STATE OF CONNECTICUT.

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY,
HARTFORD, July 22, 1895.

I hereby certify that I have compared the printed copy in this pamphlet contained with the engrossed bills of public acts passed by the general assembly of the state of Connecticut, and the proposed amendments to the constitution of said state, passed by the house of representatives at the January session, 1895, and that the same is a correct copy of the public acts and amendments aforesaid, as engrossed and on file in this office. WILLIAM C. MOWRY,

Secretary.

PROPOSED LAW.

[House Bill No. 563.]

An Act relating to the Valuation of the Policies of Life Insurance Companies.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

SECTION 1. Section 2854 of the general statutes is hereby amended to read as follows: Upon receipt of such report, the commissioner shall make a valuation of the policies of each company, and ascertain the re-insurance reserve and surplus of every such company, computed upon the basis of the so-called Actuaries' or Combined Experience Table of Mortality, with compound interest at four per centum per annum on all such obligations as shall have been issued before the first day of January, 1899, and at three per centum per annum on all such obligations as shall have been issued on or after the first day of January, 1899; and he shall value only net premiums. In making his valuations, the commissioner may compute the same by groups, use approximate averages for fractions of time, age, or risk; and for obligations with persons of countries other than the United States, and for under average, extra hazardous, or invalid lives, he may vary the above standards of mortality and interest, as to him may seem necessary.

SEC. 2. Section 2855 of the general statutes is hereby amended to read as follows: Payments in the form of dividends or otherwise shall not be made to its stockholders by any life insurance company organized under the laws of this state, unless its assets exceed, to the amount of such payments, the amount of its paid-up capital stock and all its liabilities, including its re-insurance reserve, computed as provided in the next preceding section hereto; and no payments shall be made to the policy-holders of any such company, except for matured claims, and in the purchase of surrendered policies, unless its assets exceed, to the amount of such payments, its liabilities, excluding its paid-up capital stock, but including its re-insurance reserve, computed as provided in the next preceding section. hereto.

SEC. 3. Upon the request of any life insurance company chartered by this state, the commissioner may make a valuation of its policies, and ascertain its re-insurance reserve and surplus, upon the basis of the so called American Experience Table of Mortality, with compound interest at four and one-half per centum per annum; and he shall value only net premiums.

SEC. 4. Section 2867 of the general statutes is hereby amended to read as follows: Every life insurance company organized out of this state, before being admitted to do business in this state, and on or before the first day of March annually, shall furnish to the insurance commissioner a certificate of the proper officers of the government by whose authority it is organized, setting forth a full copy of its report of its condition on the preceding thirty-first day of December, a valuation of its policies by said officers by a standard equivalent to that provided in sections 2854 and 2855 of the general statutes of this state, as amended, and that it has complied with the laws of such government, and is authorized to transact business therein. If said commissioner be satisfied with said certificate, and if said company shall have complied with all other provisions of law, he shall thereupon issue his license to it to transact business in this state, which license shall continue in force as provided by law; but no such license shall be issued unless such government shall license life insurance companies of this state to transact business therein, upon a similar certificate from the insurance commissioner of this state; in the case of companies organized under the authority of a government requiring no supervision of its companies, the commissioner shall make a valuation of their policy obligations by a standard equivalent to that provided in sections 2854 and 2855 of the general statutes of this state, as amended.

SEC. 5. Section 2876 of the general statutes is hereby amended to read as follows: The insurance commissioner shall ascertain the net present value of each policy in force in such company at the time of the repeal of its charter, by the methods provided by law in the case of annual valuations; and he shall file with the clerk of said court a certificate showing the net present value of each of said policies, and such net present value shall be the surrender value of each of said policies.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPRO

PRIATIONS-STATE EXPENDITURES.

On March 12th the following resolution was passed by this general assembly: Resolved by this Assembly, that the joint standing committee on appropriations be, and it is hereby, instructed to investigate the different departments of the state government, with a view to retrenchment in public expenses, and they are authorized to call witnesses, and send for such papers as they may need in the prosecution of this investigation, and report by bill or otherwise to this general assembly.

In accordance with the above instructions, the joint standing committee on appropriations beg leave to submit the following report:

Your committee, acting under the powers given them by the resolution above referred to, have called before them a large number of witnesses, and examined them concerning the practice of the state departments as to expenditures, and they have endeavored, to the best of their ability, to obtain a thorough and reasonably minute idea of what the state expenditures are at the present time, and what they are likely to be in the near future. They regret that in the time at the command of a legislative committee it has been impossible to go as exhaustively into the investigation as the subject really requires. Many suggestions of very great value have been made to the committee by persons thoroughly conversant with the affairs of the state, and it has been the almost universal testimony that the present rate of expenditure is entirely too large, and that a radical change of policy should be inaugurated. Your committee are of the opinion, after a careful consideration of the subject, that there is no reason why the ordinary revenues of the state should not be sufficient, without additional taxation, to meet the legitimate running expenses, and leave a handsome balance to be expended yearly in new buildings and permanent improvements when really required. At a time when radical retrenchments have been called for in every branch of business, when there has been a falling off in the earnings of nearly every family in the state, and when the necessity for economy in private affairs has been most strongly felt, it seems to your committee that it is due our citizens that the state should lead the way in matters of retrenchment, rather than pursue a course which must inevitably lead to the imposition of new taxation in order to meet state expenditures. Taxation, in whatever form it may be

laid, however indirect and carefully concealed it may be, sooner or later places its burden upon every citizen and taxpayer, and particularly at a time like this it should be avoided if, by so doing, the efficiency of the state government will not be impaired. The committee on finance have undoubtedly covered this matter in full; but, taking in connection therewith the evidence placed before us by the comptroller, we conclude that, if the state keeps on in the same lavish way in which it has been going, the probable expenses for the next two years will be $4,500,000. The estimated receipts for the same period being $3,900,000, this leaves an estimated deficit of $600,000. But, after a careful examination of all the departments, we believe that the ordinary business of the state can be carried on efficiently for $3,600,000. This, however, does not allow for the erection of new buildings, as, for instance, hospitals, reformatories, and school buildings, or other extraordinary expenses that may arise. We wish to urge upon the members of this general assembly the necessity of strict economy in granting appropriations, for unless economy is practiced a state tax will be inevitable.

Account No. 1- Sessions of the General Assembly. Comptroller's estimate, $175,000. Without desiring to criticise our predecessors in office, we feel compelled to state that there have been abuses and extravagances in this account which were unwarranted and uncalled for. The salaries of the clerk of the senate and of the clerk and assistant clerk of the house are not excessive in fact, it appears to your committee that the salary of the assistant clerk of the house should be increased $200 for the term to which he is elected; but we do say without hesitation that the expense accounts of the clerks of the general assembly are too large. For instance, they rent rooms outside of the capitol for offices, when office-room has been provided for them there. Again, the special service account so called, which within recent years has assumed such vast proportions, is largely a gratuity. We beg leave to call your attention to section 3707 of the general statutes, which is as follows:

"The messengers and doorkeepers of the senate and house of representatives shall each be paid the same compensation and mileage as members, and the compensation of such members and officers shall not be altered by the general assembly to or by which they shall have been elected, and no extra compensation shall be permitted or allowed." The law cannot be misunderstood on this point, but the law is evaded by voting appropriations to such as have been mentioned for "special services rendered. This evasion of the law, taken in connection with the repeal of section 409 of the general statutes, which forbade such grants to reporters, has cost the state of Connecticut for the session of 1893 in the house and senate as follows: