You asked for a summary of bills referred by the Environment Committee to the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee.

sHB 7249 — AN ACT CONCERNING THE COLLECTION AND RECYCLING OF COVERED ELECTRONIC DEVICES

 This bill creates a statewide recycling program for discarded computers and televisions (electronic waste) beginning October 1, 2009, and prohibits anyone from discarding them at solid waste disposal facilities starting January 1, 2011. It requires computer and television manufacturers to register with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to take part in a plan to collect, transport and recycle their share of electronic waste, and prohibits retailers from selling computers and televisions manufactured by companies that do not comply.

It creates a third party organization as a quasi-public agency to operate or contract for the recycling program, and requires DEP to calculate how much waste each computer and television manufacturers must collect, transport and recycle. It imposes a penalty on manufacturers that fail to comply with the bill.

sHB 7231 — AAC THE REDUCTION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF WASTE OIL DISPOSAL

This bill allows a corporate business tax credit for the purchase of on-board oil refining systems for town vehicles and makes equipping the vehicles with such systems reimbursable under the local capital improvement fund. The amount of the tax credit is half the total amount paid for the system, as long as it does not exceed the amount of tax owed. It also requires DEP to establish a pilot program (it is not clear if this is separate from local capital improvement fund grants) awarding grants to towns to equip their vehicles with the systems and set aside $ 90,000 for the purpose. (The systems remove contaminants from motor oil. )

HB 7194 — AN ACT CONCERNING THE EXPANSION OF THE ANIMAL POPULATION CONTROL PROGRAM

This bill allows up to 20% of the funds (up to 10% for each) from the state's Animal Population Control Program (APCP) to be used for two new programs: (1) to sterilize and vaccinate pets of low- and moderate-income people and (2) to the sterilize and vaccinate feral cats. The bill eliminates a provision that allows the agriculture commissioner to provide APCP funds, up to $ 40,000 per fiscal year if available, to charitable organizations to sterilize feral cats. By law, the commissioner may solicit and accept funds from any public or private source of help to carry out APCP goals. The bill allows him to do so for the APCP and the two new programs and allows a donor to earmark funds for the sterilization programs. It increases from $ 180,000 to $ 225,000 the amount of APCP funds that may be used by the agriculture department for administrative costs.

sHB 7122 — AN ACT CONCERNING THE PRESERVATION OF CERTAIN PUBLIC GOLF COURSES AS OPEN SPACE

The bill adds certain public golf course land to the “490” program. Under the bill, a landowner may apply for classification of his land as public golf course land on any grand list of a municipality by filing a written notice for the classification with the assessor no less than 30 days before and no later than 30 days after the assessment date. But in a year in which a revaluation of all real property becomes effective, the application may be filed no later than 90 days after the assessment date.

Under the bill, the present true and actual value of land classified as public golf course land under the bill is based on its value as open space land, plus an assessment based on per hole depreciated improvements that are reduced by 40% during the first assessment year after application, 60% during the second year, 80% during the third year, and 100% each year thereafter. The bill specifies that the reduction does not include buildings and parking lots, which must be assessed at fair market value. (The bill does not contain specific language that makes classification mandatory, as the farmland provisions under 12-107c, for example, but it appears such assessment under the bill is mandatory. )

The bill defines “public golf course land” as any golf course consisting of at least 25 acres of land that is open for public use for golfing, derives at least 50% of its annual revenues from daily fees or group outings, and has at least nine golf holes.

HB 6776 — AN ACT CONCERNING REAL ESTATE PROPERTY TAXES AND WATERFRONT RESIDENTIAL REAL PROPERTY OWNED BY COMMERCIAL LOBSTER FISHERMEN

This bill provides a property tax break on the portion of waterfront residential real property that a licensed commercial lobster fisherman owns, when the fisherman uses the property for commercial lobstering purposes. The lobsterman must (1) apply for the exemption in the tax year ending immediately before any assessment and (2) have derived at least 50% of his or her adjusted gross income, as determined for federal income tax purposes, from commercial lobster fishing, subject to assessor's satisfactory proof in the town where the property is located.

HB 6577 — AN ACT CONCERNING THE MOTOR BOAT FUEL TAXES AND THE CONSERVATION FUND

This bill increases the amount of motor boat fuel tax that the Revenue Services commissioner must annually deposit into the Conservation Fund by $ 500,000, from $ 3 million to $ 3. 5 million, beginning with FY 04. It also increases the amount from Conservation Fund going to:

1. the boating account from $ 250,000 to $ 295,000;

2. the fisheries account from $ 2 million to $ 2,330,000; and

3. the University of Connecticut for the Long Island Sound councils from at least $ 75,000 to at least $ 125,000.

sSB 1289 — AAC THE EXPANSION OF THE BEVERAGE CONTAINER REDEMPTION PROVISIONS

The bill expands the beverage container redemption law to include water and other noncarbonated “nonalcoholic drinks in liquid form intended for human consumption. ” The bill provides a tax credit for deposit initiators against the sales and use tax when number of bottles people redeem exceeds the total annual refund value the deposit initiator collects. The bill defines a deposit initiator as the first distributor or manufacturer to pay the deposit of a beverage container sold to any person within Connecticut. The tax credit is equal to the difference between the total the deposit initiator pays for returned containers and the total it collects from unredeemed deposits.

Under the bill, a deposit fee increase from $ . 05 to $ . 10 becomes effective when New York and Massachusetts raise their respective fees to $ . 10, among other changes.

SB 1258 — AN ACT CONCERNING UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS

This bill changes the amount credited annually to the commercial underground storage tank clean up account from the petroleum products gross earnings tax from $ 3 million to “one-third of the total amount due. ” It also requires that if the balance in the clean up account at the end of any month exceeds $ 15 million, the comptroller must suspend crediting tax payments until the clean up account balance drops below $ 5 million.

sSB 505 — AN ACT CONCERNING MUNICIPAL TAXATION OF RESOURCE RECOVERY FACILITIES

Current law exempts facilities the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority leases to another entity from property tax if the lessee agrees to make payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs) to the town. The bill requires, starting October 1, 2007, any such agreement to provide that the PIILOTs be at least (1) the amount of property tax due or (2) the reasonably projected municipal costs resulting from the project's operation, including increased road maintenance, municipal site monitoring, and fire and police services. But it does not apply to the property security for any CRRA bonds that are still outstanding.

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