(a) After at least five of the towns to which this chapter applies have voted to be governed by the provisions of sections 25-102g, 25-102h and 25-102j, the legislative body of each such town or the board of selectmen in the case of a municipality in which the legislative body is a town meeting, shall, within sixty days, appoint a member and an alternate member to the Connecticut River Gateway Commission, each to serve for a term of two years and until his successor is appointed and has qualified. Such appointments may be made at the legislative body's meeting held pursuant to subsection (b) of section 25-102d, to take effect when the last of the first five towns has voted to be governed by the provisions of this chapter. The Mid-State Regional Planning Agency and the Connecticut River Estuary Regional Planning Agency shall each appoint a representative and an alternate representative from said agency, each to serve on said commission for a term of two years. An alternate member shall be empowered to vote on said commission in the absence of the member for whom he is an alternate. The initial terms of members shall commence when the last of the first five towns voting to be governed by the provisions of this chapter has appointed a member and an alternate member and the initial terms of members from towns which so vote at a later date shall be concurrent with those of persons already members of the commission. Any vacancy on the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment for the balance of the unexpired term. The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection or his designee shall be a member of said commission. No appointed member shall receive any compensation for his service on said commission. Said commission shall elect from its members a chairman and such other officers as it deems necessary and shall establish its own rules of procedure. The commission shall be an autonomous body within the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for administrative purposes only. The commission may employ expert and such other assistants as it judges necessary and may accept funds from any source. Notwithstanding any other provision of the general statutes, any funds appropriated to the commission, or received by the commission from any other source, shall be held in the custody of the commission and expended by the commission for the purposes set forth in this chapter.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of the general statutes, the commission may: (1) Acquire or convey by purchase, gift, lease, devise, exchange or otherwise, any land or interest therein including, but not limited to, conservation easements, located wholly or partly in the conservation zone, provided such acquisition does not utilize funds furnished by the state; (2) transfer, with the approval of the commissioner, any land or interest therein to the state with or without consideration, provided any funds received therefor shall not be deemed funds furnished by the state for the purposes of this section; and (3) contribute or transfer funds to, and enter into agreements with, land trusts or other conservation organizations, to carry out the purposes of this chapter. The commission shall report to the General Assembly, on or before February fifteenth, annually, on its activities of the preceding year and on its finances. The existence of the commission shall terminate at such time as all of its member towns have withdrawn or it is abolished by the General Assembly.

(P.A. 73-349, S. 5, 11; P.A. 74-103, S. 3, 10; P.A. 75-370, S. 1, 3; P.A. 79-560, S. 13, 39; P.A. 84-127, S. 3, 4; P.A. 86-406, S. 13, 15; P.A. 91-369, S. 1, 36; P.A. 94-59, S. 4; P.A. 11-80, S. 1.)

History: P.A. 74-103 added provision to specify when appointments to Commission are to be made and when they are to take effect and declared Commission to be an “autonomous body within the department of environmental protection for fiscal and budgetary purposes only”; P.A. 75-370 specified that funds received from sources other than environmental protection department are to be preserved for purposes of chapter 477a and kept separate from allocations made by the department; P.A. 79-560 placed commission within environmental protection department for “administrative” rather than “fiscal and budgetary” purposes; P.A. 84-127 replaced provision that certain funds be maintained in a separate account by the environmental protection department with provision that funds received by the commission be held in the custody of the commission; P.A. 86-406 added provisions clarifying land acquisitions, transfers, etc., and divided the section into Subsecs.; P.A. 91-369 amended Subsec. (a) to delete a provision allowing a member of the commission to be reimbursed for expenses related to his duties; P.A. 94-59 amended Subsec. (a) to provide that appointments shall be made by the board of selectmen in the case of a municipality in which the legislative body is a town meeting; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Commissioner of Environmental Protection” and “Department of Environmental Protection” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection” and “Department of Energy and Environmental Protection”, respectively, in Subsec. (a), effective July 1, 2011.

See Sec. 4-38f for definition of “administrative purposes only”.