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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5223
February Session, 2024
LCO No. 1159
Referred to Committee on ENVIRONMENT
Introduced by:
(ENV)
AN ACT CONCERNING MINOR REVISIONS TO AGRICULTURE
RELATED STATUTES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 22-327 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 2
As used in this chapter: 3
(1) "Animal" means any [brute creature] domestic animal that 4
humans selectively breed in captivity and that lives in close association 5
with humans, including, but not limited to, dogs, cats, [monkeys,] 6
guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, [birds and reptiles] livestock, as defined 7
in section 22-381, poultry, as defined in section 22-324, pet birds, 8
amphibians, fish and reptiles that are offered for sale by a pet shop for 9
which there is certification of captive breeding; 10
(2) "Chief Animal Control Officer", "Assistant Chief Animal Control 11
Officer" and "animal control officer" mean, respectively, the Chief State 12
Animal Control Officer, the Assistant Chief State Animal Control 13
Officer and a state animal control officer appointed under section 22-14 Raised Bill No. 5223
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328; 15
(3) "Commercial kennel" means a place maintained for boarding or 16
grooming dogs or cats, and includes, but is not limited to, any veterinary 17
hospital which boards or grooms dogs or cats for nonmedical purposes; 18
(4) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture; 19
(5) "Grooming facility" means any place, [other than a commercial 20
kennel, which] including any vehicle or trailer, that is maintained as a 21
business where dogs are groomed; 22
(6) "Keeper" means any person, other than the owner, harboring or 23
having in his possession any dog; 24
(7) "Kennel" means one pack or collection of dogs which are kept 25
under one ownership at a single location and are bred for show, sport 26
or sale; 27
(8) "Municipal animal control officer" means any such officer 28
appointed under the provisions of section 22-331; 29
(9) "Pet shop" means any place at which animals not born and raised 30
on the premises are kept for the purpose of sale to the public; 31
(10) "Poultry" has the same meaning as provided in section 22-326s; 32
[(11) "Regional animal control officer" and "assistant regional animal 33
control officer" means a regional Connecticut animal control officer and 34
an assistant regional Connecticut animal control officer appointed 35
under the provisions of section 22-331a;] 36
[(12)] (11) "Training facility" means any place [, other than a 37
commercial kennel or grooming facility, which] that is maintained as a 38
business where dogs are trained; 39
[(13)] (12) "Service animal" has the same meaning as provided in 28 40
CFR 35.104 and includes any animal in training to become a service 41
animal. 42 Raised Bill No. 5223
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Sec. 2. Section 22-367 of the 2024 supplement to the general statutes 43
is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 44
passage): 45
Any person owning, keeping or harboring a dog or cat or maintaining 46
a [breeding] local kennel or commercial kennel who violates any 47
provision of this chapter for the violation of which no other penalty is 48
provided, or any regulation legally made and published shall be fined 49
not less than two hundred fifty dollars or imprisoned not more than 50
thirty days or both. No commercial kennel shall board any dog or cat 51
unless the owner of the dog or cat presents a certificate of vaccination as 52
required by this chapter. The Chief Animal Control Officer, any animal 53
control officer and any municipal or regional control officer shall 54
diligently inquire after, and prosecute for, any violation of any provision 55
of this chapter. 56
Sec. 3. Subsection (a) of section 22-380f of the general statutes is 57
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 58
passage): 59
(a) No pound shall sell or give away any unspayed or unneutered 60
dog or cat to any person unless such pound receives forty-five dollars 61
from the person buying or adopting such dog or cat. Funds received 62
pursuant to this section shall be paid quarterly by the municipality into 63
the animal population control account established under section 22-64
380g. At the time of receipt of such payment, the pound shall complete 65
a voucher, for the purpose of benefits, as provided in section 22-380i, for 66
the sterilization and vaccination of such dog or cat and (1) provide the 67
voucher to the person buying or adopting such dog or cat, or (2) retain 68
such voucher and submit it to a participating veterinarian for such 69
sterilization and vaccination before releasing the dog or cat to the person 70
buying or adopting the dog or cat. Any such voucher shall be on a form 71
provided by the commissioner and signed (A) by the eligible owner if 72
the voucher is provided to the person buying or adopting the dog or cat, 73
or (B) by a representative of the pound if the pound retains the voucher. 74
