How Will A Law Affect My Community? Our Annual Report on the General Assembly has the answers
T
he long legislative session that ended this past June was the first after the 2018 elections that brought the state Governor Ned Lamont and a nearly supermajority Democratic General Assembly. While ideas about bringing back tolls and recreational marijuana were on the table, they never panned out. Instead, we saw new legislation on Crumbling Foundations, Fracking Waste, Municipal Shared Services, Minimum Wage, and even a law on electric scooters was passed. Our Annual Report on the General Assembly has all the information you’ll need to know about what’s going to affect municipalities. Below is a list of bills that you as members have expressed interest in following during the session. The General Assembly Report is out in full, and available on our website at https://www.ccm-ct.org/ppa-reports-publications
PA 19-35 (Various) RENEWABLE ENERGY CREDIT PROGRAMS Among other things, (1) extends existing renewable energy programs, including traditional net metering, the LREC/ZREC program, and the Green Bank’s Residential Solar Investment Program, (2) requires PURA to study the value of distributed energy resources and take findings into account when determining tariffs for new renewable programs required under PA 18-50; delays certain related deadlines; and allows for a longer netting period, and (3) increases, from $10 million to $20 million, the amount of credits authorized under the state’s virtual net metering program.
PA 19-77 (7/1/19) MUNICIPAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND COASTAL RESILIENCY FUND Allows a municipality to establish a climate change and coastal resiliency reserve fund. It may do this upon the recommendation of its chief executive officer, approval of its budget-making authority, and majority vote of its legislative body. Under the bill, such fund may contain (1) funds authorized to be transferred from the municipality’s general fund cash surplus at the end of a fiscal year, and (2) proceeds of bonds, notes, or other obligations issued to fund property or casualty losses or projects related to the presence of pyrrhotite in the
concrete foundations of residential buildings.
PA 19-112 (7/8/19) STATEWIDE BAN ON FRACTURING WASTE With a limited exception for research, permanently bans accepting, receiving, collecting, storing, treating, transferring, selling, acquiring, handling, applying, processing, and disposing of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) waste, natural gas waste, or oil waste in Connecticut. The bill was amended by the Senate to specify that the state law on fracking, natural gas, and oil waste preempts related municipal ordinances.
PA 19-36 (7/1/19) PROPERT TAX ABATEMENT FOR FIRST RESPONDERS Increases the maximum property tax abatement municipalities may, by ordinance, provide to certain active and retired volunteer emergency personnel from $1,000 to $1,500 for FYs 20 and 21, and from $1,500 to $2,000 for FY 22 and thereafter.
PA 19-54 (07/01/19) OPPORTUNITY ZONES Makes various changes concerning the promotion and development of the state’s federally designated opportunity zones, including but not limited to (1) requiring DECD to identify, market, and sell ten vacant state-owned properties located in opportunity zones, (2) conducting various outreach efforts concerning
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the state’s opportunity zones, (3) extending the historic structure rehabilitation tax credit’s 30% credit to such projects located in opportunity zones and giving these projects preference, and (4) requiring DECD to give priority to approving state financial assistance for certain brownfield remediation projects located in opportunity zones. Also allows opportunity zone projects to receive assistance from DECD’s Office of the Permit Ombudsman.
PA 19-92 (1/1/2019) ABANDONED AND BLIGHTED PROPERTY RECEIVORSHIP Establishes a mechanism to rehabilitate abandoned properties in municipalities with populations of at least 35,000 by providing that if an owner of a residential, commercial, or industrial building fails to maintain it in accordance with applicable municipal codes, the Superior Court may appoint a receiver to make the necessary improvements. Under the bill, “owners” are holders of legal title to, or of a legal or equitable interest in, a building. (Owners include heirs, assignees, trustees, beneficiaries, or building lessees, if the interest is a matter of public record). A “receiver” is a person or entity that takes possession of a building under the bill’s provisions to rehabilitate or otherwise dispose of it.
