Please advise me whether the tax review committee has statutory authority to consider and to waive any penalty in excess of one hundred dollars that the Commissioner of Revenue Services has determined not to waive.

In answer to your question, it is our opinion that the tax review committee does not have statutory authority to consider and to waive any penalty which "the Commissioner of Revenue Services has determined not to waive."

Our conclusion is based upon the plain language of the statute. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-3a in pertinent part states as follows:

The statute by its terms only gives the committee the authority to "approve" any waiver of penalty which the Commissioner is authorized to waive. The Commissioner, not the committee, is authorized under various provisions of title 12 of the General Statute to waive penalties, subject to the provisions of section 12-3a.1 The word "approve" is not defined in the statute. Therefore, it must be given its ordinary and commonly expressed meaning. See Conn. Gen. Stat. § 1-1 and Caldor, Inc. v. Heffernan, 183 Conn. 566, 570, 440 A.2d 767 (1981). Black's Law Dictionary (6th Ed. 1990) defines the word "approve" as meaning "to confirm, ratify, sanction, or consent to some act or thing done by another."

The Connecticut Supreme Court has recently stated in Bolt Technology v. Comm. of Revenue Services, 213 Conn. 220, 567 A.2d 371 (1989), quoting State v. Smith, 194 Conn. 213, 479 A.2d 814 (1984), that:

Id. at 229.

The legislature in Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-3a clearly and unambiguously gives the committee the authority to approve, sanction, or ratify any waiver of penalties by the Commissioner. It does not give the committee the authority to waive the penalties itself. If the legislature intended that the committee have the authority to waive penalties, it could have easily given the committee that authority in the statute. The fact that it did not do so confirms the fact that the legislature intended that only the Commissioner should have the authority to waive penalties.

In summary, it is our opinion that the Committee does not have the statutory authority to waive any penalty that the Commissioner has determined not to waive. It only has the authority to approve or ratify the waiver of penalties that the Commissioner has decided to waive.

We trust that this answers your question.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD BLUMENTHAL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

Robert L. Klein
Assistant Attorney General

RB/RLK/bjg

Footnote:

1 For instance, Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-229(c) provides as follows:

Other provisions of the General Statutes which authorize the Commissioner to waive penalties, subject to the provisions of section 12-3a, are as follows:

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