Sec. 32-300. Office of Tourism. (a) There is established within the Department of Economic and Community Development an Office of Tourism. The office shall be administered by a director of tourism appointed by the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, with the consent of the Connecticut Tourism Council established under section 32-301. Said director shall have substantial experience in the tourism field and shall be exempt from the classified service.
(b) The Office of Tourism shall:
(1) Develop and annually update a strategic marketing plan for the national and international promotion of Connecticut as a tourism destination, submit such plan, annual updates and annual budgets for the implementation of such plan to the Connecticut Tourism Council established under section 32-301 for its approval and implement such plan and budgets as approved or amended by the council;
(2) Assist the council in reviewing the annual plans of the tourism districts established under section 32-302 for compatibility with the strategic marketing plan described in subdivision (1) of this subsection;
(3) Provide marketing and other assistance to the tourism industry;
(4) In cooperation with the tourism districts, maintain, operate and manage the visitor welcome centers in the state;
(5) (A) Develop a program of challenge grants to encourage innovation and job development, provide incentives for coordinated activity consistent with the strategic marketing plan and stimulate the development of private funds for tourism promotion, (B) make recommendations to the council as to which applications should be approved and (C) make grants in accordance with the decisions of the council; and
(6) (A) Develop a program of grants to municipalities which are affected by the presence of tourist attractions within such municipalities or within neighboring or adjoining municipalities, which municipal effects may include, but are not limited to, increased traffic on municipal roads and the increased presence of support services in a municipality, (B) make recommendations to the council as to which applications should be approved and (C) make grants in accordance with the decisions of the council. The Office of Tourism shall establish application procedures for such grants, including but not limited to, deadlines for submitting applications and a requirement that a municipality applying for such funds set forth in the application the purposes for which the funds are requested, which purposes may include police services, fire services, bridge and road reconstruction or repair, signage, public safety, lighting, planning and zoning activities, zoning enforcement activities and other municipal functions of the municipality. The Office of Tourism shall also establish criteria for assessing the municipal effects of tourist attractions and the proposed purposes for which the funds are requested. No municipality may receive, during any state fiscal year, more than twenty-five per cent of the funds available for such grants for such year.
(P.A. 92-184, S. 1, 19; P.A. 95-250, S. 1; 95-347, S. 3, 6; P.A. 96-211, S. 1, 5, 6.)
History: P.A. 95-250 and P.A. 96-211 replaced Commissioner and Department of Economic Development with Commissioner and Department of Economic and Community Development; P.A. 95-347 amended Subsec. (b) by inserting "operate" in Subdiv. (4) and adding Subdiv. (5) re grants to municipalities affected by tourist attractions, effective July 1, 1995.

(Return to TOC) (Return to Chapters) (Return to Titles)

