When you think of the Department of Consumer Protection, product recalls and scam warnings may come to mind.
But the state agency also covers enforcement and compliance for a wide breadth of industries and businesses, including gaming, liquor, and cannabis.
The agency is also responsible for occupational licensing for many regulated trades and industries from accounting and architecture to contracting and electrical.
“It's amazing to see how many areas that the agency actually does cover, and really the good work that we do every day,” said DCP commissioner Bryan Cafferelli.
Cafferelli joined the BizCast to discuss how the agency works with the business community.
Gov. Ned Lamont appointed Cafferelli commissioner in 2023.
He previously worked as legal counsel for the Connecticut Senate Republican Office and as a drug control attorney for DCP from 2017 to 2019.
“When I first started, the governor had a few marching orders,” he said. “One was ‘do no harm.’”
“The other was, 'see what we can do about making one of the biggest regulatory agencies a little more business friendly.'”
To do that, Cafferelli said they try to connect with industry groups and trade organizations to understand their challenges.
“What I really believe is that there's a dialog that has to occur, because we don't have all the right answers,” he said.
“Oftentimes we'll say, ‘we hadn't looked at it that way.’
“And then maybe there is something we could do, not always, but it's worth the conversation, and I think that that's what we've encouraged.”
Cafferelli said there has been a “huge push” to increase efficiency at DCP.
A big part of that is improving the online licensing process.
DCP’s website has features to guide people through the application process, making it more streamlined and easier to understand.
“We want to help people get to yes,” he said.
“And that's really what the mission is. We want to get people licensed. We want to tell them how to stay in compliance, and we want to just let them do their business.”
Cafferelli said the agency also works hand-in-hand with the Department of Labor and Department of Economic and Community Development in an effort to make sure people and businesses have a seamless experience.
He cited DOL’s apprenticeship program as an example.
Because the agencies are now on the same computer system, when people complete their apprenticeship, DCP is automatically triggered to begin the licensing process.
Cafferelli said the effort has made the agency more efficient and increased their turnaround time for licensing.
And he said the agency plans to continue on this trajectory.
“It’s not time for a victory lap,” he said. “It’s time to keep improving on what we’ve done.”
Related Links:
Department of Consumer Protection
Website: https://portal.ct.gov/dcp?language=en_US
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ctdcp/

CBIA
Website: https://www.cbia.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cbia/