Connecticut 2024 Regular Session

Connecticut House Bill HB05353 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
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	3	+	LCO 1941 1 of 2
3	4
4		-	House Bill No. 5353
	5	+	General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5353
	6	+	February Session, 2024
	7	+	LCO No. 1941
5	8
6		-	Public Act No. 24-133
	9	+
	10	+	Referred to Committee on ENVIRONMENT
	11	+
	12	+
	13	+	Introduced by:
	14	+	(ENV)
	15	+
7	16
8	17
9	18		AN ACT CONCERNING THE GAS CYLINDER STEWARDSHIP
10	19		PROGRAM.
11	20		Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
12	21		Assembly convened:
13	22
14		-	Section 1. Subsection (e) of section 22a-905h of the general statutes is
15		-	repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from
16		-	passage):
17		-	(e) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall
18		-	approve a plan for the establishment of a gas cylinder stewardship
19		-	program, provided such plan meets the requirements of this section.
20		-	Not later than ninety days after submission of the plan, the
21		-	commissioner shall make a determination on whether to approve the
22		-	plan. Prior to making such determination, the commissioner shall post
23		-	the plan on the department's Internet web site and solicit public
24		-	comments on the plan. Such solicitation shall not be conducted pursuant
25		-	to chapter 54. In the event that the commissioner disapproves the plan
26		-	because it does not meet the requirements of this section, the
27		-	commissioner shall describe the reasons for the disapproval in a notice
28		-	of determination that the commissioner shall provide to the producer or
29		-	producer's designee that submitted the gas cylinder stewardship plan.
30		-	Such producer or producer's designee shall revise and resubmit the plan
31		-	to the commissioner not later than forty-five days after receipt of the House Bill No. 5353
	23	+	Section 1. Section 22a-905h of the general statutes is amended by 1
	24	+	adding subsection (v) as follows (Effective from passage): 2
	25	+	(NEW) (v) (1) A gas cylinder stewardship organization that 3
	26	+	implements an approved gas cylinder stewardship plan in accordance 4
	27	+	with the requirements of this section may bring a civil action against a 5
	28	+	producer for damages when: (A) The plaintiff incurs more than five 6
	29	+	hundred dollars in actual costs associated with administrative 7
	30	+	overhead, education, collection, handling, recycling and the approved 8
	31	+	disposal of the defendant producer's gas cylinders that are supplied, 9
	32	+	sold or offered for sale in this state; and (B) the defendant producer or 10
	33	+	the gas cylinder stewardship organization to which such defendant 11
	34	+	producer belongs is not in compliance with the provisions of this 12
	35	+	section. 13
	36	+	(2) The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection shall 14
	37	+	not be a necessary party to or be required to provide assistance or 15 Bill No. 5353
32	38
33		-	Public Act No. 24-133 2 of 5
34	39
35		-	commissioner's notice of disapproval. Not later than forty-five days
36		-	after receipt of the revised plan, the commissioner shall review and
37		-	approve or disapprove the revised plan, and provide a notice of
38		-	determination to the producer or producer's designee that submitted the
39		-	revised gas cylinder plan. Such producer or producer's designee may
40		-	resubmit a revised plan to the commissioner for approval on not more
41		-	than two occasions. If the producer or producer's designee fails to
42		-	submit a plan that is acceptable to the commissioner because it does not
43		-	meet the requirements of this section, the commissioner shall modify a
44		-	submitted plan to make it conform to the requirements of this section
45		-	and approve it. Not later than October 1, [2025] 2024, each producer
46		-	shall be part of an approved [and implemented] gas cylinder
47		-	stewardship program. Each gas cylinder stewardship program shall be
48		-	implemented not later than October 1, 2025.
49		-	Sec. 2. Subsections (p) to (u), inclusive, of section 22a-905h of the
50		-	general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu
51		-	thereof (Effective from passage):
52		-	(p) Whenever, in the judgment of the Commissioner of Energy and
53		-	Environmental Protection, any person has engaged in or is about to
54		-	engage in any act, practice or omission that constitutes, or will
55		-	constitute, a violation of any provision of this section, the Attorney
56		-	General may, at the request of the commissioner, bring an action in the
57		-	superior court for the judicial district of New Britain for an order
58		-	enjoining such act, practice or omission. Such order may require
59		-	remedial measures and direct compliance with the provisions of this
60		-	section. Upon a showing by the commissioner that such person has
61		-	engaged in or is about to engage in any such act, practice or omission,
62		-	the court may issue a permanent or temporary injunction, restraining
63		-	order or other order, as appropriate. Upon a finding that any producer
64		-	violated the provisions of this section, the court may impose a civil
65		-	penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars for each such House Bill No. 5353
	40	+	LCO 1941 2 of 2
66	41
67		-	Public Act No. 24-133 3 of 5
	42	+	otherwise participate in a civil action authorized pursuant to 16
	43	+	subdivision (1) of this subsection solely due to the department's 17
	44	+	regulatory responsibilities pursuant to this section, unless subject to 18
	45	+	subpoena before a court exercising jurisdiction over such matter. 19
	46	+	(3) A gas cylinder stewardship organization may file a civil action 20
	47	+	pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection regardless of whether such 21
	48	+	organization petitioned the department concerning a noncompliant 22
	49	+	producer or gas cylinder stewardship organization. 23
	50	+	(4) For the purposes of this subsection, "damages" means: (A) The 24
	51	+	actual costs a plaintiff gas cylinder stewardship organization incurs in 25
	52	+	administrative overhead, education, collection, handling, recycling or 26
	53	+	the approved disposal of gas cylinders that are reasonably identified as 27
	54	+	originating from another gas cylinder producer or gas cylinder 28
	55	+	stewardship organization; and (B) the costs and attorney's fees 29
	56	+	associated with bringing a civil action pursuant to subdivision (1) of this 30
	57	+	subsection. 31
	58	+	This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
	59	+	sections:
68	60
69		-	offense. Each such violation shall be a separate and distinct offense.
