SB 301 — AN ACT REQUIRING THE PROVISION OF ALL-TERRAIN WHEELCHAIRS AT STATE PARKS.

Senate General Assembly CommitteeFile Bill No.

301694 January Session, 2023 LCOSenate Bill No.

3999301 ReferredSenate, toMay 4, 2023 The Committee on ENVIRONMENTAppropriations Introducedreported by:through SEN.

(ENV)OSTEN ANof ACTthe REQUIRING19th THEDist., PROVISIONChairperson OFof ALL-TERRAINthe WHEELCHAIRSCommittee ATon STATEthe PARKS.part of the Senate, that the bill ought to pass.

AN ACT REQUIRING THE PROVISION OF ALL-TERRAIN WHEELCHAIRS AT STATE PARKS.

(NEW) (Effective July 1, 2023) (a) Not later than October 1, 2023, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection shall select five state parks or campground facilities for the availability of all-terrainall- terrain wheelchairs to patrons of such parks or campground facilities.

Such all-all-terrain terrain wheelchairs shall be made available to such patrons, in accordance with the provisions of this section, not later than April 1, 2024.

(b) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection may establish rules for the hours of availability of such all-terrain wheelchairs in each such park or campground facility, as well as procedures and requirements for reserving, requesting the use of and operating such an all-terrain wheelchair in such state park or campgroundSB301 facility./ File No.

LCO694 39991 \\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2023SB-00301-R01SB301 ofFile 2 SB.docx Committee Bill No.

301694 (c) Not later than January 1, 2025, 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 concerning the use of such all-terrain wheelchairs in such state parks or campground facilities.facility.

(c) Not later than January 1, 2025, 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 concerning the use of such all-terrain wheelchairs in such state parks or campground facilities.

(1) Information on the number of patrons that used such all-terrain wheelchairs at each such state park or campground facility since the implementation of the requirements of this section, (2) a description of any problems or concerns that arose as aaresultoftheavailabilityofsuchall-terrainwheelchairspursuanttothis resultsection,(3)recommendationsasto ofthesufficiency theofproviding availability of such all-terrain wheelchairs pursuant to this section, (3) recommendations as to the sufficiency of providing two such all-terrain wheelchairs for each state park or campground facility, and (4) suggestions for the expansion of such availability of all-all-terrain terrain wheelchairs at additional state parks or campground facilities throughout the state.

Section 1 July 1, 2023 New section ENV Joint Favorable C/R APP APP Joint Favorable LCOSB301 3999/ {\\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2023SB-00301-2File ofNo. 2 R03-SB.docx }

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694 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:

Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 24 $ FY 25 $ Department of Energy and GF - Cost 250,000 None Environmental Protection Note:

GF=General Fund Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill requires the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to make two all-terrain wheelchairs available for free public use at each of five state parks or campgrounds by April 1, 2024.

This results in one-time costs in FY 24 of $250,000 to purchase ten all- terrain wheelchairs, assuming a cost of $25,000 per chair.

sHB 6659, the FY 24 and FY 25 budget bill, as favorably reported by the Appropriations Committee, provided $500,000 in FY 24 from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for this purpose.

The bill also requires the agency to establish rules and procedures for the use of the wheelchairs and report to the Environment Committee by January 1, 2025.

These requirements have no fiscal impact since the Parks Division has the staff capacity to handle them.

The Out Years There are no ongoing fiscal impacts as the one-time cost identified above would occur in FY 24 only.

SB301 / File No.

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694 OLR Bill Analysis SB 301 AN ACT REQUIRING THE PROVISION OF ALL-TERRAIN WHEELCHAIRS AT STATE PARKS.

SUMMARY This bill requires the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to make two all-terrain wheelchairs available for free public use at each of five state parks or campgrounds by April 1, 2024.

DEEP must select the five locations by October 1, 2023.

Under the bill, an “all-terrain wheelchair” is a battery-powered wheelchair with treads that can travel over trails, sand, gravel, and similar rugged terrain or ground cover.

The bill authorizes the DEEP commissioner to establish (1) rules for the hours the all-terrain wheelchairs will be available at each location and (2) procedures and requirements for reserving, requesting, and operating them.

It also requires the commissioner to submit a report to the Environment Committee by January 1, 2025, on the use of the all-terrain wheelchairsatthefive designatedlocations.Thereportmustincludethe number of people that used them at each location, any problems or concerns, whether two per location was sufficient, and suggestions to expand their availability to more state parks or campgrounds.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

July 1, 2023 COMMITTEE ACTION Environment Committee Joint Favorable Change of Reference - APP Yea 33 Nay 0 (03/10/2023) SB301 / File No.

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694 Appropriations Committee Joint Favorable Yea 52 Nay 0 (04/20/2023) SB301 / File No.

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