Sec. 32-301. Connecticut Tourism Council. (a) There is established within the Department of Economic and Community Development, for administrative purposes only, a Connecticut Tourism Council. The council shall consist of (1) the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, (2) the Commissioner of Transportation, or a designee, (3) the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, or a designee, (4) the Commissioner of Agriculture, or a designee, (5) four members appointed by the Governor, one of whom shall represent the campground industry, one of whom shall represent a chamber of commerce, one of whom shall represent a tourist attraction, and one of whom shall represent the arts and (6) six members appointed as follows: (A) One by the president pro tempore of the Senate, who shall represent the hotel and motel industry, (B) one by the majority leader of the Senate, who shall represent a convention center authority or coliseum authority, (C) one by the minority leader of the Senate, who shall represent the restaurant industry, (D) one by the speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall represent a tourism district, (E) one by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, who shall represent a tourism district and (F) one by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, who shall represent tour bus companies. All members appointed by the Governor shall serve a term of four years. The terms of all members appointed by members of the General Assembly shall be coterminous with the terms of members of the General Assembly. No member of the council who represents a tourism district may (i) serve for consecutive terms on the council or (ii) represent the same tourism district as such member's predecessor on the council. The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall serve as chairperson of the council.
(b) The council shall:
(1) Adopt procedures for the operation of the council and the oversight of the Office of Tourism;
(2) Review and approve or amend the strategic marketing plan developed by the Office of Tourism pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section 32-300;
(3) (A) Review the plans and activities of the tourism districts established under section 32-302, the convention center authorities and the coliseum authorities, and (B) determine whether such plans and activities are consistent with the strategic marketing plan and will promote economic growth and employment opportunities in the state provided, in making such determination, the council shall consider the statutory mission of the districts and the unique mission of each district and further provided the council shall provide any recommendations for changes in such plans or activities to the board of directors for each district;
(4) Not later than January 15, 1993, and annually thereafter, submit a report on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the Department of Economic and Community Development which report shall further include a description of tourism promotion efforts by the state;
(5) Determine which applications for challenge grants should be approved under subdivision (5) of section 32-300;
(6) Allocate not more than four hundred twenty-nine thousand dollars between July 1, 1994, and June 30, 1996, from the tourism account established under section 32-303, to carry out the purposes of sections 32-306 and 32-307, which shall include, but not be limited to, the operation of the visitor welcome centers;
(7) Make a grant to each tourism district whose allocation under section 32-305 during any fiscal year is less than one hundred thousand dollars. The amount of any such grant shall be the difference of one hundred thousand dollars and the amount of such allocation;
(8) Determine which applications for municipal grants should be approved under subdivision (6) of subsection (b) of section 32-300; and
(9) Review the current year budget submitted pursuant to subsection (e) of section 32-302, for each tourism district established under section 32-302.
(c) No grant under subsection (b) of this section shall be made to a tourism district which the council determines is engaging in activities inconsistent with the strategic marketing plan.
(P.A. 92-184, S. 2, 19; P.A. 94-155, S. 3, 5; May 25 Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-1, S. 102, 130; P.A. 95-134, S. 1, 2; 95-250, S. 1; 95-290, S. 1, 3; 95-347, S. 4, 6; P.A. 96-211, S. 1, 5, 6; P.A. 97-238, S. 2; P.A. 99-144; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 99-1, S. 22, 51; P.A. 00-212, S. 2.)
History: P.A. 94-155 added Subdiv. (6) to Subsec. (b), re allocation to carry out purposes of Secs. 32-306 and 32-307, effective July 1, 1994; May 25 Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-1 substituted "tourism account" for "tourism fund" in Subdiv. (6) of Subsec. (b), effective July 1, 1994; P.A. 95-134 amended Subsec. (a) to add Commissioners of Transportation and Environmental Protection, or their designees, to the council and to delete obsolete provisions governing initial appointments, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-250 and P.A. 96-211 replaced Commissioner and Department of Economic Development with Commissioner and Department of Economic and Community Development; P.A. 95-290 added Subdiv. (7) to Subsec. (b), requiring council to make grant to each tourism district whose annual allocation under Sec. 32-305 is less than one hundred thousand dollars and redesignated provision in Subdiv. (5) forbidding grants to districts which engage in activities inconsistent with marketing plan as Subsec. (c), effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-347 amended Subsec. (b) to move provision formerly in Subdiv. (5) prohibiting grants to districts which engage in activities inconsistent with marketing plan to new Subsec. (c), to specify use of funds for operation of tourist centers in Subdiv. (6), and to add Subdiv. (7) re approval of grants under Sec. 32-300(b)(6), effective July 1, 1995 (Revisor's note: In 1997 a reference in Subsec. (b)(6) to "sections 36-306 and 36-307" was changed editorially by the Revisors to "sections 32-306 and 32-307" to correct a clerical error in the codification of P.A. 94-155); P.A. 97-238 amended Subsec. (b) to add responsibilities re review of tourism districts and reporting of tourism promotion efforts; P.A. 99-144 amended Subsec. (a) to add the Commissioner of Agriculture to the Connecticut Tourism Council and make technical changes; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 99-1 amended Subsec. (b) to add Subdiv. (9) re review of tourism district budgets, effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 00-212 amended Subsec. (b)(9) by making a technical change.
See Sec. 4-38f for definition of "administrative purposes only".

