Substitute Senate Bill No. 894
Substitute Senate Bill No. 894
PUBLIC ACT NO. 97-234
AN ACT CONCERNING MINOR AND TECHNICAL REVISIONS
RELATED TO PROGRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
AGRICULTURE AND THE MUNICIPAL REGULATION OF
SHELLFISHING.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 22-6c of the general
statutes is repealed and the following is
substituted in lieu thereof:
The Commissioner of Agriculture may reimburse
any farmer for part of the cost of compliance with
a farm resources management plan, provided such
plan has been certified by the federal
[Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation
Service] FARM SERVICE AGENCY, or the Department of
Environmental Protection and the cost is in
accordance with said certification. The total
federal and state grant available to a farmer
shall not be more than seventy-five per cent of
such cost. In making grants under this section the
commissioner shall give priority to capital
improvements made in accordance with a farm
resources plan prepared pursuant to section
22a-354m.
Sec. 2. Subsection (c) of section 22-26cc of
the general statutes is repealed and the following
is substituted in lieu thereof:
(c) The commissioner shall have no power to
release such land from its agricultural
restriction, except as set forth in this
subsection. [If the] THE commissioner, in
consultation with the Commissioner of
Environmental Protection and such advisory groups
as the Commissioner of Agriculture may appoint,
[approves] MAY APPROVE (1) a petition by the owner
of the restricted agricultural land TO REMOVE SUCH
RESTRICTION PROVIDED SUCH PETITION IS approved by
resolution of the [governing] LEGISLATIVE body of
the town or (2) a petition by the LEGISLATIVE BODY
OF THE town in which such land is situated [,] TO
REMOVE SUCH RESTRICTION PROVIDED SUCH PETITION IS
approved in writing by [the] SAID owner. UPON
APPROVAL OF SUCH A PETITION BY THE COMMISSIONER,
the [governing] LEGISLATIVE body of the town shall
submit to the qualified voters of such town the
question of removing the agricultural restriction
from such land or a part thereof, at a referendum
held at a regular election or a special election
warned and called for that purpose. In the event a
majority of those voting at such referendum are in
favor of such removal, the restriction shall be
removed from the agricultural land upon filing of
the certified results of such referendum in the
land records and the office of the Secretary of
the State, and the [then owner of the development
rights shall be entitled to exercise all such
rights including the sale thereof] COMMISSIONER
SHALL CONVEY THE DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS TO SUCH OWNER
PROVIDED SUCH OWNER SHALL PAY THE COMMISSIONER AN
AMOUNT EQUAL TO THE VALUE OF SUCH RIGHTS. Such
petition shall set forth the facts and
circumstances upon which the commissioner shall
consider approval, and said commissioner shall
deny such approval unless he determines that the
public interest is such that there is an
overriding necessity to relinquish control of the
development rights. The commissioner shall hold at
least one public hearing prior to the initiation
of any proceedings hereunder. The expenses, if
any, of the hearing and the referendum shall be
borne by the petitioner. In the event that the
state sells any development rights under the
procedure provided in this subsection, it shall
receive the [reasonable value thereof at the time
of such sale] VALUE OF SUCH RIGHTS.
Sec. 3. Subsection (a) of section 22-26dd of
the general statutes is repealed and the following
is substituted in lieu thereof:
(a) The Secretary of the Office of Policy and
Management, acting with such assistance as may be
required from the Commissioner of Agriculture, the
United States [Soil] NATURAL RESOURCES
Conservation Service, the Agricultural Extension
Service of The University of Connecticut and the
regional planning agencies in the state, shall
have prepared such maps as are necessary to depict
land use throughout the state.
Sec. 4. Subsection (b) of section 22-136 of
the general statutes is repealed and the following
is substituted in lieu thereof:
(b) The commissioner shall administer the
regulations. Applications for examinations shall
be made in writing to the commissioner. [,
accompanied by the following fees if submitted
between July 1, 1991, and July 1, 1992:
Examination for weigher's or gager's license,
fifteen dollars; examination for sampler's
license, which may also include a weigher's or
gager's license, fifteen dollars; examination for
tester's license, which may also include a
sampler's, weigher's or gager's license, fifteen
dollars; bacteriological examinations, fifteen
dollars. On and after July 1, 1992, such] ANY fees
FOR SUCH APPLICATIONS shall be established by the
commissioner pursuant to section 22-128a. The
commissioner shall designate the time and place of
holding the examinations, and may issue, to any
person who has complied with the regulations for
the examination and has passed the same to the
satisfaction of the commissioner, a license to
weigh or gage, sample or test any milk or cream.
Sec. 5. Subsection (c) of section 22-150 of
the general statutes is repealed and the following
is substituted in lieu thereof:
(c) [Between July 1, 1991, and July 1, 1992,
the commissioner shall charge a fee of twenty-five
dollars for such registration.] On and after July
1, 1992, the commissioner shall charge a fee in an
amount established pursuant to section 22-128a for
such registration.
