Conflicting bills are being considered by the state legislature's Veterans Affairs Committee.  They deal with the structuring and control over the four units of the Governor's Guards, including the Newtown-based 2nd Company Horse Guard.

One bill calls for the foot and horse guard units to govern themselves as a fraternal organization, until called into active duty.  The 4 units would be removed from the National Guard adjutant general's control, moving them to gubernatorial and state auditor oversight.  Connecticut National Guard adjutant general Thaddeus Martin says the move would undermine his ability to effectively lead the state's military forces.  He added that it would delegitimize the role of the four units as part of a military organization and delegate them to some kind of ceremonial function.

The Governor's Guard are part of the state militia.

The other bill would allow the adjutant general to author bylaws for each unit and possibly structuring them in a similar way to other Army National Guard units.  Martin says the horse guard provides a search and rescue capability, while the foot guard could be used to staff the armories if other National Guard members were overwhelmed with response elsewhere.  He says mobilizing the militia to backfill those positions, the armories would continue to have some additional level of command and control.

All of the units have nonprofit organizations to advance their interests.