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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 920
January Session, 2021
AN ACT CONCERNING PU BLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 4-255 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 2
(a) As used in this section and sections 4-256 to 4-263, inclusive, as 3
amended by this act, unless the context indicates a different meaning: 4
(1) "State agency" or "agency" means any office, department, board, 5
council, commission, institution or other agency in the executive branch 6
of state government or a quasi-public agency as defined in section 1-120; 7
(2) "Private entity" means any individual, corporation, general 8
partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, joint 9
venture, nonprofit organization or other business entity; 10
(3) "Public-private partnership" means the relationship established 11
between a state agency and a private entity by contracting for the 12
performance of any combination of specified functions or 13
responsibilities to design, develop, finance, construct, operate or 14
maintain one or more state facilities; [where the agency has estimated 15
that the revenue generated by such facility or facilities, in combination 16
with other previously identified funding sources, including any 17 Substitute Bill No. 920
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appropriated funds, will be sufficient to fund the cost to develop, 18
maintain and operate such facility or facilities, provided state support 19
of a partnership agreement shall not exceed twenty-five per cent of the 20
cost of the project;] 21
(4) "Partnership agreement" means an agreement executed between a 22
state agency and a private entity to establish a public-private 23
partnership; 24
(5) "Project" means a project that an agency has submitted to the 25
Governor for approval as a public-private partnership; 26
(6) "Contractor" means a private entity that has entered into a public-27
private partnership agreement with a state agency; 28
(7) "Facility" means any public works or transportation project used 29
as public infrastructure; [that generates revenue as a function of its 30
operation;] and 31
(8) "Proposer" means a private entity submitting a competitive bid in 32
response to solicitation or a proposal in response to a request for 33
proposals for an approved project for consideration. 34
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 4b-51, once the project 35
is approved by the Governor in accordance with section 4-256, as 36
amended by this act, any state agency may establish one or more public-37
private partnerships and execute a partnership agreement for a project 38
in accordance with this section and sections 4-256 to 4-263, inclusive, as 39
amended by this act. A partnership agreement may not be established 40
for the operation or maintenance of a facility unless such agreement also 41
provides for the financing and development of such facility. 42
(c) The design, development, operation or maintenance of the 43
following new or existing project types are eligible for consideration as 44
a public-private partnership if approved as a project in accordance with 45
section 4-256, as amended by this act: 46 Substitute Bill No. 920
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(1) Early childcare, educational, health or housing facilities; 47
(2) Transportation systems, including ports, transit-oriented 48
development and related infrastructure; and 49
(3) Any other kind of facility that may from time to time be 50
designated as such by an act of the General Assembly. 51
Sec. 2. Section 4-256 of the general statutes is repealed and the 52
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 53
(a) On and after October 27, 2011, [and prior to January 1, 2020,] the 54
Governor shall approve not more than five projects to be implemented 55
as public-private partnership projects. The Governor shall not approve 56
any such project unless the Governor finds that the project will result in 57
job creation and economic growth. Any agency seeking to establish a 58
public-private partnership shall, after consultation with the 59
Commissioners of Economic and Community Development, 60
Administrative Services and Transportation, the State Treasurer and the 61
Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, submit one or more 62
projects to the Governor for approval. 63
(b) In determining whether a project is suitable for a public-private 64
partnership agreement, the agency shall conduct an analysis of the 65
feasibility, desirability and the convenience to the public of the project 66
and whether the project furthers the public policy goals of section 4-255, 67
as amended by this act, this section and sections 4-257 to 4-263, 68
inclusive, taking into consideration the following, when applicable: 69
(1) The essential characteristics of the proposed facility; 70
(2) The projected demand for use of the facility and its economic and 71
social impact on the community and the state; 72
(3) The technical function and feasibility of the project and its 73
conformity with the state plan of conservation and development 74
adopted under chapter 297; 75 Substitute Bill No. 920
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(4) The benefit to clients of the agency and the public as a whole; 76
(5) An analysis of the value provided for the cost of the project, that 77
at a minimum includes a cost-benefit analysis, an assessment of 78
opportunity costs and any nonfinancial benefits of the project; 79
(6) Any operational or technological risk associated with the 80
proposed project; 81
(7) The cost of the investment to be made and the economic and 82
financial feasibility of the project; 83
(8) An analysis of public versus private financing on a present value 84
basis, and the eligibility of the project for other public funds from local 85
or federal government sources; 86
(9) The impact to the state's finances of undertaking the project by the 87
agency; and 88
(10) The advantages and disadvantages of using a public-private 89
partnership rather than having the state agency perform the function. 90
(c) An agency shall not include a project solely based upon the 91
amount of potential revenue generated by such project. 92
(d) Any agency submitting a project in accordance with subsection 93
(a) of this section shall at the same time transmit, in accordance with the 94
provisions of section 11-4a, a copy of its submission to the joint standing 95
committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 96
relating to finance, revenue and bonding and appropriations and the 97
budgets of state agencies. Said committees shall hold public hearings on 98
any such submission. 99
(e) The Governor shall notify the agency when a project has been 100
approved as a public-private partnership project. 101
(f) On or before January 15, 2013, and annually thereafter, the 102
Governor shall report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-103 Substitute Bill No. 920
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4a, to the General Assembly concerning the status of the public-private 104
partnerships established under this section. 105
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective from passage) There shall be within the 106
Department of Transportation the Office of Innovative Finance and 107
Project Delivery. The Commissioner of Transportation shall assign 108
personnel to the office as required for the office to fulfill the duties of 109
this section. The office shall: (1) Evaluate opportunities to use innovative 110
financing and risk management to deliver transportation projects, (2) 111
focus on the effective and accelerated delivery of transportation projects 112
to assure the development and maintenance of a safe and efficient 113
transportation system, and (3) recommend opportunities for public-114
private partnerships to the commissioner. 115
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage 4-255
Sec. 2 from passage 4-256
Sec. 3 from passage New section
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 3, "may be required to:" was changed to "required for the
office to fulfill the duties of this section. The office shall:" for clarity.
TRA Joint Favorable Subst.