🔒State Comptroller orders monthly reports on P-Card use

State agencies must report violations involving government-issued purchase cards every month under a new directive from state Comptroller Sean Scanlon that is intended to strengthen oversight following several high-profile spending scandals. The new requirement, which was part of a directive issued July 2, expands on a 2025 state law that requires agencies to file annual summaries of purchase card, or P-Card, violations. Under Scanlon's directive, agencies must now submit a report to his office each month documenting every violation, the employee involved and any enforcement action taken. The first monthly reports, covering July activity, are due Aug. 1. "P-Cards can be a necessary tool to keep government running as efficiently as possible, but their use must be strictly controlled and monitored," Scanlon said. The directive implements provisions of Public Act 25-156, which requires state agencies to establish standardized spending limits, digitize and upload receipts into the state's Core-CT financial system, and establish remedies for employees who violate P-Card policies. While the law requires annual reporting, Scanlon's directive goes further by requiring agencies to notify his office monthly of every policy violation, allowing him to monitor misuse in near real time instead of waiting until the end of the fiscal year. The monthly reports must identify the nature of the violation, whether it violated statewide or agency policy, the employee involved and any disciplinary action taken. The legislation was approved unanimously last year following controversy surrounding former Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Chancellor Terrence Cheng, whose use of a state-issued P-Card for expensive meals, chauffeured transportation and other expenses prompted a public outcry and a legislative review of state purchasing practices. Cheng stepped down as chancellor in 2025 after negotiating a separation agreement with the Board of Regents. More recently, scrutiny over government P-Card use intensified after an independent investigation alleged that Erin Stewart, the former New Britain Mayor who had hoped to compete for the Republican gubernatorial nomination this year, improperly charged hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal and political expenses to a city-issued P-Card and failed to provide receipts for many of the purchases. Under the new state policy, agency P-Card coordinators and the comptroller's office may revoke card privileges from employees who repeatedly fail to provide required documentation or otherwise violate agency policies. Scanlon's office also said it is expanding real-time transaction monitoring tools and increasing training for agency coordinators and cardholders to strengthen compliance and internal controls. State P-Card transactions continue to be publicly available through the OpenConnecticut transparency portal.