AN ACT CONCERNING THE STATE PLAN OF CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT POLICIES PLAN.

AN ACT CONCERNING THE STATE PLAN OF CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT POLICIES PLAN.

This bill postpones, from March 1, 2009 to March 1, 2011, the deadline for revising the five-year State Plan of Conservation and Development (State Plan of C&D). In doing so, it pushes back the deadline for recommending priority funding areas and resets the schedule for completing the revision process. The Office of Policy and Management (OPM) prepares the plan, which sets policies for locating large-scale, state funded capitol projects.

The law requires the plan to promote specific policy goals, including reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the state. The bill specifies that this goal must be consistent with the Connecticut Climate Change Action Plan. It also eliminates the requirement that OPM report every three years on the net amount of carbon dioxide annually emitted in Connecticut.

The bill requires the 10-member Continuing Legislative Committee on State Planning and Development (Continuing Committee) to study how the State Plan of C&D is prepared and used to implement state policy. In conducting the study, the Continuing Committee must consult with municipalities, regional planning agencies, other stakeholders, and the public. It must report its findings and recommendations to the legislature by February 1, 2010.

The bill suspends withholding state funds from municipalities that fail to update their plans of C&D. The law requires municipalities to update these plans at least once every 10 years. Under current law, those that fail to update their plans are ineligible for state discretionary funds until they do so or the OPM secretary waives this provision. The bill suspends the provision until the next time the state revises its Plan of C&D. Under the bill, that is scheduled to happen on or before July 1, 2012.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage, except that the provision regarding discretionary state funds takes effect July 1, 2010.

By postponing the deadline for revising the Plan of C&D, the bill resets the time period for the next plan from 2010-2015 to 2012-2017. The plan's policy guidelines aim to preserve farms, forests, and open spaces by locating large-scale, state funded development projects in places where the roads, sewers, and other supporting infrastructure already exist.

By pushing back the deadline for completing the next revision, the bill also pushes back OPM's deadline for recommending priority funding areas, places where the state can fund growth-related projects. PA 05-205 required OPM to submit its recommendations to the Continuing Committee along with the revised plan for 2010-2015. By law, the committee must submit its priority funding areas recommendations to the legislature, along with the revised plan, for approval.

The bill also resets the statutory schedule for revising the plan. The table below compares the schedule under the current law and the bill.

The Governor's Steering Committee on Climate Change prepared the plan, made specific recommendations for reducing green house emissions. The plan recommends (1) supporting landfill-to-gas energy projects to capture and use methane as a fuel and (2) increasing recycling and source reduction. It also set a goal of reducing non-farm fertilizer use by 7. 5% in 2010 and 15% in 2020. The plan also recommends:

1. setting minimum efficiency levels for appliances;

2. encouraging consumers to replace old appliances with newer, more efficient ones; and

3. identifying measures to reduce gases with high global warming potential.

By law, this 10-member committee must set broad goals and objectives for the state's physical and economic development and send them to the OPM secretary. It must also review and approve the five-year State Plan of C&D each time the secretary changes or revises it (CGS § 4-60d).

The committee is chaired by the Senate and House chairpersons of the Planning and Development Committee. The other members are appointed by the legislative leaders. The Senate president pro tempore and the House speaker appoint two members each from their respective chambers. The Senate and House majority and minority leaders appoint one member each from their respective chambers.

Yea

Nay

(03/20/2009)

*Event and Bill Section*	*Current Law*	*Bill*
Submit draft of revised plan for to Continuing Committee (§ 3 (a))	September 1, 2008	September 1, 2010
Make further revisions (§ 3 (b))	Between December 1, 2008 and March 1, 2009	Between December 1, 2010 and March 1, 2011
Publish and disseminate plan (§§ 2 & 3 (b))	No later than March 1, 2009	March 1, 2011
Conduct hearings (§ 3 (c))	Not later than five months after publication (July 1, 2009)	Not later than five months after publication (July 1, 2011)
Submit final draft to Continuing Committee (§ 4)	No later than three months after the hearings	By December 1, 2011 for the 2012-2017 plan and no later than three months after the hearing for subsequent revisions