SB 840 — AN ACT CONCERNING CONNECTICUT'S SHELLFISH RESTORATION PROGRAM, THE CONNECTICUT SEAFOOD COUNCIL AND THE TAXATION OF CERTAIN UNDERWATER FARMLANDS.

Senate GeneralBill Assembly File No.

144840 JanuaryPublic Session,Act 2021 Senate Bill No.

84021-24 Senate,AN MarchACT 25,CONCERNING 2021CONNECTICUT'S TheSHELLFISH CommitteeRESTORATION onPROGRAM, EnvironmentTHE reportedCONNECTICUT throughSEAFOOD SEN.COUNCIL AND THE TAXATION OF CERTAIN UNDERWATER FARMLANDS.

COHEN of the 12th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING CONNECTICUT'S SHELLFISH RESTORATION PROGRAM AND THE CONNECTICUT SEAFOOD COUNCIL.

Section 26-237b of the general statutes is repealed and the SB840following /is Filesubstituted No.in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021):

144 1 SB840 File No.

144 following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021):

The proceeds of any bonds authorized for the purpose ofSenate sectionBill 26-237a,No. as amended by this act, and any private, state or federal grants or direct funding received or awarded for the purposes of section 26-237a, as amended by this act, shall be deposited in the fund.

840 of section 26-237a, as amended by this act, and any private, state or federal grants or direct funding received or awarded for the purposes of section 26-237a, as amended by this act, shall be deposited in the fund.

The advisory council shall be within the SB840Department /of FileAgriculture.] No.the following thirteen members:

144(1) 2The SB840Public FileAct No.

14421-24 Department2 of Agriculture.]5 theSenate followingBill thirteenNo. members:

(1)840 The Commissioner of Agriculture, or the commissioner's designee;

ThisSec. act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:

Section4. 1 October 1, 2021 26-237a Sec.

2Section 12-107b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 20212021, 26-237band Sec.applicable to tax assessments on and after said date):

3When Octoberused 1,in 2021sections 22-45512-107a ENVto Joint12-107e, Favorableinclusive, SB840and /12-107g: File No.

144Public 3Act SB840 File No.

14421-24 The3 followingof Fiscal5 ImpactSenate Statement and Bill AnalysisNo. are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In840 general,(1) fiscalThe impactsterm are"farm basedland" uponmeans aany varietytract ofor informationaltracts sources,of land, including thewoodland analyst’sand professionalwasteland knowledge.and any underwater farmlands used for aquaculture, constituting a farm unit;

Whenever(2) applicable,The agencyterm data"forest island" consultedmeans asany parttract or tracts of land aggregating twenty-five acres or more in area bearing tree growth that conforms to the analysis,forest howeverstocking, finaldistribution productsand docondition notstandards necessarilyestablished reflectby antheStateForester assessmentpursuant fromto subsection (a)of section 12- 107d, and consisting of (A) one tract of land of twenty-five or more contiguous acres, which acres may be in contiguous municipalities, (B) two or more tracts of land aggregating twenty-five acres or more in which no single component tract shall consist of less than ten acres, or (C) any specifictract department.of land which is contiguous to a tract owned by the same owner and has been classified as forest land pursuant to this section;

OFA(3) FiscalThe Noteterm State"open Impact:space land" means any area of land, including forest land, land designated as wetland under section 22a-30 and not excluding farm land, the preservation or restriction of the use of which would (A) maintain and enhance the conservation of natural or scenic resources, (B) protect natural streams or water supply, (C) promote conservation of soils, wetlands, beaches or tidal marshes, (D) enhance the value to the public of abutting or neighboring parks, forests, wildlife preserves, nature reservations or sanctuaries or other open spaces, (E) enhance public recreation opportunities, (F) preserve historic sites, or (G) promote orderly urban or suburban development;

None(4) MunicipalThe Impact:word "municipality" means any town, consolidated town and city, or consolidated town and borough;

None(5) Explanation The billterm expands"planning thecommission" state'smeans shellfisha restorationplanning programcommission bycreated allowingpursuant the Department of Agriculture (DoAg) to performsection several8-19; additional activities.

Section(6) 1The allowsterm the"plan Department of Agricultureconservation (DoAg)and todevelopment" obtainmeans shellfisha cultchplan forof depositdevelopment, onincluding shellfishany bedsamendment inthereto, additionprepared toor purchasingPublic it.Act No.

This21-24 has4 noof fiscal5 impactSenate sinceBill itNo. codifies current practice.

The840 agencyadopted ispursuant currentlyto collectingsection shellfish8-23; cultch from municipalities by sweeping public beaches.

This(7) sectionThe alsoterm allows"certified DoAgforester" tomeans contract with a shellpractitioner recoverycertified vesselas toa collectforester andpursuant depositto shellsection on23-65h; shellfish beds.

Thisand has(8) noThe fiscalterm impact"maritime heritage land" means that portion of waterfront real property owned by a licensed shellstock shipper, aquaculture operator or commercial lobster fisherman licensed pursuant to title 26, when such portion of such property is used by such shellstock shipper, aquaculture operator or fisherman for shellfishing, aquacultureor commerciallobsteringpurposes,providedinthetaxyear of the Generalowner Fundending sinceimmediately prior to any newassessment contractsdate wouldwith berespect fundedto throughwhich application is submitted pursuant to section 12-107g, not less than fifty per cent of the “Shellfishadjusted Fund”.Itgross may,income however,of resultsuch inshellstock increasedshipper, costsaquaculture tooperator or fisherman, as determined for purposes of the Shellfishfederal Fundincome whichtax, is aderived separate,from nonlapsingcommercial accountshellfishing, ofaquaculture or lobster fishing, subject to proof satisfactory to the Generalassessor Fundin administeredthe bytown DoAg.in which such application is submitted.

The"Maritime balanceheritage inland" thisdoes accountnot isinclude currentlybuildings $70,577.not used exclusively by such shellstock shipper, aquaculture operator or fisherman for commercial shellfishing, aquaculture or lobstering purposes.

SectionSec. 2 allows DoAg to seek new private, state, or federal grants for deposit into the Shellfish Fund.

This5. may result in a revenue gain to the Shellfish Fund to the extent additional revenue is generated from these sources.

AnySection revenue26-250 fromof these grants would be expected to offset any costs to the Shellfishgeneral Fundstatutes discussedis inrepealed. Section 1.

SB840(Effective /October File1, 2021) Approved June 7, 2021 Public Act No.

14421-24 45 SB840of File5 No.

144 Lastly, Section 3 restores the Connecticut Seafood Advisory Council and renames it the Connecticut Seafood Development Council.

This has no fiscal impact.

The Out Years State Impact:

None Municipal Impact: