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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6529
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 3690
Referred to Committee on HOUSING
Introduced by:
(HSG)
AN ACT CONCERNING HO USING AUTHORITIES AND
ESTABLISHING AN OFFICE OF THE HOUSING ADVOCATE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 8-41 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 2
(a) For purposes of this section, a "tenant of the authority" means a 3
tenant who lives in housing owned or managed by a housing authority 4
or who is receiving housing assistance in a housing program directly 5
administered by such authority. When the governing body of a 6
municipality other than a town adopts a resolution as described in 7
section 8-40, it shall promptly notify the chief executive officer of such 8
adoption. Upon receiving such notice, the chief executive officer shall 9
appoint five persons who are residents of said municipality as 10
commissioners of the authority, except that the chief executive officer 11
may appoint two additional persons who are residents of the 12
municipality if (1) the authority operates more than three thousand 13
units, or (2) upon the appointment of a tenant commissioner pursuant 14
to subsection (c) of this section, the additional appointments are 15 Raised Bill No. 6529
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necessary to achieve compliance with 24 CFR 964.415 or section 9-167a. 16
If the governing body of a town adopts such a resolution, such body 17
shall appoint five persons who are residents of said town as 18
commissioners of the authority created for such town, except that such 19
body may appoint two additional persons who are residents of the town 20
if, upon the appointment of a tenant commissioner pursuant to 21
subsection (c) of this section, the additional appointments are necessary 22
to achieve compliance with 24 CFR 964.415 or section 9-167a. The 23
commissioners who are first so appointed shall be designated to serve 24
for a term of either one, two, three, four or five years, except that if the 25
authority has five members, the terms of not more than one member 26
shall expire in the same year. Terms shall commence on the first day of 27
the month next succeeding the date of their appointment, and annually 28
thereafter a commissioner shall be appointed to serve for five years 29
except that any vacancy which may occur because of a change of 30
residence by a commissioner, removal of a commissioner, resignation or 31
death shall be filled for the unexpired portion of the term. If a governing 32
body increases the membership of the authority on or after July 1, 1995, 33
such governing body shall, by resolution, provide for a term of five 34
years for each such additional member. The term of the chairman shall 35
be three years. At least one of such commissioners of an authority 36
having five members, and at least two of such commissioners of an 37
authority having more than five members, shall be a tenant or tenants 38
of the authority selected pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. If, on 39
October 1, 1979, a municipality has adopted a resolution as described in 40
section 8-40, but has no tenants serving as commissioners, the chief 41
executive officer of a municipality other than a town or the governing 42
body of a town shall appoint a tenant who meets the qualifications set 43
out in this section as a commissioner of such authority when the next 44
vacancy occurs. No commissioner of an authority may hold any public 45
office in the municipality for which the authority is created. A 46
commissioner shall hold office until said commissioner's successor is 47
appointed and has qualified. Not later than January 1, 2022, each 48
commissioner who is serving on said date, and, thereafter, upon 49
appointment, each newly appointed commissioner who is not a 50 Raised Bill No. 6529
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reappointment, shall participate in a training for housing authority 51
commissioners provided by the United States Department of Housing 52
and Urban Development. A certificate of the appointment or 53
reappointment of any commissioner shall be filed with the clerk and 54
shall be conclusive evidence of the legal appointment of such 55
commissioner, after said commissioner has taken an oath in the form 56
prescribed in the first paragraph of section 1-25. The powers of each 57
authority shall be vested in the commissioners thereof. Three 58
commissioners shall constitute a quorum if the authority consists of five 59
commissioners. Four commissioners shall constitute a quorum if the 60
authority consists of more than five commissioners. Action may be 61
taken by the authority upon a vote of not less than a majority of the 62
commissioners present, unless the bylaws of the authority require a 63
larger number. The chief executive officer, or, in the case of an authority 64
for a town, the governing body of the town, shall designate which of the 65
commissioners shall be the first chairman, but when the office of 66
chairman of the authority becomes vacant, the authority shall select a 67
chairman from among its commissioners. An authority shall select from 68
among its commissioners a vice chairman, and it may employ a 69
secretary, who shall be executive director, and technical experts and 70
such other officers, agents and employees, permanent and temporary, 71
as it requires, and shall determine their qualifications, duties and 72
compensation, provided, in municipalities having a civil service law, all 73
appointments and promotions, except the employment of the secretary, 74
shall be based on examinations given and lists prepared under such law, 75
and, except so far as may be inconsistent with the terms of this chapter, 76
such civil service law and regulations adopted thereunder shall apply 77
to such housing authority and its personnel. For such legal services as it 78
requires, an authority may employ its own counsel and legal staff. An 79
authority may delegate any of its powers and duties to one or more of 80
its agents or employees. Not later than October 1, 2021, any existing 81
employee of a housing authority shall submit to a state and national 82
criminal history records check conducted in accordance with the 83
provisions of section 29-17a, and, thereafter, any prospective employee 84
hired on or after said date by an authority, shall submit to such a state 85 Raised Bill No. 6529
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and national records check prior to commencing employment with the 86
authority. A commissioner, or any employee of the authority who 87
handles its funds, shall be required to furnish an adequate bond. The 88
commissioners shall serve without compensation, but shall be entitled 89
to reimbursement for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in 90
the performance of their official duties. 91
(b) The authority shall designate a tenant organization as the 92
recognized jurisdiction-wide tenant organization only if (1) the 93
members of the governing board of such tenant organization were 94
elected through a jurisdiction-wide election, and (2) such tenant 95
organization satisfies the requirements for elected jurisdiction-wide 96
resident councils pursuant to regulations promulgated by the United 97
States Department of Housing and Urban Development, except that a 98
tenant of the authority shall be eligible to vote in any election for the 99
governing board of such tenant organization and to serve on the 100
governing board of such tenant organization without regard to whether 101
such tenant receives or lives in housing that receives federal assistance. 102
Any tenant organization that has been designated by the authority as 103
the recognized jurisdiction-wide tenant organization may select tenants 104
for appointment as tenant commissioner in accordance with subsection 105
(c) of this section. 106
(c) (1) Not less than sixty days before the appointment of any tenant 107
commissioner or the expiration of the term of any tenant commissioner, 108
whichever is earlier, the housing authority shall notify all tenant 109
organizations comprised of tenants residing within units owned or 110
managed by such housing authority and all tenants of such authority of 111
such pending appointment or expiration of term. The notice shall 112
include information concerning procedures by which tenants may 113
petition for an election pursuant to this subsection. 114
(2) The appointee as tenant commissioner shall be selected by a fair 115
election of the tenants of the authority if, not more than thirty days after 116
the authority notifies such tenants of a pending appointment or 117
expiration of term pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection, ten per 118 Raised Bill No. 6529
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cent of the tenants of the authority or seventy-five tenants of the 119
authority, whichever is less, petition the authority for an election. 120
(3) If the tenants of the authority have not petitioned for an election 121
pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection, then the appointee as 122
tenant commissioner shall be selected by the recognized jurisdiction-123
wide tenant organization, if any, by means provided for in the by-laws 124
adopted by such tenant organization. Such means may include, without 125
limitation, a fair election by the tenants of the authority or selection by 126
the governing board of such tenant organization. 127
(4) If an appointee as tenant commissioner has not been selected by 128
an election of the tenants of the authority or by other means pursuant to 129
the by-laws adopted by the recognized jurisdiction-wide tenant 130
organization by the date ninety days after the date the housing authority 131
provides notice of a pending appointment or expiration of term 132
pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection, then the appointing 133
authority shall select the appointee. In making such selection, the 134
appointing authority shall consider any tenant recommended by any 135
tenant organization within its jurisdiction or the jurisdiction-wide 136
tenant organization. 137
(5) The housing authority shall provide all tenants of the authority 138
with written notice of any election conducted pursuant to this 139
subsection or subsection (b) of this section not later than thirty days 140
before the date of such election. For any election conducted pursuant to 141
this subsection for an authority having more than five commissioners, 142
the housing authority may establish qualifications for the second tenant 143
commissioner as necessary to achieve compliance with 24 CFR 964.415 144
or section 9-167a. 145
(d) For any election conducted pursuant to subsection (c) of this 146
section, the housing authority shall use its best efforts to secure an 147
impartial entity to administer such election. To the extent practicable, 148
such impartial entity shall be selected with the agreement of the 149
recognized jurisdiction-wide tenant organization, if any. In the event of 150 Raised Bill No. 6529
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a dispute concerning the procedure for or results of such election, any 151
person may petition the entity administering such election for a 152
resolution of such dispute. 153
(e) Notwithstanding any provision of subsection (a) of this section or 154
any other provision of the general statutes, a commissioner of an 155
authority may serve as a justice of the peace or a registrar of voters. 156
Sec. 2. Section 8-68f of the general statutes is repealed and the 157
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 158
Each housing authority which receives financial assistance under any 159
state housing program, and the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority 160
