General Assembly Proposed Bill No. 6482
January Session, 2015 LCO No. 2440
*02440*
Referred to Committee on PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Introduced by:
REP. SANTIAGO, 130th Dist.
General Assembly
Proposed Bill No. 6482
January Session, 2015
LCO No. 2440
*02440*
Referred to Committee on PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Introduced by:
REP. SANTIAGO, 130th Dist.
AN ACT ESTABLISHING GREEN BUSINESS ZONES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
That title 7 of the general statutes be amended to (1) allow municipalities having a population of one hundred thousand or more persons to (A) establish green business zones; (B) designate the area of such zone; and (C) determine which businesses qualify as green businesses; (2) provide benefits to certain businesses qualifying as green businesses and located in such zones, including, but not limited to (A) a fifty to eighty per cent property tax exemption, to be determined by the subject municipality and to be in effect for seven years; (B) eligibility for accelerated depreciation on personal property related to the green business; (C) expedited permitting for permits issued by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection or the Department of Public Health; and (D) for green businesses utilizing the subsidized training and employment program or the unemployed members of the armed forces subsidized training and employment program, grants provided for therein shall be increased to up to fifteen thousand dollars for employment of green business employees for a period of six months; (3) require the Departments of Energy and Environmental Protection and Public Health to promulgate regulations, no later than January 1, 2016, setting forth an expedited permitting process for green businesses; and (4) to define "green business" as a business that (A) creates ten or more full-time equivalent jobs; (B) creates or expands a facility within a green business zone; and (C) meets two of the following criteria: (i) the principal business involves the manufacture or sale of environmentally related products; (ii) the principal business involves the provision of environmentally related services; (iii) the principal business involves the recycling or reuse of materials; (iv) the principal business involves the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; or (v) the business entity has remediated or is remediating the site on which such business is located in accordance with the Connecticut Remediation Standard Regulations, or any remediation approved by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection or a licensed environmental professional.
Statement of Purpose:
To develop economic development zones that would facilitate the development of environmentally friendly businesses in urban areas.