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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6653
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 5611
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
AN ACT CONCERNING HE ALTHY HOMES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 8-446 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 2
(a) There is established an account to be known as the "Healthy 3
Homes Fund" which shall be a separate, nonlapsing account within the 4
General Fund. The account shall contain any moneys required by law to 5
be deposited in the account. Moneys in the account shall be expended 6
by the Department of Housing for the purposes of: 7
(1) Funding of not more than one million dollars, from remittances 8
transferred pursuant to section 38a-331 for the period beginning January 9
1, 2019, and ending December 31, 2019, shall be remitted to the 10
Department of Economic and Community Development to be used for 11
grants-in-aid to homeowners with homes located in the immediate 12
vicinity of the West River in the Westville section of New Haven and 13
Woodbridge for structurally damaged homes due to subsidence and to 14
homeowners with homes abutting the Yale Golf Course in the Westville 15 Raised Bill No. 6653
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section of New Haven for damage to such homes from water infiltration 16
or structural damage due to subsidence; and 17
(2) Funding a program, and any related administrative expense, to 18
reduce health and safety hazards in residential dwellings in 19
Connecticut, including, but not limited to, lead, radon and other 20
contaminants or conditions, through removal, remediation, abatement 21
and other appropriate methods. For purposes of this subdivision, 22
"administrative expense" means any administrative or other cost or 23
expense incurred by the Department of Housing in carrying out the 24
provisions of this [section] subdivision, including, but not limited to, the 25
hiring of necessary employees and entering into necessary contracts; 26
and 27
(3) Funding the pilot program established pursuant to section 2 of 28
this act. 29
(b) The Department of Housing shall notify the Department of Public 30
Health not later than thirty days after the deposit of remittances in the 31
Healthy Homes Fund pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (c) of 32
section 38a-331. Not later than thirty days after the deposit of 33
remittances pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (c) of section 38a-34
331, the Department of Public Health shall notify each municipal health 35
department in the state annually regarding funds available pursuant to 36
the Healthy Homes Fund established pursuant to subsection (a) of this 37
section. 38
(c) Not later than January 1, 2020, and annually thereafter, the 39
Commissioner of Housing shall report to the joint standing committees 40
of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to 41
housing, planning and development and appropriations and the 42
budgets of state agencies, in accordance with section 11-4a, regarding 43
the status of the Healthy Homes Fund established pursuant to this 44
section and all moneys deposited into and expended by the Department 45
of Housing pursuant to said account. Any such report may be submitted 46
electronically. 47 Raised Bill No. 6653
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Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2021) (a) On or before January 1, 48
2022, the Department of Housing shall establish a pilot program to 49
annually provide not less than five hundred residential dwellings with 50
(1) energy efficiency retrofits, including, but not limited to, retrofitting 51
of existing heating, ventilation or air conditioning systems, and (2) 52
residential improvements that reduce health and safety hazards found 53
in such residential dwellings, including, but not limited to, lead, radon 54
and other contaminants, through removal, remediation and abatement 55
of such health and safety hazards. The energy efficiency retrofits shall 56
be consistent with the guidelines set forth in the Conservation and Load 57
Management Plan submitted by the electric distribution companies, as 58
defined in section 16-1 of the general statutes, in coordination with the 59
gas companies, as defined in said section, to the Energy Conservation 60
Management Board pursuant to section 16-245m of the general statutes. 61
The pilot program shall be funded in accordance with the provisions of 62
subsection (c) of this section and terminate on December 31, 2031. 63
(b) The Commissioner of Housing may contract with nonprofit 64
organizations to employ in-home environmental assessors to perform 65
energy efficiency retrofits and residential improvements that reduce 66
health and safety hazards pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. In 67
order to qualify for employment as an in-home environmental assessor, 68
a person shall (1) for energy efficient retrofits, (A) be certified to perform 69
energy efficiency retrofits by a nationally recognized certifying 70
organization, or (B) have earned a certificate in energy efficiency 71
retrofits, in-home environmental assessments or a related field from an 72
accredited institution of higher education, or (2) for residential 73
improvements that reduce health and safety hazards, (A) be certified to 74
remove, remediate or abate health and safety hazards by a nationally 75
recognized certifying organization, or (B) have earned a certificate in the 76
removal, remediation or abatement of health and safety hazards or a 77
related field from an accredited institution of higher education. 78
(c) In accordance with the provisions of section 8-446 of the general 79
statutes, as amended by this act, beginning on January 1, 2022, the 80 Raised Bill No. 6653
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Commissioner of Housing shall expend five hundred thousand dollars 81
annually for the purposes of the pilot program established pursuant to 82
this section and any related administrative expense. For purposes of this 83
subsection, "administrative expense" means any administrative or other 84
cost or expense incurred by the Department of Housing in carrying out 85
the provisions of this section, including, but not limited to, the hiring of 86
necessary employees and entering into necessary contracts. 87
(d) Not later than January 1, 2023, and annually thereafter until 88
December 31, 2031, the Commissioner of Housing shall report, in 89
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, 90
to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having 91
cognizance of matters relating to housing, energy and technology, 92
planning and development and the budgets of state agencies regarding 93
the status of the pilot program established pursuant to subsection (a) of 94
this section and all moneys expended by the Department of Housing for 95
the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this section. 96
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2021 8-446
Sec. 2 October 1, 2021 New section
PH Joint Favorable