AN ACT IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE CONNECTICUT PORT AUTHORITY TO ELIMINATE THE FEES ASSOCIATED WITH THE MARINE PILOT LICENSE.

House of Representatives
HB5461 / File No. 255 1

General Assembly File No. 255
February Session, 2026 House Bill No. 5461

House of Representatives, March 30, 2026

The Committee on Transportation reported through REP.
BERGER-GIRVALO of the 111th Dist., Chairperson of the
Committee on the part of the House, that the bill ought to pass.

AN ACT IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE
CONNECTICUT PORT AUTHORITY TO ELIMINATE THE FEES
ASSOCIATED WITH THE MARINE PILOT LICENSE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subsections (c) and (d) of section 15 -13 of the general 1
statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof 2
(Effective October 1, 2026): 3
(c) Each pilot shall, upon the granting of a license, [pay a fee of thirty 4
dollars to said authority and shall] give a bond of one thousand dollars 5
to the Treasurer and the Treasurer's successors in office, with surety, to 6
the acceptance of the authority, conditioned for the faithful performance 7
of [his or her] such pilot's duties as a pilot, upon which bond suit may 8
be brought in the name of said Treasurer for the benefit of any person 9
who may suffer loss or damage, by reason of the ignorance, neglect or 10
misconduct of such pilot in the discharge of such pilot's duties. [The 11
authority shall increase such fee by fifty per cent July 1, 1985, by an 12
additional fifty per cent effective July 1, 1989, by an additional twenty -13
HB5461 File No. 255

HB5461 / File No. 255 2

five per cent effective July 1, 1991, and by an additional twenty-five per 14
cent effective July 1, 1993.] 15
(d) Each license shall expire on the last day of December following its 16
issuance and may be renewed upon application , [and payment of the 17
fee required by subsection (c) of this section, ] renewal of the bond 18
required under subsection (c) of this section and proof of current federal 19
licensure as required in subsection (a) of this section. 20
Sec. 2. Subsection (d) of section 13b -59 of the general statutes is 21
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 22
1, 2026): 23
(d) "License, permit and fee revenues" means (1) all fees and other 24
charges required by, or levied pursuant to sections 12 -487, 13b-80 and 25
13b-97, subsection (b) of section 14 -12, sections 14 -16a, 14 -21c, 14 -44h 26
and 14 -44i, subsection (v) of section 14 -49, subsections (b) and (f) of 27
section 14 -50, subdivisions (7) to (9), inclusive, of subsection (a) of 28
section 14-50a, sections 14-52, 14-58, 14-67l and 14-69, subsection (e) of 29
section 14-73, sections 14-96q and 14-103a, subsection (a) of section 14 -30
164a, subsection (a) of section 14 -192, subsection (d) of section 14 -270, 31
sections 14-319 and 14-320 and sections 13b-410a to 13b-410c, inclusive; 32
(2) all aeronautics, waterways, and other fees and charges required by, 33
or levied pursuant to sections 13a -80 and 13a-80a [,] and subsection (b) 34
of section 13b-42; [and subsections (c) and (d) of section 15-13;] and (3) 35
all motor vehicle related fines, penalties or other charges , as defined in 36
subsection (g) of this section; 37
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 October 1, 2026 15-13(c) and (d)
Sec. 2 October 1, 2026 13b-59(d)

TRA Joint Favorable

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HB5461 / File No. 255 3

The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
Connecticut Port Authority CT Port
Authority -
Revenue Loss
Less than
1,000
Less than
1,000

Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill results in revenue loss to the Connecticut Port Authority of
less than $1,000 annually by eliminating the fee for issuing or renewing
a marine pilot license. The fee is $105.48 and there are currently seven
licensed marine pilots in the state.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to the number of licensed marine pilots
in the state.

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HB5461 / File No. 255 4

OLR Bill Analysis
HB 5461

AN ACT IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE
CONNECTICUT PORT AUTHORITY TO ELIMINATE THE FEES
ASSOCIATED WITH THE MARINE PILOT LICENSE.

SUMMARY
This bill eliminates the fee for issuing or renewing a marine pilot
license (currently $105.48 annually).
Marine pilots are experts in local conditions and navigating specific
waters who board vessels to guide them safely through their area. By
law, the Connecticut Port Authority licenses marine pilots for state ports
and waters, and most registered vessels must have a licensed pilot on
board if they embark or disembark from a port in the state or transit the
Long Island Sound.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2026
COMMITTEE ACTION
Transportation Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 36 Nay 0 (03/16/2026)