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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 1141
January Session, 2019
AN ACT CONCERNING MU NICIPAL CAPACITY AND PROPERTY TAX
REFORM.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2019) (a) There is established a 1
fund to be known as the "Municipal Capacity Fund". The fund shall 2
contain any moneys required by law to be deposited in the fund and 3
shall be held in trust separate and apart from all other moneys, funds 4
and accounts. Any balance remaining in the fund at the end of any 5
fiscal year shall be carried forward in the fund for the fiscal year next 6
succeeding. Moneys in the fund shall be expended by the 7
Commissioner of Revenue Services in accordance with this section. 8
(b) The commissioner shall reserve five million dollars of the 9
moneys in the fund to make grants under a capacity building grant 10
program in accordance with the provisions of this subsection. 11
(1) The Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management shall 12
solicit grant proposals from regional councils of governments 13
organized under the provisions of sections 4-124i to 4-124p, inclusive, 14
of the general statutes, to provide to all members within a council's 15
planning region: (A) A program, service or function that replaces a 16
program, service or function currently performed by individual 17
members; or (B) a new program, service or function to be offered to all 18 Substitute Bill No. 1141
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members. Each member may elect to participate in such program, 19
service or function and shall be given the opportunity to change its 20
election at least annually while the program, service or function is in 21
effect. 22
(2) The secretary shall establish requirements of and procedures and 23
guidelines for the program, the amounts of the grants to be awarded 24
and deadlines for proposal submissions and final selection of grant 25
recipients. 26
(3) As used in this subsection, "planning region" and "member" have 27
the same meanings as provided in section 4-124i of the general 28
statutes. 29
(c) The balance remaining in the fund shall be distributed annually 30
as municipal capacity grants in accordance with the following 31
provisions: 32
(1) The Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management shall 33
calculate and publish annually a municipal fiscal capacity gap metric 34
for each municipality in the state. Such metric shall be calculated in 35
accordance with the methodologies used in the May, 2015 New 36
England Public Policy Center Research Report 15-1, multiplied by 37
minus one. 38
(2) Municipalities with a negative fiscal capacity gap metric shall be 39
eligible for a municipal capacity grant. For each eligible municipality, 40
the secretary shall calculate a remaining gap figure by (A) multiplying 41
the fiscal capacity gap metric of such municipality by the population of 42
such municipality, as estimated in the most recent State Register and 43
Manual published by the Secretary of the State, and (B) subtracting the 44
amount of noneducation municipal aid from the state for the fiscal 45
year. Grants shall be apportioned from the balance remaining in the 46
fund in proportion to each eligible municipality's remaining gap figure 47
as a fraction of the total remaining gap figures of all eligible 48
municipalities. 49 Substitute Bill No. 1141
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Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2019) Any taxpayer that makes an 50
investment in commercial or industrial real property that results in an 51
increase in the property's assessed value that is attributable to such 52
investment may choose one of the following options for property tax 53
relief: 54
(1) The taxpayer may claim a credit in the amount of the increase in 55
such property's assessed value that is attributable to such investment. 56
Such credit shall be allowed against the taxpayer's property tax 57
liability for the fiscal year in which such increase occurs. If the amount 58
of the credit allowed pursuant to this subdivision exceeds the 59
taxpayer's property tax liability for the fiscal year, the unused portion 60
of the credit shall be carried forward to succeeding fiscal years until 61
fully used; 62
(2) The taxpayer may elect to have the portion that is the fractional 63
increase in such property's assessment that is attributable to such 64
investment taxed at the rate of ten mills or at the rate of twenty-five 65
per cent of the current mill rate, whichever is less, for a period of seven 66
years; or 67
(3) The taxpayer may elect to have the portion that is the fractional 68
increase in such property's assessment that is attributable to such 69
investment excluded for three years from the calculation of property 70
tax, with the property tax on such portion phased in up to one 71
hundred per cent over the next four years in equal increments. 72
Sec. 3. (Effective July 1, 2019) For the fiscal years commencing July 1, 73
2019, and July 1, 2020, the Comptroller shall transfer one hundred 74
million dollars in each fiscal year from the resources of the General 75
Fund to the Municipal Capacity Fund established in section 1 of this 76
act. 77
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2019 New section Substitute Bill No. 1141
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Sec. 2 July 1, 2019 New section
Sec. 3 July 1, 2019 New section
FIN Joint Favorable Subst.