HARTFORD, CT – The Connecticut General Assembly coupled many parts of its omnibus bonding bill – which the Senate passed a couple of hours before Wednesday’s midnight deadline – with the APRA allocations bill that was passed the day before.
The legislation, House Bill 5524, came out of the Bonding Subcommittee of the Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee, and addresses different issues of funding for myriad programs and projects in the state.
A bipartisan group of Senators testified in favor of the bill, with Senate President Martin Looney saying the bill reflects the policies of Connecticut. He added that it is a good complement to the ARPA allocations bill that was passed Tuesday.
“When we think of bonding, we are thinking of an investment,” Looney said, later adding, “So in many ways, it is a good companion and parallel bill.”
Housing, tax exemptions for farming equipment, and issues pertaining to the environment are all important investments in the bill, Looney said. He said that another notable provision was a prospective plan for dealing with concentrated poverty.
“There is a great deal here that reflects significant policy initiatives, as well as concentrating of resources,” Looney said.
The legislation passed the Senate on a 35-1 vote. The House vote was 134-8 with eight absent or not voting.
Among its many provisions, the bill would:
- Extend the University of Connecticut “2000 program” by four years and authorize an additional $625 million in new bonding, require UConn or the UConn Foundation to raise $100 million of “UConn 2000 philanthropic commitments and gifts” by June 30, 2031, in order to place more requests for bonding;
- Authorize 11 school construction state grant commitments, which would total $486.4 million. The estimated total cost of projects is $583.3 million. It would also reauthorize three projects with an additional grant of $73.9 million;
- Require the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection commissioner to set up a low-interest loan program for municipalities and private entities for “climate resiliency projects,” which would be funded through a new “Climate Resiliency Revolving Loan Fund,” and would authorize up to $10 million in state bonds for the fund. DEEP would be required to report on the program to the Environment Committee;
- Deals with issues of housing affordability, availability, and with the rights of tenants and homebuyers – it would prevent;
- Establish a pilot program to combat poverty in the state including the creation of a 10-year plan, and the creation of a new office in the Department Economic Community Development to oversee the program. It would be aimed at providing grants and funding programs for individuals and businesses who qualify for “concentrated poverty census tracts”;
- Require the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection to administer a municipal grant program for towns and cities to to purchase drones, accessories, or both, within available resources, and authorize up to $3 million in state bonds for the program, and, among other provisions;
- Allow for grants and earmark possible bonds for academies and charter schools to improve the air quality in their buildings.
The bill contains many other sections pertaining to solar energy plans and the implementation and changing of municipal taxes.
Addressing Concentrated Poverty
One of the components of the bill that drew a lot of attention was the creation a pilot program for the purpose of addressing concentrated poverty in the state, something legislators like Sen. John Fonfara – the co-chair of Finance – has continued to address.
The pilot program in the bill would, in addition to creating working group to come up with a plan for addressing concentrated poverty tracts, and making projects in the plan a priority for state funding and grants, would allow for business owners who are counted among the concentrated poverty census tracts, to maintain a fewer amount of full-time equivalent employees and still be able to qualify for tax rebates.
The provision garnered strong support in the upper chamber.
Sen. Marilyn Moore, a Democrat from Bridgeport who retired at the end of the session, said that she is thankful for Fonfara’s work in fighting poverty in the state, and that the bill will hopefully do good for those working to get out of it.
“We’ve been able to come up with some things in this budget in the Urban Act, and make sure that we’re addressing poverty in the areas that need it,” Moore said.
The provision garnered support from advocates in the state.
Norma Martinez-HoSang, director of CT For All, said in a statement Wednesday that the state must invest in a system and a future where all people in the state can win.
“A state as wealthy as CT shouldn’t be seeing headlines about increased child homelessness and food insecurity or having community members die because of lack of healthcare access,” the statement said. “Not only is there power in formally naming the poverty crisis in Connecticut but we actually have the resources to boldly address it now.”
Looney thanked Fonfara for his role in developing the pilot provision, and his dedication to addressing issues of poverty in the state.
