Chapter 578 - Department of Economic and Community Development

Sec. 32-1m. Annual report. (a) Not later than February first, annually, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall submit a report to the Governor, the Auditors of Public Accounts and the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, finance, revenue and bonding and commerce, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a. Not later than thirty days after submission of the report, said commissioner shall post the report on the Department of Economic and Community Development's web site. Such report shall include, but not be limited to, the following information with regard to the activities of the Department of Economic and Community Development and to business assistance programs administered by Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, during the preceding state fiscal year:

(1) A brief description and assessment of the state's economy during such year, utilizing the most recent and reasonably available data, and including:

(A) Connecticut employment by industry;

(B) Connecticut and national average unemployment; and

(2) An analysis of the economic development portfolio of the department, including, but not limited to, each business assistance or incentive program, including any business tax credit or abatement program, grant, loan, forgivable loan or other form of assistance, enacted for the purpose of improving economic development. The analysis shall include:

(A) The Internet web site address of the state's open data portal and an indication of where the name, address and location of each recipient of the department's assistance is published on the site along with the following information concerning each recipient: (i) Business activities, (ii) standard industrial classification codes or North American industrial classification codes, (iii) whether the recipient is a minority or woman-owned business, (iv) a summary of the terms and conditions for the assistance, including the type and amount of state financial assistance and job creation or retention requirements, (v) the amount of investments from private and other nonstate sources that have been leveraged by the assistance, and (vi) the amount of state investment;

(B) A portfolio analysis, including an analysis of the wages paid by recipients of financial assistance by industry;

(C) An investment analysis, including (i) total portfolio value, (ii) total investment by industry, (iii) portfolio dollar per job average, and (iv) portfolio leverage ratio;

(D) An overview of the business assistance and incentive programs administered by the department and an analysis of their estimated economic impact on the state's economy. The analysis shall include, for each business assistance or incentive program for which such data is available, the number of new jobs created, the borrowing cost to the state and the estimated impact of such program on annual state revenues;

(E) An analysis of whether the statutory and programmatic goals of each business or incentive program are being met, with obstacles to such goals identified, if possible;

(F) (i) Recommendations as to whether any existing business assistance or incentive program should be continued, modified or repealed and the basis or bases for such recommendations, and (ii) any recommendations for additional data collection by the state to better inform future evaluations of such programs; and

(G) The methodologies and assumptions used in carrying out the analyses under this subdivision.

(3) An analysis of the community development portfolio of the department, including:

(A) The Internet web site address of the state's open data portal and an indication of where the name, address and location of each recipient of the department's assistance is published on the site along with the following information concerning each recipient: (i) Amount of state investment, (ii) a summary of the terms and conditions for the department's assistance, including the type and amount of state financial assistance, and (iii) the amount of investments from private and other nonstate sources that have been leveraged by such assistance; and

(B) An investment analysis, including (i) total active portfolio value, (ii) total investments made in the preceding state fiscal year, and (iii) total portfolio leverage ratio.

(4) An analysis of each business assistance or incentive program, including any business tax credit or abatement program, grant, loan, forgivable loan or other form of assistance, enacted for the purpose of improving economic development, that (A) (i) had ten or more recipients of assistance in the preceding state fiscal year, or (ii) credited, abated or distributed more than one million dollars in the preceding state fiscal year, and (B) is administered by the department or Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated. The analysis shall include:

(i) An overview of the business assistance or incentive program and an analysis of its estimated economic effects on the state's economy, including, for each program where such data is available, the number of new jobs created and the estimated impact of such program on annual state revenues;

(ii) An analysis of whether the statutory and programmatic goals of each business assistance or incentive program are being met, with obstacles to such goals identified, if possible;

(iii) Recommendations as to whether any such existing business assistance or incentive program should be continued, modified or repealed and the basis or bases for such recommendations, and any recommendations for additional data collection by the state to better inform future evaluations of such programs; and

(iv) The methodologies and assumptions used in carrying out the analysis under this subdivision.

(5) A summary of the department's international trade efforts in the preceding state fiscal year, and, to the extent possible, a summary of foreign direct investment that occurred in the state in such year.

(6) A summary of the total social and economic impact of the department's efforts and activities in the areas of economic and community development, and an assessment of the department's performance in terms of meeting its stated goals and objectives.

(7) With regard to the Small Business Express program established pursuant to section 32-7g, data on (A) the number of small businesses that received assistance under said program and the general categories of such businesses, (B) the amounts and types of assistance provided, (C) the total number of jobs on the date of application and the number proposed to be created or retained, (D) the most recent employment figures of the small businesses receiving assistance, (E) the default rate of small businesses that received assistance under said program, and (F) the progress of the lenders participating in said program in becoming self-sustainable.

(8) With regard to airport development zones established pursuant to section 32-75d, a summary of the economic and cost benefits of each zone and any recommended revisions to any such zones.

(9) An overview of the department's activities related to tourism, the arts and historic preservation.

(10) An overview of the department's activities concerning digital media, motion pictures and related production activity, and an analysis of the use of the film production tax credit established under section 12-217jj and the entertainment industry infrastructure tax credit established under section 12-217kk, including the amount of any tax credit issued under said sections, the total amount of production expenses or costs incurred in the state by the taxpayer who was issued such a tax credit and the information submitted in the report required under subparagraph (A) of subdivision (2) of subsection (h) of section 12-217jj.

(11) A summary of the department's and the office of the permit ombudsman's brownfield-related efforts and activities in the preceding fiscal year.

(12) A summary of the department's dry cleaning establishment remediation account activities in the preceding fiscal year.

(b) Any annual report that is required from the department by any provision of the general statutes shall be incorporated into the annual report submitted pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.

(c) On or before April 1, 2022, and annually thereafter, the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, finance, revenue and bonding and commerce shall hold, individually or jointly, one or more public hearings on the analyses included in the annual report under subdivisions (2), (4) and (7) of subsection (a) of this section.

(P.A. 05-191, S. 1; P.A. 06-184, S. 2; 06-196, S. 265; P.A. 07-171, S. 1; P.A. 09-233, S. 1; 09-234, S. 8; P.A. 10-75, S. 31; 10-158, S. 12; Oct. Sp. Sess. P.A. 11-1, S. 3; P.A. 13-234, S. 54; 13-308, S. 22; P.A. 14-26, S. 1; P.A. 15-192, S. 3; P.A. 17-219, S. 4; 17-226, S.1; P.A. 18-122, S. 2; P.A. 21-193, S. 14; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-2, S. 286; P.A. 22-50, S. 4; 22-118, S. 157; P.A. 23-204, S. 353; P.A. 25-39, S. 17; 25-165, S. 11; 25-168, S. 65.)

History: P.A. 06-184 amended Subdiv. (8) by making a technical change and adding reference to Office of Brownfield Remediation and Development and summary requirement re “tracking of all funds administered through or by said office” and made technical changes in Subdiv. (12)(B), effective July 1, 2006; P.A. 06-196 made technical changes in Subdiv. (12)(B), effective June 7, 2006; P.A. 07-171 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a), amended Subsec. (a) by deleting “at application” in Subdiv. (3)(B)(iv), requiring notice of amount of bond funds expended in Subdiv. (7), adding Subdiv. (8)(C) re information on dry cleaning grant program, adding new Subdiv. (10)(B) re assessment of rental assistance needs, adding new Subdiv. (14) re Housing Trust Fund and making technical changes, and added Subsec. (b) re inclusion of all required department reports in annual report; P.A. 09-233 amended Subsec. (a) by adding new Subdiv. (1)(G) re Connecticut's competitiveness as a place for business, redesignating existing Subdiv. (1)(G) as Subdiv. (1)(H) and adding provisions, codified by the Revisors as Subdivs. (18) and (19), re biodiesel producer incentive account grant program and fuel diversification grant program, effective July 1, 2009; P.A. 09-234 amended Subsec. (a) by adding new Subdivs. (10) and (11) re qualified biodiesel grant and fuel diversification programs and redesignating existing Subdivs. (10) to (15) as Subdivs. (12) to (17), with existing Subdiv. (16) having been redesignated by the Revisors as Subdiv. (20), effective July 1, 2009; P.A. 10-75 added Subsec. (a)(21) re Connecticut Credit Consortium, effective July 1, 2010; P.A. 10-158 amended Subsec. (a) to add provisions, codified by the Revisors as Subdiv. (22), re office of permit ombudsman; Oct. Sp. Sess. P.A. 11-1 amended Subsec. (a) to add Subdivs. (23) re Small Business Express program and (24) re airport development zones, effective October 27, 2011; P.A. 13-234 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting former Subdivs. (12) to (17) re housing development and redesignating existing Subdivs. (18) to (24) as Subdivs. (12) to (18), effective July 1, 2013; P.A. 13-308 made a technical change in Subsec. (a)(8), effective July 1, 2013; P.A. 14-26 amended Subsec. (a)(14) to delete requirement that report include summary of social and economic impact re efforts and activities concerning housing development; P.A. 15-192 amended Subsec. (a)(18) to delete provision re consultation with Connecticut Airport Authority, effective July 2, 2015; P.A. 17-219 substantially amended subsection (a) including by replacing provision re submission of report to Governor and General Assembly with provision re submission of report to Governor, Auditors of Public Accounts, and Appropriations, Finance, Revenue and Bonding and Commerce Committees, adding provision re reporting on business assistance or incentive programs not administered by department, deleting former Subdiv. (2) and redesignating existing Subdivs. (3) and (4) as new Subdivs. (2) and (3), amending redesignated Subdiv. (2) by adding provisions re analysis of economic development portfolio to include Internet web site address of state's open data portal, overview of business assistance and incentive programs administered by department, number of new jobs created, borrowing cost, estimated impact of program on state revenues, whether goals of program are being met, recommendations whether any program should be continued, modified or repealed, recommendations for additional data collection, and methodologies and assumptions used in carrying out analyses, amending redesignated Subdiv. (3) by adding provision re analysis of community development portfolio to include Internet web site address of state's open data portal, and deleting provision re estimated economic effects of department's economic development investments on state's economy, adding new Subdiv. (4) re analysis of business assistance or incentive program, deleting former Subdiv. (5), redesignating existing Subdiv. (6) as new Subdiv. (5), deleting former Subdivs. (7) to (13), redesignating existing Subdiv. (14) as new Subdiv. (6), deleting Subdivs. (15) and (16), redesignating existing Subdivs. (17) and (18) as new Subdivs. (7) and (8), and adding new Subdivs. (9) to (12), amended Subsec. (b) by replacing “provided” with “submitted”, and added Subsec. (c) re public hearings on analyses included in report, and made technical and conforming changes, effective July 11, 2017; P.A. 17-226 amended subsection (a) by replacing provision re submission of report to Governor and General Assembly with provision re submission of report to Governor, Auditors of Public Accounts, and Appropriations, Finance, Revenue and Bonding and Commerce Committees, adding provision re reporting on business assistance or incentive programs not administered by department, amending Subdiv. (3) by adding provisions re analysis of community development portfolio to include each business assistance or incentive program enacted for purpose of improving economic development, number of new jobs created, borrowing cost, estimated impact of program on state revenues, whether goals of program are being met, recommendations whether any program should be continued, modified or repealed, recommendations for additional data collection, and methodologies and assumptions used in carrying out analyses, adding Subdiv. (5) re analysis of each assistance or incentive program enacted for purpose of improving economic development, redesignating existing Subdivs. (5) to (18) as new Subdivs. (6) to (19), amended Subsec. (b) by replacing “provided” with “submitted”, and added Subsec. (c) re public hearings on analyses included in report, and made technical and conforming changes, effective July 11, 2017; P.A. 18-122 amended Subsec. (c) by replacing reference to Subdiv. (3) with reference to Subdiv. (2) and replacing reference to Subdiv. (5) with reference to Subdiv. (4), effective June 7, 2018; P.A. 21-193 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “or incentive programs not administered by the department,” with “programs administered by Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated,” re report, and deleting “not” and adding “or Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated” in Subdiv. (4)(B) and amended Subsec. (c) by replacing “On or before March 1, 2018, and annually thereafter” with “Not later than sixty days after the submission of a report by the Auditors of Public Accounts pursuant to section 2-90c,” and adding “such report and” re hearing, effective July 13, 2021; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-2 amended Subsec. (a)(7) by deleting former Subpara. (A), redesignating existing Subparas. (B) to (E) as Subparas. (A) to (D) and adding new Subpara. (E) re default rate of businesses that receive assistance and Subpara.(F) re progress of lenders in becoming self-sustainable and amended Subsec. (c) by replacing “Not later than sixty days after the submission of a report by the Auditors of Public Accounts pursuant to section 2-90c” with “On or before April 1, 2022, and annually thereafter”, deleting provision re public hearing on report, adding reference to Subsec. (a)(7) and making a conforming change, effective June 23, 2021; P.A. 22-50 amended Subsec. (a)(2)(C) by adding “and” before “(iv)”; P.A. 22-118 made an identical change as P.A. 22-50; P.A. 23-204 amended Subsec. (a)(10) by adding reference to information submitted in report required under Sec. 12-217jj(h)(1)(A), effective January 1, 2024; P.A. 25-39 amended Subsec. (a)(10) by replacing reference to Sec. 12-217jj(h)(1)(A) with reference to Sec. 12-217jj(h)(2)(A); P.A. 25-165 made an identical change as P.A. 25-39 and further amended Subsec. (a)(10) by deleting reference to tax credit under Sec. 12-217ll, effective July 1, 2025; P.A. 25-168 made identical changes as P.A. 25-165, effective June 30, 2025.

