Members of Connecticut militia and Governor’s Horse Guard warn HB 6440 threatens unit funding and access

First Lieutenant Barbara Mazaro and Captain Paul Mazara of the Second Company Governor’s Horse Guard testified in opposition to House Bill 6,440, the bill concerning Connecticut’s organized militia and the governor’s guards.

Barbara Mazaro, who said she serves as adjutant for the Second Company, told the committee the militia has served Connecticut since the 18th century and that the bill’s current draft would remove the organized militia from the Connecticut Military Department and require the units to operate as private entities. She raised accounting and transparency concerns, saying that “in 2024, over $15,000 from numerous fundraising and honorarium checks is unaccounted for” and that the last known balance in June exceeded $50,000. Mazaro said the military staff gave inconsistent statements about the militia’s share of the state military budget.

Captain Paul Mazara, executive officer of the Second Company, said privatization would make sustaining the horse guard financially impossible and would force it to charge communities for appearances, reducing access in underserved towns. He told the committee a private organization would likely need to raise roughly $300,000 a year to sustain operations; he said past fundraising has never reached that level.

Both witnesses asked the committee to consider alternatives, including conveying property to a nonprofit only if the nonprofit is able and willing to assume full financial responsibility. Their testimony was part of the public hearing record; no committee vote or formal action on HB 6,440 was recorded at this session.