70		-	(q) Any action brought by the Attorney General pursuant to this
71		-	section shall have precedence in the order of trial, as provided in section
72		-	52-191.
73		-	(r) In the event that another state implements a gas cylinder recycling
74		-	program, a producer or producer's designee with an approved gas
75		-	cylinder stewardship plan may collaborate with such state to conserve
76		-	efforts and resources used in carrying out the applicable gas cylinder
77		-	stewardship program, provided such collaboration is consistent with
78		-	the requirements of this section.
79		-	(s) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection may
80		-	assess a reasonable fee to each producer or producer's designee with an
81		-	approved gas cylinder stewardship plan for administration of the
82		-	applicable gas cylinder stewardship program. The Commissioner of
83		-	Energy and Environmental Protection shall determine the share to be
84		-	paid by each producer or producer's designee based on the share of the
85		-	gas cylinder market represented by the producer or producer's
86		-	designee. The total annual fees assessed on each producer with an
87		-	approved gas cylinder stewardship plan shall not exceed a rate of two
88		-	thousand dollars. The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental
89		-	Protection shall annually publish documentation on the department's
90		-	use of such fees.
91		-	(t) Any producer who fails to participate in an approved gas cylinder
92		-	stewardship plan shall not supply, sell or offer for sale gas cylinders in
93		-	this state.
94		-	(u) Notwithstanding any provision of this section, upon
95		-	identification of any producer who is not participating in an approved
96		-	gas cylinder stewardship program, the Commissioner of Energy and
97		-	Environmental Protection shall issue a notice of noncompliance to such House Bill No. 5353
	61	+	Section 1 from passage 22a-905h(v)
98	62
99		-	Public Act No. 24-133 4 of 5
100		-
101		-	producer. Not later than January first of each year following
102		-	implementation of such program, the Commissioner of Energy and
103		-	Environmental Protection shall issue a report to the joint standing
104		-	committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters
105		-	relating to the environment on steps taken by the commissioner to
106		-	address noncompliance with the provisions of this section and shall
107		-	include in such report a list of [noncompliant] compliant producers that
108		-	[received a notice of noncompliance pursuant to this subsection and that
109		-	are not in compliance as of the date of such report] is based on
110		-	information provided by any such gas cylinder stewardship
111		-	organization. The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental
112		-	Protection shall publish [a] such list of the names of producers that are
113		-	compliant with the provisions of this section on the Department of
114		-	Energy and Environmental Protection's Internet web site.
115		-	Sec. 3. Section 22a-905h of the general statutes is amended by adding
116		-	subsection (v) as follows (Effective from passage):
117		-	(NEW) (v) (1) Any gas cylinder stewardship organization that
118		-	implements an approved gas cylinder stewardship plan in accordance
119		-	with the requirements of this section may bring a civil action against a
120		-	producer for damages when: (A) Such stewardship organization incurs
121		-	more than five hundred dollars in actual costs associated with
122		-	administrative overhead, education, collection, handling, recycling and
123		-	the approved disposal of the defendant producer's gas cylinders that are
124		-	supplied, sold or offered for sale in this state; and (B) the defendant
125		-	producer or the gas cylinder stewardship organization to which such
126		-	noncompliant producer belongs is not in compliance with the
127		-	provisions of this section.
128		-	(2) Any gas cylinder stewardship organization may file a civil action
129		-	pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection regardless of whether such
130		-	organization notified the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental
131		-	Protection concerning such noncompliant producer or gas cylinder House Bill No. 5353
132		-
133		-	Public Act No. 24-133 5 of 5
134		-
135		-	stewardship organization.
136		-	(3) For the purposes of this subsection, "damages" means: (A) The
137		-	actual costs a plaintiff gas cylinder stewardship organization incurs in
138		-	administrative overhead, education, collection, handling, recycling or
139		-	the approved disposal of gas cylinders that are reasonably identified as
140		-	originating from another gas cylinder producer or gas cylinder
141		-	stewardship organization; and (B) the costs and reasonable attorney's
142		-	fees associated with bringing a civil action pursuant to subdivision (1)
143		-	of this subsection.
	63	+	ENV Joint Favorable
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