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Sec. 32-1p. Powers and duties re digital media and motion picture activities. With respect to digital media and motion picture activities, the Department of Economic and Community Development shall have the following powers and duties:

(1) To promote the use of Connecticut locations, structures, facilities and services for the production and postproduction of all digital media and motion pictures and other media-related products;

(2) To provide support services to visiting and in-state production companies, including assistance to digital media and motion picture producers in securing permits from state agencies, authorities or institutions or municipalities or other political subdivisions of the state;

(3) To develop and update a resource library concerning the many possible state sites which are suitable for production;

(4) To develop and update a production manual of available digital media and motion picture production facilities and services in the state;

(5) To conduct and attend trade shows and production workshops to promote Connecticut locations and facilities;

(6) To prepare an explanatory guide showing the impact of relevant state and municipal tax statutes, regulations and administrative opinions on typical production activities and to implement the tax credits provided for in sections 12-217jj and 12-217kk;

(7) To formulate and propose guidelines for state agencies for a “one stop permitting” process for matters, including, but not limited to, the use of state roads and highways, the use of state-owned real or personal property for production activities and the conduct of regulated activities, and to hold workshops to assist state agencies in implementing such process;

(8) To formulate and recommend to municipalities model local ordinances and forms to assist production activities, including, but not limited to, “one stop permitting” of digital media and motion picture and other production activity to be conducted in a municipality, and to hold workshops to assist municipalities in implementing such ordinances;

(9) To accept any funds, gifts, donations, bequests or grants of funds from private and public sources for the purposes of this section;

(10) To request and obtain from any state agency, authority or institution or any municipality or other political subdivision of the state such assistance and data as will enable the department to carry out the purposes of this section;

(11) To assist and promote cooperation among all segments of management and labor that are engaged in digital media and motion pictures; and

(12) To take any other administrative action which may improve the position of the state's digital media and motion picture production industries in national and international markets.

(June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 100; P.A. 17-219, S. 8; P.A. 25-165, S. 12; 25-168, S. 66.)

History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3 effective September 9, 2009; P.A. 17-219 deleted former Subsec. (b) re annual report and deleted Subsec. (a) designator; P.A. 25-165 amended Subdiv. (6) to delete reference to Sec. 12-217ll which was repealed by the same act, effective July 1, 2025; P.A. 25-168 made an identical change as P.A. 25-165, effective June 30, 2025.

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Sec. 32-1s. Powers and duties re culture and tourism. (a) On and after July 1, 2011, the Department of Economic and Community Development shall assume all responsibilities of the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism pursuant to any provision of the general statutes. The transfer of functions, powers, duties, personnel and obligations, including, but not limited to, contract obligations, the continuance of orders and regulations, the effect upon pending actions and proceedings, the completion of unfinished business, and the transfer of records and property between the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, as said department existed immediately prior to July 1, 2011, and the Department of Economic and Community Development shall be governed by the provisions of sections 4-38d, 4-38e and 4-39.

(b) Any order or regulation of the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, which is in force on July 1, 2011, shall continue in force and effect as an order or regulation of the Department of Economic and Community Development until amended, repealed or superseded pursuant to law. Where any order or regulation of said commission or said department conflicts, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development may implement policies and procedures consistent with the provisions of this section and sections 3-110f, 3-110h, 3-110i, 4-9a, 4-66aa, 4-89, 4b-53, 4b-60, 4b-64, 4b-66a, 5-198, 7-147a, 7-147b, 7-147c, 7-147j, 7-147p, 7-147q, 7-147y, 8-37lll, 10-382, 10-384, 10-385, 10-386, 10-387, 10-388, 10-389, 10-391, 10-392, 10-394, 10-395, 10-396, 10-397, 10-397a, 10-399, 10-400, 10-401, 10-402, 10-403, 10-404, 10-405, 10-406, 10-408, 10-409, 10-410, 10-411, 10-412, 10-413, 10-414, 10-415, 10-416, 10-416a, 10-416b, 10a-111a, 10a-112, 10a-112b, 10a-112g, 11-6a, 12-376d, 13a-252, 19a-315b, 19a-315c, 22a-1d, 22a-19b, 29-259, 32-11a and 32-35 while in the process of adopting the policy or procedure in regulation form, provided notice of intention to adopt regulations is printed in the Connecticut Law Journal not later than twenty days after implementation. The policy or procedure shall be valid until the time final regulations are effective.

(P.A. 11-48, S. 78; P.A. 13-299, S. 23; P.A. 21-193, S. 24; P.A. 25-170, S. 7.)

History: P.A. 11-48 effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 13-299 deleted former Subsecs. (b) and (c) re substitution of terms for Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, redesignated existing Subsec. (d) as Subsec. (b) and amended same to delete reference to Secs. 25-102qq and 25-109q and deleted former Subsec. (e) re the Legislative Commissioners' Office to make necessary technical changes, effective July 1, 2013; P.A. 21-193 amended Subsec. (b) by deleting references to Secs. 10-393, 10-425 and 32-6a, effective July 13, 2021; P.A. 25-170 amended Subsec. (b) to delete reference to Sec. 22a-27s, effective July 8, 2025.

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Sec. 32-1x. Provision of assistance to certain nonprofit organizations. The state, acting through the Department of Economic and Community Development or any other state agency, governmental entity or the private sector, may, within available appropriations, provide financial assistance, lend staff or provide other in-kind contributions to any nonprofit in the state established, in part, to (1) carry out the purpose of providing technical assistance and business expertise to new companies located in or planning to locate in the state, or (2) promote economic growth and business expansion in the state through the collection, organization and dissemination of information, expertise and other resources for use by individuals and groups.

(P.A. 25-165, S. 9.)

History: P.A. 25-165 effective July 1, 2025.

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Sec. 32-4j. Connecticut first-time homebuyers account. There is established a Connecticut first-time homebuyers account, which shall be a separate, nonlapsing account. Funds segregated by the Commissioner of Revenue Services, pursuant to section 32-4k, shall be deposited in the account. An amount equal to the amount deposited in the account shall be available to the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development for payments to participants in the program established pursuant to section 32-4i. The State Treasurer shall invest the proceeds of the account, and investment earnings, after paying any costs incurred by the State Treasurer in administering the account, shall be credited to the General Fund. On or before September 1, 2014, and annually thereafter, the State Treasurer shall notify the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development of the total amount deposited in the account. Any funds segregated on behalf of a participant that are not used for the purchase of a first home shall be transferred to the General Fund.

(P.A. 11-140, S. 31; P.A. 25-110, S. 104.)

History: P.A. 11-140 effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 25-110 deleted reference to General Fund and made a technical change, effective July 1, 2025.

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Sec. 32-4q. Innovation Clusters and Connecticut Communities Challenge programs; funding; application process; criteria; board of directors of organization awarded financial assistance. (a) On and after July 1, 2021, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, in coordination with the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, may, for the purposes of implementing the state's Economic Action Plan, use bond funds and available resources, to provide (1) not more than one hundred million dollars in the aggregate for grants in support of major projects selected pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, and (2) not more than one hundred million dollars in the aggregate for community development grants awarded pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. Total funding for grants provided pursuant to subsections (b) and (c) of this section shall not exceed two hundred million dollars in the aggregate.

(b) On and after July 1, 2021, the Department of Economic and Community Development may establish an Innovation Clusters program, which shall provide grants for major projects in the state. The department shall develop a competitive application process and criteria consistent with the purposes of the state's Economic Action Plan to (1) evaluate applications submitted pursuant to this subsection, and (2) select projects for funding pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section. Financial assistance awarded pursuant to this subsection shall be exempt from the provisions of section 32-462.

(c) On and after July 1, 2021, the Department of Economic and Community Development may establish a Connecticut Communities Challenge program, which shall provide community development grants. The department shall develop a competitive application process and criteria consistent with the purposes of the state's Economic Action Plan to (1) evaluate applications submitted pursuant to this subsection, and (2) select community development projects for funding pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section.

(d) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, or the commissioner's designee, may serve as a member of the board of directors of an organization that is awarded financial assistance pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.

(June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-2, S. 488; P.A. 22-50, S. 2; 22-118, S. 155; P.A. 25-174, S. 66.)

History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-2 effective July 1, 2021; this section was originally published as Sec. 32-4p in the 2022 Supplement to the General Statutes; P.A. 22-50 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “For fiscal years ending June 30, 2022, to” with “On and after July 1, 2021, and until”, adding “in the aggregate” after “one hundred million dollars” and “grants in support of” before “major projects” in Subdiv. (1), replacing “matching grants” with “not more than one hundred million dollars in the aggregate for community development grants awarded” in Subdiv. (2), adding provision re total funding cap of $200,000,000 and making a technical change, amended Subsec. (b) by replacing “July 1, 2024” with “June 30, 2024” and replacing reference to request for proposals with reference to Innovation Corridor grant program and making conforming changes, amended Subsec. (c) by replacing “July 1, 2024” with “June 30, 2024”, replacing “Commissioner” with “Department”, deleting provisions re competitive grant program and adding provisions re Connecticut Communities Challenge program, effective May 23, 2022; P.A. 22-118 made identical changes as P.A. 22-50, effective May 7, 2022; P.A. 25-174 amended Subsec. (a) to delete “and until June 30, 2024,” and delete provision re funding received under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, P.L. 117-2, amended Subsec. (b) to delete “and until June 30, 2024,”, replace “Corridor” with “Clusters” re program name and add provision re financial assistance exempt from Sec. 32-462 and added Subsec. (d) re commissioner or commissioner's designee may serve as member of board of directions of organization awarded financial assistance, effective June 30, 2025.

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Sec. 32-4r. Youth Service Corps grant program. (a) There is established a Youth Service Corps grant program to be administered by the Department of Economic and Community Development for the purpose of providing grants to municipalities of priority school districts, as described in section 10-266p, to establish local Youth Service Corps programs. Such programs shall provide paid community-based service learning and academic and workforce development programs to youth and young adults in the state in accordance with the provisions of section 32-4s.

(b) Not later than October 1, 2022, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall develop an application process and selection criteria for Youth Service Corps program grants.

(c) Not later than January 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall award a grant to each municipality selected to participate in the program in the amount of ten thousand dollars per youth or young adult participating in such municipality's local Youth Service Corps program plus fifteen per cent of such amount for program administration expenses. Such municipalities may use such grants to (1) administer the local Youth Service Corps program, and (2) award a subgrant of not more than ten thousand dollars to any youth or young adult participating in a local Youth Service Corps program to support or subsidize such youth or young adult's participation in program activities.

(d) Not later than December 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, each municipality that received a Youth Service Corps program grant shall submit a report evaluating its local Youth Service Corps program to the Commissioners of Economic and Community Development and Children and Families in a form and manner prescribed by the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development.

(e) Not later than January 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, in consultation with the Commissioner of Children and Families, shall report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to commerce and children regarding the Youth Service Corps grant program.

(f) There is established an account to be known as the “youth service corps grant program account”, which shall be a separate, nonlapsing account. The account shall contain any moneys required by law to be deposited in the account. Moneys in the account shall be expended by the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development for the purposes of providing grants to municipalities of priority school districts, as described in section 10-266p, to establish local Youth Service Corps programs that provide paid community-based service learning and academic and workforce development programs to youth and young adults in the state in accordance with the provisions of section 32-4s.

(P.A. 22-47, S. 60; P.A. 25-110, S. 105.)

History: P.A. 22-47 effective July 1, 2022; P.A. 25-110 amended Subsec. (f) by deleting reference to General Fund and making a technical change, effective July 1, 2025.

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Sec. 32-5a. Conditions re relocation of certain businesses which received state financial assistance. The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development and the board of directors of Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated shall require, as a condition of any financial assistance provided on and after June 23, 1993, under any program administered by the Department of Economic and Community Development or such corporation to any business organization, except for a business organization that receives any such financial assistance in an amount not more than fifty thousand dollars and is an eligible small business, as defined in section 31-3pp, or under any assistance program that is funded entirely by the federal government, in which case the commissioner may require, that such business organization: (1) Shall not relocate outside of the state for ten years after receiving such assistance or during the term of a loan or loan guarantee, whichever is longer, unless the full amount of the assistance is repaid to the state and a penalty equal to five per cent of the total assistance received is paid to the state, except that this subdivision shall not be applicable to financial assistance by the corporation in the form of an equity investment or other financial assistance, including a convertible or seed loan, with predominantly equity characteristics, and (2) shall, if the business organization relocates within the state during such period, offer employment at the new location to its employees from the original location if such employment is available. For the purposes of subdivision (1) of this section, the value of a guarantee shall be equal to the amount of the state's liability under the guarantee. As used in this section, “financial assistance” does not include any tax credit program administered by the Department of Economic and Community Development or Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, and “relocate” means the physical transfer of a substantial portion, as determined by the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, of the operations of a business or any division of a business that independently receives any financial assistance from the state from the location such business or division occupied at the time it accepted the financial assistance to another location. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall adopt regulations in accordance with chapter 54 to establish the terms and conditions of repayment, including specifying the conditions under which repayment may be deferred, following a determination by the commissioner of a legitimate hardship.

(P.A. 88-146; P.A. 93-218, S. 1, 4; 93-360, S. 14, 19; P.A. 95-250, S. 1; P.A. 96-211, S. 1, 5, 6; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1, S. 171; P.A. 17-162, S. 2; P.A. 21-193, S. 20; P.A. 25-165, S. 7.)

History: P.A. 93-218 applied requirements of the section to any financial assistance, instead of loans and grants only, provided by Connecticut development authority and Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, as well as commissioner of economic development, to any business organization instead of only those with twenty-five or more employees, extended period of time for condition on not relocating out of state from 3 to 10 years, imposed penalty on relocating during such period and added provision specifying value of a guarantee for purposes of Subdiv. (1), effective June 23, 1993; P.A. 93-360 exempted financial assistance provided by Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated from requirements of the section, effective June 14, 1993; P.A. 95-250 and P.A. 96-211 replaced Commissioner and Department of Economic Development with Commissioner and Department of Economic and Community Development; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1 replaced “Connecticut Development Authority” with “Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated” and “authority” with “corporation”, and added exception in Subdiv. (1) re financial assistance by the corporation, effective July 1, 2012; P.A. 17-162 redefined “relocate”; P.A. 21-193 added provision re exception for eligible small business receiving not more than $50,000 and for business receiving assistance under any program funded entirely by federal government, effective July 13, 2021; P.A. 25-165 defined “financial assistance”, effective July 1, 2025.

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Sec. 32-6. Connecticut building at Eastern States Exposition. (a) The management and control of the operation and affairs of the Connecticut building at the Eastern States Exposition at West Springfield shall be in the charge of the Department of Economic and Community Development. Maintenance of the land and building shall be the responsibility of the Department of Administrative Services. Coverage by fire and casualty insurance shall be the responsibility of the State Insurance and Risk Management Board in accordance with the provisions of section 4a-20. The building and land shall be used by the Department of Economic and Community Development, in cooperation with public and private agencies, to conduct an educational exhibit which will promote the agricultural, industrial, recreational and other physical and natural resources of this state.