or its subsidiary when [said] such authority or subsidiary is the 161
successor owner of housing previously owned by a housing authority 162
under part II or part VI of this chapter, shall, for housing which it owns 163
and operates, (1) provide each of its tenants with a written lease, (2) 164
provide each tenant, at the time the tenant signs an initial lease and 165
annually thereafter, contact information for the management of the 166
housing authority, the local department of public health and the 167
Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, and a notice of a 168
tenant's rights, (3) adopt a procedure for hearing tenant complaints and 169
grievances, [(3)] (4) adopt procedures for soliciting tenant comment on 170
proposed changes in housing authority policies and procedures, 171
including changes to its lease and to its admission and occupancy 172
policies, and [(4)] (5) encourage tenant participation in the housing 173
authority's operation of state housing programs, including, where 174
appropriate, the facilitation of tenant participation in the management 175
of housing projects. If such housing authority or the Connecticut 176
Housing Finance Authority or its subsidiary operates both a federal and 177
a state-assisted housing program, it shall use the same procedure for 178
hearing tenant grievances in both programs. The Commissioner of 179
Housing shall adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of 180
chapter 54 to establish uniform minimum standards for the 181
requirements in this section. 182 Raised Bill No. 6529
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Sec. 3. Section 8-68d of the general statutes is repealed and the 183
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 184
(a) Each housing authority shall submit a report to the Commissioner 185
of Housing and the chief executive officer of the municipality in which 186
the authority is located not later than March first, annually. The report 187
shall contain (1) an inventory of all existing housing owned or operated 188
by the authority, including the total number, types and sizes of rental 189
units and the total number of occupancies and vacancies in each housing 190
project or development, and a description of the condition of such 191
housing, (2) a description of any new construction projects being 192
undertaken by the authority and the status of such projects, (3) the 193
number and types of any rental housing sold, leased or transferred 194
during the period of the report which is no longer available for the 195
purpose of low or moderate income rental housing, (4) the results of its 196
annual audit conducted in accordance with subsection (b) of this section, 197
and [(4)] (5) such other information as the commissioner may require by 198
regulations adopted in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54. 199
(b) The commissioners of the authority shall annually contract with a 200
firm of certified public accountants to undertake an independent 201
financial audit of the authority in accordance with generally accepted 202
auditing standards. 203
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2021) (a) There is established, within 204
the Department of Housing, an Office of the Housing Advocate. Not 205
later than October 1, 2021, the Commissioner of Housing shall, within 206
available appropriations, designate an employee within the Department 207
of Housing with knowledge of housing-related issues and state 208
programs to serve as Housing Advocate. 209
(b) The Office of the Housing Advocate shall provide services to any 210
tenant, as defined in section 47a-1 of the general statutes, including, but 211
not limited to, (1) assisting a tenant in understanding the tenant's rights 212
and responsibilities under the terms of his or her rental agreement, as 213
defined in section 47a-1 of the general statutes; (2) providing resources 214 Raised Bill No. 6529
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to assist a tenant in advocating for himself or herself to resolve a dispute 215
with a housing authority, as defined in section 8-39 of the general 216
statutes, or a landlord, as defined in section 47a-1 of the general statutes; 217
and (3) coordinating finding housing for a tenant. 218
(c) The Housing Advocate may, within available funds, appoint such 219
staff as may be deemed necessary. The duties of the staff may include 220
the duties of the Housing Advocate if performed under the direction of 221
the Housing Advocate. 222
(d) The General Assembly may annually appropriate such sums as 223
necessary for the payment of the salaries of the staff and for the payment 224
of office expenses and other actual expenses incurred by the Housing 225
Advocate in the performance of the advocate's duties. 226
(e) Not later than February 1, 2022, and annually thereafter, the 227
Housing Advocate shall submit, in accordance with the provisions of 228
section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the Commissioner of Housing 229
and the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having 230
cognizance of matters relating to housing, a detailed report analyzing 231
the activities of the Office of the Housing Advocate during the prior year 232
and any recommendations for proposed legislation to promote the 233
purposes of the office. 234
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2021 8-41
Sec. 2 October 1, 2021 8-68f
Sec. 3 October 1, 2021 8-68d
Sec. 4 October 1, 2021 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To create an Office of the Housing Advocate, require training for
housing authority commissioners and criminal history records checks
for housing authority employees, and require housing authorities to
provide certain contact information and notify tenants of their rights. Raised Bill No. 6529
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[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.]