CT SB00605

Restructures the Connecticut Port Authority board to consist of fifteen voting members: five ex officio state officials (State Treasurer, Commissioners of Energy and Environmental Protection, Transportation, and Economic and Community Development, and Secretary of Office of Policy and Management) and ten appointed members from legislative leadership and the Governor.

Requires Governor-appointed board members to include representatives from ports in New Haven, New London, or Bridgeport and from ports outside those towns, with specific expertise in international trade, marine transportation, finance, or economic development.

Mandates appointed board members include one local port authority member or employee, one municipal official from a coastal municipality with population not exceeding 100,000, and one municipal official from a coastal community with population not exceeding 50,000.

Relocates the Connecticut Pilot Commission administratively from the Connecticut Port Authority to the Department of Transportation while maintaining its advisory role on pilot licensure and vessel safety matters.

Requires the Port Authority executive director to submit a plan by January 1, 2022 to the transportation committee establishing a transparent and equitable process for the Small Harbor Improvement Projects Program grant selection and disbursement.