(b) (1) There is established an account to be known as the “Connecticut Eastern States Exposition account”. The account shall contain any moneys required by law to be deposited in the account and shall be a separate, nonlapsing account. Investment earnings credited to the account shall become part of the assets of the account. Any balance remaining in said account at the end of any fiscal year shall be carried forward in the account for the next fiscal year.

(2) There shall be deposited in the Connecticut Eastern States Exposition account any proceeds realized by the state from activities pursuant to this section.

(3) Amounts in the Connecticut Eastern States Exposition account shall be available to fund the cost of any activities of the Department of Economic and Community Development pursuant to this section, including administrative costs related to such activities.

(1949 Rev., S. 3541; 1949, 1953, S. 1894d; P.A. 73-599, S. 21; P.A. 77-614, S. 284, 610; P.A. 95-250, S. 1; P.A. 96-211, S. 1, 5, 6; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-11, S. 32, 65; P.A. 11-51, S. 44; P.A. 15-123, S. 4; P.A. 25-110, S. 106.)

History: P.A. 73-599 replaced Connecticut development commission with department of commerce; P.A. 77-614 replaced department of commerce with department of economic development, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 95-250 and P.A. 96-211 replaced Commissioner and Department of Economic Development with Commissioner and Department of Economic and Community Development; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-11 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a), amended Subsec. (a) by making Public Works Department responsible for maintenance of the Connecticut building and land and by making technical changes, and added new Subsec. (b) establishing the Connecticut Eastern States Exposition account, effective July 1, 1997; pursuant to P.A. 11-51, “Department of Public Works” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Department of Administrative Services” in Subsec. (a), effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 15-123 amended Subsec. (a) to replace “Comptroller” with reference to State Insurance and Risk Management Board re responsibility for fire and casualty insurance, effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 25-110 amended Subsec. (b)(1) to delete reference to General Fund and make a technical change, effective July 1, 2025.

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Sec. 32-6j. Assistance of Labor Commissioner in job-training activities. In the assessment and provision of job training for employers, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development and the chief executive officer of Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated shall request the assistance of the Labor Commissioner. Upon receipt of a request for job training pursuant to this section, the Labor Commissioner shall notify the chancellor of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, or the chancellor's designee, of such request. The chancellor, or the chancellor's designee, shall determine if a training program exists or can be designed at the Connecticut State Community College to meet such training need and shall notify the Labor Commissioner of such determination. The Labor Commissioner shall to the extent possible make arrangements for the participation of the Connecticut State Community College, the Connecticut State University System, other institutions of higher education, other postsecondary institutions, adult education programs and the Technical Education and Career System in implementing the program. Nothing in this section shall preclude the Labor Commissioner from considering or choosing other providers to meet such training need.

(P.A. 96-190, S. 3, 8; P.A. 11-48, S. 284; P.A. 12-116, S. 87; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1, S. 152; P.A. 13-123, S. 6; P.A. 16-15, S. 40; P.A. 17-237, S. 109; P.A. 24-22, S. 40; P.A. 25-22, S. 108.)

History: P.A. 96-190 effective July 1, 1996; P.A. 11-48 replaced “chancellor of the regional community-technical colleges” with “president of the Board of Regents for Higher Education” and made conforming and technical changes, effective July 1, 2011; pursuant to P.A. 12-116, “regional vocational-technical schools” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “technical high schools”, effective July 1, 2012; pursuant to June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1, “Connecticut Development Authority” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated”, effective July 1, 2012; P.A. 13-123 changed “executive director” to “chief executive officer”, effective June 18, 2013; P.A. 16-15 replaced “president of the Board of Regents for Higher Education” with “president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities”, effective July 1, 2016; P.A. 17-237 replaced “state technical high schools” with “the Technical Education and Career System”, effective July 1, 2017; P.A. 24-22 replaced “president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities” with “chancellor of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities”, effective July 1, 2024; P.A. 25-22 replaced references to regional community-technical college with Connecticut State Community College, effective June 9, 2025.

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Sec. 32-6x. Connecticut brand merchandise. Sale of advertising space. Program. The Department of Economic and Community Development may establish and administer a program for the sale of Connecticut brand merchandise and advertising space for Connecticut businesses. All proceeds derived from the operation of such program shall be deposited in the Tourism Fund.

(P.A. 25-165, S. 5.)

History: P.A. 25-165 effective July 1, 2025.

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Sec. 32-7g. *(See end of section for amended version and effective date.) Small Business Express program. (a) There is established within the Department of Economic and Community Development the Small Business Express program. Said program shall provide small businesses with various forms of financial assistance. A small business eligible for assistance through said program shall (1) employ not more than one hundred employees, (2) have operations in Connecticut, and (3) be in good standing with the payment of all state and local taxes and with all state agencies. It shall be the goal of the Department of Economic and Community Development that, on or before July 1, 2026, the Small Business Express program be self-funded and that the default rate of small businesses that receive assistance under said program be not more than twenty per cent.

(b) The Small Business Express program shall consist of various components, including (1) a revolving loan fund, as described in subsection (c) of this section, to support small business growth, (2) at least one minority business revolving loan fund, as described in subsection (d) of this section, to support the growth of minority-owned businesses, (3) a component established in consultation with representatives from Connecticut-based banks and a banking industry association, as described in subsection (e) of this section, and (4) a component established in consultation with Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, as described in subsection (f) of this section. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 32-5a regarding relocation limits, the department may require, as a condition of receiving financial assistance pursuant to this section, that a small business receiving such assistance shall not relocate, as defined in section 32-5a, for five years after receiving such assistance or during the term of the loan, whichever is longer. All other conditions and penalties imposed pursuant to section 32-5a shall continue to apply to such small business.

(c) There is established as part of the Small Business Express program a revolving loan fund to provide loans, loan guarantees, loan portfolio guarantees, portfolio insurance and grants.

(d) (1) There is established as part of the Small Business Express program at least one revolving loan fund to provide loans to eligible small businesses that are owned by one or more members of a minority. As used in this subsection, (A) “minority business development entity” means a nonprofit organization (i) having a lending portfolio on or before June 9, 2016, from which at least seventy-five per cent of lending is provided to minority-owned businesses state-wide; and (ii) that provided technical assistance on or before June 9, 2016, provided at least seventy-five per cent of such assistance was provided to minority-owned businesses state-wide; and (B) “minority” means (i) Black Americans, including all persons having origins in any of the Black African racial groups not of Hispanic origin; (ii) Hispanic Americans, including all persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race; (iii) all persons having origins in the Iberian Peninsula, including Portugal, regardless of race; (iv) women; (v) Asian Pacific Americans and Pacific islanders; or (vi) American Indians and persons having origins in any of the original peoples of North America and maintaining identifiable tribal affiliations through membership and participation or community identification.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 32-7h, the commissioner shall allocate from the available funding under the Small Business Express program a total of five million dollars for grants-in-aid to not more than two minority business development entities in each of the fiscal years ending June 30, 2016, to June 30, 2020, inclusive, for the purpose of establishing and administering minority business revolving loan funds. Moneys from such funds shall be used to (A) provide loans to eligible small businesses, and (B) fund the administrative costs associated with the provision of such loans by a minority business development entity, provided a minority business development entity may not use more than ten per cent of the amount received as a grant under this section to fund such costs. Such loans shall be used for acquisition or purchase of machinery and equipment, construction or leasehold improvements, relocation expenses, working capital, which may be used for payment of rent, or other business-related expenses, as authorized by the minority business development entity.

(3) Loans from a minority business revolving loan fund may be in amounts from ten thousand dollars to a maximum of five hundred thousand dollars, shall carry a maximum repayment rate of four per cent and shall be for a term of not more than ten years. The minority business development entity shall review and approve loan terms, conditions and collateral requirements in a manner that prioritizes job growth and retention.

(4) Any eligible small business owned by one or more members of a minority may apply for assistance from a minority business revolving loan fund, provided the minority business development entity shall give priority to applicants that, as part of their business plan, are creating new jobs that will be maintained for not less than twelve consecutive months.

(5) Loans from a minority business revolving fund shall be provided in such a manner that, on or before five years after the date such loan fund is established, the annual funds or revenues derived from investment income, loan repayments or any other sources received by the minority business development entity in connection with such loan fund is sufficient to fund the administrative costs associated with such loan fund.

(6) A minority business development entity receiving a grant pursuant to this subsection shall annually submit to the commissioner a financial audit of grant expenditures until all grant moneys have been expended by such entity. Any such audit shall be prepared by an independent auditor and if the commissioner finds that any such grant is used for purposes that are not in conformity with uses set forth in subdivisions (2) and (3) of this subsection, the commissioner may require repayment of such grant.

(e) The commissioner, in consultation with representatives from Connecticut-based banks and a banking industry association, may establish as part of the Small Business Express program a component operated in collaboration with Connecticut-based banks, which may include, but need not be limited to, loan guarantees, short-term loans used as a bridge to private sector financing and the transfer of loans issued under subsection (c) of this section. Any loans issued under such component shall be used for acquisition or purchase of machinery and equipment, construction or leasehold improvements, relocation expenses, working capital, which may be used for payment of rent, or other business-related expenses, as authorized by the commissioner. The provisions of subsections (c) and (d) of this section shall not be construed to apply to such component. Such component shall be administered by Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, in collaboration with the Department of Economic and Community Development. For purposes of this section, “Connecticut-based banks” means banks and out-of-state banks, each as defined in section 36a-2, having deposit-taking branches in the state.

(f) The commissioner, in consultation with Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, may establish as part of the Small Business Express program a component operated in collaboration with Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, which may include, but need not be limited to, financial assistance consistent with the provisions and purposes of sections 32-23e, 32-23ii and 32-265. Such component may be administered by Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, in collaboration with the Department of Economic and Community Development.

(g) Not later than February 1, 2022, and annually thereafter, the commissioner shall provide a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to finance, revenue and bonding, appropriations, commerce and labor. Such report shall include available data on (1) the number of small businesses that received assistance under the Small Business Express program and the general categories of such businesses, (2) the amounts and types of assistance provided, (3) the total number of jobs on the date of application and the number proposed to be created or retained, (4) the most recent employment figures of the small businesses receiving assistance, (5) the default rate of small businesses that received assistance under said program, and (6) the progress of the lenders participating in said program in becoming self-sustainable. The contents of such report shall also be included in the department's annual report.

(h) The commissioner may contract with nongovernmental entities, including, but not limited to, nonprofit organizations, economic and community development organizations, lending institutions, and technical assistance providers to carry out the provisions of this section.

(Oct. Sp. Sess. P.A. 11-1, S. 1; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1, S. 199; P.A. 13-56, S. 1; P.A. 14-98, S. 43; P.A. 16-128, S. 1; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 16-3, S. 17; P.A. 17-219, S. 2; P.A. 18-122, S. 3; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-2, S. 283; P.A. 22-50, S. 1; 22-118, S. 154.)

*Note: On and after July 1, 2026, this section, as amended by section 16 of public act 25-95, is to read as follows:

“Sec. 32-7g. Small Business Express program. (a) There is established within the Department of Economic and Community Development the Small Business Express program. Said program shall provide small businesses with various forms of financial assistance. A small business eligible for assistance through said program shall (1) employ not more than one hundred employees, (2) have operations in Connecticut, and (3) be in good standing with the payment of all state and local taxes and with all state agencies. It shall be the goal of the Department of Economic and Community Development that, on or before July 1, 2026, the Small Business Express program be self-funded and that the default rate of small businesses that receive assistance under said program be not more than twenty per cent.

(b) The Small Business Express program shall consist of various components, including (1) a revolving loan fund, as described in subsection (c) of this section, to support small business growth, (2) at least one minority business revolving loan fund, as described in subsection (d) of this section, to support the growth of minority-owned businesses, (3) a component established in consultation with representatives from Connecticut-based banks and a banking industry association, as described in subsection (e) of this section, and (4) a component established in consultation with Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, as described in subsection (f) of this section. The commissioner may give preference to program applications from disabled veteran-owned businesses. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 32-5a regarding relocation limits, the department may require, as a condition of receiving financial assistance pursuant to this section, that a small business receiving such assistance shall not relocate, as defined in section 32-5a, for five years after receiving such assistance or during the term of the loan, whichever is longer. All other conditions and penalties imposed pursuant to section 32-5a shall continue to apply to such small business. As used in this subsection, (A) “disabled veteran” means a veteran, as defined in section 27-103, who has a disability rating of at least thirty per cent, as determined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs; and (B) “disabled veteran-owned business” means a small business of which greater than fifty per cent is owned by one or more disabled veterans.

(c) There is established as part of the Small Business Express program a revolving loan fund to provide loans, loan guarantees, loan portfolio guarantees, portfolio insurance and grants.

(5) Loans from a minority business revolving loan fund shall be provided in such a manner that, on or before five years after the date such loan fund is established, the annual funds or revenues derived from investment income, loan repayments or any other sources received by the minority business development entity in connection with such loan fund is sufficient to fund the administrative costs associated with such loan fund.

