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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 711
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 4120
Referred to Committee on COMMERCE
Introduced by:
(CE)
AN ACT CONCERNING CO VID-19 RELIEF FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
AND REQUIRING FEDERA L REGULATORY ANALYSI S FOR
PROPOSED STATE REGUL ATIONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (c) of section 31-225a of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2
2021): 3
(c) (1) (A) Any week for which the employer has compensated the 4
claimant in the form of wages in lieu of notice, dismissal payments or 5
any similar payment for loss of wages shall be considered a week of 6
employment for the purpose of determining employer chargeability. (B) 7
No benefits shall be charged to any employer who paid wages of five 8
hundred dollars or less to the claimant in his or her base period. (C) No 9
dependency allowance paid to a claimant shall be charged to any 10
employer. (D) In the event of a natural disaster declared by the President 11
of the United States, no benefits paid on the basis of total or partial 12
unemployment which is the result of physical damage to a place of 13
employment caused by severe weather conditions including, but not 14 Committee Bill No. 711
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limited to, hurricanes, snow storms, ice storms or flooding, or fire except 15
where caused by the employer, shall be charged to any employer. (E) If 16
the administrator finds that (i) an individual's most recent separation 17
from a base period employer occurred under conditions which would 18
result in disqualification by reason of subdivision (2), (6) or (9) of 19
subsection (a) of section 31-236, or (ii) an individual was discharged for 20
violating an employer's drug testing policy, provided the policy has 21
been adopted and applied consistent with sections 31-51t to 31-51aa, 22
inclusive, section 14-261b and any applicable federal law, no benefits 23
paid thereafter to such individual with respect to any week of 24
unemployment which is based upon wages paid by such employer with 25
respect to employment prior to such separation shall be charged to such 26
employer's account, provided such employer shall have filed a notice 27
with the administrator within the time allowed for appeal in section 31-28
241. (F) No base period employer's account shall be charged with respect 29
to benefits paid to a claimant if such employer continues to employ such 30
claimant at the time the employer's account would otherwise have been 31
charged to the same extent that he or she employed him or her during 32
the individual's base period, provided the employer shall notify the 33
administrator within the time allowed for appeal in section 31-241. (G) 34
If a claimant has failed to accept suitable employment under the 35
provisions of subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 31-236 and the 36
disqualification has been imposed, the account of the employer who 37
makes an offer of employment to a claimant who was a former 38
employee shall not be charged with any benefit payments made to such 39
claimant after such initial offer of reemployment until such time as such 40
claimant resumes employment with such employer, provided such 41
employer shall make application therefor in a form acceptable to the 42
administrator. The administrator shall notify such employer whether or 43
not his or her application is granted. Any decision of the administrator 44
denying suspension of charges as herein provided may be appealed 45
within the time allowed for appeal in section 31-241. (H) Fifty per cent 46
of benefits paid to a claimant under the federal-state extended duration 47
unemployment benefits program established by the federal 48
Employment Security Act shall be charged to the experience accounts of 49 Committee Bill No. 711
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the claimant's base period employers in the same manner as the regular 50
benefits paid for such benefit year. (I) No base period employer's 51
account shall be charged with respect to benefits paid to a claimant who 52
voluntarily left suitable work with such employer (i) to care for a 53
seriously ill spouse, parent or child or (ii) due to the discontinuance of 54
the transportation used by the claimant to get to and from work, as 55
provided in subparagraphs (A)(ii) and (A)(iii) of subdivision (2) of 56
subsection (a) of section 31-236. (J) No base period employer's account 57
shall be charged with respect to benefits paid to a claimant who has been 58
discharged or suspended because the claimant has been disqualified 59
from performing the work for which he or she was hired due to the loss 60
of such claimant's operator license as a result of a drug or alcohol test or 61
testing program conducted in accordance with section 14-44k, 14-227a 62
or 14-227b while the claimant was off duty. (K) No base period 63
employer's account shall be charged with respect to benefits paid to a 64
claimant due to partial or total unemployment that the Labor 65
Commissioner, or his or her designee, determines are attributable to 66
COVID-19, including, but not limited to, benefits paid to a claimant 67
who, through no fault of his or her own, becomes either partially or fully 68
unemployed during the public health and civil preparedness emergency 69
declared on March 10, 2020, and any period of extension or renewal. As 70
used in this subparagraph, "COVID-19" means the respiratory disease 71
designated by the World Health Organization on February 11, 2020, as 72
coronavirus 2019, and any related mutation thereof recognized by the 73
World Health Organization as a communicable respiratory disease. 74
