| 9 | | - | Section 1. Section 32-56 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): |
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| 16 | + | Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2010) (a) There shall be established a Connecticut Competitiveness Council which shall be within the Department of Economic and Community Development. The council shall consist of eighteen members appointed as follows: (1) Nine, each from different geographic areas of the state, at least one of whom shall be an economist and at least one of whom shall be a member of a chamber of commerce or a regional economic development organization, who shall be appointed by the Governor; (2) two members representing environmental, housing, the arts or any other aspect of quality of life, who shall be appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate; (3) two members representing financial or venture capital, who shall be appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; (4) one member representing financial regulation, taxation or other financial services, who shall be appointed by the minority leader of the Senate; (5) two members representing workforce training, job retention or human resources, who shall be appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives; (6) one member representing telecommunications, energy, transportation or other physical infrastructure, who shall be appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives; and (7) one member representing technology research, discovery or deployment, who shall be appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives. |
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| 13 | | - | (b) It is found and declared that Connecticut ranks very high among the states on a per capita basis in the amounts of prime defense contracts awarded; that the economies of many areas in the state and the employment opportunities offered by many businesses in the state are heavily defense-dependent and would suffer severe adverse impacts in the event of prime defense contract cutbacks or major aerospace or defense plant closures; that, in the event that defense-dependent areas or businesses in the state were severely impacted by a prime defense contract cutback or major aerospace or defense plant closure, there would be a serious need for non-defense-related industrial and commercial development and activity in such areas or by such businesses to provide and maintain employment and tax revenues; that private and public capital investment in the construction, renovation, and expansion of nondefense manufacturing and other industrial facilities will best contribute to maintaining employment and the existing tax base and to the development of a wider-based and more balanced economy in the state; and that the tax and other financial incentives provided by this section to encourage such public and private investment in businesses and municipalities severely impacted by prime defense contract cutbacks, are important and necessary applications of the resources of the state in the exercise of its responsibility to preserve the health, safety and general welfare in the state of its people; and therefore the necessity, in the public interest and for the public benefit and good, of the provisions of this section is hereby declared as a matter of legislative determination. |
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| 20 | + | (c) Appointed members of the council shall serve for four-year terms which shall commence October 1, 2010, except that members first appointed shall have the following terms: Five of the members initially appointed by the Governor and the members appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, minority leader of the House of Representatives and the speaker of the House of Representatives shall serve a term of two years, and four of the members appointed by the Governor and the president pro tempore of the Senate, the majority leader of the Senate and the minority leader of the Senate shall initially serve a term of four years. The appointing authority shall fill any vacancy by appointment for the unexpired portion of the term vacated. A majority of the council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business. The members of the council shall serve without compensation, except for necessary expenses incurred in performing their duties. |
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| 17 | | - | (d) (1) In determining that a municipality has been severely impacted by a prime defense contract cutback or major aerospace or defense plant closure with not less than eight hundred employees the commissioner shall find that (A) one or more businesses in the municipality has experienced a cancellation of one or more prime defense contracts or major aerospace or defense plant closure with not less than eight hundred employees, or subcontracts entered into in connection with prime defense contracts, or a significant reduction in prime defense contract or related subcontract awards or orders; (B) such prime defense contract cutback or major aerospace or defense plant closure has caused or will cause a loss of employment opportunities in the municipality; (C) such prime defense contract or major aerospace or defense plant closure cutback has caused or will cause a severe adverse impact in the municipality. In making such findings the commissioner may consider the extent to which the businesses in the municipality are, or were at the period in time before the prime defense contract cutback or major aerospace or defense plant closure occurred, dependent on prime defense contracts or on subcontracts related to such prime defense contracts or major aerospace or defense plant closures; the extent to which one or more prime defense contractors in the municipality has or plans to reduce its work force or the amount of defense subcontract awards or orders which would be performed by businesses in the municipality; the extent to which the unemployed in the municipality are or were defense workers with specialized skills not easily transferable to other industries; the existence of abandoned or underutilized defense-related manufacturing facilities in the municipality; and any other factors which the commissioner deems relevant to such finding. (2) The commissioner's determination that a municipality is severely impacted by a prime defense contract cutback or major aerospace or defense plant closure shall be effective for two years from the date of the decision of the commissioner. The commissioner may renew such determination for two additional two-year periods following a public hearing and upon making the findings required by this subsection. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision, if (A) a military installation of the United States Department of Defense at which military vehicle engines were produced is located in any such municipality, (B) the military installation is closed pursuant to 10 USC 2687, and (C) the Department of Defense plans to convey the site of said installation to said municipality, the determination by the commissioner that the municipality is severely impacted by a prime defense contract cutback or major aerospace or defense plant closure shall remain effective until such conveyance and any environmental remediation of the site are completed or until such time as the plant has been reoccupied by another business, and such determination may be renewed for a period not exceeding two years. |
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| 24 | + | (e) The council shall appoint annually, from among its members, a chairman, vice chairman and secretary. The council may make rules for the conduct of its affairs. The council shall meet at least quarterly and at other times upon the call of the chair or the written request of any four members. |
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| 19 | | - | (e) Any business facility located in a municipality declared by the commissioner to be severely impacted by a prime defense contract cutback or major aerospace or defense plant closure pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, which facility would be a "manufacturing facility", as defined in subsection (d) of section 32-9p, but for the fact that the facility is not in a "distressed municipality", as defined in subsection (b) of section 32-9p, will be deemed a manufacturing facility for the purposes of sections 32-9p to 32-9s, inclusive, section 12-217e, and subdivisions (59) and (60) of section 12-81, if the purpose of the construction, expansion, renovation or acquisition of such facility is not dependent on prime defense contracts or related subcontracts. The provisions of this section shall apply to a business facility located in a building that was vacant on July 1, 1998, and was formerly used for defense manufacturing or as a major aerospace or defense plant. |
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| 26 | + | (f) The Department of Economic and Community Development shall provide staff support and other resources to the council. |
