Connecticut 2021 Regular Session

Connecticut House Bill HB06411 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
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4	4	LCO No. 3172 1 of 3
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6	6	General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6411
7	7	January Session, 2021
8	8	LCO No. 3172
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11	11	Referred to Committee on ENERGY AND TECHNOLOGY
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13	13
14	14	Introduced by:
15	15	(ET)
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20	20	AN ACT MOVING THE OF FICE OF CONSUMER COU NSEL WITHIN
21	21	THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.
22	22	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
23	23	Assembly convened:
24	24
25	25	Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 16-2a of the general statutes is 1
26	26	repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2
27	27	2021): 3
28	28	(a) There shall be an independent Office of Consumer Counsel, 4
29	29	within the [Department of Energy and Environmental Protection] office 5
30	30	of the Attorney General, for administrative purposes only, to act as the 6
31	31	advocate for consumer interests in all matters which may affect 7
32	32	Connecticut consumers with respect to public service companies, 8
33	33	electric suppliers and certified telecommunications providers, 9
34	34	including, but not limited to, rates and related issues, ratepayer-funded 10
35	35	programs and matters concerning the reliability, maintenance, 11
36	36	operations, infrastructure and quality of service of such companies, 12
37	37	suppliers and providers. The Office of Consumer Counsel is authorized 13
38	38	to appear in and participate in any regulatory or judicial proceedings, 14
39	39	federal or state, in which such interests of Connecticut consumers may 15 Raised Bill No. 6411
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43	43	LCO No. 3172 2 of 3
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45	45	be involved, or in which matters affecting utility services rendered or to 16
46	46	be rendered in this state may be involved. The Office of Consumer 17
47	47	Counsel shall be a party to each contested case before the Public Utilities 18
48	48	Regulatory Authority and shall participate in such proceedings to the 19
49	49	extent it deems necessary. Said Office of Consumer Counsel may appeal 20
50	50	from a decision, order or authorization in any such state regulatory 21
51	51	proceeding notwithstanding its failure to appear or participate in said 22
52	52	proceeding. 23
53	53	Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 52-259a of the general statutes is 24
54	54	repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 25
55	55	2021): 26
56	56	(a) Any member of the Division of Criminal Justice or the Division of 27
57	57	Public Defender Services, any employee of the Judicial Department, 28
58	58	acting in the performance of such employee's duties, the Attorney 29
59	59	General, an assistant attorney general, the Consumer Counsel, any 30
60	60	attorney employed by the Office of Consumer Counsel within the 31
61	61	[Department of Energy and Environmental Protection] office of the 32
62	62	Attorney General, the Department of Revenue Services, the 33
63	63	Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, the Freedom of 34
64	64	Information Commission, the Board of Labor Relations, the Office of the 35
65	65	Victim Advocate, the Department of Social Services, the Department of 36
66	66	Children and Families or the Office of State Ethics, or any attorney 37
67	67	appointed by the court to assist any of them or to act for any of them in 38
68	68	a special case or cases, while acting in such attorney's official capacity or 39
69	69	in the capacity for which such attorney was appointed, shall not be 40
70	70	required to pay the fees specified in sections 52-258, 52-259, and 52-259c, 41
71	71	subsection (a) of section 52-356a, subsection (a) of section 52-361a, 42
72	72	section 52-367a, subsection (b) of section 52-367b and subsection (n) of 43
73	73	section 46b-231. 44
74	74	This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
75	75	sections:
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77	77	Section 1 July 1, 2021 16-2a(a)
78	78	Sec. 2 July 1, 2021 52-259a(a) Raised Bill No. 6411
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82	82	LCO No. 3172 3 of 3
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85	85	Statement of Purpose:
86	86	To relocate the Office of Consumer Counsel within the office of the
87	87	Attorney General.
88	88	[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
89	89	that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
90	90	underlined.]
91	91