Connecticut 2020 Regular Session

Connecticut Senate Bill SB00165 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	LCO No. 1310 1 of 6
4	4
5	5	General Assembly Raised Bill No. 165
6	6	February Session, 2020
7	7	LCO No. 1310
8	8
9	9
10	10	Referred to Committee on COMMERCE
11	11
12	12
13	13	Introduced by:
14	14	(CE)
15	15
16	16
17	17
18	18
19	19	AN ACT CONCERNING DR Y CLEANING ESTABLISH MENT
20	20	REMEDIATION GRANTS.
21	21	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
22	22	Assembly convened:
23	23
24	24	Section 1. Section 12-263m of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
25	25	following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2020): 2
26	26	(a) As used in this section: (1) "Eligible dry cleaning establishment" 3
27	27	means any place of business engaged in the cleaning of clothing or other 4
28	28	fabrics using tetrachlorethylene, Stoddard solvent or other chemicals, 5
29	29	(2) "gross receipts at retail" means the total amount accruing from dry 6
30	30	cleaning services, valued in money, without any deduction for the cost 7
31	31	of the materials used, labor or service cost or any other expense, and (3) 8
32	32	"eligible applicant" means (A) a business owner or operator of an 9
33	33	eligible dry cleaning establishment, [or] (B) an owner of property that is 10
34	34	or that was occupied by an eligible dry cleaning establishment, or (C) a 11
35	35	certifying party, as defined in subdivision (6) of section 22a-134, of 12
36	36	property that is or that was occupied by an eligible dry cleaning 13
37	37	establishment. 14
38	38	(b) (1) There shall be paid to the Commissioner of Revenue Services 15 Raised Bill No. 165
39	39
40	40
41	41
42	42	LCO No. 1310 2 of 6
43	43
44	44	by each dry cleaning establishment a surcharge of one per cent of its 16
45	45	gross receipts at retail for any dry cleaning service performed on or after 17
46	46	January 1, 1995. Each dry cleaning establishment shall register with the 18
47	47	Commissioner of Revenue Services on forms prescribed by the 19
48	48	commissioner. Each dry cleaning establishment that is registered with 20
49	49	the commissioner shall renew its registration with the commissioner on 21
50	50	October 1, 2015, and annually thereafter, in such manner as the 22
51	51	commissioner may prescribe. The commissioner shall send a 23
52	52	nonrenewal notice by first class mail to each dry cleaning establishment 24
53	53	that fails to renew its registration in accordance with the provisions of 25
54	54	this subsection. No dry cleaning establishment may engage in or 26
55	55	transact business as a dry cleaning establishment unless it is registered 27
56	56	with the commissioner in accordance with the provisions of this 28
57	57	subsection. 29
58	58	(2) (A) Any dry cleaning establishment that fails to register with the 30
59	59	commissioner in accordance with the provisions of this subsection shall 31
60	60	pay a penalty of one thousand dollars, which penalty shall not be subject 32
61	61	to waiver. 33
62	62	(B) Any dry cleaning establishment that fails to renew its registration 34
63	63	within forty-five days after a nonrenewal notice was sent pursuant to 35
64	64	subdivision (1) of this subsection shall pay a penalty of two hundred 36
65	65	dollars, which the commissioner may waive in the manner set forth in 37
66	66	section 12-3a, when it is proven to the commissioner's satisfaction that 38
67	67	the failure to register was due to reasonable cause and was not 39
68	68	intentional or due to neglect. No penalty may be assessed under this 40
69	69	subparagraph more than once during any registration period. 41
70	70	(3) Each dry cleaning establishment shall submit a return quarterly to 42
71	71	the Commissioner of Revenue Services, applicable with respect to the 43
72	72	calendar quarter beginning January 1, 1995, and each calendar quarter 44
73	73	thereafter, on or before the last day of the month immediately following 45
74	74	the end of each such calendar quarter, on a form prescribed by the 46
75	75	commissioner, together with payment of the quarterly surcharge 47
76	76	determined and payable in accordance with the provisions of this 48 Raised Bill No. 165
77	77
78	78
79	79
80	80	LCO No. 1310 3 of 6
81	81
82	82	section. Whenever such surcharge is not paid when due, a penalty of ten 49
83	83	per cent of the amount due or fifty dollars, whichever is greater, shall be 50
84	84	imposed, and such surcharge shall bear interest at the rate of one per 51
85	85	cent per month or fraction thereof until the same is paid. The 52
86	86	Commissioner of Revenue Services shall cause copies of a form 53
87	87	prescribed for submitting returns as required under this section to be 54
88	88	distributed to persons subject to the surcharge. Failure to receive such 55
89	89	form shall not be construed to relieve anyone subject to the surcharge 56
90	90	under this section from the obligations of submitting a return, together 57
91	91	with payment of such surcharge within the time required. The 58
92	92	provisions of sections 12-548 to 12-554, inclusive, and sections 12-555a 59
93	93	and 12-555b shall apply to the provisions of this section in the same 60
94	94	manner and with the same force and effect as if the language of said 61
95	95	sections 12-548 to 12-554, inclusive, and sections 12-555a and 12-555b 62
96	96	had been incorporated in full into this section and had expressly 63
97	97	referred to the surcharge imposed under this section, except to the 64
98	98	extent that any such provision is inconsistent with a provision of this 65
99	99	section and except that the term "tax" shall be read as "dry cleaning 66
100	100	establishment surcharge". 67
101	101	(4) Any moneys received by the state pursuant to this section shall be 68
102	102	deposited into the account established pursuant to subsection (c) of this 69
103	103	section. 70
104	104	(c) There is established an account within the General Fund to be 71
105	105	known as the "dry cleaning establishment remediation account". Said 72
106	106	account shall contain any moneys required by law to be deposited in the 73
107	107	account. Any balance remaining in the account at the end of any fiscal 74
108	108	year shall be carried forward in the account for the fiscal year next 75
109	109	succeeding. The account shall be used by the Department of Economic 76
110	110	and Community Development for grants made to (1) owners or 77
111	111	operators of eligible dry cleaning establishments, [or] (2) owners of 78
112	112	property on which an eligible dry cleaning establishment has been in 79
113	113	operation for at least a year prior to the [approval] submission of the 80
114	114	application or was previously operated for at least a year prior to such 81
115	115	[approval] submission, or (3) certifying parties of property on which an 82 Raised Bill No. 165
116	116
117	117
118	118
119	119	LCO No. 1310 4 of 6
120	120
121	121	eligible dry cleaning establishment has been in operation for at least a 83
122	122	year prior to the submission of the application or was previously 84
123	123	operated for at least a year prior to such submission. 85
124	124	(d) The state, acting through the Commissioner of Economic and 86
125	125	Community Development, shall use the dry cleaning establishment 87
126	126	remediation account to provide grants to eligible applicants for the 88
127	127	purposes of the containment and removal or mitigation of 89
128	128	environmental pollution resulting from the discharge, spillage, 90
129	129	uncontrolled loss, seepage or filtration of chemical liquids or solid, 91
130	130	liquid or gaseous products or hazardous wastes on or at the site of an 92
131	131	eligible dry cleaning establishment, environmental site assessments 93
132	132	relating to such pollution or for measures undertaken to prevent such 94
133	133	pollution which are approved by the Commissioner of Energy and 95
134	134	Environmental Protection. In order to qualify for a grant under the 96
135	135	provisions of this section an eligible applicant [must] shall demonstrate 97
136	136	to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Economic and Community 98
137	137	Development that (1) the eligible dry cleaning establishment is using or 99
138	138	previously used, tetrachlorethylene or Stoddard solvent or other 100
139	139	chemicals for the purpose of cleaning clothes or other fabrics, (2) the 101
140	140	eligible dry cleaning establishment has been doing business or did 102
141	141	business at the site for a period of at least one year prior to the 103
142	142	submission date or approval date of the application for assistance under 104
143	143	this section, (3) the eligible dry cleaning establishment or owner of 105
144	144	property is not in arrears with regard to any tax levied by the state or 106
145	145	any political subdivision of the state and the dry cleaning surcharge 107
146	146	imposed by subsection (b) of this section, and (4) the eligible applicant 108
147	147	is not in arrears with regard to any tax levied by the state or any political 109
148	148	subdivision of the state. Any funds disbursed as a grant under this 110
149	149	section shall not be subject to attachment in the satisfaction of any 111
150	150	judgment against the recipient of such grant in any civil action. 112
151	151	(e) Notwithstanding the terms of any grant made under this section, 113
152	152	an eligible applicant shall bear all the costs of such pollution that are less 114
153	153	than ten thousand dollars. Each eligible applicant that submits an 115
154	154	application on or after October 1, 2020, shall demonstrate to the 116 Raised Bill No. 165
155	155
156	156
157	157
158	158	LCO No. 1310 5 of 6
159	159
160	160	satisfaction of the Commissioner of Economic and Community 117
161	161	Development that such applicant can match any grant provided by said 118
162	162	commissioner up to ten thousand dollars before such applicant receives 119
163	163	any grant. The Commissioner of Economic and Community 120
164	164	Development may provide a grant of up to three hundred thousand 121
165	165	dollars to the eligible applicant where the eligible applicant has 122
166	166	provided said commissioner with documentation satisfactory to said 123
167	167	commissioner that the services for which payment is sought have been 124
168	168	[or will be] completed. No eligible applicant shall receive more than 125
169	169	three hundred thousand dollars per eligible dry cleaning establishment. 126
170	170	In addition, the account may be used (1) to provide grants to the 127
171	171	Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for expenditures 128
172	172	made investigating dry cleaning establishments, (2) to provide potable 129
173	173	water whenever necessary, [and] (3) to conduct environmental site 130
174	174	assessments, and (4) for legal services relating to the disbursement of 131
175	175	funds from the account. 132
176	176	(f) Requests for grants shall be made to the Commissioner of 133
177	177	Economic and Community Development when the commissioner 134
178	178	announces a request for applications. The frequency of requests for 135
179	179	applications shall be at the discretion of the Commissioner of Economic 136
180	180	and Community Development. Any eligible applicant seeking a grant 137
181	181	shall provide documentation supporting the need for the grant. 138
182	182	(g) Any dry cleaning establishment which unlawfully or intentionally 139
183	183	discharges or spills any chemical liquids or solid, liquid or gaseous 140
184	184	products or hazardous wastes shall not be eligible for a grant from the 141
185	185	account. 142
186	186	(h) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development 143
187	187	shall establish procedures for distribution of the grants and shall adopt 144
188	188	criteria to carry out the provisions of this section. Such criteria shall 145
189	189	specify (1) who may apply for grants; (2) how establishments, whether 146
190	190	owned or leased, will be determined to be eligible for grants; (3) the costs 147
191	191	for which grants may be made; and (4) a method for ensuring timely 148
192	192	payment of funds to grant recipients. 149 Raised Bill No. 165
193	193
194	194
195	195
196	196	LCO No. 1310 6 of 6
197	197
198	198	This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
199	199	sections:
200	200
201	201	Section 1 October 1, 2020 12-263m
202	202
203	203	Statement of Purpose:
204	204	To make various revisions to the eligibility requirements and
205	205	application procedures for dry cleaning establishment remediation
206	206	grants.
207	207	[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
208	208	that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
209	209	underlined.]
210	210