(Return to TOC) (Return to Chapters) (Return to Titles)

Sec. 32-302. Tourism districts. Boards of directors. Budgets. Coordination of activities. (a) There are established tourism districts to promote and market districts as regional leisure and business traveler destinations to stimulate economic growth. There shall be eleven tourism districts as follows:
(1) The Greater Fairfield district, consisting of: Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, New Canaan, Wilton, Norwalk, Weston, Westport, Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Bridgeport and Stratford;
(2) The Greater Waterbury district, consisting of: Waterbury, Wolcott, Watertown, Middlebury, Naugatuck, Thomaston, Beacon Falls, Oxford and Seymour;
(3) The Greater New Haven district, consisting of: Prospect, Bethany, Hamden, Ansonia, Derby, Orange, Milford, West Haven, Woodbridge, North Haven, New Haven, East Haven, North Branford, Shelton and Trumbull;
(4) The Connecticut Valley district, consisting of: Meriden, Wallingford, Cromwell, Middletown, Middlefield, Portland, East Hampton, Durham, Haddam, East Haddam, Killingworth, Clinton, Chester, Deep River, Essex, Westbrook, Old Saybrook, Branford, Guilford and Madison;
(5) The Southeastern Connecticut district, consisting of: Colchester, Salem, Lyme, Old Lyme, East Lyme, Franklin, Bozrah, Montville, Waterford, New London, Sprague, Lisbon, Norwich, Preston, Ledyard, Groton, Griswold, Voluntown, North Stonington and Stonington;
(6) The Litchfield Hills district, consisting of: Salisbury, Sharon, Kent, New Milford, North Canaan, Canaan, Cornwall, Warren, Washington, Roxbury, Southbury, Norfolk, Goshen, Litchfield, Morris, Bethlehem, Woodbury, Colebrook, Winchester, Torrington, Hartland, Barkhamsted, New Hartford, Harwinton, Plymouth and Bristol;
(7) The Central Connecticut district, consisting of: Southington, Berlin, Plainville, New Britain and Cheshire;
(8) The Greater Hartford district, consisting of: Canton, Simsbury, South Windsor, Ellington, Vernon, Tolland, Burlington, Avon, West Hartford, Hartford, East Hartford, Manchester, Bolton, Andover, Farmington, Newington, Wethersfield, Glastonbury, Marlborough, Hebron and Rocky Hill;
(9) The Northeast Connecticut district, consisting of: Union, Woodstock, Thompson, Willington, Ashford, Eastford, Pomfret, Putnam, Killingly, Coventry, Mansfield, Chaplin, Hampton, Brooklyn, Columbia, Lebanon, Windham, Scotland, Canterbury, Plainfield and Sterling;
(10) The Housatonic Valley district, consisting of: Bethel, Bridgewater, Brookfield, Danbury, New Fairfield, Newtown, Redding, Ridgefield and Sherman; and
(11) The Tobacco Valley district, consisting of: Granby, East Granby, Suffield, Windsor Locks, Windsor, Bloomfield, Enfield, East Windsor, Somers and Stafford.
(b) Each tourism district shall have a board of directors consisting of one representative from each municipality within the district with a population less than sixty-five thousand and two representatives from each municipality within the district with a population greater than sixty-five thousand, appointed by the board of selectmen of towns, the council or board of aldermen of cities or the board of burgesses of boroughs. Any such director shall serve for a term of three years. In addition, the board of directors may appoint up to twenty-one persons representing tourism interests within the district to serve on the board. All appointments to the board of directors shall be reported to the director of the Office of Tourism. A tourism district shall indemnify any director or employee of such district for liability imposed by law for negligent acts or omissions.
(c) The provisions of section 1-210 shall apply to each tourism district and to any other entity contracting with a tourist district to carry out the functions of the region.
(d) The Office of Tourism shall assist each tourism district to establish an ad hoc committee to draft a charter and bylaws for the tourism district and to organize the initial meeting of the board of directors of the district.
(e) On or before January first of each year each district shall (1) submit to the Connecticut Tourism Council (A) its budget for the prior year, and (B) for review, the budget for the current year provided both such submittals shall be in a form developed collectively by the districts, the Connecticut Tourism Council and the Office of Policy and Management and shall be based on tourism industry standards, and (2) submit to the Office of Policy and Management an independent audit in accordance with the provisions of sections 4-230 to 4-236, inclusive.
(f) Each tourism district shall coordinate its activities with any private nonprofit tourist association within the district and within this state, which promotes tourism industry businesses in this state, in order to foster cooperation in the promotion of such businesses.
(P.A. 92-184, S. 3, 19; P.A. 97-238, S. 3; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 99-1, S. 23, 51.)
History: P.A. 92-184, S. 3 effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 97-238 amended Subsec. (a) to provide a statutory mission for the districts, amended Subsec. (b) to establish three-year terms for directors on district boards and to provide that districts shall indemnify directors or employees for liability imposed by law for negligence, added new Subsec. (e) re submission of budgets to the Connecticut Tourism Council and audits to the Office of Policy and Management and added new Subsec. (f) re coordination of activities; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 99-1 amended Subsec. (e) to add subparagraph designators "(A)" and "(B)" and provide that the submittal of the current year budget under Subpara. (B) be for review by the council, effective July 1, 1999.

