Annual Report on the General Assembly

How Will A Law Affect My Community?

Our Annual Report on the General Assembly has the answers

The 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 (Effective from passage) STATE-WIDE 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) PROP- ERT 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) conduct various outreach efforts concerning the state’s opportunity zones, (3) extends the historic structure rehabilitation tax credit’s 30% credit to such projects located in opportunity zones and give 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.

PA 19-175 (Effective from passage) LAND BANKS

(1) Establishes a framework for municipalities, either on their own or jointly with other municipalities, to create nonprofit land bank authorities (“authorities”) to acquire, maintain, and dispose of real property, except for brownfields (i.e., abandoned or underused sites where actual or potential pollution prevents redevelopment, reuse, or expansion), (2) requires each authority to be governed by a board of directors and gives the board broad powers to carry out the authority’s purposes, including the power to enter into contracts and borrow money, and (3) exempts from state and local taxes any real property and interest in real property (“real property”) an authority holds and income it derives from the property.

For any property conveyed by an authority, the bill requires municipalities to remit to the authority 50% of the taxes they collect on the property in the following five years. It also allows them to issue revenue bonds backed by the revenue from their assets (i.e., property sales) and establishes a process by which the authority’s board of directors may dissolve a land bank authority and specifies how it must distribute its assets if it dissolves.

PA 19-192 (6/26/19) CRUMBLING FOUNDATIONS

Addresses the issue of crumbling foundations by (1) broadening the definition of “residential building” to mean single- or multi-family residential units, including a condominium unit or unit in a common interest community; or a building containing one or more of the units described above, (2) providing a seat for the Executive Director of the Northeastern Council of Governments on the Board of Directors for the crumbling foundation captive insurance company, (3) requires municipalities located in the Capitol Region Council of Governments that acquire residential real property to provide a residential condition report disclosing the presence of pyrrhotite in the foundation or repairs that have been made to the foundation of the property and (4) creates a “supplemental collapsing foundation loan program” to assist with remediation efforts and requires the CT Housing Finance Authority to administer the program.

PA 19-193 (7/1/19) MUNICIPAL SHARED SERVICES

Among other things, (1) allows towns and cities to override their charters to share or consolidate services, (2) modifies the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations’ (ACIR) membership, providing CCM with five appointments to the group and expands ACIR’s reporting requirements to include information on the direct impact municipal mandates will have on local governments and (3) allows regional councils of government to borrow funds for the purchase of real property.

PA 19-118 (Various) REVISIONS TO PUBLIC HEALTH LAWS

Among other things, (1) restructures the EMT certification process by adopting a national standard and allowing greater flexibility for individuals to complete classroom and practical training. This is intended to reduce the burden of the current certification and renewal process; and (2) attempts to clarify the property tax status for non-profit nursing homes.

PA 19-124 (Various) Municipal Employees’ Retirement System

Effective July 1, 2019, increases the required employee contribution rate for participants in the Municipal Employee Retirement System (MERS) by .5 of 1% a year for the next six fiscal years for a total increase of 3%. The bill would also allow the City Bridgeport to issue $125 million in pension deficit funding bonds over 25 years for the purpose of funding the City’s

Pension Plan A Fund. The neutral arbitration provision and study to determine the feasibility of creating a second tier within MERS were removed from the bill.

PA 19-4 (5/28/19) MINIMUM WAGE

Raises the state minimum hourly wage from $10.10 to $11.00 on October 1, 2019; from $11.00 to $12.00 on September 1, 2020; from $12.00 to $13.00 on August 1, 2021; from $13.00 to $14.00 on July 1, 2022; and from $14.00 to $15.00 on June 1, 2023. Indexes any future increases to annual changes in the employment cost index (ECI) beginning on January 1, 2024.

Starting October 1, 2019, the bill also changes the “training wage” that employers may pay to learners, beginners, and people under age 18.

Eliminates the training wage exceptions for learners and beginners, and limits the training wage to only people under age 18, except emancipated minors. It requires learners and beginners who are at least age 18 to be paid the full minimum wage. The training wage is 85% of the minimum wage and allows employers to pay the training wage to people under age 18 for the first 90 days of their employment. After 90 days, the employer is required to pay the full minimum wage to the employee.

PA 19-16 (10/1/19) SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Among other things, makes various changes concerning sexual harassment and discrimination complaints filed with the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO). In particular, (1) expands requirements for employers to train employees on sexual harassment laws within six months of their hiring and supplemental training every ten years (in addition, all supervisors, regardless of organizational size, must undergo two hours of training), (2) extends the time to file a CHRO complaint alleging employer discrimination, including sexual harassment, and (3) allows courts to order punitive damages in discrimination cases released from CHRO jurisdiction.

(PA 19-93 made various amendments to PA 19-16 by making changes relating to CHRO’s authority to ensure compliance, impose fines and other administrative changes)

PA 19-25 PAID FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE (6/11/19)

Establishes a paid family and medical leave insurance system funded by a new .5% payroll tax on all employees. Municipal and local or regional board of education (BOE) employees are included in the program if their collective bargaining agent negotiates inclusion in the program. Once a municipal employer or BOE negotiates inclusion in the program for the members of one of its bargaining units, all of the municipality’s or BOE’s employees who are not part of a collective bargaining unit are required to be enrolled in the program and are considered covered public employees.

PA 19-162 (10/01/19) REGULATING ELECTRIC FOOT SCOOTERS

Extends this authority to allow municipalities to regulate e-scooters as long as the ordinances do not conflict with state laws or regulations. Among other things, municipalities can adopt ordinances requiring annual licensing of e-scooters or requiring the registration of e-scooter sales and ownership changes.