History: Oct. Sp. Sess. P.A. 11-1 effective October 27, 2011; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1 amended Subsec. (a) by adding provision authorizing commissioner to partner with Connecticut Credit Consortium lenders, replacing October 27, 2011, with June 15, 2012, re date as of which small business must meet criteria to be eligible for assistance, replacing “fifty” with “one hundred” re required number of employees and deleting provisions re small business to be a Connecticut-based business and registered in this state, amended Subsec. (b) by replacing provision re use of Subsidized Training and Employment program with provision re referral of small business applicants to said program and adding “or during the term of the loan, whichever is longer” re relocation prohibition, amended Subsec. (d) by adding “or purchase” re use of loans in Subdiv. (1) and replacing “five years” with “ten years” re term of loan in Subdiv. (2), amended Subsec. (e)(2) by changing maximum loan amount from $250,000 to $300,000 and adding provision re maximum repayment rate and term, and amended Subsec. (f) by adding “or purchase” re use of grant funds, effective June 15, 2012; P.A. 13-56 amended Subsec. (c) by changing mandatory priority for funding of economic base industries to permissive priority, adding provision re permissive priority for funding to exporters and making conforming changes; P.A. 14-98 amended Subsec. (f) by adding Subdiv. (3) re waiver of matching requirement, effective July 1, 2014; P.A. 16-128 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting reference to June 15, 2012, amended Subsec. (b) by adding Subdiv. (4) re not more than 2 minority business revolving loan funds and making technical changes, added new Subsec. (g) re revolving loan funds for minority-owned small businesses and redesignated existing Subsec. (g) re report as Subsec. (h), effective June 9, 2016; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 16-3 amended Subsec. (c) to add Subdiv. (3) re businesses located in designated innovation places; P.A. 17-219 amended Subsec. (b) by adding Subdiv. (5) re component established in consultation with representatives with Connecticut-based banks and a banking industry association and making technical changes, amended Subsecs. (d)(1), (e)(1), (f)(1) and (g)(2) by adding “, which may be used for payment of rent,”, added new Subsec. (h) re component operated in collaboration with Connecticut-based banks and redesignated existing Subsec. (h) re report as Subsec. (i); P.A. 18-122 made a technical change in Subsec. (b)(5), effective June 7, 2018; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-2 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting provision re streamlined application process and partnership with Connecticut Credit Consortium, deleting “, on at least fifty per cent of its working days during the preceding twelve months,” in Subdiv. (1), deleting former Subdiv. (3) re registration for not less than 12 months, redesignating existing Subdiv. (4) as Subdiv. (3) and adding provision re goal for program, amended Subsec. (b) by deleting former Subdivs. (2) and (3) re job creation incentive component and matching grant component, redesignating existing Subdiv. (4) as Subdiv. (2) and amending same by replacing “not more than two” with “at least one”, redesignating existing Subdiv. (5) as Subdiv. (3), adding new Subdiv. (4) re component established in consultation with Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, and deleting provision re commissioner to provide package of assistance and referral, deleted former Subsec. (c) re streamlined application process, redesignated existing Subsec. (d) as Subsec. (c) and amended same by deleting Subdiv. (1) designator, replacing provisions re use of loans with provisions re use of revolving loan fund and deleting Subdivs. (2) and (3) re loan amounts and assistance from revolving loan fund, deleted Subsecs. (e) and (f) re job creation incentive component and matching grant component, redesignated existing Subsec. (g) as Subsec. (d) and amended same by replacing “not more than two” with “at least one” in Subdiv. (1) and changing maximum loan amount from $100,000 to $500,000 in Subdiv. (3), redesignated existing Subsec. (h) as Subsec. (e) and amended same by adding reference to Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, and deleting provision re allocation of funding under Small Business Express program, added new Subsec. (f) re component operated in collaboration with Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, redesignated existing Subsec. (i) as Subsec. (g) and amended same to replace “June 30, 2012” with “February 1, 2022” and “every six months” with “annually” re report, delete former Subdiv. (1) re number of applications, redesignate existing Subdivs. (2) to (5) as Subdivs. (1) to (4), adding new Subdivs. (5) and (6) re default rate and progress in becoming self-sustainable and made conforming and technical changes, effective July 1, 2021; P.A. 22-50 added Subsec. (h) re commissioner's authority to contract with nongovernmental entities, effective May 23, 2022; P.A. 22-118 made identical changes as P.A. 22-50, effective May 7, 2022; P.A. 25-95 amended Subsec. (b) by adding provision authorizing commissioner to give preference to program applications from disabled veteran-owned businesses and defining “disabled veteran” in Subpara. (A) and “disabled veteran-owned business” in Subpara. (B) and amended Subsec. (d)(5) by replacing “revolving fund” with “revolving loan fund”, effective July 1, 2026.

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Sec. 32-7h. Small business express assistance account. (a) There is established an account to be known as the “small business express assistance account”, which shall be a separate, nonlapsing account. The account shall contain any moneys required by law to be deposited in the account. Repayment of principal and interest on loans shall be credited to such fund and shall become part of the assets of the fund. Moneys in the account shall be expended by the Department of Economic and Community Development for (1) the purposes of the Small Business Express program established pursuant to section 32-7g, and (2) the purposes enumerated in sections 32-39f and 32-39g. Except as provided in subsection (d) of section 32-7g, all moneys received for the purposes of the Small Business Express program and payments of principal and interest on any loans given under said program shall be credited to the account.

(b) Except as provided in subsection (d) of section 32-7g, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development may provide for the payment of any administrative expenses or other costs incurred by the department or its lender partners in carrying out the purposes of (1) the Small Business Express program, or (2) the purposes enumerated in, or any programs established pursuant to, sections 32-39f and 32-39g, not to exceed five per cent of funding provided for such programs or for such enumerated purposes, from the account established pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, provided one per cent shall be dedicated to develop capacity for capital construction projects for minority business enterprises.

(June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1, S. 201; P.A. 13-123, S. 7; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5, S. 407; P.A. 16-128, S. 2; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-2, S. 285; P.A. 25-110, S. 107; 25-168, S. 85.)

History: June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1 effective June 15, 2012; P.A. 13-123 made a technical change in Subsec. (a), effective June 18, 2013; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5 amended Subsec. (b) by increasing maximum payment for administrative costs from 4 per cent to 5 per cent and adding provision re 1 per cent to be dedicated to developing capacity for capital construction projects for minority business enterprises, effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 16-128 added “Except as provided in subsection (g) of section 32-7g,” and made conforming changes, effective June 9, 2016; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-2 replaced references to Sec. 32-7g(g) with references to Sec. 32-7g(d), effective July 1, 2021; P.A. 25-110 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting reference to General Fund and making technical changes, effective July 1, 2025; P.A. 25-168 amended Subsec. (a) to authorize the Department of Economic and Community Development to use moneys in the account for purposes enumerated in Secs. 32-39f and 32-39g and amended Subsec. (b) to authorize department to provide for payment of administrative expenses or other costs incurred in carrying out purposes enumerated in, or programs established pursuant to, Secs. 32-39f and 32-39g, effective July 1, 2025.

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Sec. 32-7t. JobsCT tax rebate program. Eligibility. Applications. Preferences. Rebate amount calculation. Report. (a) As used in this section:

(1) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development;

(2) “Discretionary FTE” means an FTE that is paid qualified wages and does not meet the threshold wage requirements to be a qualified FTE but is approved by the commissioner pursuant to subdivision (4) of subsection (c) of this section;

(3) “Distressed municipality” has the same meaning as provided in section 32-9p;

(4) “Full-time equivalent” or “FTE” means the number of employees employed at a qualified business, calculated in accordance with subsection (d) of this section;

(5) “Full-time job” means a job in which an employee is required to work at least thirty-five or more hours per week. “Full-time job” does not include a temporary or seasonal job;

(6) “Intellectual disability” has the same meaning as provided in section 1-1g;

(7) “Median household income” means the median annual household income for residents in a municipality as calculated from the U.S. Census Bureau's five-year American Community Survey or another data source, at the sole discretion of the commissioner;

(8) “New employee” means a person or persons hired by the qualified business to fill a full-time equivalent position. A new employee does not include a person who was employed in this state by a related person with respect to the qualified business within twelve months prior to a qualified business's application to the commissioner for a rebate allocation notice for a job creation rebate pursuant to subsection (c) of this section;

(9) “New FTEs” means the number of FTEs that (A) did not exist in this state at the time of a qualified business's application to the commissioner for a rebate allocation notice for a job creation rebate pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, (B) are not the result of FTEs acquired due to a merger or acquisition, (C) are filled by a new employee, (D) are qualified FTEs, and (E) are not FTEs hired to replace FTEs that existed in the state within the two-year period occurring immediately prior to the date a qualified business submits an application to the commissioner for a rebate pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. The commissioner may issue guidance on the implementation of this definition;

(10) “New FTEs created” means the number of new FTEs that the qualified business is employing at a point-in-time at the end of the relevant time period;

(11) “New FTEs maintained” means the total number of new FTEs employed throughout a relevant time period;

(12) “Opportunity zone” means a population census tract that is a low-income community that is designated as a “qualified opportunity zone” pursuant to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, P.L. 115-97, as amended from time to time;

(13) “Part-time job” means a job in which an employee is required to work less than thirty-five hours per week. “Part-time job” does not include a temporary or seasonal job;

(14) “Qualified business” means a person that is (A) engaged in business in an industry related to finance, insurance, manufacturing, clean energy, bioscience, technology, digital media or any similar industry, as determined by the sole discretion of the commissioner, and (B) subject to taxation under chapter 207, 208 or 228z;

(15) “Qualified FTE” means an FTE who is paid qualified wages in an amount that is not less than at least one of the following amounts: (A) At least eighty-five per cent of the median household income for the location where the FTE position is primarily located, scaled in proportion to the FTE fraction, or the product of one hundred twenty per cent of the minimum fair wage, as defined in section 31-58, on the date a qualified business submits an application to the commissioner for a rebate pursuant to subsection (c) of this section multiplied by two thousand hours, scaled in proportion to the FTE fraction, whichever is greater, or (B) at least one hundred per cent of the median household income for the municipality with the lowest median household income of all municipalities that are contiguous to the municipality where the FTE position is primarily located, scaled in proportion to the FTE fraction, or one hundred per cent of the state-wide median household income, scaled in proportion to the FTE fraction, whichever is greater;

(16) “Qualified wages” means wages sourced to this state pursuant to section 12-705;

(17) “Rebate period” means the calendar years in which a tax rebate provided for in this section is to be paid pursuant to a rebate allocation notice issued pursuant to subsection (c) of this section; and

(18) “Related person” means (A) a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association or trust controlled by the qualified business, (B) an individual, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association or trust that is in control of the qualified business, (C) a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association or trust controlled by an individual, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association or trust that is in control of the qualified business, or (D) a member of the same controlled group as the qualified business. For the purposes of this subdivision, “control” means (i) ownership, directly or indirectly, of stock possessing fifty per cent or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of the stock of a corporation entitled to vote, (ii) ownership, directly or indirectly, of fifty per cent or more of the capital or profits interest in a partnership, limited liability company or association, or (iii) ownership, directly or indirectly, of fifty per cent or more of the beneficial interest in the principal or income of a trust. The ownership of stock in a corporation, of a capital or profits interest in a partnership, of a limited liability company or association or of a beneficial interest in a trust shall be determined in accordance with the rules for constructive ownership of stock provided in Section 267(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as amended from time to time, other than paragraph (3) of said section.

(b) There is established a JobsCT tax rebate program under which qualified businesses that create jobs in this state, in accordance with the provisions of this section, may be allowed a tax rebate, which shall be treated as a credit against the tax imposed under chapter 208 or 228z or as an offset of the tax imposed under chapter 207.

(c) (1) To be eligible to claim a rebate under this section, a qualified business shall apply to the commissioner in accordance with the provisions of this subsection. The application shall be on a form prescribed by the commissioner and may require information, including, but not limited to, the number of new FTEs to be created by the qualified business, the number of current FTEs employed by the qualified business, feasibility studies or business plans for the increased number of FTEs, projected state and local revenue that may reasonably derive as a result of the increased number of FTEs and any other information necessary to determine whether there will be net benefits to the economy of the municipality or municipalities in which the qualified business is primarily located and the state.

(2) Upon receipt of an application, the commissioner shall determine (A) whether the qualified business making the application will be reasonably able to meet the FTE hiring targets and other metrics as presented in such application, (B) whether such qualified business's proposed job growth would provide a net benefit to economic development and employment opportunities in the state, and (C) whether such qualified business's proposed job growth will exceed the number of jobs at the business that existed prior to the two-year period occurring immediately prior to the date a qualified business submits an application to the commissioner for a rebate pursuant to this subsection. The commissioner may require the applicant to submit additional information to evaluate an application. Each qualified business making an application shall satisfy the requirements of this subdivision, as determined by the commissioner, to be eligible for the JobsCT tax rebate program, except that if the commissioner determines that the applicant is not reasonably able to satisfy the targets and metrics under subparagraph (A) of this subdivision, the commissioner may substitute another requirement or metric similar in intent to the requirement or metric such applicant was determined to not be able to reasonably satisfy.

(3) The commissioner, upon consideration of an application and any additional information, may approve an application in whole or in part or may approve an application with amendments, provided the commissioner may give preference to applications that: (A) Make significant investments in environmentally sustainable practices, including, but not limited to, zero-carbon energy and energy efficiency, (B) are in sectors of the economy such as renewable energy, energy efficiency and zero-emission vehicles, or (C) are for farming operations that are sustainable from a climate perspective. If the commissioner disapproves an application, the commissioner shall identify the defects in such application and explain the specific reasons for the disapproval. The commissioner shall render a decision on an application not later than ninety days after the date of its receipt by the commissioner.

(4) The commissioner may approve an application in whole or in part by a qualified business that creates new discretionary FTEs or may approve such an application with amendments if a majority of such new discretionary FTEs are individuals who (A) because of a disability, are receiving or have received services from the Department of Aging and Disability Services; (B) are receiving employment services from the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services or participating in employment opportunities and day services, as defined in section 17a-226, operated or funded by the Department of Developmental Services; (C) have been unemployed for at least six of the preceding twelve months; (D) have been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony; (E) are veterans, as defined in section 27-103; (F) have not earned any postsecondary credential and are not currently enrolled in a postsecondary institution or program; or (G) are currently enrolled in a workforce training program fully or substantially paid for by the employer that results in such individual earning a postsecondary credential.

(5) The commissioner may combine approval of an application with the exercise of any of the commissioner's other powers, including, but not limited to, the provision of other financial assistance.

(6) By submitting an application, a qualified business consents to the Department of Economic and Community Development's access of data compiled by other state agencies, including, but not limited to, the Labor Department, for the purposes of audit and enforcement.

(7) The commissioner shall issue a rebate allocation notice stating the maximum amount of each rebate available to an approved qualified business for the rebate period and the specific terms that such business shall meet to qualify for each rebate. Such notice shall certify to the approved qualified business that the rebates may be claimed by such business if it meets the specific terms set forth in the notice. Such terms shall include the required wage, as determined by the commissioner, such business shall pay new discretionary FTEs to qualify for the tax rebates provided in subsection (f) of this section.

