LCO No. 5989 1 of 4
General Assembly Committee Bill No. 605
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 5989
Referred to Committee on TRANSPORTATION
Introduced by:
(TRA)
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E PORT AUTHORITY.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 15-31a of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 2
passage): 3
(b) The powers of the authority shall be vested in and exercised by a 4
board of directors, which shall consist of fifteen voting members as 5
follows: (1) The State Treasurer, or the Treasurer's designee, the 6
Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, or the 7
commissioner's designee, the Commissioner of Transportation, or the 8
commissioner's designee, the Commissioner of Economic and 9
Community Development, or the commissioner's designee, and the 10
Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, or the secretary's 11
designee, all of whom shall serve ex officio; (2) one appointed by the 12
speaker of the House of Representatives for a term of four years; (3) one 13
appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives for a 14
term of two years; (4) one appointed by the minority leader of the House 15
of Representatives for a term of two years; (5) one appointed by the 16
president pro tempore of the Senate for a term of four years; (6) one 17
LCO No. 5989 2 of 4
appointed by the majority leader of the Senate for a term of two years; 18
(7) one appointed by the minority leader of the Senate for a term of four 19
years; and (8) four appointed by the Governor, two for a term of four 20
years and two for a term of two years, one of whom shall represent a 21
port located in the town of New Haven, New London or Bridgeport and 22
one of whom shall represent a port not located in the town of New 23
Haven, New London or Bridgeport. Thereafter, said members of the 24
General Assembly and the Governor shall appoint members of the 25
board to succeed such appointees whose terms expire and each member 26
so appointed shall hold office for a period of four years from the first 27
day of July in the year of his or her appointment. Appointed members 28
shall include: (A) Individuals who have experience and expertise in one 29
or more of the following areas: (i) International trade; (ii) marine 30
transportation; (iii) finance; or (iv) economic development; (B) one 31
member or employee of a local port authority; (C) one elected or 32
appointed municipal official from a coastal municipality with a 33
population not greater than one hundred thousand; and (D) one elected 34
or appointed municipal official from a coastal community with a 35
population not greater than fifty thousand. The board of directors shall 36
select the chairperson from among the members of the board, who shall 37
serve for a term of two years. The board of directors shall select a vice-38
chairperson from among its members and such other officers as it deems 39
necessary. 40
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 15-13c of the general statutes is 41
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 42
passage): 43
(a) There is created the Connecticut Pilot Commission, within the 44
[Connecticut Port Authority,] Department of Transportation for 45
administrative purposes only, [the Connecticut Pilot Commission] to 46
assist and advise the [authority] Connecticut Port Authority on matters 47
relating to the licensure of pilots, the safe conduct of vessels and the 48
protection of the ports and waters of the state, including the waters of 49
Long Island Sound. 50
LCO No. 5989 3 of 4
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective from passage) The Connecticut Port Authority 51
and the Commissioner of Transportation shall enter into a 52
memorandum of understanding to provide that any employee of the 53
Department of Transportation who is assigned to work at the 54
Connecticut Port Authority shall be paid from the budget of the 55
department. 56
Sec. 4. (Effective from passage) On or before January 1, 2022, the 57
executive director of the Connecticut Port Authority shall submit a plan 58
to ensure a transparent and equitable process for selecting and 59
disbursing grants through the program known as the Small Harbor 60
Improvement Projects Program. The executive director shall submit 61
such plan to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly 62
having cognizance of matters relating to transportation in accordance 63
with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes. 64
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage 15-31a(b)
Sec. 2 from passage 15-13c(a)
Sec. 3 from passage New section
Sec. 4 from passage New section
Statement of Purpose:
To appoint new members to the Board of Directors of the Connecticut
Port Authority, place the Connecticut Pilot Commission within the
Department of Transportation for administrative purposes only, require
an employee of the Department of Transportation who is assigned to the
Connecticut Port Authority be compensated from the department's
budget and require the Connecticut Port Authority to develop a plan for
the transparent and equitable distribution of grants.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]
Co-Sponsors: SEN. SOMERS, 18th Dist.; REP. CARNEY, 23rd Dist.
REP. SIMMS, 140th Dist.; REP. CHEESEMAN, 37th Dist.
LCO No. 5989 4 of 4
S.B. 605