(a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of the general statutes to the contrary, whenever the Commissioner of Transportation undertakes the acquisition of real property on a state or federally-funded project which results in any person being displaced from his home, business, or farm, the Commissioner of Transportation is hereby authorized to provide relocation assistance and to make relocation payments to such displaced persons and to do such other acts and follow procedures and practices as may be necessary to comply with or to provide the same relocation assistance and relocation payments as provided under the federal Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, 42 USC 4601 et seq. and any subsequent amendments thereto and regulations promulgated thereunder.

(b) (1) Whenever the Commissioner of Transportation acquires an outdoor advertising structure, the amount of compensation to the owner of the outdoor advertising structure shall include either (A) payment for relocation costs incurred by such owner, or (B) the amount determined in accordance with subdivision (2) or (3) of this subsection. For purposes of this section, the fair market value of the outdoor advertising structure shall be determined by the income capitalization method.

(2) If the owner (A) is able to obtain, within one year of acquisition by the commissioner or any additional period to which the owner and the commissioner both consent, all state and local permits necessary for relocation of the outdoor advertising structure to another site in the Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area, as designated in the federal census, in which the outdoor advertising structure is located, and (B) such site was not previously offered for sale or lease to the owner of the outdoor advertising structure, then the commissioner shall pay to the owner the replacement cost of the outdoor advertising structure, plus the fair market value of such outdoor advertising structure less the fair market value of the outdoor advertising structure at the new site.

(3) If the owner (A) is unable to obtain, within one year of acquisition by the commissioner or any additional period to which the owner and the commissioner both consent, all state and local permits necessary for relocation to another site in the same Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area, as designated in the federal census in which the outdoor advertising structure is located, or (B) such site was previously offered for sale or lease to the owner of the outdoor advertising structure, the commissioner shall pay the fair market value of the outdoor advertising structure the commissioner has acquired. The owner shall provide to the commissioner written documentation sufficient to establish that all state and local necessary permits cannot be obtained for relocation within one year of acquisition or any additional period to which the owner and the commissioner both consent or that the only available relocation sites have been previously offered for sale or lease to the owner.

(4) Any person aggrieved by determination of the amount of compensation paid under this subsection may appeal to the State Properties Review Board.

(5) The provisions of this subsection shall not be construed to authorize any action that is found to violate the provisions of 23 USC 131 or 23 CFR 750 or the terms of an agreement entered into by the Commissioner of Transportation with the Secretary of Commerce pursuant to subsection (b) of section 13a-123.

(P.A. 91-78; P.A. 07-141, S. 18; 07-207, S. 4; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5, S. 59.)

History: P.A. 07-141 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a) and added Subsec. (b) re outdoor advertising structures and appeal to State Properties Review Board, effective June 25, 2007, and applicable to property acquired on or after that date; P.A. 07-207 added Subsec. (b)(5) re federal preemption, effective July 10, 2007, and applicable to property acquired on and after that date; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5 rewrote Subsec. (b) re outdoor advertising structures, provided in Subsec. (b)(1) that compensation include either relocation costs or amount determined under Subdiv. (2) or (3), amended Subsec. (b)(2) to subtract value of the outdoor advertising structure at new site, and amended Subsec. (b)(2) and (3) to reference any additional period to which owner and commissioner consent, effective October 6, 2007, and applicable to property acquired on or after that date (Revisor's note: In Subsec. (b)(1) the word “the” in the phrase “For purposes of the section” was replaced editorially by the Revisors with the word “this” for consistency with customary statutory usage).

Cited. 43 CS 457.