(2) All benefits paid which are not charged to any employer shall be 75
pooled. 76
(3) The noncharging provisions of this chapter, except subdivisions 77
(1)(D) and (1)(F) of this subsection, shall not apply to reimbursing 78
employers. 79
Sec. 2. Subsection (c) of section 31-225a of the general statutes, as 80
amended by section 26 of public act 19-25 and section 235 of public act 81
19-117, is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof 82 Committee Bill No. 711
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(Effective January 1, 2022): 83
(c) (1) (A) Any week for which the employer has compensated the 84
claimant in the form of wages in lieu of notice, dismissal payments or 85
any similar payment for loss of wages shall be considered a week of 86
employment for the purpose of determining employer chargeability. (B) 87
No benefits shall be charged to any employer who paid wages of five 88
hundred dollars or less to the claimant in his or her base period. (C) No 89
dependency allowance paid to a claimant shall be charged to any 90
employer. (D) In the event of a natural disaster declared by the President 91
of the United States, no benefits paid on the basis of total or partial 92
unemployment which is the result of physical damage to a place of 93
employment caused by severe weather conditions including, but not 94
limited to, hurricanes, snow storms, ice storms or flooding, or fire except 95
where caused by the employer, shall be charged to any employer. (E) If 96
the administrator finds that (i) an individual's most recent separation 97
from a base period employer occurred under conditions which would 98
result in disqualification by reason of subdivision (2), (6) or (9) of 99
subsection (a) of section 31-236, or (ii) an individual was discharged for 100
violating an employer's drug testing policy, provided the policy has 101
been adopted and applied consistent with sections 31-51t to 31-51aa, 102
inclusive, section 14-261b and any applicable federal law, no benefits 103
paid thereafter to such individual with respect to any week of 104
unemployment which is based upon wages paid by such employer with 105
respect to employment prior to such separation shall be charged to such 106
employer's account, provided such employer shall have filed a notice 107
with the administrator within the time allowed for appeal in section 31-108
241. (F) No base period employer's account shall be charged with respect 109
to benefits paid to a claimant if such employer continues to employ such 110
claimant at the time the employer's account would otherwise have been 111
charged to the same extent that he or she employed him or her during 112
the individual's base period, provided the employer shall notify the 113
administrator within the time allowed for appeal in section 31-241. (G) 114
If a claimant has failed to accept suitable employment under the 115
provisions of subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 31-236 and the 116 Committee Bill No. 711
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disqualification has been imposed, the account of the employer who 117
makes an offer of employment to a claimant who was a former 118
employee shall not be charged with any benefit payments made to such 119
claimant after such initial offer of reemployment until such time as such 120
claimant resumes employment with such employer, provided such 121
employer shall make application therefor in a form acceptable to the 122
administrator. The administrator shall notify such employer whether or 123
not his or her application is granted. Any decision of the administrator 124
denying suspension of charges as herein provided may be appealed 125
within the time allowed for appeal in section 31-241. (H) Fifty per cent 126
of benefits paid to a claimant under the federal-state extended duration 127
unemployment benefits program established by the federal 128
Employment Security Act shall be charged to the experience accounts of 129
the claimant's base period employers in the same manner as the regular 130
benefits paid for such benefit year. (I) No base period employer's 131
account shall be charged with respect to benefits paid to a claimant who 132
voluntarily left suitable work with such employer (i) to care for a 133
seriously ill spouse, parent or child, or (ii) due to the discontinuance of 134
the transportation used by the claimant to get to and from work, as 135
provided in subparagraphs (A)(ii) and (A)(iii) of subdivision (2) of 136
subsection (a) of section 31-236. (J) No base period employer's account 137
shall be charged with respect to benefits paid to a claimant who has been 138
discharged or suspended because the claimant has been disqualified 139
from performing the work for which he or she was hired due to the loss 140
of such claimant's operator license as a result of a drug or alcohol test or 141
testing program conducted in accordance with section 14-44k, 14-227a 142
or 14-227b while the claimant was off duty. (K) No base period 143
employer's account shall be charged with respect to benefits paid to a 144
claimant whose separation from employment is attributable to the 145
return of an individual who was absent from work due to a bona fide 146
leave taken pursuant to sections 31-49f to 31-49t, inclusive, or 31-51kk to 147
31-51qq, inclusive. (L) No base period employer's account shall be 148
charged with respect to benefits paid to a claimant due to partial or total 149
unemployment that the Labor Commissioner, or his or her designee, 150
determines are attributable to COVID-19, including, but not limited to, 151 Committee Bill No. 711
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benefits paid to a claimant who, through no fault of his or her own, 152
becomes either partially or fully unemployed during the public health 153
and civil preparedness emergency declared on March 10, 2020, and any 154
period of extension or renewal. As used in this subparagraph, "COVID-155
19" means the respiratory disease designated by the World Health 156
Organization on February 11, 2020, as coronavirus 2019, and any related 157
mutation thereof recognized by the World Health Organization as a 158
communicable respiratory disease. 159
(2) All benefits paid which are not charged to any employer shall be 160
pooled. 161
(3) The noncharging provisions of this chapter, except subparagraphs 162
(D), (F) and (K) of subdivision (1) of this subsection, shall not apply to 163
reimbursing employers. 164
Sec. 3. Section 12-412 of the general statutes is amended by adding 165
subdivision (125) as follows (Effective July 1, 2021, and applicable to sales 166
occurring on or after July 1, 2021): 167
(NEW) (125) Sales of and the storage, use or other consumption of 168
personal protective equipment used or worn to prevent infection by or 169
transmission of COVID-19 to any small business. For the purposes of 170
this subdivision, (A) "COVID-19" means the respiratory disease 171
designated by the World Health Organization on February 11, 2020, as 172
coronavirus 2019, and any related mutation thereof recognized by the 173
World Health Organization as a communicable respiratory disease, and 174
(B) "small business" means a corporation, limited liability company 175
partnership, sole proprietorship or individual, operating a business for 176
profit, which employs one hundred or fewer full-time employees, 177
including employees employed in any subsidiary or affiliated 178
corporation. 179
Sec. 4. Section 4-168a of the general statutes is repealed and the 180
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 181
(a) As used in this section: 182 Committee Bill No. 711
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(1) "Agency", "proposed regulation" and "regulation" have the same 183
meanings as provided in section 4-166; and 184
(2) "Small business" means a business entity, including its affiliates, 185
that (A) is independently owned and operated and (B) employs fewer 186
than two hundred fifty full-time employees or has gross annual sales of 187
less than five million dollars, except that an agency, in adopting 188
regulations in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, may 189
define "small business" to include a greater number of full-time 190
employees, not to exceed applicable federal standards or five hundred, 191
whichever is less, if necessary to meet the needs and address specific 192
problems of small businesses. 193
(b) Prior to or concomitant with the posting of a notice pursuant to 194
section 4-168, each agency shall prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis 195
in which the agency shall identify: 196
(1) The scope and objectives of the proposed regulation; 197
(2) The types of businesses potentially affected by the proposed 198
regulation; 199
(3) The total number of small businesses potentially subject to the 200
proposed regulation; 201
(4) Whether small businesses, in order to comply with the proposed 202
regulation, may be required to: (A) Create, file or issue additional 203
reports; (B) implement additional recordkeeping procedures; (C) 204
provide additional administrative oversight; (D) hire additional 205
employees; (E) hire or contract with additional professionals, including, 206
but not limited to, lawyers, accountants, engineers, auditors or 207
inspectors; (F) purchase any product or make any capital investment; 208
(G) conduct additional training, audits or inspections; or (H) pay 209
additional taxes or fees; 210
(5) Whether and to what extent the agency communicated with small 211
businesses or small business organizations in developing the proposed 212 Committee Bill No. 711
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regulation and the regulatory flexibility analysis, if applicable; 213
(6) Whether and to what extent the proposed regulation provides 214
alternative compliance methods for small businesses that will 215
accomplish the objectives of applicable statutes while minimizing 216
adverse impact on small businesses. Such methods shall be consistent 217
with public health, safety and welfare and may include, but not be 218
limited to: 219
(A) The establishment of less stringent compliance or reporting 220
requirements for small businesses; 221
(B) The establishment of less stringent schedules or deadlines for 222
compliance or reporting requirements for small businesses; 223
(C) The consolidation or simplification of compliance or reporting 224
requirements for small businesses; 225
(D) The establishment of performance standards for small businesses 226
to replace design or operational standards required in the proposed 227
regulation; and 228
(E) The exemption of small businesses from all or any part of the 229
requirements contained in the proposed regulation. 230
(c) Prior to or concomitant with the posting of a notice pursuant to 231
section 4-168, each agency shall prepare a federal regulatory analysis in 232
which the agency shall identify: 233
(1) The scope and objectives of the proposed regulation; 234
(2) Each federal regulation that the agency determines has a 235
comparable scope or objective to the proposed regulation; 236
(3) The differences between such federal regulation and the proposed 237
regulation; 238
(4) Any adverse impact of such federal regulation on small 239 Committee Bill No. 711
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businesses; and 240
(5) Whether and to what extent the agency took steps to avoid such 241
adverse impact on small businesses in developing the proposed 242
regulation. 243
[(c)] (d) Prior to the adoption of any proposed regulation that may 244
have an adverse impact on small businesses, each agency shall notify 245
the Department of Economic and Community Development and the 246
joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 247
matters relating to commerce of its intent to adopt the proposed 248
regulation. Said department and committee shall advise and assist 249
agencies in complying with the provisions of this section. 250
[(d)] (e) The requirements contained in this section shall not apply to 251
emergency regulations issued pursuant to subsection (g) of section 4-252
168; regulations that do not affect small businesses directly, including, 253
but not limited to, regulations concerning the administration of federal 254
programs; regulations concerning costs and standards for service 255
businesses such as nursing homes, long-term care facilities, medical care 256
providers, child care centers, as described in section 19a-77, group child 257
care homes, as described in section 19a-77, family child care homes, as 258
described in section 19a-77, water companies, nonprofit 501(c)(3) 259
agencies, group homes and residential care facilities; and regulations 260
adopted to implement the provisions of sections 4a-60g to 4a-60i, 261
inclusive. 262
Sec. 5. Subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section 4-170 of the general 263
statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof 264
(Effective October 1, 2021): 265
(b) (1) No adoption, amendment or repeal of any regulation, except a 266
regulation issued pursuant to subsection (g) of section 4-168, shall be 267
effective until (A) an electronic copy of the proposed regulation 268
approved by the Attorney General, as provided in section 4-169, [and] 269
an electronic copy of the regulatory flexibility analysis, as provided in 270 Committee Bill No. 711
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section 4-168a, as amended by this act, and an electronic copy of the 271
federal regulatory analysis, as provided in section 4-168a, as amended 272
by this act, are submitted to the standing legislative regulation review 273
committee in a manner designated by the committee, by the agency 274
proposing the regulation, (B) the regulation is approved by the 275
committee, at a regular meeting or a special meeting called for the 276
purpose, and (C) a certified electronic copy of the regulation is 277
submitted to the office of the Secretary of the State by the agency, as 278
provided in section 4-172, and the regulation is posted on the 279
eRegulations System by the Secretary. (2) The date of submission for 280
purposes of subsection (c) of this section shall be the first Tuesday of 281
each month. Any regulation received by the committee on or before the 282
first Tuesday of a month shall be deemed to have been submitted on the 283
first Tuesday of that month. Any regulation submitted after the first 284
Tuesday of a month shall be deemed to be submitted on the first 285
Tuesday of the next succeeding month. (3) The form of proposed 286
regulations which are submitted to the committee shall be as follows: 287
New language added to an existing regulation shall be underlined; 288
language to be deleted shall be enclosed in brackets and a new 289
regulation or new section of a regulation shall be preceded by the word 290
"(NEW)" in capital letters. Each proposed regulation shall have a 291
statement of its purpose following the final section of the regulation. (4) 292
The committee may permit any proposed regulation, including, but not 293
limited to, a proposed regulation which by reference incorporates in 294
whole or in part, any other code, rule, regulation, standard or 295
specification, to be submitted in summary form together with a 296
statement of purpose for the proposed regulation. On and after October 297
1, 1994, if the committee finds that a federal statute requires, as a 298
condition of the state exercising regulatory authority, that a Connecticut 299
regulation at all times must be identical to a federal statute or regulation, 300
then the committee may approve a Connecticut regulation that by 301
reference specifically incorporates future amendments to such federal 302
statute or regulation provided the agency that proposed the Connecticut 303
regulation shall submit for approval amendments to such Connecticut 304
regulations to the committee not later than thirty days after the effective 305 Committee Bill No. 711
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date of such amendment, and provided further the committee may hold 306
a public hearing on such Connecticut amendments. (5) The agency shall 307
also provide the committee with a copy of the fiscal note prepared 308
pursuant to subsection (a) of section 4-168. At the time of submission to 309
the committee, the agency shall submit an electronic copy of the 310
proposed regulation and the fiscal note to (A) the Office of Fiscal 311
Analysis which, not later than seven days after receipt, shall submit an 312
analysis of the fiscal note to the committee; and (B) each joint standing 313
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of the subject 314
matter of the proposed regulation. No regulation shall be found invalid 315
due to the failure of an agency to submit an electronic copy of the 316
proposed regulation and the fiscal note to each committee of 317
cognizance, provided such regulation and fiscal note have been 318
electronically submitted to one such committee. 319
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2021 31-225a(c)
Sec. 2 January 1, 2022 31-225a(c)
Sec. 3 July 1, 2021, and
applicable to sales
occurring on or after July
1, 2021
12-412
Sec. 4 October 1, 2021 4-168a
Sec. 5 October 1, 2021 4-170(b)(1)
CE Joint Favorable
FIN Joint Favorable