(d) For the purposes of this section, the FTE of a full-time job or part-time job is based on the hours worked or expected to be worked by an employee in a calendar year. A job in which an employee worked or is expected to work one thousand seven hundred fifty hours or more in a calendar year equals one FTE. A job in which an employee worked or is expected to work less than one thousand seven hundred fifty hours equals a fraction of one FTE, where the fraction is the number of hours worked in a calendar year divided by one thousand seven hundred fifty. The commissioner shall have the discretion to adjust the calculation of FTE.

(e) (1) In each calendar year of the rebate period, a qualified business approved by the commissioner pursuant to subdivision (3) of subsection (c) of this section that employs at least twenty-five new FTEs in this state or, if at least one of the new FTEs is an individual with intellectual disability or at least three of the new FTEs are individuals who reside in a concentrated poverty census tract, as defined in section 32-7x, fifteen new FTEs in this state by December thirty-first of the calendar year that is two calendar years prior to the calendar year in which the rebate is being claimed shall be allowed a rebate equal to the greater of the following amounts:

(A) The sum of:

(i) The lesser of (I) the new FTEs created in an opportunity zone or distressed municipality on December thirty-first of the calendar year that is two calendar years prior to the calendar year in which the rebate is being claimed, or (II) the new FTEs maintained in an opportunity zone or distressed municipality in the previous calendar year, multiplied by fifty per cent of the income tax that would be paid on the average wage of the new FTEs, as determined by the applicable marginal rate set forth in chapter 229 for an unmarried individual based solely on such wages; and

(ii) The lesser of (I) the new FTEs created on December thirty-first of the calendar year that is two calendar years prior to the calendar year in which the rebate is being claimed, or (II) the new FTEs maintained in a location other than an opportunity zone or distressed municipality in the previous calendar year, multiplied by twenty-five per cent of the income tax that would be paid on the average wage of the new FTEs, as determined by the applicable marginal rate set forth in chapter 229 for an unmarried individual based solely on such wages; or

(B) The greater of:

(i) One thousand dollars multiplied by the lesser of (I) the new FTEs created by December thirty-first of the calendar year that is two calendar years prior to the calendar year in which the rebate is being claimed, or (II) the new FTEs maintained in the calendar year immediately prior to the calendar year in which the rebate is being claimed; or

(ii) For tax credits earned, claimed or payable prior to January 1, 2024, two thousand dollars multiplied by the lesser of (I) the new FTEs created by December 31, 2022, or (II) the new FTEs maintained in the calendar year immediately prior to the calendar year in which the rebate is being claimed.

(2) Except as provided in subdivision (4) of this subsection, in no event shall the rebate under this subsection exceed in any calendar year of the rebate period five thousand dollars multiplied by the lesser of (A) the new FTEs created by December thirty-first of the calendar year that is two calendar years prior to the calendar year in which the rebate is being claimed, or (B) the new FTEs maintained in the calendar year immediately prior to the calendar year in which the rebate is being claimed.

(3) In no event shall an approved qualified business receive a rebate under this subsection in any calendar year of the rebate period if such business has not maintained, in the calendar year immediately prior to the calendar year in which the rebate is being claimed, at least (A) twenty-five new FTEs, or (B) fifteen new FTEs, if at least one of the new FTEs is an individual with intellectual disability or at least three of the new FTEs are individuals who reside in a concentrated poverty census tract, as defined in section 32-7x.

(4) An approved qualified business that, by December thirty-first of the calendar year immediately prior to the calendar year in which the rebate is being claimed, employs at least fifteen new FTEs where at least one of the new FTEs is an individual with intellectual disability shall be allowed an additional rebate equal to twenty-five per cent of the wages paid to each such individual during the calendar year in which the rebate is being claimed. The rebate allowed under this subdivision shall be added to any other rebate allowed under this subsection.

(f) (1) In each calendar year of the rebate period, a qualified business approved by the commissioner pursuant to subdivision (4) of subsection (c) of this section that employs at least twenty-five new discretionary FTEs in this state by December thirty-first of the calendar year that is two calendar years prior to the calendar year in which the rebate is being claimed shall be allowed a rebate equal to the sum of the amount calculated pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (e) of this section and the greater of the following:

(A) The sum of:

(i) The lesser of the new discretionary FTEs (I) created in an opportunity zone or distressed municipality on December thirty-first of the calendar year that is two calendar years prior to the calendar year in which the rebate is being claimed, or (II) maintained in an opportunity zone or distressed municipality in the previous calendar year, multiplied by fifty per cent of the income tax that would be paid on the average wage of the new discretionary FTEs, as determined by the applicable marginal rate set forth in chapter 229 for an unmarried individual based solely on such wages; and

(ii) The lesser of the new discretionary FTEs (I) created on December thirty-first of the calendar year that is two calendar years prior to the calendar year in which the rebate is being claimed, or (II) maintained in a location other than an opportunity zone or distressed municipality in the previous calendar year, multiplied by twenty-five per cent of the income tax that would be paid on the average wage of the new discretionary FTEs, as determined by the applicable marginal rate set forth in chapter 229 for an unmarried individual based solely on such wages; or

(B) The greater of:

(i) Seven hundred fifty dollars multiplied by the lesser of the new discretionary FTEs (I) created by December thirty-first of the calendar year that is two calendar years prior to the calendar year in which the rebate is being claimed, or (II) maintained in the calendar year immediately prior to the calendar year in which the rebate is being claimed; or

(ii) For tax credits earned, claimed or payable prior to January 1, 2024, one thousand five hundred dollars multiplied by the lesser of (I) the new FTEs created by December 31, 2022, or (II) the new FTEs maintained in the calendar year immediately prior to the calendar year in which the rebate is being claimed.

(2) In no event shall the rebate under this subsection exceed in any calendar year of the rebate period five thousand dollars multiplied by the lesser of the new discretionary FTEs (A) created by December thirty-first of the calendar year that is two calendar years prior to the calendar year in which the rebate is being claimed, or (B) maintained in the calendar year immediately prior to the calendar year in which the rebate is being claimed.

(3) In no event shall an approved qualified business receive a rebate under this subsection in any calendar year of the rebate period if such business has not maintained at least twenty-five new discretionary FTEs in the calendar year immediately prior to the calendar year in which the rebate is being claimed.

(g) In addition to the rebates allowed under subsections (e) and (f) of this section, on and after January 1, 2025, an approved qualified business that employs at least one new FTE that is an individual who resides in a concentrated poverty census tract, as defined in section 32-7x, shall be allowed an additional rebate equal to fifty per cent of the income tax that would be paid on the wages paid to such individual during the calendar year immediately prior to the calendar year in which the rebate is being claimed, as determined by the applicable marginal rate set forth in chapter 229 for an unmarried individual based solely on such wages, provided such individual was a resident of such census tract for at least six months of the calendar year immediately prior to the calendar year in which the rebate is being claimed.

(h) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (3) and (4) of subsection (c) of this section, the commissioner may not approve an application in whole or in part if the full amount of rebates that such applicant may be paid pursuant to subsection (e), (f) or (g) of this section would result in the aggregate amount of rebates issued to all approved qualified businesses under this section exceeding forty million dollars in any fiscal year.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (4) of subsection (c) of this section, the commissioner may not approve an application in whole or in part if the full amount of rebates that such applicant may be paid pursuant to subsection (f) of this section would result in the aggregate amount of rebates issued pursuant to subsection (f) of this section exceeding fifteen million dollars in any fiscal year.

(i) (1) A rebate under this section may be granted to an approved qualified business for not more than seven successive calendar years. A rebate shall not be granted until at least twenty-four months after the commissioner's approval of a qualified business's application.

(2) An approved qualified business that has fewer than twenty-five new FTEs or, if at least one of the new FTEs is an individual with intellectual disability or at least three of the new FTEs are individuals who reside in a concentrated poverty census tract, as defined in section 32-7x, fewer than fifteen new FTEs, created in each of two consecutive calendar years or, if such business is approved by the commissioner pursuant to subdivision (4) of subsection (c) of this section, fewer than twenty-five new discretionary FTEs in each of two consecutive calendar years shall forfeit all remaining rebate allocations, unless the commissioner recognizes mitigating circumstances of a regional or national nature, including, but not limited to, a recession.

(j) Not later than January thirty-first of each year during the rebate period, each approved qualified business shall provide information to the commissioner regarding the number of new FTEs or new discretionary FTEs created or maintained during the prior calendar year and the qualified wages of such new employees. Any information provided under this subsection shall be subject to audit by the Department of Economic and Community Development.

(k) Not later than March fifteenth of each year during the rebate period, the Department of Economic and Community Development shall issue the approved qualified business a rebate voucher that sets forth the amount of the rebate, as calculated pursuant to subsections (e), (f) and (g) of this section, and the taxable year against which such rebate may be claimed. The approved qualified business shall claim such rebate as a credit against the taxes due under chapter 208 or 228z or as an offset of the tax imposed under chapter 207. The commissioner shall annually provide to the Commissioner of Revenue Services a report detailing all rebate vouchers that have been issued under this section.

(l) Beginning on January 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, the commissioner, in consultation with the office of the State Comptroller and the Auditors of Public Accounts, shall submit a report to the Office of Policy and Management on the expenses of the JobsCT tax rebate program and the number of FTEs and discretionary FTEs created and maintained.

(m) Not later than January 1, 2025, the commissioner shall post, on the Department of Economic and Community Development's Internet web site, information on the JobsCT tax rebate program established under this section, including, but not limited to, information concerning tax rebates available for qualified businesses that, in accordance with the provisions of this section, employ individuals with intellectual disability in this state.

(P.A. 22-118, S. 420; P.A. 23-38, S. 3; 23-96, S. 1; 23-137, S. 61; P.A. 24-149, S. 1; 24-151, S. 123; P.A. 25-125, S. 4.)

History: P.A. 22-118 effective July 1, 2022, and applicable to taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2023; P.A. 23-38 made a technical change in Subsec. (c)(4)(F); P.A. 23-96 redefined “rebate period” in Subsec. (a)(16), amended Subsec. (c)(6) by eliminating requirement re commissioner entering into contract with approved qualified businesses that includes consent re access of data, inserting provision re qualified businesses consenting by submitting an application and deleting provision re qualified businesses consenting to wage required to be paid to qualify for tax rebates and amended Subsec. (c)(7) by deleting “Upon signing a contract with an approved qualified business,”, changing “available to such business” to “available to an approved qualified business”, adding provision re rebate allocation notice including wage required to be paid to qualify for tax rebates and made technical changes throughout, effective June 26, 2023; P.A. 23-137 amended Subsec. (a) by defining “intellectual disability” in new Subdiv. (6), redesignating existing Subdivs. (6) to (17) as Subdivs. (7) to (18), amended Subsec. (e)(1) by adding provision re certain businesses that employ at least 15 new FTEs allowed rebate if at least 1 of the new FTEs is individual with intellectual disability, amended Subsec. (e)(1)(A)(i) by making a technical and conforming change, adding subclause (III) re new FTEs created by qualified business employing at least 1 new FTE who is individual with intellectual disability and adding subclause (IV) re new FTEs maintained by qualified business employing at least 1 new FTE who is individual with intellectual disability, amended Subsec. (e)(3) by adding Subpara. (A) designator, adding Subpara. (B) re no rebate shall be received if approved qualified business has not maintained at least 15 new FTEs, if at least 1 of the new FTEs is individual with intellectual disability and making technical and conforming changes, amended Subsec. (g)(2) by replacing “ten” with “fifteen”, amended Subsec. (h)(2) by adding provision re approved qualified business that has fewer than 15 new FTEs created, if at least 1 of the new FTEs is individual with intellectual disability, shall forfeit remaining rebate allocations and added Subsec. (l) re commissioner post information on JobsCT tax rebate program on Internet web site, effective January 1, 2024, and applicable to taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2024; P.A. 24-149 amended Subsec. (a) to redefine “new FTEs” in Subdiv. (9) and “Qualified FTE” in Subdiv. (15), amended Subsec. (c)(2) to replace “January 1, 2020” with reference to 2-year period prior to submission of application and insert exception re commissioner may substitute another requirement or metric, amended Subsec. (e)(1)(A)(i) to delete former Subpara. (A)(i)(III) and (IV) re business employing at least 1 new FTE who is an individual with intellectual disability and make a conforming change, amended Subsec. (e)(2) to replace “In” with “Except as provided in subdivision (4) of this subsection, in”, added Subsec. (e)(4) re additional rebate allowed for certain businesses where at least 1 of the new FTEs is an individual with intellectual disability, replaced “section” with “subsection” in Subsec. (f)(2), and replaced “January 1, 2024” with “January 1, 2025” in Subsec. (l), effective June 6, 2024; P.A. 24-151 amended Subsec. (e) by adding provision re approved qualified business that employs at least 3 new FTEs who reside in a concentrated poverty census tract in Subdivs. (1) and (3), amended Subsec. (f)(2) by replacing “this section” with “this subsection” re rebate, added new Subsec. (g) re additional rebate allowed for approved qualified business that employs at least 1 new FTE who resides in a concentrated poverty census tract, redesignated existing Subsecs. (g) to (l) as Subsecs. (h) to (m) and made conforming changes, and amended redesignated Subsec. (i)(2) by adding provision re approved qualified business that employs at least 3 new FTEs who reside in a concentrated poverty census tract, effective June 6, 2024; P.A. 25-125 amended Subsec. (c)(3) to add provision authorizing preference for applications that use environmentally sustainable practices, are in the renewable energy sector or use farming operations that are sustainable from a climate perspective, effective July 1, 2025.

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Sec. 32-7v. Workforce development program re grants to nonprofit organizations that employ individuals with intellectual disability. Application. (a)(1) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall, within available resources, establish a workforce incentive program to provide grants to employers that employ individuals with intellectual disability, as defined in section 1-1g. Such grants shall be awarded for infrastructure expenditures, programmatic costs or expansion costs.

(2) Any employer that (A) employs, at the time of application, a workforce of which not less than five per cent consists of individuals with intellectual disability, as defined in section 1-1g, who have been employed for a period of not less than six months in the previous calendar year and are paid not less than the minimum fair wage established pursuant to section 31-58, and (B) provides such individuals with competitive integrated employment, as that term is defined in 34 CFR 361.5(c)(9), as amended from time to time, may apply for a grant under the program.

