O F F I C E O F L E G I S L A T I V E R E S E A R C H
P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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PA 24-69—sHB 5223
Environment Committee
AN ACT CONCERNING MI NOR REVISIONS TO AGR ICULTURE
RELATED STATUTES AND TO OPEN SPACE ACQUI SITION RELATED
STATUTES
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
§ 1 — COMMERCIAL KEN NEL, GROOMING, AND TRAINING SERVICES
Requires businesses to get separate commercial kennel, grooming facility, and training facility
licenses from DoAg; specifies that a grooming facility includes a vehicle or trailer used for a dog
grooming business
§ 2 — TECHNICAL CHANGE
Makes a technical change
§ 3 — ANIMAL POPULATION CONTROL PROGRAM
Allows a municipal pound to use a program voucher to have any dog or cat sterilized or
vaccinated before the animal is purchased or adopted from the pound
§§ 4 & 5 — EQUINE HEALTH CERTIFICATE BEFORE AUCTION
Removes a requirement that the state veterinarian sign a health certificate for an equine being
brought to public auction; defines “Coggins test” as the official test for equine infectious anemia
§ 6 — APIARY INSPECTOR
Removes the minimum qualifications for a person to be appointed as an apiary inspector
§ 7 — MILK REGULATION BOARD
Removes the requirement that the governor’s appointees to the Milk Regulation Board be
confirmed by either chamber of the General Assembly
§ 8 — RABIES VACCINATION
Generally requires dogs and cats to receive a rabies vaccination between 12 and 14 weeks of age
§§ 9-13 — OPEN SPACE AND WATERSHED LAND ACQUISITION GRANT
PROGRAM
Allows up to 5% of OSWA grants to reimburse for in-kind services or incidental expenses under
certain circumstances; expands the circumstances under which OSWA grant funds may be used to
restore or protect open space already owned by the applicant, such as when the land is in an
environmental justice community; increases the membership of the Natural Heritage, Open Space
and Watershed Land Acquisition Review Board to include two DEEP-appointed members who
represent or are from certain communities, such as environmental justice areas; makes
conforming changes (§§ 12 & 13) O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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§ 14 — EMINENT DOMAIN FOR FLOOD CONTROL IN BRIDGEPORT
Authorizes DEEP to acquire certain property in Bridgeport related to a flood control and
protection project; sets a process for DEEP, if needed, to require the relocation or removal of
public service facilities
SUMMARY: This act makes various changes to agriculture- and open space
acquisition-related statutes as described in the section-by-section analysis below.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage, unless otherwise specified below.
§ 1 — COMMERCIAL KEN NEL, GROOMING, AND TRAINING SERVICES
Requires businesses to get separate commercial kennel, grooming facility, and training facility
licenses from DoAg; specifies that a grooming facility includes a vehicle or trailer used for a dog
grooming business
By removing the exemption for commercial kennels from the definitions of
“grooming facility” and “training facility” and removing the exemption for
grooming facilities from the definition of “training facility,” the act requires a
business to get a separate kennel, grooming, or training license from the
Department of Agriculture (DoAg) for each one of these activities it conducts.
Correspondingly, it requires the business to comply with the statutory requirements
for each license type as a separate entity. Under prior law, commercial kennels that
also groomed or trained dogs, and grooming facilities that also trained dogs, were
exempt from the additional licensure requirements.
By law, a commercial kennel license costs $400. Grooming facility and training
facility licenses cost $200 each. Each license expires the December 31 following
its issuance and may be renewed every two years. Licensees must comply with state
regulations on sanitation, disease, humane treatment of animals, and public safety
as well as municipal zoning regulations (CGS § 22-344).
Additionally, the act specifies that a grooming facility, which is a place
maintained to groom dogs, includes a vehicle or trailer used for a dog grooming
business.
§ 2 — TECHNICAL CHANGE
Makes a technical change
The act makes a technical change.
§ 3 — ANIMAL POPULATION CONTROL PROGRAM
Allows a municipal pound to use a program voucher to have any dog or cat sterilized or
vaccinated before the animal is purchased or adopted from the pound
The act allows a municipal pound to use a voucher from the Animal Population
Control Program to get any dog or cat, rather than only ones with pyometra, O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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sterilized and vaccinated before the animal is purchased or adopted from the pound.
By law, municipal pounds cannot sell or give away an unspayed or unneutered
dog or cat unless the person buying or adopting the animal pays $45 for a spay and
neuter voucher. The person can redeem the voucher at a participating veterinarian
for sterilization and vaccination services, or the pound can arrange for the services
before releasing the animal. If the veterinarian determines the animal is medically
unfit for sterilization, the person may apply to DoAg for a refund.
§§ 4 & 5 — EQUINE HEALTH CERTIFICATE BEFORE AUCTION
Removes a requirement that the state veterinarian sign a health certificate for an equine being
brought to public auction; defines “Coggins test” as the official test for equine infectious anemia
The act removes a requirement that the state veterinarian sign a health
certificate that a state-licensed veterinarian issues for an equine (e.g., horse) being
brought to public auction. It also defines “Coggins test” as the official test for
equine infectious anemia, for which equines being auctioned must test negative by
law.
§ 6 — APIARY INSPECTOR
Removes the minimum qualifications for a person to be appointed as an apiary inspector
The act removes the minimum qualifications for an apiary inspector. Under
prior law, to be appointed as an inspector by the state entomologist, a person had to
meet the qualifications of an Agricultural Research Technician II at the Connecticut
Agricultural Experiment Station and have at least five years of beekeeping
experience or three years of experience as a bee inspector.
