Substitute House Bill No. 7306
Public Act No. 19-178
AN ACT CONCERNING RE COMMENDATIONS FROM T HE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES' BLUE
RIBBON COMMISSION ON TOURISM.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 10-399 of the general statutes is
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from
passage):
(b) Within available appropriations, the following measures shall be
implemented to enhance the operation of visitor welcome centers:
(1) Each center shall make available space for listing events and
promoting attractions, by invitation to the Connecticut tourism
industry, including tourism districts, chambers of commerce and any
other tourism entities involved in Connecticut tourism promotion;
(2) The Department of Economic and Community Development, in
consultation with the Department of Transportation, shall develop
plans for (A) consistent signage for the visitor welcome centers, and (B)
highway signage regulations for privately operated centers. Signage
for visitor welcome centers shall indicate the hours during which the
visitor welcome centers are open; Substitute House Bill No. 7306
Public Act No. 19-178 2 of 5
(3) The Department of Transportation and the Department of
Economic and Community Development shall establish an "Adopt A
Visitor Welcome Center" program, under which local civic
organizations may provide maintenance, gardening, including
wildflowers, and complimentary refreshments or any other type of
service at a visitor welcome center to enhance the operation of the
center;
(4) The Department of Economic and Community Development
shall place a full-time year-round supervisor and a part-time assistant
supervisor at the Danbury, Darien, North Stonington and West
Willington centers. The responsibilities of each supervisor shall
include, but not be limited to: (A) Maintaining a sufficient inventory of
up-to-date brochures for dissemination to visitors, (B) scheduling staff
so as to assure coverage at all times, (C) training staff, (D) compiling
and maintaining statistics on center usage, (E) serving as liaison
between the department, the Department of Transportation, the
tourism district in which the center is located and businesses in such
district, (F) maintaining quality tourism services, (G) rotating displays,
(H) evaluating staff, (I) problem-solving, and (J) computing travel
reimbursements for volunteer staff;
(5) Subject to available funds, the Department of Economic and
Community Development shall place a seasonal full-time supervisor
and a seasonal part-time assistant supervisor at the Greenwich and
Westbrook centers. The department shall discontinue staffing at the
Middletown, Plainfield and Wallingford centers, and shall, in
conjunction with the tourism industry, seek contract workers to
provide tourism services at the Westbrook center when not staffed by
the state;
(6) Subject to available funds, the Department of Economic and
Community Development, in conjunction with the tourism industry,
shall develop and implement initial staff training and conduct periodic Substitute House Bill No. 7306
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training of full-time and part-time supervisors; [.]
(7) Subject to available funds, the restroom facilities located at each
visitor welcome center shall be open twenty-four hours a day.
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) There is established within
the Department of Economic and Community Development, for
administrative purposes only, a Connecticut Tourism Council. The
council shall consist of (1) the Commissioner of Economic and
Community Development, or the commissioner's designee, (2) the
Commissioner of Transportation, or the commissioner's designee, (3)
the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, or the
commissioner's designee, (4) twelve members appointed by the
Governor, (A) one of whom shall represent the lodging industry, (B)
one of whom shall represent a chamber of commerce, (C) one of whom
shall represent a tourist attraction, (D) one of whom shall represent the
arts, (E) one of whom shall represent a culturally diverse event or
attraction, (F) one of whom shall represent the heritage tourism
industry, (G) one of whom shall represent the airline industry, (H) one
of whom shall represent the Connecticut Airport Authority, (I) one of
whom shall represent a convention center and sports arena trade
organization, (J) one of whom shall represent a charter bus trade
organization, and (K) two of whom shall represent casino gaming
facilities, (5) fourteen members appointed as follows: (A) Three by the
president pro tempore of the Senate, one of whom shall represent the
agritourism industry, one of whom shall represent the convention
center and coliseum industry and one of whom shall represent the
eastern regional tourism district established pursuant to section 10-397
of the general statutes, (B) two by the majority leader of the Senate, one
of whom shall represent the events industry and one of whom shall
represent the western regional tourism district established pursuant to
section 10-397 of the general statutes, (C) two by the minority leader of
the Senate, one of whom shall represent the marine trades industry Substitute House Bill No. 7306
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and one of whom shall represent the outdoor recreation industry, (D)
three by the speaker of the House of Representatives, one of whom
shall represent the destination shopping industry, one of whom shall
represent the restaurant industry and one of whom shall represent the
central regional tourism district established pursuant to section 10-397
of the general statutes, (E) two by the majority leader of the House of
Representatives, one of whom shall represent the attractions industry
and one of whom shall represent the lodging industry, and (F) two by
the minority leader of the House of Representatives, one of whom shall
represent the museum industry and one of whom shall represent the
tour and travel industry. All members appointed by the Governor
shall serve a term of four years. The terms of all members appointed
by members of the General Assembly shall be coterminous with the
terms of such members of the General Assembly. The Commissioner of
Economic and Community Development shall serve as chairperson of
the council.
(b) The council shall: (1) Adopt procedures for the operation of the
council; (2) review and approve or recommend changes to the strategic
marketing plan developed by the Department of Economic and
Community Development pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (b)
of section 10-392 of the general statutes; and (3) not later than January
1, 2021, and annually thereafter, submit a report describing tourism
promotion efforts by the state and evaluating the marketing plan,
developed by the Department of Economic and Community
Development pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section
10-392 of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to commerce,
in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general
statutes.
Sec. 3. (Effective from passage) (a) For purposes of this section,
"wayfinding signage" includes, but is not limited to, signs on limited Substitute House Bill No. 7306
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access highways indicating attractions and services of lodging, food,
information and fuel.
(b) The Commissioner of Transportation shall conduct a study
relating to wayfinding signage in the state. Such study shall include,
but need not be limited to, an examination of the standards for or
regulation of advertising of local businesses on such signage. Not later
than February 1, 2020, the commissioner shall submit a report of the
results of such study, including recommended changes to the
standards for or regulation of advertising of local businesses on
wayfinding signage, to the joint standing committees of the General
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to commerce and
transportation, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of
the general statutes.