Substitute House Bill No. 6384
Public Act No. 21-12
AN ACT CONCERNING AQ UATIC INVASIVE SPECIES EFFECTS ON
LAKES AND RELATED FU NDING, CERTAIN GROUP FISHING
EVENTS AND ELIMINATING THE SEASON LIMITA TION FOR THE
TAKING OF TROUT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 22a-339h of the general statutes is repealed and the
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021):
On or before November 1, [2006] 2021, the Commissioner of Energy
and Environmental Protection shall enter into an agreement with the
town of Middlefield and the Lake Beseck Association regarding a
schedule for annual water level draw downs of Lake Beseck. Water level
draw downs shall be three feet during even-numbered years with
completion achieved by December first of such year and maintained
until March first of the following year. Water level draw downs shall be
six feet during odd-numbered years achieved by November first of such
year and maintained until [December] January thirty-first of [such] the
following year; a three-foot water level draw down shall be maintained
thereafter until March first of the following year. Such water level draw
downs are designed to balance the various concerns of the lake
community, including: Recreational needs, preservation of lakefront
infrastructure, fisheries habitat and other natural resource concerns. Substitute House Bill No. 6384
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Sec. 2. (Effective from passage) Not later than October 1, 2021, the
Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall submit a
report, in accordance with section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the
joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of
matters relating to the environment on the amount of revenue collected
from the Aquatic Invasive Species fees authorized pursuant to section
14-21bb of the general statutes and the number, value and purpose of
any grants to municipalities and not-for-profit organizations awarded
from the Connecticut Lakes, Rivers and Ponds Preservation account in
accordance with section 14-21aa of the general statutes. The
Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall provide the Commissioner of
Energy and Environmental Protection with any information necessary
to perform the requirements of this section. Such report may include any
recommendations from the Commissioner of Energy and
Environmental Protection on additional means for funding projects to
control or eradicate aquatic invasive species by municipalities and lake
authorities.
Sec. 3. Subsection (h) of section 26-30 of the general statutes is
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from
passage):
(h) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection may
issue a group fishing license to any tax-exempt organization qualified
under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any
subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States,
as amended from time to time, for the purpose of conducting a group
fishing event or events for persons: (1) With a service-related or other
disability who receive services at a facility of the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, (2) who
receive mental health or addiction services from: (A) The Department of
Mental Health and Addiction Services, (B) state-operated facilities, as
defined in section 17a-458, or (C) programs or facilities funded by the Substitute House Bill No. 6384
Public Act No. 21-12 3 of 4
Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, as provided for
in sections 17a-468b, 17a-469, 17a-673 and 17a-676, (3) with intellectual
disability who receive services from the Department of Developmental
Services, as provided for in section 17a-217, or from facilities licensed by
the Department of Developmental Services, as provided for in section
17a-227, (4) diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder who receive
services from the Department of Social Services, or (5) receiving care
from the Department of Children and Families, as provided for in
section 17a-94, or from programs or child-care facilities licensed
pursuant to section 17a-145 or 17a-147. Any such organization shall
conduct not more than fifty such events, including marine and inland
water events, in any calendar year and each such event shall be limited
to not more than [fifty] one hundred persons. Application for such a
group fishing license shall be submitted once per calendar year on a
form prescribed by the commissioner and with the necessary fee and
shall provide such information as required by the commissioner. All
fishing activities conducted pursuant to such group license shall be
supervised by staff or volunteers of the organization conducting the
event or events. Such staff or volunteers shall possess such group fishing
license at the site of any such event or events. Each such staff member
or volunteer shall have a license to fish. Such organization shall, not later
than ten days after such group fishing event, report to the commissioner,
on forms provided by the commissioner, information on the results of
such event. Such information shall include, but not be limited to, the
total: (A) Number of participants, (B) hours fished, (C) number of each
species caught, and (D) number of each species not released. Such
organization shall not charge a fee to any person that participates in any
such group fishing event conducted pursuant to such group fishing
license and any such group fishing event shall not be used by such
organization as a fund raising event.
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding any provision
of title 26 of the general statutes, there shall be no closed season for sport Substitute House Bill No. 6384
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fishing of trout, provided nothing in this section shall be construed to
limit the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's
authority to regulate the method and manner of take for such trout.