(3) Grants awarded pursuant to this section shall not exceed:

(A) Twenty-five thousand dollars per employer employing a workforce of which between five and twenty per cent, inclusive, consists of such individuals with intellectual disability; and

(B) Seventy-five thousand dollars per employer employing a workforce of which more than twenty-one per cent, but not more than thirty per cent, consists of such individuals with intellectual disability.

(b) The Department of Economic and Community Development may enter into an agreement, pursuant to chapter 55a, with a person, firm, corporation or other entity to operate the program established pursuant to this section.

(c) The commissioner shall prescribe the form and manner of the application and such application procedure shall include a competitive award process.

(P.A. 23-137, S. 63; P.A. 25-165, S. 6.)

History: P.A. 23-137 effective July 1, 2023; P.A. 25-165 changed “nonprofit organization” to “employer” throughout, amended Subsec. (a)(1) by replacing “development program” with “incentive program” and replacing “start-up costs” with “programmatic costs”, amended Subsec. (a)(2) by replacing “ten per cent” with “five per cent” and providing additional program eligibility criteria, amended Subsec. (a)(3) by replacing “ten” with “five”, replacing “thirty” with “twenty”, and made a technical change in Subpara. (A), replaced “thirty” with “twenty-one”, added “, but not more than thirty per cent,” before “consists”, and made a technical change in Subpara. (B), effective July 1, 2025.

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Sec. 32-7z. Pilot program for ten-year plan to eradicate concentrated poverty in participating concentrated poverty census tract. (a) It is hereby declared that there exists concentrated poverty in the state that exacts a critical toll on poor and nonpoor residents of communities that house areas of concentrated poverty, which create lifelong and persistent disadvantages across generations by lowering the quality of educational and employment opportunities, limiting health care access and diminishing health outcomes, increasing exposure to crime, reducing available choices for affordable and properly maintained housing and imposing obstacles to wealth-building and economic mobility. It is further declared that the development and implementation of the ten-year plan under this section to eradicate concentrated poverty in the state are necessary and for the public benefit, as a matter of legislative determination.

(b) There is established an Office of Neighborhood Investment and Community Engagement within the Department of Economic and Community Development. Said office shall carry out the provisions of this section, overseeing the implementation of the ten-year plan developed pursuant to this subsection, monitoring the state's progress in reducing concentrated poverty in the state and serving as the facilitator to coordinate communication between the various parties and disseminate information in a timely and efficient manner.

(c) (1) There is established a pilot program to implement the provisions of the ten-year plan developed pursuant to this section for participating concentrated poverty census tracts. Any concentrated poverty census tract or group of tracts (A) that is located in any of the four municipalities with the greatest number of concentrated poverty census tracts, and (B) for which community members have established a community development corporation pursuant to the provisions of section 32-7s to assist the municipality in which such census tract or group of tracts is located in carrying out the municipality's responsibilities under this section and the ten-year plan developed for such census tract or group of tracts, shall be eligible to apply to participate in the program. Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (A) of this subdivision, any municipality in which a concentrated poverty census tract or group of tracts is located and for which a community development corporation has been established as described under subparagraph (B) of this subdivision, or any such community development corporation, may apply to participate in the program. The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall issue a request for proposals for participation in the pilot program and select the applicant with the highest score. As used in this section, “concentrated poverty census tract” means a census tract identified as a high poverty-low opportunity census tract, as of January 1, 2024, by the Office of Policy and Management pursuant to section 32-7x of the 2024 supplement to the general statutes.

(2) (A) (i) The Office of Neighborhood Investment and Community Engagement shall develop a plan for the pilot participating concentrated poverty census tract or group of tracts, as applicable, to eradicate, over ten years, the levels of concentrated poverty in the service area of the community development corporation, evidenced by a reduction, to twenty per cent or lower, in the percentage of households who reside in such concentrated poverty census tract or group of tracts and have incomes below the federal poverty level, as well as sustained improvements in community infrastructure and other underlying conditions that serve to prolong concentrated poverty and economic inertia in such census tract or group of tracts.

(ii) In developing such plan, said office shall consult with the Office of Community Economic Development Assistance established under section 32-7s, the Department of Economic and Community Development, the Office of Workforce Strategy established under section 4-124w, the regional workforce development board, established under section 31-3k, serving the participating concentrated poverty census tract or group of tracts, the Office of Early Childhood, the Department of Education, the Department of Housing, the Office of Policy and Management, the applicable community development corporations serving the participating concentrated poverty census tract or group of tracts and the applicable municipal chief elected officials and any other public or private entity the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development deems relevant or necessary to achieving the purposes of this subsection.

(B) The ten-year plan shall include, but need not be limited to, (i) measurable steps to be taken for its implementation, the target date by which each such step is to be completed and the state or municipal official or state or municipal agency, department or division responsible for each such step, (ii) minimum state-wide averages for educational metrics, including, but not limited to, kindergarten-readiness, grade level reading and mathematics and college-readiness or career-readiness, to be used as benchmarks for improvements in such concentrated poverty census tract or group of tracts, as applicable, and (iii) the list of possible projects determined pursuant to subdivision (3) of this subsection.

(C) On or before June 1, 2025, and again not later than September 1, 2025, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall inform the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to finance, revenue and bonding, in writing, of the progress made to date in the development of the ten-year plan. Not later than January 1, 2026, said commissioner shall submit such plan to the General Assembly, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, and the Office of Neighborhood Investment and Community Engagement shall immediately commence overseeing the implementation of such plan.

(3) The Office of Neighborhood Investment and Community Engagement shall, jointly with the chief elected official of each applicable municipality and the community development corporation established to assist such municipality, develop a list of possible projects that will be included in the ten-year plan for the participating concentrated poverty census tract or group of tracts, as applicable, located in such municipality. Said office, official and corporation shall (A) determine the types of projects they deem to be the most appropriate and effective for such census tract or group of tracts to eradicate concentrated poverty within such census tract or group of tracts, including, but not limited to, capital projects, workforce development programs, housing development, community and neighborhood improvements and education initiatives to assist and support residents in meeting and surpassing the educational metrics described in subparagraph (B)(ii) of subdivision (2) of this subsection, and (B) take into account the criteria for projects eligible for grants under sections 32-7s, 32-7x and 32-285a.

(4) Not later than February 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall submit a report to the General Assembly, the Office of Workforce Strategy, the Office of Early Childhood and the Office of Policy and Management, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, that summarizes the progress being made by the Office of Neighborhood Investment and Community Engagement in implementing the ten-year plan, the status of any projects pending or undertaken for the participating concentrated poverty census tract or group of tracts and any other information the commissioner or the Office of Neighborhood Investment and Community Engagement deems relevant or necessary.

(5) (A) Commencing with the calendar year 2027, not later than March first of said year and annually thereafter for the next two years, the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to finance, revenue and bonding shall hold an informational forum for the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development to present the contents of the submitted report and for other state officials, municipal officials, representatives of community development corporations serving participating concentrated poverty census tracts or groups of tracts and other interested parties to provide oral and written comments on the submitted report and the pilot program.

(B) Commencing with the calendar year 2030, said committee shall hold such informational forum every two years.

(d) On and after the date the ten-year plan is submitted to the General Assembly pursuant to subparagraph (C) of subdivision (2) of subsection (c) of this section, each state agency shall give priority to projects included in such ten-year plan with respect to any grants or funding programs such agency awards or administers and for which such projects may be eligible.

(e) Not later than January 1, 2029, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall submit a recommendation to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to finance, revenue and bonding of (1) whether the pilot program should be expanded to all concentrated poverty census tracts or groups of tracts in the state for which a community development corporation has been established as described under subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of this section, and (2) any additional or alternative criteria to be considered for expansion of the pilot program to other economically disadvantaged census tracts that do not fall within the definition of a concentrated poverty census tract. If the commissioner recommends expansion under subdivision (1) of this subsection, the commissioner and the Office of Neighborhood Investment and Community Engagement shall immediately undertake such expansion.

(f) On and after July 1, 2027, if any state or municipal official responsible for carrying out a requirement or responsibility under the provisions of this section or a ten-year plan fails to do so in a timely manner, any community development corporation established as described under subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of this section that was (1) selected pursuant to the request for proposals under subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of this section, (2) can demonstrate good faith efforts to effectuate the ten-year plan, and (3) is aggrieved by such failure may bring an action against such official in the superior court for the judicial district in which such census tract or group of tracts is located for a writ of mandamus to compel such official to carry out such requirement or responsibility.

(P.A. 24-151, S. 118; P.A. 25-168, S. 402.)

History: P.A. 24-151 effective June 6, 2024; P.A. 25-168 amended Subsec. (c)(2) to redesignate provisions re development of plan and consultation in developing such plan in Subpara. (A) as Subpara. (A)(i) and (ii) and amend Subpara. (A)(ii) to add references to Department of Economic and Community Development, regional workforce development board and Department of Housing, and add additional progress report requirement in Subpara. (C), effective June 30, 2025.

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Sec. 32-7aa. Pilot program for establishment or expansion of makerspaces. (a) For the purposes of this section:

(1) “Financial assistance” means any and all forms of grants, loans or other forms of financing.

(2) “Makerspace” means a community space that (A) provides access to tools, technology or educational materials for entrepreneurs, (B) results in the prototyping, creation, production or assembly of tangible personal property, and (C) supports the development of educational opportunities for personal growth, workforce training and early-stage business ventures.

(b) Not later than January 1, 2026, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall establish and administer a pilot program to provide financial assistance to eligible entities for the establishment or expansion of makerspaces in the state that may serve as models for self-sustaining makerspaces. Such financial assistance shall be used for the costs of such establishment or expansion, including, but not limited to, planning activities, operational costs and capital expenditures, but shall not be used for the personnel costs of any eligible entity. The commissioner shall (1) establish eligibility criteria and an application process for the program, and (2) explore means of funding such program, including, but not limited to, public-private partnerships, grant programs and federal funds or state funds.

(c) Applications for participation in such pilot program shall be submitted in a form and manner prescribed by the commissioner. Each application shall include, but need not be limited to: (1) A description of the makerspace the applicant is seeking to establish or expand and that may serve as a model for self-sustaining makerspaces; (2) the amount of financial assistance requested by the applicant; and (3) any other information the commissioner deems necessary.

(d) The total amount of financial assistance provided pursuant to the program shall not exceed five million dollars. The total amount of financial assistance provided to an eligible entity shall not exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars per fiscal year.

(e) The commissioner shall require each entity that receives financial assistance pursuant to the program to submit a report to the commissioner containing information regarding (1) the progress of the establishment or expansion of the makerspace proposed in such entity's application, and (2) any other information the commissioner deems necessary. Each such entity shall submit such report not later than two years after such entity receives financial assistance pursuant to the provisions of this section.

(f) Not later than January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, the commissioner shall submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, containing an evaluation of the operation and effectiveness of the program to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to commerce.

(P.A. 25-149, S. 1.)

History: P.A. 25-149 effective July 1, 2025.

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Sec. 32-9t. Urban and industrial site reinvestment program. Registration of fund managers. Tax credits. (a) As used in this section:

(1) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development.

(2) “Eligible industrial site investment project” means a project located within this state for the development or redevelopment of real property: (A) (i) That has been subject to a “spill”, as defined in section 22a-452c, (ii) is an “establishment”, as defined in subdivision (3) of section 22a-134, or (iii) is a “facility”, as defined in 42 USC 9601(9); (B) that, if remediated, renovated or demolished in accordance with applicable law and regulations and the standards of remediation of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and used for business purposes, will add significant new economic activity and employment in the municipality in which the investment is to be made, and will generate additional tax revenues to the state; (C) for which the use of the urban and industrial site reinvestment program will be necessary to attract private investment to the project; (D) the business use of which would be economically viable and would generate direct and indirect economic benefits to the state that exceed the amount of the investment during the period for which the tax credits granted pursuant to public act 00-170* are granted; and (E) that is, in the judgment of the commissioner, consistent with the strategic economic development priorities of the state and the municipality.

(3) “Eligible urban reinvestment project” means a project: (A) That would add significant new economic activity in the eligible municipality in which the project is located, and will generate significant additional tax revenues to the state or the municipality; (B) for which the use of the urban and industrial site reinvestment program will be necessary to attract private investment to an eligible municipality; (C) that is economically viable; (D) for which the direct and indirect economic benefits to the state outweigh the costs of the project; and (E) that is, in the judgment of the commissioner, consistent with the strategic economic development priorities of the state and the municipality.

(4) “Related person” means: (A) A corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association or trust controlled by the taxpayer; (B) an individual, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association or trust that is in control of the taxpayer; (C) a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association or trust controlled by an individual, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association or trust that is in control of the taxpayer; or (D) a member of the same controlled group as the taxpayer. For purposes of this section, “control”, with respect to a corporation, means ownership, directly or indirectly, of stock possessing fifty per cent or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of the stock of such corporation entitled to vote. “Control”, with respect to a trust, means ownership, directly or indirectly, of fifty per cent or more of the beneficial interest in the principal or income of such trust. The ownership of stock in a corporation, of a capital or profits interest in a partnership or association or of a beneficial interest in a trust shall be determined in accordance with the rules for constructive ownership of stock provided in Section 267(c) of the Internal Revenue Code, other than paragraph (3) of said section.

(5) “Investment” means all amounts invested in an eligible project by or on behalf of a taxpayer, whether directly, through a fund, or through a community development entity or a contractually bound community development entity including, but not limited to, (A) equity investments made by the taxpayer, and (B) loans.

(6) “Income year” means with respect to entities subject to taxation under chapters 207 to 212a, the income year as determined under each of said chapters, as the case may be.

(7) “Taxpayer” means any person, as defined in section 12-1, whether or not subject to any taxes levied by this state.

(8) “Fund manager” means a fund manager registered in accordance with subsection (d) of this section.

(9) “New job” means a job that did not exist in the business of a subject business in this state prior to the subject business' application to the commissioner for an eligibility certificate under this section for a new facility and that is filled by a new employee, but does not mean a job created when an employee is shifted from an existing location of the subject business in this state to a new facility.

