General Assembly		Substitute Bill No. 5720
January Session, 2015		*_____HB05720APP___043015____*

AN ACT CONCERNING THE NEED TO ESTABLISH A SITE FOR SHELLFISH SAMPLE TESTING EAST OF THE CONNECTICUT RIVER AND AUTHORIZING THE TAKING OF CERTAIN EASTERN OYSTERS THAT ARE TWO AND ONE-HALF INCHES IN LENGTH.

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

Section 1. (Effective from passage) Not later than January 1, 2016, the Commissioner of Public Health, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, and after consultation with the Commissioner of Agriculture, shall submit to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the environment a report concerning the need for and viability of establishing a laboratory located east of the Connecticut River for the testing of shellfish. Such report shall include, but not be limited to, a description of the requisite laboratory testing for shellfish as prescribed by the Department of Public Health, the Department of Agriculture, federal law and any other provision of law, an explanation of any standards that any such laboratory is required to meet, a description of any requisite equipment and facilities required to perform such testing, a listing of the qualifications that any person who performs such testing is required to possess, an assessment of the adequacy of existing state facilities to perform such testing for the state's shellfish industry, the volume of such testing that could occur at a facility established at a location east of the Connecticut River and identification of any existing privately owned facilities, state resources or state facilities that could adequately and appropriately provide a location for such testing at a location east of the Connecticut River, including, but not limited to, a cost-benefit analysis for modifying any such existing state resources or facilities to provide for such testing at a location east of the Connecticut River.

Sec. 2. Section 26-234b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015):

No person may take eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) from the waters of this state which are less than three inches long or which are otherwise not ready for harvest, as determined by the Commissioner of Agriculture, except that: [the] (1) The taking of such oysters for sale, transplant and relay for aquaculture purposes within the waters of the state shall not be prohibited, and (2) eastern oysters that are two and one-half inches in length may be taken if such oysters were cultivated in a confined apparatus prior to such harvesting. The Commissioner of Agriculture may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to carry out the purposes of this section.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	from passage	New section
Sec. 2	October 1, 2015	26-234b

ENV	Joint Favorable Subst.
APP	Joint Favorable