LCO \\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2019HB-05318-R02-
HB.docx
1 of 4
General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 5318
January Session, 2019
AN ACT ESTABLISHING LOCAL REPRESENTATION ON THE
CONNECTICUT SITING COUNCIL FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 16-50j of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 2
(a) There is established a "Connecticut Siting Council", hereinafter 3
referred to as the "council", which shall be within the Department of 4
Energy and Environmental Protection for administrative purposes 5
only. 6
(b) Except for proceedings under chapter 445, this subsection and 7
subsection (c) of this section, the council shall consist of: (1) The 8
Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, or his 9
designee; (2) the chairperson of the Public Utilities Regulatory 10
Authority, or the chairperson's designee; (3) one designee of the 11
speaker of the House and one designee of the president pro tempore of 12
the Senate; and (4) five members of the public, to be appointed by the 13
Governor, at least two of whom shall be experienced in the field of 14
ecology, and not more than one of whom shall have affiliation, past or 15
present, with any utility or governmental utility regulatory agency, or 16
with any person owning, operating, controlling, or presently 17
contracting with respect to a facility, a hazardous waste facility, as 18 Substitute Bill No. 5318
LCO {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2019HB-05318-
R02-HB.docx }
2 of 4
defined in section 22a-115, or an ash residue disposal area. 19
(c) For proceedings under chapter 445, subsection (b) of this section 20
and this subsection, the council shall consist of (1) the Commissioners 21
of Public Health and Emergency Services and Public Protection or their 22
designated representatives; (2) the designees of the speaker of the 23
House of Representatives and the president pro tempore of the Senate 24
as provided in subsection (b) of this section; (3) the five members of the 25
public as provided in subsection (b) of this section; and (4) four ad hoc 26
members, three of whom shall be electors from the municipality in 27
which the proposed facility is to be located and one of whom shall be 28
an elector from a neighboring municipality likely to be most affected 29
by the proposed facility. The municipality most affected by the 30
proposed facility shall be determined by the permanent members of 31
the council. If any one of the five members of the public or of the 32
designees of the speaker of the House of Representatives or the 33
president pro tempore of the Senate resides (A) in the municipality in 34
which a hazardous waste facility is proposed to be located for a 35
proceeding concerning a hazardous waste facility or in which a low-36
level radioactive waste facility is proposed to be located for a 37
proceeding concerning a low-level radioactive waste facility, or (B) in 38
the neighboring municipality likely to be most affected by the 39
proposed facility, the appointing authority shall appoint a substitute 40
member for the proceedings on such proposal. If any appointee is 41
unable to perform his duties on the council due to illness, or has a 42
substantial financial or employment interest which is in conflict with 43
the proper discharge of his duties under this chapter, the appointing 44
authority shall appoint a substitute member for proceedings on such 45
proposal. An appointee shall report any substantial financial or 46
employment interest which might conflict with the proper discharge of 47
his duties under this chapter to the appointing authority who shall 48
determine if such conflict exists. If any state agency is the applicant, an 49
appointee shall not be deemed to have a substantial employment 50
conflict of interest because of employment with the state unless such 51
appointee is directly employed by the state agency making the 52 Substitute Bill No. 5318
LCO {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2019HB-05318-
R02-HB.docx }
3 of 4
application. Ad hoc members shall be appointed by the chief elected 53
official of the municipality they represent and shall continue their 54
membership until the council issues a letter of completion of the 55
development and management plan to the applicant. 56
(d) For proceedings involving any electric distribution company, in 57
addition to the membership provided for in subsection (b) of this 58
section, the council shall consist of one elector from the municipality in 59
which such facility is proposed to be located, as appointed by the chief 60
elected official of such municipality. In the event that such facility will 61
be located in two or more municipalities, one such elector shall be 62
appointed by the applicable regional council of governments for the 63
affected municipalities. Each such member shall serve as a nonvoting 64
member for purposes of such proceeding and shall abide by all 65
applicable rules of confidentiality concerning such proceeding. 66
[(d)] (e) The chairman of the council shall be appointed by the 67
Governor from among the five public members appointed by him, 68
with the advice and consent of the House or Senate, and shall serve as 69
chairman at the pleasure of the Governor. 70
[(e)] (f) The public members of the council, including the chairman, 71
the members appointed by the speaker of the House and president pro 72
tempore of the Senate and the four ad hoc members specified in 73
subsection (c) of this section, shall be compensated for their attendance 74
at public hearings, executive sessions, or other council business as may 75
require their attendance at the rate of two hundred dollars, provided in 76
no case shall the daily compensation exceed two hundred dollars. 77
[(f)] (g) The council shall, in addition to its other duties prescribed in 78
this chapter, adopt, amend, or rescind suitable regulations to carry out 79
the provisions of this chapter and the policies and practices of the 80
council in connection therewith, and appoint and prescribe the duties 81
of such staff as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this 82
chapter. The chairman of the council, with the consent of five or more 83
other members of the council, may appoint an executive director, who 84 Substitute Bill No. 5318
LCO {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2019HB-05318-
R02-HB.docx }
4 of 4
shall be the chief administrative officer of the Connecticut Siting 85
Council. The executive director shall be exempt from classified service. 86
[(g)] (h) Prior to commencing any hearing pursuant to section 16-87
50m, the council shall consult with and solicit written comments from 88
(1) the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the 89
Department of Public Health, the Council on Environmental Quality, 90
the Department of Agriculture, the Public Utilities Regulatory 91
Authority, the Office of Policy and Management, the Department of 92
Economic and Community Development and the Depar tment of 93
Transportation, and (2) in a hearing pursuant to section 16-50m, for a 94
facility described in subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 16-50i, 95
the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, the 96
Department of Consumer Protection, th e Department of 97
Administrative Services and the Labor Department. Copies of such 98
comments shall be made available to all parties prior to the 99
commencement of the hearing. Subsequent to the commencement of 100
the hearing, said departments and council may file additional written 101
comments with the council within such period of time as the council 102
designates. All such written comments shall be made part of the record 103
provided by section 16-50o. Said departments and council shall not 104
enter any contract or agreement with any party to the proceedings or 105
hearings described in this section or section 16-50p that requires said 106
departments or council to withhold or retract comments, refrain from 107
participating in or withdraw from said proceedings or hearings. 108
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2019 16-50j
ENV Joint Favorable Subst.