SB 896 — AN ACT CONCERNING TREE REMOVAL ON PROPERTIES UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.

Substitute Senate GeneralBill Assembly File No.

173896 JanuaryPublic Session,Act 2023 Substitute Senate Bill No.

89623-206 Senate,AN MarchACT 22,CONCERNING 2023TREE TheREMOVAL CommitteeON onPROPERTIES EnvironmentUNDER reportedTHE throughCONTROL SEN.OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.

LOPES of the 6th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING TREE REMOVAL ON PROPERTIES UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.

(NEW) (Effective from passage) Not later than January 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the environment that details the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's hazardous tree removal activities in state parks and forests for the previous calendar year.

(1) An identification of each state park and forest where any hazardous tree removal project occurred during such previous calendar year, (2) the total acreage for any such hazardous tree removal project, (3) an explanation of whether such hazardous tree removal project consisted of theremovalthe removal of already fallen trees or the felling of trees, (4) the reasons for any such hazardous tree removal project, (5) the total cost for any such hazardous tree removal project and sSB896the /source Fileof funding for such project, (6) a description of the removal of any hazardous tree or group of hazardous trees that possessed unique characteristics, including, but not limited to, age, caliper, species, Substitute Senate Bill No.

173896 1canopy sSB896or Fileaesthetics, No.and (7) a description of any planned or anticipated hazardous tree removal project in any state park for the forthcoming calendar year.

173Sec. the source of funding for such project, (6) a description of any emergency tree removal activities in any such state park or forest, including, but not limited to, the circumstance that constituted such emergency and the process utilized for making a determination of an emergency, (7) a description of the removal of any tree or group of trees that possessed unique characteristics, including, but not limited to, age, caliper, species, canopy or aesthetics, (8) details of any replanting activities undertaken or authorized by the department in any such state park or forest, including, but not limited to,the total acreage of any such replanting activities, the species and applicable caliper of trees or plants used in any such replanting and the costs and source of funding for any such replanting activities, and (9) a description of any planned or anticipated tree removal project in any state park or forest for the forthcoming calendar year.

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

from passage Section 1 New section ENV Joint Favorable Subst.

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173 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis 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.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill is not anticipated to result in a fiscal impact because the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has the expertise to report, annually and by January 1, 2024, on their tree removal activities in state parks and forests for the prior year.

The Out Years State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None sSB896 / File No.

173 3 sSB896 File No.

173 OLR Bill Analysis sSB 896 AN ACT CONCERNING TREE REMOVAL ON PROPERTIES UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.

SUMMARY By January 1, 2024, and then annually, this bill requires the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) commissioner to report to the Environment Committee on the department’s tree removal activities in state parks and forests during the prior year.

The annual report must contain the following information:

1.

each state park and forest where a tree removal project occurred in the prior calendar year;

Section 23-8 of the totalgeneral acreagestatutes foris eachamended project;by adding subsection (f) as follows (Effective October 1, 2023):

3.(NEW) (f) In order to ensure that the benefits of open space and tree cover are enjoyed equitably by residents of the state, it shall be the goal of the state to increase the total percentage of environmental justice communities, as defined in section 22a-20a, that are covered by tree canopy, not later than January 1, 2040, by five per cent of the total area of such communities that have a current tree canopy cover of less than forty per cent.

anApproved explanationJune of29, whether2023 thePublic projectsAct consistedNo. of removing fallen trees or cutting down trees;

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the reasons for each project;

5.

the total cost for each project and the funding sources;

6.

a description of any emergency tree removal activities in state parks or forests, including the circumstance that constituted the emergency and the process used to determine the emergency status;

7.

a description of any removed tree or group of trees with unique characteristics, including age, caliper, species, canopy, or aesthetics;

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