(a) For the purposes described in subsection (b) of this section, the State Bond Commission shall have the power, from time to time to authorize the issuance of bonds of the state in one or more series and in principal amounts not exceeding in the aggregate seventeen million five hundred thousand dollars.

(b) The proceeds of the sale of said bonds, to the extent of the amount stated in subsection (a) of this section, shall be used by the Department of Transportation for a program of competitive grants for commercial rail freight lines operating in the state for improvements and repairs to, and the modernization of, existing rail, rail beds and related facilities. Such program shall include the following: (1) (A) Grants of one hundred per cent of the amount necessary to improve, repair or modernize state-owned rights of way, and (B) grants of seventy per cent of the amount necessary to improve, repair or modernize privately owned rail lines, provided the commissioner may waive the requirement for a thirty per cent matching grant if such improvement, repair or modernization demonstrably increases rail freight traffic; and (2) preference for grants shall be given to (A) proposals that are on the Department of Transportation’s list of freight rail projects eligible to receive funds pursuant to P.L. 111-5, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, (B) freight rail projects that improve at-grade rail crossings to eliminate hazards or increase safety, (C) freight rail projects that provide connection to major freight generators, (D) projects that further the goals and objectives of the Department of Transportation’s Connecticut State Rail Plan, and (E) freight rail projects that improve freight rail infrastructure by increasing the capacity for rail freight traffic.

(c) All provisions of § 3-20, or the exercise of any right or power granted thereby, which are not inconsistent with the provisions of this section are hereby adopted and shall apply to all bonds authorized by the State Bond Commission pursuant to this section, and temporary notes in anticipation of the money to be derived from the sale of any such bonds so authorized may be issued in accordance with said § 3-20 and from time to time renewed. Such bonds shall mature at such time or times not exceeding twenty years from their respective dates as may be provided in or pursuant to the resolution or resolutions of the State Bond Commission authorizing such bonds. None of said bonds shall be authorized except upon a finding by the State Bond Commission that there has been filed with it a request for such authorization which is signed by or on behalf of the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management and states such terms and conditions as said commission, in its discretion, may require. Said bonds issued pursuant to this section shall be general obligations of the state and the full faith and credit of the state of Connecticut are pledged for the payment of the principal of and interest on said bonds as the same become due, and accordingly and as part of the contract of the state with the holders of said bonds, appropriation of all amounts necessary for punctual payment of such principal and interest is hereby made, and the State Treasurer shall pay such principal and interest as the same become due.