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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6603
January Session, 2021
AN ACT CONCERNING TO URISM.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 10-397 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 2
1, 2021): 3
(b) Each regional tourism district shall be overseen by a board of 4
directors consisting of one representative from each municipality within 5
the district, appointed by the legislative body of the municipality and, 6
where the legislative body is a town meeting, by the board of selectmen, 7
except that two or more municipalities may jointly appoint one 8
representative, who shall be deemed to be present for each such 9
municipality for the purposes of a quorum at any board of directors' 10
meeting that such representative attends and be permitted to vote for 11
each such municipality at any such meeting. Any such member of a 12
board of directors shall serve for a term of three years. In addition, the 13
board of directors may appoint up to twenty-one persons representing 14
tourism interests within the district to serve on the board. No board 15
member shall be deemed a state employee for serving on said board. All 16
appointments to the board of directors shall be reported to the 17
Commissioner of Economic and Community Development. 18 Substitute Bill No. 6603
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Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 10-397c of the general statutes is 19
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 20
passage): 21
(a) There is established within the Department of Economic and 22
Community Development, for administrative purposes only, a 23
Connecticut Tourism Council. The council shall consist of (1) the 24
Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, o r the 25
commissioner's designee, (2) the Commissioner of Transportation, or 26
the commissioner's designee, (3) the Commissioner of Energy and 27
Environmental Protection, or the commissioner's designee, (4) [twelve] 28
thirteen members appointed by the Governor, (A) one of whom shall 29
represent the lodging industry, (B) one of whom shall represent a 30
chamber of commerce, (C) one of whom shall represent a tourist 31
attraction, (D) one of whom shall represent the arts, (E) one of whom 32
shall represent a culturally diverse event or attraction, (F) one of whom 33
shall represent the heritage tourism industry, (G) one of whom shall 34
represent the airline industry, (H) one of whom shall represent the 35
Connecticut Airport Authority, (I) one of whom shall represent a 36
convention center and sports arena trade organization, (J) one of whom 37
shall represent a charter bus trade organization, [and] (K) two of whom 38
shall represent casino gaming facilities, and (L) one of whom shall 39
represent the Connecticut Tourism Coalition, (5) fourteen members 40
appointed as follows: (A) Three by the president pro tempore of the 41
Senate, one of whom shall represent the agritourism industry, one of 42
whom shall represent the convention center and coliseum industry and 43
one of whom shall represent the eastern regional tourism district 44
established pursuant to section 10-397, as amended by this act, (B) two 45
by the majority leader of the Senate, one of whom shall represent the 46
events industry and one of whom shall represent the western regional 47
tourism district established pursuant to section 10-397, as amended by 48
this act, (C) two by the minority leader of the Senate, one of whom shall 49
represent the marine trades industry and one of whom shall represent 50
the outdoor recreation industry, (D) three by the speaker of the House 51
of Representatives, one of whom shall represent the destination 52 Substitute Bill No. 6603
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shopping industry, one of whom shall represent the restaurant industry 53
and one of whom shall represent the central regional tourism district 54
established pursuant to section 10-397, as amended by this act, (E) two 55
by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, one of whom 56
shall represent the attractions industry and one of whom shall represent 57
the lodging industry, and (F) two by the minority leader of the House of 58
Representatives, one of whom shall represent the museum industry and 59
one of whom shall represent the tour and travel industry. All members 60
appointed by the Governor shall serve a term of four years. The terms 61
of all members appointed by members of the General Assembly shall be 62
coterminous with the terms of such members of the General Assembly. 63
The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall 64
serve as chairperson of the council. 65
Sec. 3. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a task force to 66
study the shortage of employees in various tourism-related businesses 67
in the state, including, but not limited to, shoreline businesses and 68
marine trades, commercial fisheries, agricultural businesses, hotels and 69
restaurants, ferries, sight-seeing cruises, breweries, distilleries, wineries, 70
shellfish harvesting, amusement parks, museums, art galleries, antique 71
shops, gift shops and state and local public beaches, lakes and rivers. 72
The task force shall, (1) in consultation with tourism-related businesses, 73
create an inventory and timeline of employment opportunities in the 74
tourism industry; (2) in consultation with public and private schools, 75
local and regional chambers of commerce and the Connecticut Tourism 76
Council, create a mechanism to advertise the employment opportunities 77
identified pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection to individuals 78
seeking employment; and (3) in consultation with the Department of 79
Transportation, review the most efficient, cost-effective and reliable 80
transportation available to individuals seeking employment and the 81
employment opportunities identified pursuant to subdivision (1) of this 82
subsection. 83
(b) The task force shall consist of the following members: 84
(1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives; 85 Substitute Bill No. 6603
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(2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate; 86
(3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of 87
Representatives; 88
(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; 89
(5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of 90
Representatives; 91
(6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate; 92
(7) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, 93
or the commissioner's designee; and 94
(8) Two persons appointed by the Governor. 95
(c) Any member of the task force appointed under subdivision (1), 96
(2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) of subsection (b) of this section may be a member 97
of the General Assembly. 98
(d) All initial appointments to the task force shall be made not later 99
than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall 100
be filled by the appointing authority. 101
(e) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro 102
tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force from 103
among the members of the task force. Such chairpersons shall schedule 104
the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than sixty 105
days after the effective date of this section. 106
(f) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the 107
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to commerce 108
shall serve as administrative staff of the task force. 109
(g) Not later than January 1, 2022, the task force shall submit a report 110
on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committee of 111
the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to 112 Substitute Bill No. 6603
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commerce, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the 113
general statutes. The task force shall terminate on the date that it 114
submits such report or January 1, 2022, whichever is later. 115
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2021 10-397(b)
Sec. 2 from passage 10-397c(a)
Sec. 3 from passage New section
CE Joint Favorable Subst.