Opioid Settlement Funds – Public Act 22-48 Creates an advisory committee responsible to address the opioid crisis and develops a mechanism to allocate a majority of the opioid settlement proceeds. Specifically, the proposal creates a 32-member advisory board, with 16 members representing municipalities, including a municipal co-chair. They are responsible for creating proposals to address opioid prevention, treatment and recovery strategies, in addition to having the authority to allocate (with some oversight) the funding to implement their plans.
Cancer Presumption – Public Act 22-139 Due to CCM’s lobbying efforts, we were successful in getting the legislature to reject the original bill proposal that would have created a rebuttable presumption for firefighters bringing a worker’s compensation claim for cancer, which would significantly change existing workers’ compensation laws thereby imposing crippling costs to municipalities. CCM worked to amend the bill so that it maintained the integrity of the Cancer Relief Fund. The new negotiated bill requires the Connecticut Fire Services Organization to develop a plan for maintenance on turnout gear and requires municipalities to contribute to the Firefighters’ Cancer Relief Account in the amount of $10 per firefighter. The municipal contribution begins after July 1, 2024, and only applies to firefighters that are eligible for the Firefighters’ Cancer Relief Fund and have the “interior structural firefighter” rating.
Pension Offsets – SB 212 CCM successfully advocated for the General Assembly to reject SB 212, which would have prohibited pension offsets regarding permanent partial disability benefits under workers’ compensation laws and enable an individual to collect full workers’ compensation benefits and full pension benefits. This unfunded mandate would have circumvented/prohibited municipalities from collectively bargaining these pension offsets, which is current practice.
Group Homes – Public Act 22-73 The bill, among other things, expands the types of group homes owned by charitable organizations that are eligible for a property tax exemption, regardless of the length of stay. Current law only provides an exemption for those homes that provide housing on a temporary basis of no more than 6 months. The House Majority Leader and House Planning and Development Chair did work hard to provide PILOT funding in the budget ($3M) to offset the fiscal impact that is anticipated – OFA estimated it at $1.9M based on numbers from 2017, however they were not successful.
Motor Vehicle Tax Cap -
See page 7 foor details.
Budget Review FY 23 looks a lot like FY 22 with few exceptions
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eviewing the budget proposals, there are many areas with zeros – towns and cities shouldn’t expect to see any more money, but there won’t be any reductions either. Except for a few key areas, municipalities can expect Fiscal Year 2023 to look at lot like Fiscal Year 2022. Municipal Aid, comprising of over $3.4 billion to towns and cities in FY 22 will likely see a small increase for FY 23. Here’s how it breaks down: For education aid, the law essentially mirrors Governor Lamont’s proposal, with the Appropriations Committee proposal providing some additional funding for adult and bilingual education. In comparison to FY 22 education aid, the budget continues the phase-in for increases in Education Cost Sharing. An additional $39.6 million would be added to ECS over FY 22 funding. The FY 23 budget provides significant increases in Magnet Schools and Open Choice Programs. The overall change for Education Aid under the Appropriations Committee proposal is just 2.5, or $67 million, versus FY 22. And finally, for non-education aid, that figure is a 14.4% increase over last year. That number is misleading, however, as $100 million of the non-education aid would come in the form of a reimbursement for revenue lost due to the cap on motor vehicle property taxes. The budget reduces that cap from the current 45 mills to 32.46 mills. The Governor had proposed a cap of 29 mills and a corresponding reimbursement of $160 million. Aside from some minor adjustments and the car tax reimbursement, most non-education funding remains at FY 22 levels, though additional PILOT funding is provided.
MAY 2022 | CONNECTICUT TOWN & CITY | 5