§ 7 — MILK REGULATION BOARD
Removes the requirement that the governor’s appointees to the Milk Regulation Board be
confirmed by either chamber of the General Assembly
The act removes the requirement that the governor’s eight appointees to the
Milk Regulation Board be confirmed by either General Assembly chamber,
allowing them to be seated without legislative review. By law, the board is
responsible for adopting regulations on the sale and production of milk and milk
products.
§ 8 — RABIES VACCINATION
Generally requires dogs and cats to receive a rabies vaccination between 12 and 14 weeks of age
The act requires owners or keepers of dogs or cats to have the animals
vaccinated against rabies when the animals are between 12 and 14 weeks old or at
the vaccine manufacturer’s recommended age as approved by the U.S. Department O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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of Agriculture (rather than at least three months old as under prior law) or later if
those ages have lapsed. A violation is an infraction.
§§ 9-13 — OPEN SPACE AND WATERSHED LAND ACQUISITION GRANT
PROGRAM
Allows up to 5% of OSWA grants to reimburse for in-kind services or incidental expenses under
certain circumstances; expands the circumstances under which OSWA grant funds may be used to
restore or protect open space already owned by the applicant, such as when the land is in an
environmental justice community; increases the membership of the Natural Heritage, Open Space
and Watershed Land Acquisition Review Board to include two DEEP-appointed members who
represent or are from certain communities, such as environmental justice areas; makes
conforming changes (§§ 12 & 13)
OSWA Grant Expansion (§§ 9 & 11)
The Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Program (OSWA), which the
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) administers,
generally gives state grants to municipalities, land trusts, and water companies to
buy land to be preserved as open space in perpetuity.
The act allows for up to 5% of the total amount of OSWA program grants in
any fiscal year to be made to distressed municipalities, targeted investment
communities, land trusts, and municipalities to reimburse for in-kind services or
incidental expenses (e.g., survey fees, appraisal costs, legal fees) to acquire land in
a distressed municipality, targeted investment community, or an environmental
justice community.
Prior law allowed DEEP, under the OSWA program, to give grants to distressed
municipalities and targeted investment communities to restore or protect natural
features or habitats on open space land they already own. The act expands the
eligibility of these grants to (1) municipalities that seek to restore or protect open
space in an environmental justice community and (2) land trusts that seek to restore
or protect open space in a distressed municipality, targeted investment community,
or environmental justice community. As under existing law, the total amount of the
grants that DEEP makes for this purpose cannot exceed 20% of all OSWA grants
made in any fiscal year.
The act caps the amount of program grants to municipalities with environmental
justice communities at 75% of the land value or 50% of the costs of work to restore,
enhance, or protect resources. This is the same percentage available under existing
law for distressed municipalities, targeted investment communities, land trusts, and
water companies.
By law, an “environmental justice community” is (1) a distressed municipality
or (2) any U.S. census block group, as determined by the most recent census, for
which at least 30% of the population consists of low-income people who are not
institutionalized and have an income below 200% of the federal poverty level.
Natural Heritage, Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Review Board (§
10)
O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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The act increases, from 21 to 23, the membership of the Natural Heritage, Open
Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Review Board. The DEEP commissioner
appoints both new members. One must represent a community of color, low-income
community, or community-based organization, or be a professor from a college or
university in Connecticut with environmental justice experience. The other must
live in a U.S. census block group, as determined by the most recent census, for
which at least 30% of the population consists of low-income people who are not
institutionalized and have an income below 200% of the federal poverty level.
By law, this board is responsible for helping and advising the DEEP
commissioner to carry out the requirements of the OSWA and Recreation and
Natural Heritage Trust programs, the latter of which is generally tasked with
acquiring land for public use that represents the state’s ecological diversity, is
essential habitat for endangered or threatened species, or is of unusual natural
interest. Board members serve three-year terms.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2024
§ 14 — EMINENT DOMAIN FOR FLOOD CONTROL IN BRIDGEPORT
Authorizes DEEP to acquire certain property in Bridgeport related to a flood control and
protection project; sets a process for DEEP, if needed, to require the relocation or removal of
public service facilities
The act authorizes DEEP to acquire by purchase, gift, devise, exchange, or
eminent domain up to 25.7 acres of real property (or its interests or rights) in
Bridgeport for flood control and protection and related public purposes. The
acquisition must be necessary to build a disaster relief, long-term recovery, or
infrastructure restoration project funded by a 2016 Community Development Block
Grant for natural disaster resilience (i.e., the Resilient Bridgeport project).
Under the act, the acquisition must occur before October 1, 2034, and the owner
of any private property subject to eminent domain may challenge the amount of
compensation involved in Superior Court.
If the DEEP commissioner determines that the property or its flood control and
protection improvement’s construction, operation, maintenance, repair, or
reconstruction would need a public service facility (e.g., power lines or pipelines)
to be readjusted, relocated, or removed, she may issue an order to do so to the
company, corporation, or municipality that owns or operates it.
After receiving the order, the public service facility must be promptly
readjusted, relocated, or removed, but the state must, within available
appropriations, pay an equitable share of the cost to do so, including the cost to
install and construct a public service facility of equal capacity in a new location.
The act specifies that the equitable share is calculated as the transportation
department calculates the equitable share for the same actions for state highways,
but not limited access highways.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2024