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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 999
January Session, 2021
AN ACT CONCERNING A JUST TRANSITION TO CLIMATE-
PROTECTIVE ENERGY PR ODUCTION AND COMMUNI TY
INVESTMENT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) As used in this section, 1
unless the context otherwise requires: 2
(1) "Covered project" means a construction project that concerns the 3
development of a renewable energy project or is related thereto, and the 4
facility or facilities created in such construction project, with a total 5
construction cost of two million five hundred thousand dollars or more; 6
(2) "Renewable energy project" means a project that is intended to or 7
will have the effect of enhancing energy efficiency, upgrading building 8
electrification, developing renewable energies or enhancing climate 9
change resiliency, including projects that create useable energy from 10
solar power, wind power, a fuel cell, geothermal sources, landfill 11
methane gas, anaerobic digestion or other biogas derived from 12
biological sources, thermal electric direct energy conversion from a 13
certified Class I renewable energy source, ocean thermal power, wave 14
or tidal power, low emission advanced renewable energy conversion 15
technologies and zero emission low grade heat power generation 16
systems based on organic oil free rankine, kalina or similar nonstream 17 Substitute Bill No. 999
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cycles that use waste heat from an industrial or commercial process that 18
does not generate electricity, a run-of-the-river hydropower facility or a 19
biomass facility that uses sustainable biomass fuel; 20
(3) "Community benefits agreement" means an agreement between 21
(A) the developer of a covered project, and (B) community-based 22
organizations or a coalition of such organizations, that details the 23
project's contributions to the community in which it is or will be sited 24
and the aspects of the project that will mitigate adverse conditions of 25
such community and create opportunities for local businesses, 26
communities and workers; 27
(4) "Labor organization" means any organization that exists and is 28
constituted for the purpose, in whole or in part, of collective bargaining 29
or of dealing with employers concerning grievances, terms or conditions 30
of employment, or of other mutual aid or protection and that is not a 31
company union, including, but not limited to, bona fide labor 32
organizations that are certified or recognized as the organization of 33
jurisdiction representing the workers involved or bona fide building 34
and construction trades councils or district councils and state and local 35
labor federations comprised of local unions certified or recognized as 36
the representative of the workers; and 37
(5) "Workforce development program" means a program pursuant to 38
which newly hired employees and existing employees are given the 39
opportunity to develop skills that will enable such employees to qualify 40
for higher paying jobs on a covered project. A workforce development 41
program includes: (A) Apprenticeship t raining through an 42
apprenticeship program registered with the Labor Department or a 43
federally recognized state apprenticeship agency that complies with the 44
requirements under 29 CFR 29 and 29 CFR 30, as each may be amended 45
from time to time, and (B) preapprenticeship training that will enable 46
students to qualify for registered apprenticeship training. 47
(b) The developer of a covered project shall take all necessary actions 48
to ensure that (1) a community benefits agreement is entered into with 49 Substitute Bill No. 999
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appropriate community organizations representing residents of the 50
community in which the project is or will be located, and (2) a workforce 51
development program is established. 52
(c) The developer of a covered project shall take all necessary actions 53
to ensure that each contractor and subcontractor involved in the 54
construction of the project completes a sworn certification that the 55
contractor or subcontractor: (1) Has the necessary resources to perform 56
the portion of the covered project to which the contractor or 57
subcontractor are assigned, including the necessary technical, financial 58
and personnel resources; (2) has all required contractor, specialty 59
contractor or trade licenses, certifications or certificates required of any 60
business entity or individual by applicable state or local law; (3) 61
participates in apprenticeship training through an apprenticeship 62
program registered with the Labor Department or a federally 63
recognized state apprenticeship agency that complies with the 64
requirements under 29 CFR 29 and 29 CFR 30, as each may be amended 65
from time to time; (4) during the previous three years (A) has not been 66
debarred by any government agency; (B) has not defaulted on any 67
project; (C) has not had any license, certification or other credential 68
relating to the business revoked or suspended; and (D) has not been 69
found in violation of any law applicable to the contractor's or 70
subcontractor's business that resulted in the payment of a fine, back pay 71
damages or any other type of penalty in the amount of ten thousand 72
dollars or more; (5) will pay personnel employed on the project not less 73
than the applicable wage and fringe benefit rates for the classification in 74