(Return to TOC) (Return to Chapters) (Return to Titles)

Sec. 32-303. Tourism account. There is established an account to be known as the "tourism account". The account may contain any moneys required by law to be deposited in the account. Any balance remaining in said account at the end of any fiscal year shall be carried forward in said account for the fiscal year next succeeding. The moneys in said account shall be allocated for the purposes of (1) the strategic marketing plan and challenge grants required by section 32-300 and (2) subdivisions (6) and (7) of subsection (b) of section 32-301.
(P.A. 92-184, S. 4, 19; P.A. 94-95, S. 17; 94-155, S. 4, 5; P.A. 95-290, S. 2, 3; P.A. 96-211, S. 4, 6.)
History: P.A. 94-95 changed name of fund from "Tourism Fund" to "tourism account"; P.A. 94-155 required moneys in (fund) account to be allocated for purposes of Sec. 32-301(b)(6), effective July 1, 1994; P.A. 95-290 required that moneys in account be used for purposes of Subsec. (b)(7) of Sec. 32-301, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-211 deleted obsolete provision re use of moneys in the account during fiscal year ending June 30, 1993, effective July 1, 1996.

(Return to TOC) (Return to Chapters) (Return to Titles)

Sec. 32-304. Payments received from sale of tourism advertising or products by commissioner to be deposited in tourism account. Any funds received by the state as payment for tourism advertising or products, sold by the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, shall be deposited in the tourism account established in section 32-303.
(P.A. 92-184, S. 16, 19; P.A. 95-250, S. 1; P.A. 96-211, S. 1, 5, 6.)
History: P.A. 92-184, S. 16 effective July 1, 1993; (Revisor's note: In 1995, references to "Tourism Fund" were replaced editorially by the Revisors with references to "tourism account" to conform section with Sec. 32-303, as amended by P.A. 94-95); P.A. 95-250 and P.A. 96-211 replaced Commissioner and Department of Economic Development with Commissioner and Department of Economic and Community Development.

(Return to TOC) (Return to Chapters) (Return to Titles)

Sec. 32-304a. Tourism impact account. There is established an account to be known as the "tourism impact account" which shall be a separate nonlapsing account within the General Fund. The account may contain any moneys required by law to be deposited in the account. The moneys in said account shall be allocated for the purposes of subdivision (6) of subsection (b) of section 32-300.
(P.A. 95-347, S. 1, 6.)
History: P.A. 95-347 effective July 1, 1995.

(Return to TOC) (Return to Chapters) (Return to Titles)