Such voucher shall become void after sixty days from the date of 75 Raised Bill No. 5223
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purchase or adoption unless a participating veterinarian certifies that 76
the dog or cat is medically unfit for surgery. Such certification shall be 77
on a form provided by the commissioner and specify a date by which 78
such dog or cat may be fit for sterilization. If the surgery is performed 79
more than thirty days after such specified date, the voucher shall 80
become void. In the case of a dog or cat that has been previously 81
sterilized or is permanently medically unfit for sterilization, as 82
determined by a participating veterinarian, the voucher shall be void 83
and the eligible owner may apply to the commissioner for a refund in 84
the amount of forty-five dollars. If a dog or cat [has pyometra and] is not 85
purchased or adopted from a pound, a representative of the pound may 86
complete a voucher, for the purpose of benefits, as provided in section 87
22-380i, and submit such voucher to a participating veterinarian for the 88
sterilization and vaccination of such dog or cat. 89
Sec. 4. Section 22-413 of the general statutes is repealed and the 90
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 91
(a) Any equine presented for public auction in this state shall have a 92
health certificate issued by a veterinarian licensed pursuant to the 93
provisions of chapter 384. [and cosigned by the State Veterinarian.] Such 94
examination shall be obtained within ten days prior to the auction and 95
shall be made at the expense of the owner. 96
(b) Any equine presented for public auction in this state shall have a 97
certificate indicating a negative reaction to a [coggins] Coggins test 98
which shall be obtained within sixty days prior to such auction. 99
(c) Any person violating any provision of this section shall be fined 100
not less than one hundred dollars or more than five hundred dollars for 101
each violation. 102
Sec. 5. Section 22-415a of the general statutes is repealed and the 103
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 104
As used in sections [22-415a] 22-410 to 22-415j, inclusive: 105 Raised Bill No. 5223
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(1) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture; 106
(2) "Equine" means any member of the equine family which includes 107
horses, ponies, mules, asses, donkeys and zebras; 108
(3) "Equine infectious anemia" means a disease of equines caused by 109
an infectious virus which may be spread by blood-sucking insects, 110
unsterile surgical instruments and community use of equipment that 111
may produce cuts or abrasions and which may cause an equine to test 112
positive to an official test; 113
(4) "Licensed veterinarian" means a veterinarian who is licensed 114
pursuant to the provisions of chapter 384; 115
(5) "Official test" means a serological test for equine infectious anemia 116
that is (A) approved by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 117
of the United States Department of Agriculture, (B) conducted in a 118
laboratory approved by the Commissioner of Agriculture, and (C) 119
administered by a licensed veterinarian, state veterinarian, or full-time 120
employee with the state Department of Agriculture; 121
(6) "Reactor" means an equine whose blood serum reacts positively 122
to an official test for equine infectious anemia; 123
(7) "Freeze-brand" means a metal brand which produces a permanent 124
mark with a configuration of 16A that is three inches in height and is 125
applied to the left neck or shoulder area of any equine that is positive to 126
the equine infectious anemia test in such a manner that the brand is 127
obvious and not obscured by a mane; 128
(8) "Isolation" means no biological contact with another equine; 129
(9) "Coggins test" means an official test for equine infectious anemia. 130
Sec. 6. Section 22-90 of the general statutes is repealed and the 131
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 132
The State Entomologist shall, to such extent as he or she deems 133 Raised Bill No. 5223
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necessary or expedient, examine apiaries and quarantine such as are 134
diseased, harboring insects, mites or parasitic organisms adversely 135
affecting bees or species or subspecies of bees, which have been 136
determined by the State Entomologist to cause harm, directly or 137
indirectly, to the bee population, crops or other plants and treat or 138
destroy cases of the disease known as foul brood, insects, mites or 139
parasitic organisms adversely affecting bees or species or subspecies of 140
bees, which have been determined by the State Entomologist to cause 141
harm, directly or indirectly, to the bee population, crops or other plants. 142
The State Entomologist may appoint such inspectors as he or she deems 143
necessary or expedient, and he or she or any person whom he or she 144
appoints for that purpose shall have access at reasonable times to any 145
