(a) The Commissioner of Transportation, of his own motion, may, and, on petition of any interested party, after hearing, shall, prescribe regulations, minimum rates and charges covering the operation of motor contract carriers in competition with household goods carriers over the highways within this state and, upon petition of any interested party, after hearing, shall prescribe minimum rates and charges for motor contract carriers operating upon said highways.

(b) Such minimum rates and charges of motor contract carriers so prescribed by the Commissioner of Transportation shall give no advantage or preference to any such carrier in competition with any household goods carrier by motor vehicle subject to this chapter which the commissioner finds to be undue or inconsistent with the public interest.

(c) Each motor contract carrier shall file with the Commissioner of Transportation under such regulations as he may prescribe, the minimum rates charged by such contract carrier in the performance of its transportation service including such changes in minimum rates as such motor contract carrier may make from time to time.

(1949 Rev., S. 5690; P.A. 75-486, S. 1, 69; P.A. 77-614, S. 162, 610; P.A. 80-482, S. 143, 348; P.A. 88-249, S. 2, 9; P.A. 95-126, S. 15, 25.)

History: P.A. 75-486 replaced public utilities commission with public utilities control authority; P.A. 77-614 replaced public utilities control authority with division of public utility control within the department of business regulation, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 80-482 made division an independent department and deleted reference to abolished department of business regulation; P.A. 88-249 transferred powers and duties from public utility control department to transportation department, amending section as required by section 2 of the act (codified as Sec. 13b-387a), effective July 1, 1989. (Revisor's note: Statute published in both Title 16 and Title 13b in the Connecticut General Statutes, Revision of 1958, revised to 1989; Sec. 16-296 transferred to Sec. 13b-402, effective July 1, 1989); P.A. 95-126 amended Subsec. (a) to substitute “household goods carriers” for reference to “motor common carriers” and Subsec. (b) to substitute “household goods carrier” for reference to “common carrier”, effective July 1, 1995.

Annotations to former section 16-296:

Cited. 148 C. 682. To justify fixing of identical rates for common and contract carriers, it must appear they are actually in competition and that competition is such as to reduce income of common carriers so that they are unable to maintain adequate and efficient service for public at large. 149 C. 483. A primary aim of contract carrier regulation is protection of common carrier by eliminating destructive competition but contract carriers, because of special nature of operations, may properly be accorded some rate advantage so long as it does not lend to destructive competition inconsistent with public interest. Id., 486.