Sec. 32-305. Tourism districts and convention center, coliseum and maritime center authorities to receive portion of hotel, lodging house sales tax receipts. Allocations to cultural heritage development account and to Connecticut Film, Video and Media Office. Audits. Regulations. Borrowing. (a) The Commissioner of Revenue Services shall segregate (1) one and one-half per cent of the gross receipts from sales within the meaning of subdivision (h) of subsection (2) of section 12-407 by any hotel or lodging house located in any municipality having a population of less than sixty- five thousand, (2) three and one-half per cent of the gross receipts from such sales in any municipality having a population of sixty-five thousand or more but less than seventy-five thousand, and (3) four and one-half per cent of the gross receipts from such sales in any municipality having a population of seventy-five thousand or more, provided the commissioner shall segregate three and one-half per cent of the gross receipts from such sales in the municipality having the most popular tourist attraction in the state, as determined by the Office of Tourism, if such municipality has a population of less than sixty-five thousand. Such segregated funds shall be allocated to tourism districts established under section 32-302 as follows: The portion of the funds attributable to such tax receipts in a municipality shall be allocated to the tourism district in which the municipality is located, provided (A) ninety per cent of the amount attributable to such gross receipts from sales in Hartford shall be allocated to the Capital City Economic Development Authority and ten per cent of the amount attributable to such gross receipts from sales in Hartford shall be allocated to the Greater Hartford Arts Council, (B) seventy-five per cent of the amount attributable to such gross receipts from sales in New Haven shall be allocated to the New Haven Coliseum Authority, (C) seventy-five per cent of the amount attributable to such gross receipts from sales in Stamford shall be allocated to the Stamford Center for the Arts, (D) seventy-five per cent of the amount attributable to such gross receipts from sales in Norwalk shall be allocated to the Maritime Center Authority, and (E) seventy-five per cent of the amount attributable to such gross receipts from sales in Bridgeport shall be allocated to the Greater Fairfield district established in section 32-302, for the sole purpose of marketing tourist attractions located in Bridgeport. If for any state fiscal year the amount of the allocation under subparagraph (E) is less than the amount of funds allocated during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1991, to the then existing Bridgeport Convention and Visitors Bureau, pursuant to sections 7- 136b and 7-136c of the general statutes, revised to January 1, 1991, the Connecticut Tourism Council shall provide a grant under section 32-300, from the tourism account, in the amount of such difference, to said Greater Fairfield district for the purpose set forth in subparagraph (E). Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1998, the Commissioner of Revenue Services shall segregate one hundred fifty thousand dollars from any increase in receipts of such amount segregated under this section during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1997, and shall allocate such segregated amount to the Connecticut Film, Video and Media Office established under section 32-86a, provided the amount segregated and allocated to any entity under this section is not less than the amount segregated and allocated during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1997. Not later than January 1, 1999, and annually thereafter, each tourism district and each authority receiving funds under this section shall submit to the Connecticut Tourism Council a full audit of the books and accounts of the district or authority for the preceding fiscal year at the same time that an audit is submitted to the Office of Policy and Management under subsection (f) of section 32-302. Each such audit shall be conducted by an independent certified public accountant. The Commissioner of Revenue Services shall also segregate an additional one million dollars of the sales tax receipts from such sales in the state during each state fiscal year and allocate such funds to the cultural heritage development account established under section 10- 373bb. The Commissioner of Revenue Services may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, concerning accounting procedures necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.
(b) Except as provided by law, a tourism district, convention center authority, coliseum authority or the Capital City Economic Development Authority, as the case may be, may borrow money to pay its obligations that cannot be paid at maturity out of current revenue from such allocations, but shall not borrow a sum greater than can be repaid out of the allocations anticipated during the year in which the money is borrowed. The tourism district, convention center authority or coliseum authority, as the case may be, may pledge its securities to secure the repayment of any sum so borrowed.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, if ninety days have elapsed since a plan for corrective action has been filed for a tourism district under subsection (g) of section 4-233 and the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, in consultation with the Connecticut Tourism Council, finds that the plan has not been implemented, the secretary shall notify the Commissioner of Revenue Services who shall then segregate ten per cent of the district's monthly disbursement of funds under subsection (a) of this section and deposit such amount into a separate account each month until the secretary finds that such plan is being implemented at which time he shall inform said commissioner who shall then disburse any funds accrued in the account to the district.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, (1) the funds segregated by the Commissioner of Revenue Services under subsection (a) of this section that are attributable to a hotel opened, or to new rooms added to an existing hotel, in the city of Hartford on or after May 2, 2000, shall be allocated (A) ten per cent to the Greater Hartford Arts Council, and (B) ninety per cent to the Capital City Economic Development Authority to be used by the authority, among other purposes, for start-up and operating expenses of, and a replacement reserve for, the convention center, as defined in section 32-600, and (2) commencing July 1, 2003, and continuing until such time as the Capital City Economic Development Authority shall certify to the Commissioner of Revenue Services that such an additional source of revenue is no longer needed by the authority to meet current or projected operating deficiencies of the convention center, fifty per cent of the excess of (A) the funds segregated by the Commissioner of Revenue Services each month under subsection (a) of this section that are attributable to gross receipts from sales in the Greater Hartford district established in section 32-302, exclusive of such amounts otherwise allocated to the capital city economic development district pursuant to this section, over (B) the average monthly amount segregated and allocated to the Greater Hartford district under subsection (a) of this section, exclusive of such amounts allocated to the Capital City Economic Development Authority, during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2000, shall be allocated to the Capital City Economic Development Authority and used by the authority exclusively to pay, or to fund an operating expense reserve account to provide for the future payment of, start-up and operating expenses of the convention center. In the event that at any time the Capital City Economic Development Authority determines that amounts deposited and then held in such operating expense reserve account pursuant to this section are no longer needed to meet current or projected operating deficiencies of the convention center, the authority shall return such amounts to the Greater Hartford district for use in accordance with its purposes.
(P.A. 92-184, S. 15, 19; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-11, S. 58, 70; P.A. 94-175, S. 7, 32; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-4, S. 80, 85; P.A. 95-160, S. 64, 69; 95-347, S. 5, 6; P.A. 97-238, S. 4; 97-243, S. 45, 67; 97-315, S. 3, 4; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-11, S. 37, 65; P.A. 98-179, S. 19, 30; P.A. 00-140, S. 31, 40.)
History: P.A. 92-184, S. 15 effective July 1, 1993; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-11 made a technical change in Subsec. (a); P.A. 94-175 in Subsec. (a) eliminated the reference to the taxation of campgrounds, effective June 2, 1994 (Revisor's note: In 1995 a reference to "Tourism Fund" was changed editorially by the Revisors to "tourism account" to conform section with Sec. 32-305, as amended by P.A. 94-95); May Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-4 and P.A. 95-160 revised effective date of P.A. 94- 175 but without affecting this section; P.A. 95-347 amended Subsec. (a) by requiring Revenue Services Commissioner to segregate funds for cultural heritage development account, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 97-238 amended Subsec. (a) to coordinate submission of audits under this section to the Connecticut Tourism Council with submission of audits to the Office of Policy and Management and added new Subsec. (c) re withholding of monthly disbursements of revenue by the Commissioner of Revenue Services; P.A. 97-243 amended Subsec. (a) to change reference to sales and gross receipts instead of tax and tax receipts, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 97-315 amended Subsec. (a) by requiring Commissioner of Revenue Services to segregate funds for the fiscal year 1997-1998 to the Connecticut Film, Video and Media Office, effective July 10, 1997; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-11 amended Subsec. (a) to make technical corrections to provision added by P.A. 97-315 requiring commissioner, during fiscal year ending June 30, 1998, to segregate one hundred fifty thousand dollars from any increase in receipts of amount segregated during fiscal year ending June 30, 1997, and allocate such amount to Connecticut Film, Video and Media Office, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-179 amended Subsec. (a)(3)(A) to allocate ninety per cent of amount to the Capital City Economic Development Authority and ten per cent to the Greater Hartford Arts Council and deleted the Connecticut Convention Center Authority, effective July 1, 1998; (Revisor's note: During the preparation of the 1999 revision, Subsec. (c), added by P.A. 97-238, was omitted due to a clerical error. Said Subsec. (c), re withholding of monthly disbursements of revenue by the Commissioner of Revenue Services, was reinstated editorially by the Revisors, and will appear for the first time in the General Statutes in the 2001 revision); P.A. 00-140 added Subsec. (d) re an allocation of funds to the Greater Hartford Arts Council and to the Capital City Economic Development Authority, effective May 2, 2000 (Revisor's note: P.A. 00-140 designated this new Subsec. as Subsec. "(c)", but since P.A. 97-238 had already added a new Subsec. "(c)" P.A. 00-140 was designated editorially by the Revisors as Subsec. "(d)").

