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General Assembly Proposed Bill No. 570
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 1912
Referred to Committee on COMMERCE
Introduced by:
SEN. MARONEY, 14th Dist.
REP. DIMASSA, 116th Dist.
AN ACT CONCERNING OPPORTUNITY ZONES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
That the general statutes be amended to: (1) Appoint an 1
ombudsman within the Department of Economic and Community 2
Development to assist municipalities in setting up tax increment 3
financing zones and advise municipalities on how to effectively use 4
such zones to attract businesses; (2) establish minimum percentages of 5
not less than fifteen per cent of manufacturing assistance act and 6
brownfield remediation and development funds that must be spent 7
within designated opportunity zones; (3) establish incentives for 8
businesses participating in the small business express program to 9
move to opportunity zones, including, but not limited to, reducing the 10
amount of time a business is required to be in business to qualify for a 11
grant and increasing the grant amount for every job created; (4) create 12
training programs, in consultation with workforce investment boards, 13
for municipalities that want to use tax increment financing funds for 14
workforce development; (5) establish a state database of opportunity 15
zones to provide information concerning properties that are available 16
within opportunity zones, incentives available in particular zones and 17 Proposed Bill No. 570
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municipal incentives offered through tax increment financing funds; 18
(6) authorize bonds of the state for the purpose of providing low-19
interest loans to investors who develop mixed income housing in 20
opportunity zones; and (7) establish incentives for investors to develop 21
mixed income housing that utilizes solar power or other renewable 22
energy sources in opportunity zones. 23
Statement of Purpose:
To layer state benefits on top of opportunity zones to make
opportunity zones more attractive to investors.