Appropriations Subcommittee meeting with the Elections Enforcement Commission and the Office of the Secretary of State - March 25, 2009 (transcribed from CT-N)

Note: The discussion below is about the Citizens Election Program, the public support for election campaigns.


"Rep. Miner: If the legislative change included halving the grant, is it conceivable that I could take the $48 million and cut that in half?

. . .

Jeff Garfield, Executive Director and General Counsel of the State Elections Enforcement Commission:  I'm not sure I understand the question.

Rep. Miner:  If the state currently supports races at a certain dollar value, if we were interested in making a legislative change...

Jeff Garfield:  Oh, reducing the grant, you mean.

Rep. Miner:  Exactly.  By half.

. . .

Jeff Garfield: We would urge this committee to keep the grants at the current levels to maximize participation in the program.  I think a reduction of the grant, particularly of the dimension that Representative Miner has suggested, we feel would diminish substantially the incentive for participating in the program and so we urge you not to do that in the strongest way."

. . .

Rep. Miner:  I did not make that as a suggestion, that 50% was the right grant number.  What I asked was mathematically if I used that...whether I would be making the right assumptions.  If I had to make a suggestion, I would probably suggest in the strongest possible way that facing ...(deficits)...some of these programs probably should end."