Sec. 6. (NEW) Upon the establishment of the
Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact commission as
provided for in section 22-203aa of the general
statutes, the Governor shall appoint the state's
delegation to said commission from among the
members of the Milk Regulation Board established
under section 22-131 of the general statutes. The
delegation shall include one member who represents
the interests of milk consumers, one member who is
a processor of milk and two members who are dairy
farmers. In addition to the members of the
delegation from the Milk Regulation Board, the
Governor shall appoint one retailer of milk to the
delegation.
Sec. 7. Section 22-26hh of the general
statutes is repealed and the following is
substituted in lieu thereof:
The State Bond Commission shall have power,
from time to time, to authorize the issuance of
bonds of the state in one or more series and in
principal amounts not exceeding in the aggregate
seventy-eight million two hundred fifty thousand
dollars, the proceeds of which shall be used by
the Commissioner of Agriculture for the purposes
of this chapter provided not more than fifty
thousand dollars shall be used for the purposes of
[sections] SECTION 22-26dd [and 22-26ee] and not
more than two million dollars shall be used for
the purposes of section 22-26jj. All provisions of
section 3-20, or the exercise of any right or
power granted thereby which are not inconsistent
with the provisions of this section are hereby
adopted and shall apply to all bonds authorized by
the State Bond Commission pursuant to this
section, and temporary notes in anticipation of
the money to be derived from the sale of any such
bonds so authorized may be issued in accordance
with said section 3-20 and from time to time
renewed. Such bonds shall mature at such time or
times not exceeding twenty years from their
respective dates as may be provided in or pursuant
to the resolution or resolutions of the State Bond
Commission authorizing such bonds. None of said
bonds shall be authorized except upon a finding by
the State Bond Commission that there has been
filed with it a request for such authorization,
which is signed by or on behalf of the Secretary
of the Office of Policy and Management and states
such terms and conditions as said commission, in
its discretion, may require. Said bonds issued
pursuant to this section shall be general
obligations of the state and the full faith and
credit of the state of Connecticut are pledged for
the payment of the principal of and interest on
said bonds as the same become due, and accordingly
and as part of the contract of the state with the
holders of said bonds, appropriation of all
amounts necessary for punctual payment of such
principal and interest is hereby made, and the
Treasurer shall pay such principal and interest as
the same become due.
Sec. 8. Subsection (a) of section 22-239 of
the general statutes is repealed and the following
is substituted in lieu thereof:
(a) The Commissioner of Agriculture shall have
power, when he finds such action necessary for the
protection of producers, to require a dealer
holding a permit issued under section 22-173 or
22-184 [or section 22-184a] to provide a bond or
other security, satisfactory to the commissioner,
payable to the state of Connecticut for the
benefit of such producers. Such bond, with
sufficient surety, or other security, properly
assigned to the commissioner, shall be filed with
the commissioner, in such form as he prescribes,
and conditioned upon full and prompt payment for
all milk received or purchased from producers by
such dealer during the license year or remainder
thereof.
Sec. 9. Section 22-279a of the general
statutes is repealed and the following is
substituted in lieu thereof:
Any livestock animal or poultry [as defined in
section 22-394] being tested for any disease in
accordance with the Uniform Methods and Rules of
the United States Department of Agriculture or for
any biological or chemical residue shall be
quarantined on the premises where the test is made
until the test results are available and the test
chart is signed by a veterinarian or an employee
of the Department of Agriculture administering the
test, provided the commissioner may release such
livestock animal or poultry from quarantine at any
time. Any blood, tissue or milk sample taken from
any livestock animal or poultry pursuant to this
section shall be submitted for analysis to a
laboratory approved by the Commissioner of
Agriculture. The laboratory shall report the
results of the test to the commissioner who shall
notify the person administering the test of such
results.
Sec. 10. (NEW) The Commissioner of Agriculture
may lease any state recreational shellfish bed to
a municipality which is adjacent to such bed for
ten dollars per acre per year pursuant to a plan
approved by said commissioner for the management
of such bed by such municipality. The use of local
shellfish programs shall be available to any
resident of the state, without regard to residence
in the municipality. The use of shellfish beds
shall be restricted to recreational shellfishing.
The fee charged for licenses or permits for use of
local shellfish programs shall be the same for
residents and nonresidents of the municipality.
Any fees received by any such municipality from
the issuance of licenses or permits issued to
residents of the municipality for use of local
shellfish programs shall be retained by the
municipality. Such fees shall be used by the
municipality to manage local shellfish programs.
Any fees received by any such municipality from
nonresidents for the use of local shellfish
programs shall be deposited by the commissioner in
a revolving fund to carry out the state shellfish
management and enforcement plan. Municipalities
that lease shellfish beds shall make such beds
available by access from the shore, including
providing space for parking, and access by marine
approach.
Sec. 11. (a) Sections 22-26b, 22-26ee,
22-26ff, 22-151, 22-184a, 22-191, 22-297, 22-315,
22-353, 22-380a, 22-380b, 22-380c, 22-380d, 22-417
and 22-418 of the general statutes are repealed.
(b) In codifying the provisions of this act,
the Legislative Commissioners shall delete the
references to the sections repealed by subsection
(a) of this section which appear in section 19a-1c
of the general statutes.
Approved June 26, 1997