You asked for a summary of bills favorably reported by the Energy and Technology Committee to the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee.

SB 89 AAC THE SALES TAX ON CABLE TELEVISION SERVICE

This bill eliminates from the sales tax that part of a cable TV bill that is attributable to the gross earnings tax on cable TV companies.

Effective date: July 1, 2002 and applicable to sales of cable service on and after that date.

SSB 342 AAC THE FINANCING OF RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS

By law, Connecticut Innovations, Inc. (CII) administers the Clean Energy Fund, which is funded by a charge on electric bills and is used to promote renewable energy projects. This bill (1) requires that interest, income, and dividends derived from the fund be credited to it; (2) allows CII to make advance commitments from the fund, backed by the charge and other future revenues (the commitments are a special obligation of CII, payable solely from the revenues that back them); (3) allows the Connecticut Development Authority to issue bonds based on these commitments, with the bond proceeds loaned to the fund; (4) provides a covenant that the state will not impair the funding behind the bonds or the bondholders' rights; and (5) allows CII to include this covenant in its advance commitments

The bill also (1) allows CII to create subsidiaries, political subdivisions of the state, with the same powers as CII and subject to the ethics laws governing quasi-public agencies and (2) slightly alters the membership of the fund's advisory board.

Effective date: Upon passage.

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