which such personnel is employed and required for the project; and (6) 75
has not misclassified and will not misclassify labor employees as 76
independent contractors. 77
(d) The developer of a covered project shall submit to the Labor 78
Commissioner the certification of compliance specified in subsection (c) 79
of this section not later than thirty days prior to commencement of 80
construction of the project. Such certification shall be considered a 81
public document that shall be made available without redaction on the 82 Substitute Bill No. 999
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Labor Department's Internet web site not later than seven days after 83
being submitted to the Labor Commissioner. If a certification contains 84
false, misleading or inaccurate information, the contractor or 85
subcontractor that executed such certification shall, after notice and 86
opportunity to be heard, be subject to a three-year debarment from 87
future public and publicly covered projects and be subject to other 88
applicable penalties and sanctions. 89
(e) The failure of the developer of a covered project to take reasonable 90
steps to ensure that the certification submitted to the Labor 91
Commissioner pursuant to subsection (d) of this section are accurate 92
and truthful shall constitute a violation of this section and shall be 93
subject to penalties and sanctions for conduct constituting 94
noncompliance. The commissioner shall adopt regulations, in 95
accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 of the general statutes, 96
establishing the penalties and sanctions applicable to a violation of this 97
subsection. 98
(f) (1) Each contractor and subcontractor on a covered project shall 99
(A) pay each construction employee on the project wages and benefits 100
that are not less than the prevailing wage and fringe benefit rates 101
prescribed in section 31-53 of the general statutes for the corresponding 102
classification in which the employee is employed, and (B) be subject to 103
all reporting and compliance requirements of section 31-53 of the 104
general statutes. Contractors and subcontractors that violate this 105
subsection shall be subject to penalties and sanctions in accordance with 106
section 31-53 of the general statutes. 107
(2) Each operations, maintenance and security employee employed 108
in a building or facility that is constructed in a covered project shall be 109
paid wages and benefits that are not less than the prevailing wage and 110
fringe benefit rates prescribed in section 31-53 of the general statutes or, 111
if applicable, the standard wage specified in section 31-53 of the general 112
statutes for the corresponding classification in which the employee is 113
employed. 114 Substitute Bill No. 999
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(g) Prevailing wage requirements under subsection (f) of this section 115
shall not apply to a construction project that is covered by a project labor 116
agreement. For the purposes of this subsection, "project labor 117
agreement" means an agreement that: (1) Binds all contractors and 118
subcontractors on the covered project to the project labor agreement 119
through the inclusion of specifications in all relevant solicitation 120
provisions and contract documents; (2) allows all contractors and 121
subcontractors to compete for contracts and subcontracts on the project 122
without regard to whether they are otherwise parties to collective 123
bargaining agreements; (3) establishes uniform terms and conditions of 124
employment for all construction labor employed on the projects; (4) 125
guarantees against strikes, lockouts and similar job disruptions; (5) sets 126
forth effective, prompt and mutually binding procedures for resolving 127
labor disputes arising during the project labor agreement; and (6) 128
includes any other provisions as negotiated by the parties to promote 129
successful delivery of the covered project. 130
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Subsec. (a)(3), "such" was added before organizations for clarity and
"it is sited" was changed to "it is or will be sited" for accuracy; in Subsec.
(a)(5)(A), "as each may be amended from time to time" was added for
accuracy and consistency with standard drafting conventions; in
Subsec. (b), "affected community" was changed to "community in which
the project is or will be located" for clarity and accuracy; Subsec. (c)(4)
was rewritten for accuracy and consistency; Subsec. (c)(5) was rewritten
for clarity and for consistency with standard drafting conventions; in
Subsec. (d), "a publicly available web site" was changed to "the Labor
Department's Internet web site" for clarity and accuracy; in Subsec. (e),
"shall permit the state to impose appropriate" was changed to "shall be
subject to" for consistency with standard drafting conventions and
"described in this subdivision" was changed to "applicable to a violation
of this subsection" for accuracy; in Subsec. (f)(1), "at a minimum" was Substitute Bill No. 999
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deleted for consistency with standard drafting conventions; in Subsec.
(f)(2), "created" was changed to "constructed" for consistency with
standard drafting conventions, "prevailing wage" was changed to
"prevailing wage and fringe benefit rates" for consistency and "31-57"
was changed to "31-53" for accuracy; and in Subsec. (g), "appropriate"
was deleted for consistency with standard drafting conventions.
LAB Joint Favorable Subst.