(a) There is established a Charter Oak state parks and forests account, within the General Fund, which shall be a separate, nonlapsing account. The account shall consist of any funds required or allowed by law to be deposited into the account including, but not limited to, funds from the Charter Oak open space trust account established pursuant to section 7-131s, gifts or donations received for the purposes of this section. Investment earnings credited to the assets of the account shall become part of the assets of the account. Any balance remaining in the account at the end of any fiscal year shall be carried forward in the account for the fiscal year next succeeding. Payments from the account shall be made upon authorization by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection. Neither the proceeds of any general obligation bonds of the state nor the investment earnings of any such proceeds shall be deposited in the account. Funds in the state parks and forests account shall be expended to acquire land as set forth in subsection (b) of this section.

(b) There is established the Charter Oak state parks and forests program to enable the state to acquire land for open space and watershed protection. All land acquired by the state under this program shall be preserved in perpetuity predominantly in its natural scenic and open condition for the protection of natural resources while allowing for recreation consistent with such protection as specified in subsection (b) of section 7-131d.

(c) When ranking lands to be acquired under the Charter Oak state parks and forests program, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall give priority first to open space land to be permanently preserved that is located in municipalities with population densities of at least one thousand five hundred persons per square mile, and second to open space land to be permanently preserved that is owned by an electric distribution company or electric supplier, as defined in section 16-1, and to open space land to be permanently preserved that is designated as class I, class II or class III land, as defined in section 25-37c.

(d) The Charter Oak state parks and forests program shall expire when the state and municipal open space goal is achieved as provided in subsection (b) of section 23-8. Any moneys remaining in the Charter Oak open space grant program account at the time the program expires shall revert to the recreation and natural heritage trust program established under section 23-74.

(P.A. 00-203, S. 5, 11; P.A. 11-80, S. 1.)

History: P.A. 00-203 effective July 1, 2000; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Commissioner of Environmental Protection” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection” in Subsecs. (a) and (c), effective July 1, 2011.