(10) “New employee” means a person hired by a subject business to fill a position for a new job or a person shifted from an existing location of the subject business outside this state to a new facility in this state, provided (A) in no case shall the total number of new employees allowed for purposes of this credit exceed the total increase in the taxpayer's employment in this state, which increase shall be the difference between (i) the number of employees employed by the subject business in this state at the time of application for an eligibility certificate to the commissioner plus the number of new employees who would be eligible for inclusion under the credit allowed under this section without regard to this calculation, and (ii) the highest number of employees employed by the subject business in this state in the year preceding the subject business' application for an eligibility certificate to the commissioner, and (B) a person shall be deemed to be a “new employee” only if such person's duties in connection with the operation of the facility are on a regular, full-time, or equivalent thereof, and permanent basis.

(11) “New facility” means a facility which (A) is acquired by, leased to, or constructed by, a subject business on or after the date of the subject business' application to the commissioner for an eligibility certificate under this section, unless, upon application of the subject business and upon good and sufficient cause shown, the commissioner waives the requirement that such activity take place after the application, and (B) was not in service or use during the one-year period immediately prior to the date of the subject business' application to the commissioner for an eligibility certificate under this section, unless upon application of the subject business and upon good and sufficient cause shown, the commissioner consents to waiving the one-year period.

(12) “Eligible municipality” means (A) a municipality with an area designated as an enterprise zone pursuant to section 32-70, (B) a distressed municipality, as defined in subsection (b) of section 32-9p, (C) a municipality that has a population in excess of one hundred thousand, or (D) any municipality that the commissioner determines is connected with the relocation of an out-of-state operation or the expansion of an existing facility that will result in a capital investment by a company of not less than fifty million dollars.

(13) “Eligible project” means an eligible urban reinvestment project or an eligible industrial site investment project or both.

(14) “Approved investment” means an investment approved by the commissioner under subsection (g) of this section.

(15) “Recapture amount” means the amount by which the total of tax credits claimed with respect to any approved investment as of the date of calculation exceeds the sum of all state revenue actually generated through such date by the eligible project in which such approved investment was made.

(16) “Pro rata share” means the percentage the amount of the approved investment by an individual investor in an eligible project bears to the total amount of the approved investment in such project, or in the case of a taxpayer to whom credits are transferred under this section, the percentage the amount of credits with respect to an approved investment transferred bears to the total credits with respect to such approved investment.

(17) “Community development entity” means any corporation, limited partnership or limited liability company qualified to do business in this state and which (A) is organized for the purpose of providing investment capital or financing for eligible projects under this section, (B) maintains accountability to residents of more than one eligible municipality through representation on the governing board of the entity, (C) is organized for the purpose of seeking certification and an allocation of new markets tax credits as provided in Section 45D of the Internal Revenue Code, and (D) is registered in accordance with subsection (d) of this section. No community development entity shall be eligible for any tax credits under this section unless it is certified under said Section 45D on the date any approved investment is made. A community development entity shall not be deemed a “fund” for purposes of this section.

(18) “Project” means the acquisition, leasing, demolition, remediation, construction, renovation, expansion or other development or redevelopment of real property and improvements within this state, including furniture, fixtures, equipment and other personal property which is reasonably necessary in connection therewith, and associated interest and other financing costs and charges, relocation and start-up costs, and architectural, engineering, legal and other professional services, plans, specifications, surveys, permits, studies and evaluations necessary or incident to the development, financing, completion and placing in operation of such a project. In the case of a contractually bound community development entity, “project” shall not include any activities, costs or services not included in the terms of the allocation agreement with the community development financial institutions fund under Section 45D of the Internal Revenue Code.

(19) “Contractually bound community development entity” means a community development entity that (A) has entered into an allocation agreement with the community development financial institutions fund pursuant to Section 45D of the Internal Revenue Code, and (B) whose service area in such allocation agreement includes the state of Connecticut.

(20) “Internal Revenue Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as amended from time to time.

(b) There is established an urban and industrial site reinvestment program under which taxpayers who make investments in eligible urban reinvestment projects or eligible industrial site investment projects may be allowed a credit against the tax imposed under chapter 207, 208, 208a, 209, 210, 211 or 212 or section 38a-743, or a combination of such taxes, in an amount equal to the percentage of their approved investment determined in accordance with subsection (i) of this section.

(c) No project shall be deemed an eligible project unless such project shall, in the judgment of the commissioner, be of sufficient size, by itself or in conjunction with related new investments, to generate a substantial return to the state economy.

(d) (1) The commissioner may register managers of funds and community development entities created for the purpose of investing in eligible urban reinvestment projects and eligible industrial site investment projects. Any manager, community development entity or contractually bound community development entity registered under this subsection shall have its primary place of business in this state. Each applicant shall submit an application under oath to the commissioner to be registered and shall furnish evidence satisfactory to the commissioner of its financial responsibility, integrity, professional competence and experience in managing investment funds. Failure to maintain adequate fiduciary standards with respect to investments made under this section shall constitute cause for the commissioner to revoke, after hearing, any registration granted under this section or section 38a-88a. The fund manager, community development entity or contractually bound community development entity shall make a report on or before the first day of March in each year, under oath, to the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development and the Commissioner of Revenue Services specifying the name, address and Social Security number or employer identification number of each investor, the year during which each investment was made by each investor, the amount of each investment, a description of the fund's investment objectives and relative performance, or the entity's projects, as the case may be, and a description, including amounts, of all fees received by such manager or entity in relation to each such fund.

(2) Any manager of funds registered on or before July 1, 2000, pursuant to section 38a-88a shall be deemed registered as a fund manager for all purposes under the provisions of this section upon submission, in writing, to the commissioner of such manager's intention to act as a manager of funds under this section. The commissioner may request from any such manager such information as the commissioner may require relating to such manager's financial responsibility, integrity, professional competence and experience in managing investment funds.

(e) Any taxpayer or fund manager, community development entity or contractually bound community development entity wishing to make an investment under the provisions of this section shall apply to the commissioner in accordance with the provisions of this section. The application shall contain sufficient information to establish that the project in which the proposed investment will be made is an eligible industrial site investment project or an urban reinvestment project, as appropriate, and information concerning the type of investment proposed to be made, the location of the project, the number of jobs to be created or retained, physical infrastructure that might be created or preserved, feasibility studies or business plans for the project, projected state and local revenue that might derive as a result of the project and other information necessary to demonstrate the financial viability of the project and to demonstrate that the investment will provide net benefits to the economy of, and employment for citizens of, the municipality and the state, and in the case of an eligible industrial site investment project, how such project will meet the standards of remediation of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The commissioner shall impose a fee for such application as the commissioner deems appropriate.

(f) (1) The commissioner shall determine whether the project in which the proposed investment is to be made is an eligible urban reinvestment project or an eligible industrial site investment project, whether the project is economically viable only with use of the urban and industrial site reinvestment program, the effects of the project on the municipality where the investment will be made, and whether the project would provide a net benefit to economic development and employment opportunities in the state and whether the project will conform to the state plan of conservation and development. The commissioner may require the applicant to submit such additional information as may be necessary to evaluate the application.

(2) The commissioner shall prepare a revenue impact assessment that estimates the state and local revenue that would be generated as a result of the project. The commissioner shall prepare an economic feasibility study relative to such project. The commissioner may retain any such persons as the commissioner deems appropriate to conduct such revenue impact assessment or economic feasibility study.

(g) (1) The commissioner, upon consideration of the application, the revenue impact assessment and any additional information that the commissioner requires concerning a proposed investment, may approve an investment if the commissioner concludes that the project in which such investment is to be made is an eligible urban reinvestment project or an eligible industrial site investment project. The commissioner shall give priority to applications for projects located in federally designated opportunity zones. If the commissioner rejects an application, the commissioner shall specifically identify the defects in the application and specifically explain the reasons for the rejection. The commissioner shall render a decision on an application not later than ninety days from its receipt. The amount of the investment so approved shall not exceed the greater of: (A) The amount of state revenue that will be generated according to the revenue impact assessment prepared under this subsection; or (B) the total of state revenue and local revenue generated according to such assessment in the case of a manufacturing business with North American Industrial Classification codes of 339999, 311211 through 312140, 324191 and 325412 that is relocating to a site in Connecticut from out-of-state, provided the relocation will result in new development of at least seven hundred twenty-five thousand square feet in a state-sponsored industrial park.

(2) The approval of an investment by the commissioner may be combined with the exercise of any of the commissioner's other powers, including, but not limited to, the provision of other forms of financial assistance.

(3) The commissioner shall require the applicant to reimburse the commissioner for all or any part of the cost of any revenue impact assessment, economic feasibility study or other activities performed in the exercise of due diligence pursuant to subsection (f) of this section.

(4) There is established an account to be known as the “Connecticut economic impact and analysis account”, which shall be a separate, nonlapsing account. The account shall contain any moneys required by law to be deposited in the account and shall be held separate and apart from other moneys, funds and accounts. There shall be deposited in the account any proceeds realized by the state from activities pursuant to this section. Investment earnings credited to the account shall become part of the assets of the account. Any balance remaining in the account at the end of any fiscal year shall be carried forward in the account for the next fiscal year. Amounts in the account may be used by the Department of Economic and Community Development to fund the cost of any activities of the department pursuant to this section, including administrative costs related to such activities.

(h) Upon approving an investment, the commissioner shall issue a certificate of eligibility certifying that the applicant has complied with the provisions of this section.

(i) (1) There shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed under chapters 207 to 212a, inclusive, or section 38a-743, or a combination of said taxes, an amount equal to the following percentage of approved investments made by or on behalf of a taxpayer with respect to the following income years of the taxpayer: (A) With respect to the income year in which the investment in the eligible project was made and the two next succeeding income years, zero per cent; (B) with respect to the third full income year succeeding the year in which the investment in the eligible project was made and the three next succeeding income years, ten per cent; (C) with respect to the seventh full income year succeeding the year in which the investment in the eligible project was made and the next two succeeding years, twenty per cent. The sum of all tax credits granted pursuant to the provisions of this section shall not exceed one hundred million dollars with respect to a single eligible urban reinvestment project or a single eligible industrial site investment project approved by the commissioner. The sum of all tax credits granted pursuant to the provisions of this section shall not exceed nine hundred fifty million dollars.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection, any applicant may, at the time of application, apply to the commissioner for a credit that exceeds the limitations established by this subsection. The commissioner shall evaluate the benefits of such application and make recommendations to the General Assembly relating to changes in the general statutes which would be necessary to effect such application if the commissioner determines that the proposal would be of economic benefit to the state.

(j) The credits allowed by this section may be claimed by a taxpayer who has made an investment (1) directly only if such investment has a total asset value, either alone or in conjunction with other taxpayer investments in an eligible project, of not less than five million dollars or, in the case of an investment in an eligible project for the preservation of an historic facility and redevelopment of the facility for mixed uses that includes at least four housing units, a total asset value of not less than two million dollars; (2) through a fund managed by a fund manager registered under this section only if such fund: (A) Has a total asset value of not less than sixty million dollars for the income year for which the initial credit is taken; and (B) has not less than three investors who are not related persons with respect to each other or to any person in which any investment is made other than through the fund at the date the investment is made; or (3) through a community development entity or a contractually bound community development entity.

(k) The commissioner shall, upon request, provide a copy of the eligibility certificate issued under subsection (h) of this section to the Commissioner of Revenue Services.

(l) The tax credit allowed by this section, when made through a fund, shall only be available for investments in funds that are not open to additional investments or investors beyond the amount subscribed at the formation of the fund.

(m) (1) The Commissioner of Revenue Services may treat one or more corporations that are properly included in a combined corporation business tax return under section 12-223a as one taxpayer in determining whether the appropriate requirements under this section are met. Where corporations are treated as one taxpayer for purposes of this subsection, then the credit shall be allowed only against the amount of the combined tax for all corporations properly included in a combined return that, under the provisions of subdivision (2) of this subsection, is attributable to the corporations treated as one taxpayer.

(2) The amount of the combined tax for all corporations properly included in a combined corporation business tax return that is attributable to the corporations that are treated as one taxpayer under the provisions of this subsection shall be in the same ratio to such combined tax that the net income apportioned to this state of each corporation treated as one taxpayer bears to the net income apportioned to this state, in the aggregate, of all corporations included in such combined return. Solely for the purposes of computing such ratio, any net loss apportioned to this state by a corporation treated as one taxpayer or by a corporation included in such combined return shall be disregarded.

(n) Any taxpayer allowed a credit under this section may assign such credit to another taxpayer or taxpayers, provided such other taxpayer or taxpayers may claim such credit only with respect to a taxable year for which the assigning taxpayer would have been eligible to claim such credit and such other taxpayer or taxpayers may not further assign such credit. The taxpayer or taxpayers allowed such credit, the fund manager, the community development entity or contractually bound community development entity shall file with the Commissioner of Revenue Services information requested by the commissioner regarding such assignments, including, but not limited to, the current holders of credits as of the end of the preceding calendar year.

(o) No taxpayer shall be eligible for a credit under (1) this section, and (2) section 12-217e or 38a-88a, for the same investment. No two taxpayers shall be eligible for any tax credit with respect to the same investment or the same project costs.

(p) Any credit not used in the income year for which it was allowed may be carried forward for the five immediately succeeding income years until the full credit has been allowed.

(q) (1) Any tax credits approved under this section that would constitute in excess of twenty million dollars in total for a single investment shall be submitted by the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to finance, revenue and bonding prior to the issuance of a certificate of eligibility for such investment. Said committee shall have thirty days from the date such project is submitted to convene a meeting to recommend approval or disapproval of such investment. If such submittal is withdrawn, altered, amended or otherwise changed, and resubmitted, said committee shall have thirty days from the date of such resubmittal to convene a meeting to recommend approval or disapproval of such investment. If said committee does not act on a submittal or resubmittal, as the case may be, within that time, the investment shall be deemed to be approved by said committee.

(2) While the General Assembly is in session, the House of Representatives or the Senate, or both, may meet not later than thirty days following the date said committee makes a recommendation pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection. If such submission is not disapproved by the House of Representatives or the Senate, or both, within such time, the commissioner may issue such certificate.

(3) While the General Assembly is not in regular session, the House of Representatives or the Senate, or both, may meet not later than thirty days following the date said committee makes a recommendation pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection. If such submission is not disapproved by the House of Representatives, the Senate, or both, within such time, the commissioner may issue such certificate.