apiary or place where bees are kept or where honeycomb and appliances 146
are stored. [Any person appointed for such purpose shall possess all the 147
qualifications for an Agricultural Research Technician II employed by 148
the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station and have either five or 149
more years of beekeeping experience or a minimum of three years of 150
experience as a bee inspector at the federal or state level.] The State 151
Entomologist is authorized to make suitable regulations regarding 152
inspections and quarantine and to prescribe suitable forms for 153
permanent records, which shall be on file and open to public inspection, 154
and to make reasonable rules for the services of such inspectors, and 155
may pay a reasonable sum for such services. No person or corporation 156
shall remove bees under quarantine to another locality without 157
obtaining the written permission of an authorized inspector. No person 158
or transportation company shall receive for transportation any colony 159
or package of bees, unless such colony or package is accompanied by a 160
certificate of good health, furnished by an authorized inspector. No 161
person or transportation company shall deliver any colony or package 162
of bees brought from any other country, province, state or territory 163
unless accompanied by a certificate of health furnished by an authorized 164
inspector of such country, province, state or territory. Any person or 165
transportation company receiving a shipment of bees from without the 166
state, unaccompanied by such certificate, shall, before delivering such 167
shipment to its consignee, notify the State Entomologist and hold such 168 Raised Bill No. 5223
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shipment until inspected by an authorized inspector. If contagious 169
diseases, insects, mites or parasitic organisms adversely affecting bees 170
or species or subspecies of bees, which have been determined by the 171
State Entomologist to cause harm, directly or indirectly, to the bee 172
population, crops or other plants are found therein, such shipment shall 173
be returned to the consignor or delivered to an authorized inspector of 174
this state for treatment or destruction, provided the requirements of this 175
section shall not apply to shipments of brood comb, with or without 176
bees, suspected of being diseased and consigned to the State 177
Entomologist, the agricultural experiment station or any authorized 178
apiary inspector of the state or to the Bureau of Entomology of the 179
United States or the United States Department of Agriculture, and 180
provided there shall be no destruction of any shipment of bees as herein 181
provided in the absence of reasonable notice to the consignee thereof. 182
No person shall resist or hinder the State Entomologist, or any inspector 183
whom he or she appoints, in the performance of the duties imposed by 184
this section. No person or corporation shall sell, to be removed to 185
another location, bees, brood comb, frames or hives that have been in 186
use, with or without combs, until they have been inspected by an 187
authorized inspector, who shall issue a certificate of health if they are 188
found free of contagious disease, insects, mites or parasitic organisms 189
adversely affecting bees or species or subspecies of bees, which have 190
been determined by the State Entomologist to cause harm, directly or 191
indirectly, to the bee population, crops or other plants. Any person 192
violating any provision of this section shall be fined not more than one 193
hundred dollars for a first violation, three hundred dollars for a second 194
violation and five hundred dollars for a third and any subsequent 195
violation. 196
Sec. 7. Subsection (a) of section 22-131 of the general statutes is 197
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 198
passage): 199
(a) In accordance with section 4-9a, the Governor, [with the advice 200
and consent of either house of the General Assembly,] shall appoint 201
eight electors of the state, two of whom are actively engaged in the sale 202 Raised Bill No. 5223
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and distribution of milk, two of whom are actively engaged in the 203
processing of milk, two of whom have no active or financial interest in 204
the production or sale of milk, and two of whom are actively engaged 205
in the production of milk, which eight electors, with the Commissioner 206
of Public Health, or the commissioner's designee, and the Commissioner 207
of Agriculture, shall constitute the Milk Regulation Board. The 208
Governor, for cause, after a public hearing, may remove any appointed 209
member of the board. 210
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage 22-327
Sec. 2 from passage 22-367
Sec. 3 from passage 22-380f(a)
Sec. 4 from passage 22-413
Sec. 5 from passage 22-415a
Sec. 6 from passage 22-90
Sec. 7 from passage 22-131(a)
Statement of Purpose:
To make minor, technical and conforming changes to certain
agriculture-related statutes.
[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.]