AN ACT CONCERNING WIDESPREAD BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subdivision (4) of subsection (a) of section 7-536 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2007):

(4) "Local capital improvement project" means a municipal capital expenditure project for any of the following purposes: (A) Road construction, renovation, repair or resurfacing, (B) sidewalk and pavement improvements, (C) construction, renovation, enlargement or repair of sewage treatment plants and sanitary or storm, water or sewer lines, including separation of lines, (D) public building construction other than schools, including renovation, repair, code compliance, energy conservation and fire safety projects, (E) construction, renovation, enlargement or repair of dams, bridges and flood control projects, (F) construction, renovation, enlargement or repair of water treatment or filtration plants and water mains, (G) construction, renovation or enlargement of solid waste facilities, (H) improvements to public parks, (I) the preparation and revision of local capital improvement plans projected for a period of not less than five years and so prepared as to show the general description, need and estimated cost of each individual capital improvement, (J) improvements to emergency communications systems, (K) public housing projects, including renovations and improvements and energy conservation and the development of additional housing, (L) renovations to or construction of veterans' memorial monuments, (M) thermal imaging systems, (N) bulky waste and landfill projects, (O) the preparation and revision of municipal plans of conservation and development adopted pursuant to section 8-23, provided such plans are endorsed by the legislative body of the municipality not more than one hundred eighty days after adoption by the commission, (P) acquisition of automatic external defibrillators, [and] (Q) floodplain management and hazard mitigation activities. "Local capital improvement project" means only capital expenditures and includes repairs incident to reconstruction and renovation but does not include ordinary repairs and maintenance of an ongoing nature and "floodplain management" and "hazard mitigation" shall have the same meaning as in section 25-68j, and (R) activities related to the planning of a municipal broadband network, provided the speed of the network will be not less than three hundred eighty-four thousand bits per second.

Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2007) (a) There shall be a Broadband Internet Coordinating Council, which shall include representatives from both the private and public sectors. The council shall consist of nine members, five of whom shall be appointed by the Governor, two of whom shall be appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate and two of whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives. Of the five members appointed by the Governor, three shall have specific expertise in the area of telecommunications. Members of the council shall serve without compensation, except for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. Members shall serve on the council for terms of two years each and no member shall serve for more than two consecutive terms. The chairperson of the Public Utilities Control Authority, or the chairperson's designee, and the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, or the secretary's designee, shall be ex-officio members of the council without vote and shall attend its meetings. Any member who fails to attend three consecutive meetings or fifty per cent of all meetings during any calendar year shall be deemed to have resigned. The council shall elect a chairperson and a vice-chairperson to act in the chairperson's absence.

(b) The council shall meet at least quarterly, commencing on or before September 1, 2008. A majority of the members in office shall constitute a quorum.

(c) The duties of the council shall be to: (1) Monitor trends and developments in the state's efforts to develop a state-wide world-class communications infrastructure; and (2) issue any reports it deems necessary to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to technology.