(r) Not later than July first in each year that credits allowed by this section are claimed by a taxpayer with respect to an approved investment, the commissioner may retain such persons as said commissioner may deem appropriate to conduct a study to estimate the state revenue that is being and will be generated by the eligible project in which such investment is made. Such economic impact study shall determine whether the state revenue actually generated by such eligible project is equal to the estimate of state revenue made at the time the investment in such eligible project was approved. If the sum of all state revenue actually generated by such eligible project is less than the amount of the total sum of tax credits claimed with respect to the approved investment in such project on the date of such analysis, the commissioner may determine from the person retained pursuant to this subsection the applicable recapture amount and may revoke the certificate of eligibility issued under subsection (h) of this section. The commissioner may require the taxpayer, the fund manager, community development entity or contractually bound community development entity that made such approved investment to reimburse the commissioner for all or any part of the cost of any economic impact study performed under this subsection.

(s) (1) Any taxpayer which has claimed credits allowed by this section related to an investment concerning which the commissioner has revoked the certificate of eligibility issued under subsection (h) of this section, shall be required to recapture such taxpayer's pro rata share of the recapture amount as determined under the provisions of subdivision (2) of this subsection and no subsequent credit shall be allowed unless such certificate of eligibility is reinstated under the provisions of subdivision (3) of this subsection.

(2) If the taxpayer is required under the provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection to recapture its pro rata share of the recapture amount during (A) the first year such credit was claimed, then ninety per cent of such share shall be recaptured on the tax return required to be filed for such year, (B) the second of such years, then sixty-five per cent of such share shall be recaptured on the tax return required to be filed for such year, (C) the third of such years, then fifty per cent of such share shall be recaptured on the tax return required to be filed for such year, (D) the fourth of such years, then thirty per cent of such share shall be recaptured on the tax return required to be filed for such year, (E) the fifth of such years, then twenty per cent of such share shall be recaptured on the tax return required to be filed for such year, and (F) the sixth or subsequent of such years, then ten per cent of such share shall be recaptured on the tax return required to be filed for such year. The Commissioner of Revenue Services may recapture such share from the taxpayer who has claimed such credits. If the commissioner is unable to recapture all or part of such share from such taxpayer, the commissioner may seek to recapture such share from any taxpayer who has assigned credits in an amount at least equal to such share to another taxpayer. If the commissioner is unable to recapture all or part of such share from any such taxpayer, the commissioner may recapture such share from any fund through which the investment was made.

(3) If the commissioner has revoked the certificate of eligibility issued under subsection (h) of this section, such certificate of eligibility shall be reinstated by the commissioner if, upon a request made by the taxpayer, fund manager or community development entity who made such approved investment, an economic impact study conducted pursuant to subsection (r) of this section shall determine that the sum of all state revenue actually generated by the project in which such investment was made is greater than the amount of the total sum of tax credits claimed on the date of such analysis, provided no such request shall be made pursuant to this subsection during the calendar year in which such certificate was revoked. For the purpose of determining whether such certificate shall be reinstated, the commissioner shall, upon receipt of a request made under this subsection, obtain one such economic impact study per calendar year and may obtain additional such economic impact studies as the commissioner deems appropriate.

(t) Notwithstanding subsections (r) and (s) of this section, for a contractually bound community development entity, credit recapture for credits allowed by this section shall be governed by the terms of its allocation agreement with the community development financial institutions fund or, where such agreement is silent, by Section 45D of the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations promulgated by the United States Treasury pursuant to said section.

(P.A. 00-170, S. 38, 42; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-9, S. 122, 131; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 77; P.A. 04-20, S. 6; P.A. 05-276, S. 2, 3; P.A. 06-159, S. 20; 06-184, S. 10; 06-187, S. 12; 06-189, S. 18; P.A. 11-78, S. 1; 11-80, S. 1; 11-86, S. 2; 11-140, S. 19; Oct. Sp. Sess. P.A. 11-1, S. 48; P.A. 14-98, S. 44; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5, S. 408; P.A. 19-54, S. 8; 19-186, S. 9; P.A. 25-110, S. 108.)

*Note: Public act 00-170 is entitled “An Act Concerning Reduction of Various Taxes and Fees, Sunset of Certain Insurance Reinvestment Funds, Crediting of Interest on the Attorneys' Client Security Fund, a Tax on Snuff Tobacco Products, Funds for the Fisheries Account, Incentives for Urban Site Reinvestment and Use of the Tobacco Settlement Fund”. (See Reference Table captioned “Public Acts of 2000” in Volume 16 which lists the sections amended, created or repealed by the act.)

History: P.A. 00-170 effective July 1, 2000 (Revisor's note: In Subsec. (e), a period was inserted editorially by the Revisors before “The commissioner shall”); June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-9 amended Subsec. (a) to redefine “eligible industrial site investment project” in Subdiv. (2), “eligible urban reinvestment project” in Subdiv. (3), “investment” in Subdiv. (5), “recapture amount” in Subdiv. (15), and “pro rata share” in Subdiv. (16), define “community development entity” and “project” in new Subdivs. (17) and (18) and make a technical change in Subdiv. (14), amended Subsec. (b) to change “invest” to “make investments” and add reference to “approved” investment, and added provisions re community development entity, changed “investment” to “project” and made conforming and technical changes in Subsec. (d) to (g), (i), (j), (n), (o), (r) and (s), effective July 1, 2001; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 amended Subsec. (g) by, in Subdiv. (1), adding “greater of:”, designating existing maximum investment amount as Subpara. (A) and adding Subpara. (B) re total revenue generated in case of manufacturing business with standard industrial classification codes of 3999, 2099, 2992 and 3834, by adding provision in Subdiv. (3) re other activities performed in the exercise of due diligence and deleting “used in reviewing the application”, and by adding new Subdiv. (4) re Connecticut economic impact and analysis account, effective August 20, 2003; P.A. 04-20 made a technical change in Subsec. (g)(3), effective April 16, 2004; P.A. 05-276 amended Subsec. (j)(1) by inserting “, either alone or in conjunction with other taxpayer investments in an eligible project,”, reducing the investment threshold for credits from $20,000,000 to $5,000,000 and further reducing such threshold to $2,000,000 for an eligible project for preservation of an historic facility and redevelopment of the facility for certain mixed uses, and amended Subsec. (n) by adding “or taxpayers”, effective July 13, 2005; P.A. 06-159 amended Subsec. (k) by providing that a copy of the eligibility certificate be submitted upon request of commissioner, rather than requiring such copy to be filed with the tax return, effective June 6, 2006; P.A. 06-184, effective June 9, 2006, and P.A. 06-187, effective May 26, 2006, both redefined “eligible municipality” in Subsec. (a)(12) to add Subpara. (D); P.A. 06-189 amended Subsec. (q) by designating existing provisions as Subdiv. (1) and amending same by replacing procedure for approval by House, Senate or both not later than 60 days after submission of tax credit with provisions re recommendation by Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee not later than 30 days after submission, and adding Subdivs. (2) and (3) providing procedure for approval by House, Senate or both while General Assembly is in regular session and not in regular session; P.A. 11-78 amended Subsec. (a)(5) to redefine “investment” by adding contractually bound community development entity, amended Subsec. (a)(18) to define “project” re a contractually bound community development entity, added Subsec. (a)(19) defining contractually bound community development entity and Subsec. (a)(20) defining Internal Revenue Code, amended Subsecs. (d), (e), (j), (n) and (r) to add provisions re contractually bound community development entity and added Subsec. (t) re credit recapture for contractually bound community development entities, and made conforming changes, effective July 1, 2011; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Department of Environmental Protection” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Department of Energy and Environmental Protection” in Subsecs. (a)(2) and (e), effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 11-86 amended Subsec. (i)(1) to increase credit cap from $500,000,000 to $750,000,000, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 11-140 amended Subsec. (g)(1) to replace references to Standard Industrial Classification codes with references to North American Industrial Classification codes, effective July 1, 2011; Oct. Sp. Sess. P.A. 11-1 amended Subsec. (i)(1) to lower from $750,000,000 to $650,000,000 the amount of tax credits granted under section, effective October 27, 2011; P.A. 14-98 amended Subsec. (i)(1) to increase tax credit cap from $650,000,000 to $800,000,000, effective July 1, 2014; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5 amended Subsec. (i)(1) to increase tax credit cap from $800,000,000 to $950,000,000, effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 19-54 amended Subsec. (g)(1) to add provision re commissioner to give priority to applications for projects located in federally designated opportunity zones, effective July 1, 2019; P.A. 19-186 amended Subsec. (b) to replace “chapters 207 to 212a, inclusive,” with “chapter 207, 208, 208a, 209, 210, 211 or 212” re applicability of tax credit and make a technical change, effective July 8, 2019, and applicable to income years commencing on or after July 8, 2019; P.A. 25-110 amended Subsec. (g)(4) to delete reference to General Fund and make a technical change, effective July 1, 2025.

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Sec. 32-9y. Greyfield revitalization program. (a) As used in this section:

(1) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development; and

(2) “Greyfield” means any previously developed commercial retail or office property that (A) is economically nonviable in its current state and exhibits conditions that significantly complicate its redevelopment or reuse, as determined by the commissioner; and (B) is not currently eligible for any brownfield remediation and development program provided in chapter 588gg.

(b) On and after July 1, 2025, the commissioner may use bond funds and available resources to provide not more than fifty million dollars in the aggregate for grants or loans in support of major projects selected pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.

(c) On and after July 1, 2025, the commissioner, in coordination with the Commissioner of Housing, the Connecticut Municipal Redevelopment Authority and the Capital Region Development Authority, may establish a greyfield revitalization program, which shall provide grants or loans to facilitate the repurposing of commercial retail and office space determined by the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development to be a greyfield and to provide grants to the Connecticut Municipal Redevelopment Authority or the Capital Region Development Authority to provide grants or loans to facilitate the repurposing of such commercial retail and office space. The commissioner shall develop a competitive application process and criteria to (1) evaluate applications submitted pursuant to this subsection, and (2) select projects for funding pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.

(d) Eligible use of grant or loan funds include: (1) Architectural and engineering assessment of buildings and site readiness to determine suitability for conversion to multi-family housing; (2) demolition; (3) remediation and abatement of building materials that were used in accordance with the State Building Code when the structure was constructed; (4) renovation or conversion construction costs; (5) planning studies to assess the viability of one or more potential future project sites under the program; and (6) reasonable administrative expenses not to exceed five per cent of any grant awarded.

(e) Financial assistance awarded pursuant to this section shall be exempt from the provisions of section 32-462.

(f) The commissioner may contract with nongovernmental entities, including, but not limited to, nonprofit organizations, economic and community development organizations, lending institutions, and technical assistance providers to carry out the provisions of this section.

(P.A. 25-174, S. 112.)

History: P.A. 25-174 effective July 1, 2025.

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Sec. 32-9z. Greyfield revitalization account. (a) There is established an account to be known as the “greyfield revitalization account”, which shall be a separate, nonlapsing account. There shall be deposited in the account: (1) The proceeds of bonds issued by the state for deposit into said account and used in accordance with this section; (2) interest or other income earned on the investment of moneys in the account; and (3) all funds required by law to be deposited in the account. Any balance remaining in the account at the end of any fiscal year shall be carried forward in the account for the fiscal year next succeeding.

(b) All moneys received in consideration of financial assistance, including payments of principal and interest on any loans made pursuant to section 32-9y, shall be credited to the account and shall become part of the assets of the account.

(c) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, proceeds from the sale of bonds available pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section 4-66c, may, with the approval of the Governor and the State Bond Commission, be used to capitalize the account.

(d) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development may use funds in the account (1) to provide financial assistance for the greyfield revitalization program established in section 32-9y, and (2) for administrative costs not to exceed five per cent of such funds.

(P.A. 25-174, S. 113.)

History: P.A. 25-174 effective July 1, 2025.

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Sec. 32-9yy. Connecticut Credit Consortium. Small business assistance account. (a) As used in this section, “qualified business” means a Connecticut business, whether for-profit or not-for-profit, employing less than one hundred employees.

(b) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall establish the Connecticut Credit Consortium, which shall be a small business assistance revolving loan program to provide direct loans and lines of credit to qualified businesses. The commissioner shall establish eligibility criteria and guidelines for the program.

(c) As part of the program established pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the commissioner may make, or cause to be made, direct loans or lines of credit to any qualified businesses, provided the cumulative total of outstanding loans and lines of credit (1) to any business at any time shall not exceed five hundred thousand dollars, and (2) to all businesses at any time shall not exceed fifteen million dollars.

(d) There is established an account to be known as the “small business assistance account”, which shall be a separate, nonlapsing account. The account shall contain any moneys required by law to be deposited in the account. All moneys received in consideration of financial assistance, including payments of principal and interest on any loans, shall be credited to the account. Moneys in the account shall be expended by the Department of Economic and Community Development for the purposes of the small business assistance program established pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.

(e) Loans and lines of credit provided pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall be exempt from the provisions of sections 32-5a and 32-222 to 32-234, inclusive.

(P.A. 10-75, S. 6; P.A. 11-104, S. 4; 11-140, S. 25; P.A. 25-110, S. 109.)

History: P.A. 10-75 effective July 1, 2010; P.A. 11-104 amended Subsec. (d) by deleting provisions re repayments credited to fund and re carry forward of account balance, effective July 8, 2011; P.A. 11-140 amended Subsec. (a) to redefine “qualified business” as one with less than 100, rather than 50, employees, effective July 8, 2011; P.A. 25-110 amended Subsec. (d) to delete reference to General Fund and make a technical change, effective July 1, 2025.

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Sec. 32-9aaa. Grant program for nonprofit organizations that own or operate cultural and historic sites. Annual report. (a) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall establish, within available resources, a program to provide grants-in-aid to nonprofit organizations that own or operate cultural and historic sites in the state for the purposes of making capital improvements. The commissioner shall (1) develop eligibility criteria and application forms, and (2) accept applications for such grants-in-aid on a continuing basis.

(b) Not later than January 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to finance, revenue and bonding. Such report shall include (1) the number of applications received by the commissioner during the previous calendar year for a grant-in-aid pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, and (2) the total amount of funds requested in such applications.

(P.A. 25-174, S. 137.)

History: P.A. 25-174 effective June 30, 2025.

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