General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 7138
January Session, 2017
LCO No. 4271
*04271_______TRA*
Referred to Committee on TRANSPORTATION
Introduced by:
(TRA)
AN ACT CONCERNING LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT OF MAJOR TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS AND PLANNING.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2017) (a) There is established a Transportation Authority, which shall be part of the Executive Department.
(b) The authority shall consist of the following members:
(1) One appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives;
(2) One appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate;
(3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives;
(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate;
(5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives;
(6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate;
(7) The Commissioner of Transportation;
(8) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development;
(9) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection;
(10) The Commissioner of Housing; and
(11) The Comptroller.
(c) Any member of the council appointed under subdivision (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) of subsection (b) of this section may be a member of the General Assembly.
(d) All initial appointments to the authority shall be made not later than August 1, 2017. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority.
(e) The Commissioner of Transportation shall serve as the chairperson of the authority. The chairperson shall schedule the first meeting of the authority, which shall be held not later than October 1, 2017.
(f) The authority shall be within the Department of Transportation for administrative purposes only.
(g) Appointed members of the authority shall serve for four-year terms, except members first appointed shall have the following terms which shall commence October 1, 2017: (1) Members appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, the majority leader of the Senate and the minority leader of the House of Representatives shall initially serve a term of two years, and (2) members appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, the president pro tempore of the Senate and the minority leader of the Senate shall initially serve a term of four years. Members shall continue to serve until their successors are appointed.
(h) Any vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled for the balance of the unexpired term.
(i) A majority of the authority shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business.
(j) The members of the authority shall serve without compensation, but shall, within the limits of available funds, be reimbursed for expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties.
(k) The authority shall have the following powers and duties: (1) To approve, approve with modification or reject (A) projects included in the state-wide transportation improvement program, (B) the long-range master plan of transportation for the state developed by the Commissioner of Transportation pursuant to section 13b-4 of the general statutes, (C) plans regarding a restructured system of regional transit districts within the state pursuant to said section, (D) comprehensive long-range planning concerning the future transportation needs of the state developed by the Department of Transportation pursuant to section 13b-14 of the general statutes, and (E) any other plans regarding the development, maintenance and improvement of transportation in the state developed in accordance with federal or state law; (2) to approve, approve with modification or reject applications for federal funding of transportation projects before such applications are submitted by the Department of Transportation to the federal government; (3) to approve, approve with modification or reject transportation projects proposed by the Department of Transportation before funds are appropriated by the General Assembly for such transportation projects and before bonds are authorized by the State Bond Commission for such transportation projects; (4) to obtain from any executive department, board, commission or other agency of the state such assistance and data as necessary and available to carry out the purposes of this section; (5) to accept any gift, donation or bequest for the purpose of performing the duties described in this section; and (6) to perform such other acts as may be necessary and appropriate to carry out the duties described in this section.
(l) The authority shall meet as deemed necessary by the chairperson or a majority of the authority. Any appointed member who fails to attend three consecutive meetings or who fails to attend fifty per cent of all meetings held during any calendar year shall be deemed to have resigned from the authority.
(m) The authority shall hold not less than one public hearing when reviewing a plan described in subdivision (1) of subsection (k) of this section or a transportation project proposed by the Department of Transportation.
(n) The authority may establish an advisory committee to advise the authority in carrying out its duties. Such advisory committee shall be composed of transportation professionals, advocates and other interested stakeholders. The authority may request opinions from such advisory committee regarding any plan described in subdivision (1) of subsection (k) of this section and any transportation project proposed by the Department of Transportation.
(o) The authority may enter into contractual agreements as may be necessary for the discharge of its duties, within the limits of its appropriated funds and in accordance with established procedures.
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 4-9a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2017):
(a)The Governor shall appoint the chairperson and executive director, if any, of all boards and commissions within the Executive Department, except the State Properties Review Board, the State Elections Enforcement Commission, the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, the Commission on Fire Prevention and Control, [and] the Citizen's Ethics Advisory Board and the Transportation Authority.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
July 1, 2017
New section
Sec. 2
July 1, 2017
4-9a(a)
Statement of Purpose:
To establish the Transportation Authority to provide legislative oversight of transportation plans and projects.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]