HB 7206 Connecticut House · 2025 Regular Session

AN ACT CONCERNING PROCEEDINGS OF THE SITING COUNCIL AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING CERTAIN UTILITY EXPENDITURES.

HB 7206 modifies Connecticut's Siting Council procedures for utility projects. It requires utility applicants to notify the council, Attorney General, legislators, and local officials if they hire a "communicator lobbyist" (a specific type of lobbyist) for a project. Property owners adjacent to proposed facilities gain automatic "intervenor" status in proceedings if they file a petition, replacing previous eligibility rules. The bill also mandates the Consumer Counsel (a consumer advocate office) to participate in all Siting Council proceedings affecting electric rates, strengthening consumer representation in utility decisions. These changes directly affect utility applicants, property owners, local governments, and consumer advocates.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Mar 7, 2025 Last action Apr 30, 2025

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What changed between versions

Raised Bill → GAE Joint Favorable Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was revised from a 'Raised Bill' to a 'GAE Joint Favorable Substitute,' indicating it passed committee review and was amended by the General Assembly. Key substantive changes include clarifying the Consumer Counsel's participation rights in Connecticut Siting Council proceedings, shifting consultant study costs to applicants, and adding new notification requirements for applicants retaining lobbyist communicators.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding Consumer Counsel participation was expanded to explicitly include appeals from Siting Council decisions, and new requirements were added for lobbyist communication disclosure in siting applications.

REQUIREMENT

Consumer Counsel participation in Connecticut Siting Council proceedings was modified to clarify their right to appeal decisions even if they did not participate in the original proceeding.

New requirement added for applicants to provide electronic notice when retaining communicator lobbyists to influence public or interested parties regarding facility applications.

FISCAL

Costs for independent environmental consultants hired to study proposed facilities were shifted from the council to the applicant.

TIMELINE

Effective date for new lobbyist notification requirements was set to October 1, 2025.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 29, 2025

House · Reported by committee

Joint Favorable

Apr 22, 2025

House · Reported by committee

REF. BY HOUSE TO COMMITTEE ON Energy and Technology

Mar 27, 2025

House · Reported by committee

Joint Favorable Substitute

Mar 7, 2025

House · Referred to committee

REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Government Administration and Elections

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors