General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 5085
February Session, 2014 *_____HB05085ENV___032414____*
General Assembly
Substitute Bill No. 5085
February Session, 2014
*_____HB05085ENV___032414____*
AN ACT CONCERNING SHELLFISH GROUNDS LEASES BY THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 26-194 of the 2014 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) Except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, the Commissioner of Agriculture may lease in the name of the state, under such regulations as the commissioner may prescribe and for a period not longer than ten years, all shellfish areas that have been conveyed to the state or placed under state jurisdiction by the town of West Haven and any undesignated grounds, within the exclusive jurisdiction of the state, for the purpose of planting and cultivating shellfish. The authority herein conferred shall include the Cormell Reef, Portchester, Great Captain's Island, Field Point and Greenwich Point natural beds as located and described in section 3295 of the general statutes, revision of 1918. Any person desiring to lease grounds for such purpose shall make application in writing to the commissioner and all grounds leased by authority of the provisions of this section shall be leased to the highest responsible bidder, for a minimum fee of four dollars per acre. Such lease or lease renewal shall require the lessee to make a good faith effort to cultivate and harvest shellfish from the leased area. Such lease or lease renewal shall prohibit the lessee from entering a contract whereby the lessee agrees not to cultivate and harvest shellfish for any period of time. No lessee may enter an agreement with a third party that will prevent the lessee from carrying out the lessee's obligations under the lease unless the Department of Agriculture and the Attorney General have approved such agreement. The form of such application and lease shall be approved by the Attorney General, and all such leases shall be recorded in the records of the commissioner. No lease shall be granted to a resident of a state which does not lease shellfish grounds to residents of this state, except that any nonresident who was granted a lease on or before October 1, 1985, may, upon the expiration of such lease, apply for a renewal or further lease as provided in this section. The commissioner shall grant any such lease to nonresidents upon the same terms and conditions as to residents of this state. Any lessee or holder of shellfish grounds, on the expiration of any lease thereof which has been or which may be granted, having fulfilled all of such lessee's or holder's obligations under the lease shall, upon application to the commissioner, have preference in the reletting of such ground for a like term to that granted in the original lease, excluding the rental fee, which shall not be less than the minimum fee per acre as provided in this subsection. A lease renewal shall not be granted if the applicant is in arrears for rent on the original lease of such grounds. The commissioner may deny the renewal of any such lease entered into or renewed after the effective date of this section, upon the provision of thirty days' advance notice of such denial to the lessee or holder of such shellfish grounds, if the lessee or holder of shellfish grounds is: (1) In default in the payment of rent for any shellfish grounds of this state, or (2) the principal or corporate officer of any business entity that holds such a lease of shellfish grounds in this state and such business entity is in default in the payment of rent for such lease. Such application for such renewal or further lease shall be granted without notice or advertisement of the pendency thereof; provided no renewal or further lease of such ground shall be granted when the commissioner, for cause, ceases to lease such ground for shellfish culture. All assignments or transfers of leases shall be subject to the approval of the commissioner and shall be recorded in his records. Any person who interferes with, annoys or molests another in the enjoyment of any lease authorized by the provisions of this section shall be subject to the penalties provided in section 26-237. The provisions of sections 26-212, 26-215 and 26-232 shall not apply to any shellfish grounds leased pursuant to the provisions of this section.
Sec. 2. Section 26-225 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Any person who, in the daytime, unlawfully takes and carries away any [oysters] shellfish lawfully planted or cultivated in any waters, or any [oysters] shellfish being on any place designated for the planting or cultivation of [oysters] shellfish, shall be fined not more than three hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than one year; and, if such offense is committed in the night season, [he] such person shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than one year.
Sec. 3. Section 26-226 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Any person who wilfully injures any [oyster] shellfish enclosure legally designated, marked out and enclosed or removes any buoys or stakes used to mark out any [oyster] shellfish ground, or who takes any shells from such enclosure, shall (1) for a first offense, be fined not more than two hundred fifty dollars, and (2) for any subsequent offense, be guilty of a class C misdemeanor.
Sec. 4. Section 26-192f of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Any person, firm or corporation (1) harvesting or taking shellfish from an area closed and posted by the Department of Agriculture against the removal of shellfish, except as provided in section 26-192h, or an area closed by commercial shellfish transplant license issuance or by order of the local director of health with the approval of the department, (2) misusing any shipping tag or license in violation of section 26-192c, (3) mislabeling shellfish shipments or deliveries with any false information, (4) failing to identify shellfish shipments or deliveries in accordance with the National Shellfish Sanitation Program Model Ordinance, as amended from time to time, (5) harvesting shellfish from undesignated grounds, [or] (6) harvesting shellfish from designated grounds not listed on a license issued by the Department of Agriculture to such person, firm or corporation, or (7) failing to initiate a voluntary or mandated recall of all implicated shellfish products in accordance with procedures that are consistent with the Recall Enforcement Policy of 21 CFR 7 shall be fined (A) one thousand dollars, or (B) three times the market value of any shellfish taken, based on the quantity and type involved in the violation if such amount is greater than one thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than one year. The Commissioner of Agriculture may revoke any license issued by said commissioner for up to sixty days for the second violation of this section within six months and up to ninety days for a third violation of this section within nine months. Any person who defaces or removes a sign posted by the Department of Agriculture in accordance with the provisions of section 26-192e shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than six months. The provisions of this section are in addition to and in no way derogate any other enforcement provisions or penalties contained in any other section of the general statutes.
Sec. 5. Section 26-234b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
No person [may] shall take eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) from the waters of this state [which] that are less than [three] two and three-quarters inches long or [which] that are otherwise not ready for harvest, as determined by the Commissioner of Agriculture, except that (1) five per cent of any such take may consist of oysters that are less than two and three-quarters inches long but not less than two and one-half inches long, and (2) the taking of such oysters for sale, transplant and relay for aquaculture purposes within the waters of the state shall not be prohibited. The Commissioner of Agriculture may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to carry out the purposes of this section.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 from passage 26-194(a)
Sec. 2 from passage 26-225
Sec. 3 from passage 26-226
Sec. 4 from passage 26-192f
Sec. 5 from passage 26-234b
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
from passage
26-194(a)
Sec. 2
from passage
26-225
Sec. 3
from passage
26-226
Sec. 4
from passage
26-192f
Sec. 5
from passage
26-234b
ENV Joint Favorable Subst.
ENV
Joint Favorable Subst.