General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5516
February Session, 2014 LCO No. 2234
*02234_______CE_*
Referred to Committee on COMMERCE
Introduced by:
(CE)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 5516
February Session, 2014
LCO No. 2234
*02234_______CE_*
Referred to Committee on COMMERCE
Introduced by:
(CE)
AN ACT PROVIDING FOOD ENTREPRENEURS WITH ACCESS TO COMMERCIAL KITCHENS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2014) (a) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall establish and administer a grant program in order to develop and expand kitchen incubators for entrepreneurs. The department shall award grants on a competitive basis to municipalities, educational institutions, community development corporations, regional economic development corporations and other nonprofit organizations for the costs of developing or expanding a kitchen incubator, including, but not limited to, the construction or rehabilitation of such facility, the purchase of equipment for such facility, training and technical assistance. For purposes of this section, "kitchen incubator" means a shared-use food processing or preparation facility that is operated by a nonprofit organization, educational institution or municipal agency and used primarily by small and emerging businesses.
(b) Any kitchen incubator established or expanded with funds awarded under this section shall provide to tenants: (1) Space at rates below market rates in the area in which such incubator is based, and (2) support services, including, but not limited to, business planning, management assistance, connections to financing sources, and coordination with other sources of training and assistance. Such kitchen incubator may provide or make available to tenants services including, but not limited to, food production or processing technical assistance, marketing, distribution, purchasing, storage, packing, insurance and on-site retailing.
(c) For the period beginning January 1, 2015, and ending March 31, 2015, the commissioner shall accept applications for a grant under subsection (a) of this section in the form and manner prescribed by the commissioner. Any such application shall require the submission of a management and business plan for operating the kitchen incubator that demonstrates: (1) Local business interest in a new or expanded kitchen incubator, including the food processing needs of existing and potential food businesses, (2) the applicant's ability to deliver the services and assistance described in subsection (b) of this section, including a description of how such applicant will deliver such assistance and services, (3) whether such services and assistance provided to tenants will be covered by fees or included in the rent, and how such fees or rentals will be structured, (4) a policy for tenants' entrance to and exit, or graduation, from such kitchen incubator, and (5) that such kitchen incubator can be self-sustaining and will not require long-term state operating subsidies.
(d) On or before June 1, 2015, the commissioner shall review all applications timely received pursuant to this section and shall approve one such application. In reviewing such applications, the commissioner shall give preference to an applicant that: (1) Proposes to establish or expand a kitchen incubator in a distressed municipality or a targeted investment community, as defined in section 32-9p of the general statutes, (2) demonstrates the availability of matching funds, (3) meets a substantial local or regional need, as determined by the commissioner, (4) complements local programs or provides services not available from local government or the private sector, (5) plans to provide or make available to kitchen incubator tenants services including, but not limited to, food production or processing technical assistance, marketing, distribution, purchasing, storage, packing, insurance and on-site retailing, or (6) has a plan to assist kitchen incubator tenants with purchasing state agricultural products and promote the kitchen incubator to state farmers.
(e) No grant awarded under this section shall exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars per calendar year.
(f) On or before November 1, 2015, the commissioner shall report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to commerce on the program established pursuant to this section, including, but not limited to, a summary of the applications submitted under this section, an identification of the application approved by the commissioner, and any recommendations for legislative modifications to the program, including whether such program should be extended or made permanent.
Sec. 2. Section 32-356 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2014):
There is established an account to be known as the small business incubator account, which shall be a separate, nonlapsing account within the General Fund. The commissioner may use funds from the account to provide administrative expenses and grants for the purposes of subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 32-7f and section 1 of this act.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2014 New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2014 32-356
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2014
New section
Sec. 2
October 1, 2014
32-356
Statement of Purpose:
To establish a competitive grant program to encourage the development or expansion of a kitchen incubator for food entrepreneurs.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]