waste that is generated and processed by the Secretary of the State’s office every year.
“It’s Earth Day, and I’m pleased to be doing something important for planet Earth,” said Sen. Meyer, who is Senate Chairman of the Environment Committee. “This bill is a wonderful way to demonstrate not only our responsible stewardship of the environment, but to streamline the functions of state government and save taxpayers money. Every two tons of paper we can do without saves 34 trees and 12,000 hours of state labor. A decade from now, this bill will have saved the equivalent of a small forest and 57 years worth of labor costs. That’s a win-win for Connecticut’s environment, its businesses, and its taxpayers.”
“Earth Day was created in this country nearly 30 years ago to inspire awareness and appreciation of our planet and our environment, and we must continue this call to make our business practices in state government more environmentally sustainable,” said Secretary Bysiewicz. “Much of our commerce in the private sector has already shifted to an online platform, and state government needs to do the same. This bill is a much- needed modernization of the services we provide businesses and taxpayers.”
In requiring Connecticut businesses and non-profits to file their annual reports online, HB 6644 would create hardship exemptions for entities that do not have internet access or an ability to pay their filing fees online. The bill also gives the Secretary of the State’s Office the option to notify businesses electronically when their annual reports are due with the expectation that this notification will largely shift to an electronic platform instead of paper mail. In addition, those filings accepted by the online process will be directly entered into the online CONCORD database of more than 340,000 Connecticut businesses and non-profits registered with the state.
HB 6644 was passed unanimously by the Judiciary Committee on April 1 and has since been placed on the House calendar.
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