Substitute House Bill No. 6603
Public Act No. 21-94
AN ACT CONCERNING TOURISM.
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
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October
1, 2021):
(b) Each regional tourism district shall be overseen by a board of
directors consisting of one representative from each municipality within
the district, appointed by the legislative body of the municipality and,
where the legislative body is a town meeting, by the board of selectmen,
except that two or more municipalities may jointly appoint one
representative, who shall be deemed to be present for each such
municipality for the purposes of a quorum at any board of directors'
meeting that such representative attends and be permitted to vote for
each such municipality at any such meeting. Any such member of a
board of directors shall serve for a term of three years. In addition, the
board of directors may appoint up to twenty-one persons representing
tourism interests within the district to serve on the board. No board
member shall be deemed a state employee for serving on said board. All
appointments to the board of directors shall be reported to the
Commissioner of Economic and Community Development. Substitute House Bill No. 6603
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Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 10-397c of the general statutes is
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from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]
thirteen 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, and (L) one of whom shall
represent the Connecticut Tourism Coalition, (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, as amended by this act, (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, as amended by
this act, (C) two by the minority leader of the Senate, one of whom shall
represent the marine trades industry and one of whom shall represent Substitute House Bill No. 6603
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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, as amended by this act, (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.
Sec. 3. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a task force to
study the shortage of employees in various tourism-related businesses
in the state, including, but not limited to, shoreline businesses and
marine trades, commercial fisheries, agricultural businesses, hotels and
restaurants, ferries, sight-seeing cruises, breweries, distilleries, wineries,
shellfish harvesting, amusement parks, museums, art galleries, antique
shops, gift shops and state and local public beaches, lakes and rivers.
The task force shall, (1) in consultation with tourism-related businesses,
create an inventory and timeline of employment opportunities in the
tourism industry; (2) in consultation with public and private schools,
local and regional chambers of commerce and the Connecticut Tourism
Council, create a mechanism to advertise the employment opportunities
identified pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection to individuals
seeking employment; and (3) in consultation with the Department of
Transportation, review the most efficient, cost-effective and reliable
transportation available to individuals seeking employment and the
employment opportunities identified pursuant to subdivision (1) of this Substitute House Bill No. 6603
Public Act No. 21-94 4 of 5
subsection.
(b) The task force shall consist of the following members:
(1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives;
(2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate;
(3) Two appointed by the majority leader of the House of
Representatives;
(4) Two appointed by the majority leader of the Senate;
(5) Two appointed by the minority leader of the House of
Representatives;
(6) Two appointed by the minority leader of the Senate;
(7) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development,
or the commissioner's designee; and
(8) Two persons appointed by the Governor.
(c) Any member of the task force appointed under subdivision (1),
(2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) of subsection (b) of this section may be a member
of the General Assembly.
(d) All initial appointments to the task force shall be made not later
than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall
be filled by the appointing authority.
(e) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro
tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force from
among the members of the task force. Such chairpersons shall schedule
the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than sixty
days after the effective date of this section. Substitute House Bill No. 6603
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(f) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to commerce
shall serve as administrative staff of the task force.
(g) Not later than January 1, 2022, the task force shall submit a report
on its findings and recommendations 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. The task force shall terminate on the date that it
submits such report or January 1, 2022, whichever is later.