(Return to TOC) (Return to Chapters) (Return to Titles)

Sec. 32-306. Definitions. As used in sections 32-306 and 32-307:
(1) "Visitor welcome center" means the welcome centers, visitor centers and tourist information centers located in Middletown, Southington, Wallingford, West Willington, Greenwich, Windsor Locks, Danbury, Darien, North Stonington, Plainfield, Westbrook and at Bradley International Airport, which have been established to distribute information to persons traveling in the state for the purpose of influencing such persons' level of satisfaction with the state and expenditures in the state and their planning for present and future trips to the state.
(2) "Office of Tourism" means the Department of Economic and Community Development Office of Tourism established pursuant to section 32-300.
(P.A. 94-155, S. 1, 5; P.A. 95-250, S. 1; P.A. 96-211, S. 1, 5, 6.)
History: P.A. 94-155 effective July 1, 1994; P.A. 95-250 and P.A. 96-211 replaced Commissioner and Department of Economic Development with Commissioner and Department of Economic and Community Development.

(Return to TOC) (Return to Chapters) (Return to Titles)

Sec. 32-307. Visitor welcome centers. The following measures shall be implemented to enhance the operation of visitor welcome centers:
(1) The Department of Transportation shall reconfigure the interior designs of the Middletown, Southington, Wallingford and West Willington visitor welcome centers and shall review the feasibility of winterizing the Greenwich and Windsor Locks centers for year-round operation. The Department of Transportation, the Office of Tourism and the licensed vendor at the Darien center shall redesign said center to incorporate tourism services;
(2) The Department of Transportation shall study the feasibility of installing under- the-counter security systems at the Greenwich, Westbrook and Windsor Locks visitor welcome centers;
(3) Each center shall make available space for listing events and promoting attractions, by invitation to the Connecticut tourism industry, including tourism districts, chambers of commerce and any other tourism entities involved in Connecticut tourism promotion;
(4) The Department of Transportation shall continue to bring public restrooms at all the centers into compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act;
(5) The Office of Tourism, in consultation with the Department of Transportation, shall develop plans for (A) consistent signage for the visitor welcome centers and (B) highway signage regulations for privately operated centers;
(6) The Department of Transportation shall (A) maintain the visitor welcome centers owned by the Department of Transportation and (B) provide housekeeping services at the Middletown, Southington, Wallingford, West Willington, Danbury, North Stonington and Westbrook visitor welcome centers;
(7) The Department of Transportation and the Office of Tourism shall establish an "Adopt A Visitor Welcome Center" program, under which local civic organizations may provide maintenance, gardening, including wildflowers, and complimentary refreshments or any other type of service at a visitor welcome center to enhance the operation of the center;
(8) Subject to available funds, the Office of Tourism shall place a full-time year- round supervisor and a part-time assistant supervisor at the Windsor Locks, Danbury, Darien, North Stonington and West Willington centers and the two centers at Bradley International Airport. The responsibilities of each supervisor shall include, but not be limited to: (A) Maintaining a sufficient inventory of up-to-date brochures for dissemination to visitors, (B) scheduling staff so as to assure coverage at all times, (C) training staff, (D) compiling and maintaining statistics on center usage, (E) serving as liaison between the Office of Tourism, the Department of Transportation, the tourism district in which the center is located and businesses in such district, (F) maintaining quality tourism services, (G) rotating displays, (H) evaluating staff, (I) problem-solving and (J) computing travel reimbursements for volunteer staff;
(9) Subject to available funds, the Office of Tourism shall place a seasonal full-time supervisor and a seasonal part-time assistant supervisor at the Greenwich, Southington, Westbrook and Windsor Locks centers. The office shall discontinue staffing at the Middletown, Plainfield and Wallingford centers, and shall, in conjunction with the tourism industry, seek contract workers to provide tourism services at the Middletown and Wallingford centers and at the Southington and Westbrook centers when not staffed by the state;
(10) Subject to available funds, the Office of Tourism, in conjunction with the tourism industry, shall develop and implement initial staff training and conduct periodic training of full-time and part-time supervisors;
(11) In addition to the staffing required by this section, each center shall have an electronic information system to provide information to visitors. Such systems shall be provided at no cost to the state and any revenue generated through the request for proposal process shall be deposited in the tourism account established under section 32-303;
(12) The centers for which the state does not provide staff shall use electronic information systems for highlighting attractions and event, restaurant, museum and other information;
(13) Each center shall provide no-cost lodging reservation services; and
(14) The Office of Tourism, in conjunction with the tourism districts and the private sector, shall establish a dedicated highway radio station which shall highlight ongoing tourism activities and encourage travelers to stop at visitor welcome centers.
(P.A. 94-155, S. 2, 5; P.A. 97-238, S. 7.)
History: P.A. 94-155 effective July 1, 1994; (Revisor's note: In 1997 a reference in Subdiv. (11) to "Tourism Fund" was replaced editorially by the Revisors with "tourism account" for consistency with Sec. 32-303); P.A. 97-238 amended Subdiv. (6) to delete a requirement that the Office of Tourism provide funding to the Department of Transportation for housekeeping services at the Westbrook visitor welcome center.

(Return to TOC) (Return to Chapters) (Return to Titles)

Secs. 32-308 to 32-314. Reserved for future use.

(Return to TOC) (Return to Chapters) (Return to Titles)