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| 23 | | - | Sec. 2. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (C) of subdivision (59) of section 12-81 of the general statutes, any person otherwise eligible for a 2009 grand list exemption pursuant to subdivision (59) of said section 12-81 in the town of Seymour, except that such person failed to file the required exemption application within the time period prescribed, shall be regarded as having filed said application in a timely manner if such person files said application not later than thirty days after the effective date of this section, and pays the late filing fee pursuant to section 12-81k of the general statutes. Upon confirmation of the receipt of such fee and verification of the exemption eligibility of the machinery and equipment included in such application, the assessor shall approve the exemption for such property. If taxes have been paid on the property for which such exemption is approved, the town of Torrington shall reimburse such person in an amount equal to the amount by which such taxes exceed the taxes payable if the application had been filed in a timely manner. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c) of section 12-94b of the general statutes and section 12-94e of the general statutes, the assessor of the town of Seymour may submit such approved exemption application to the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management together with a request for reimbursement of the tax loss resulting from such exemption. Subject to the secretary's review and approval of such exemption, such reimbursement shall be included in the next certification the secretary makes to the Comptroller under the provisions of section 12-94b of the general statutes. |
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| 30 | + | (h) Not later than January 1, 2011, and annually thereafter, the council shall submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the Governor, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development and the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to commerce on the competitiveness of the state's industry and economy. Such report shall include, but not be limited to, (1) a list of recommendations made by the council to the Department of Economic and Community Development, pursuant to subsection (g) of this section, to promote the competitiveness of the state's industry and economy; (2) the status of state agency and partner agency implementation of the recommendations made by the economic clusters; and (3) recommendations for administrative and legislative action that would promote the state's competitiveness. |
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| 25 | | - | Approved June 9, 2010 |
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| 32 | + | (i) Upon request of the chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to commerce, the Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee, Auditors of Public Accounts, legislative Office of Fiscal Analysis or Office of Legislative Research shall review such report. |
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| 33 | + | |
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| 34 | + | Sec. 2. Section 32-717 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2010): |
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| 35 | + | |
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| 36 | + | (a) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, the chairperson of Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, the president of The University of Connecticut and the chairperson of the Connecticut Development Authority, or their respective designees, shall prepare, within available appropriations, and in consultation with the [Governor's] Connecticut Competitiveness Council, the Commissioner of Education, the Commissioner of Higher Education, the chancellor of the community-technical college system, the director of the Office of Workforce Competitiveness and any other agencies and leading technology-focused organizations deemed appropriate by the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, recommendations for an implementation plan and budget to establish an Innovation Network that will include the following: (1) The creation of endowed chairs and the hiring of leading academic professionals in targeted fields based on core competencies to work at universities, state colleges and community colleges, in collaboration with other technology initiatives; (2) the focused and aggressive solicitation of and leveraged partnership with federal research funds; (3) increased corporate-sponsored research; (4) the establishment of at least one innovation accelerator, linked to universities and involving corporations and start-up enterprises focused on advanced technology and leveraging the efforts underway by the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology in the Hartford area; (5) the strengthening of technology transfer and entrepreneurship activities at universities in the state; (6) incentives and financial support for collaborative research between universities and industry or federally sponsored technology centers; (7) the creation of linkages to angel networks; and (8) the creation of linkages to incubators in Connecticut. Said plan shall also include provisions for the utilization of existing resources, including, but not limited to, Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, the Connecticut Development Authority, The University of Connecticut and the Office of Workforce Competitiveness. |
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| 37 | + | |
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| 38 | + | (b) Not later than January 1, 2006, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, in consultation with the chairperson of Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, the president of The University of Connecticut and the chairperson of the Connecticut Development Authority, shall develop an implementation plan for the Innovation Network, within available resources, and submit said plan and budget to the Governor and the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to economic development, education and labor, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a. |
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| 39 | + | |
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| 40 | + | |
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| 41 | + | |
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| 42 | + | |
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| 43 | + | This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: |
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| 44 | + | Section 1 July 1, 2010 New section |
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| 45 | + | Sec. 2 July 1, 2010 32-717 |
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| 46 | + | |
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| 47 | + | This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: |
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| 48 | + | |
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| 49 | + | Section 1 |
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| 50 | + | |
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| 51 | + | July 1, 2010 |
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| 52 | + | |
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| 53 | + | New section |
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| 54 | + | |
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| 55 | + | Sec. 2 |
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| 56 | + | |
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| 57 | + | July 1, 2010 |
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| 58 | + | |
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| 59 | + | 32-717 |
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| 60 | + | |
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| 61 | + | Statement of Legislative Commissioners: |
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| 62 | + | |
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| 63 | + | In section 1, grammatical corrections were made. |
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| 64 | + | |
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| 65 | + | |
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| 66 | + | |
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| 67 | + | CE Joint Favorable Subst. C/R GAE |
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| 68 | + | GAE Joint Favorable Subst.-LCO |
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| 69 | + | |
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| 70 | + | CE |
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| 71 | + | |
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| 72 | + | Joint Favorable Subst. C/R |
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| 73 | + | |
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| 74 | + | GAE |
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| 75 | + | |
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| 76 | + | GAE |
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| 77 | + | |
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| 78 | + | Joint Favorable Subst.-LCO |
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