Researcher: LRH Page 1 6/2/21
OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 999 (File 404, as amended by House "A" and Senate "A")*
AN ACT CONCERNING A JUST TRANSITION TO CLIMATE -
PROTECTIVE ENERGY PRODUCTION AND COMMUNITY
INVESTMENT.
SUMMARY
This bill requires renewable energy project developers to meet
certain requirements if their project (1) begins construction after July 1,
2021; (2) has a total nameplate (i.e., generating) capacity of at least two
megawatts (MW); and (3) meets certain other criteria.
These developers must generally (1) establish a workforce
development program; (2) enter into a community benefits agreement
with a community organization representing the host community’s
residents, if the project has a nameplate capacity of at least five MW;
and (3) ensure that the contractors and subcontractors on the project
meet certain criteria.
The bill also requires that (1) construction workers on covered
projects be paid wages and benefits at least equal to those required
under the state’s prevailing wage law and (2) operations, maintenance,
and security employees in any building or facility created in the project
be paid wages and benefits that are at least equal to those required
under the state’s standard wage law (see BACKGROUND). Under the
bill, however, the prevailing wage requirement does not apply if the
project is covered by a project labor agreement that meets certain
requirements.
*Senate Amendment “A” (1) redefines “covered projects” as
renewable energy projects that begin construction on or after July 1,
2021, and have a total nameplate capacity rating of at least two MW,
rather than any renewable energy project that has a total construction
cost of at least $2.5 million (§ 1); (2) explicitly excludes certain projects
from being covered projects (§ 1); (3) applies the state debarment law 2021SB-00999-R02-BA.DOCX
Researcher: LRH Page 2 6/2/21
to certain violations under the bill (§ 2); (4) creates a penalty for
making a false statement on a sworn certification under the bill (§ 4);
and (5) makes various minor and conforming changes (§§ 1 & 3).
*House Amendment “A” removes provisions from the underlying
bill (File 404, as amended by Senate Amendment “A”) that would have
made it a class D felony for contractors and subcontractors to
intentionally make a false written statement on a sworn certification.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
COVERED PROJECTS
The bill’s requirements apply to “covered projects,” which under
the bill are renewable energy projects situated on land in the state that
begin construction on or after July 1, 2021, and have a total nameplate
capacity rating of at least two MW. They do not include renewable
energy projects (1) selected in a competitive solicitation conducted by
the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) or an
electric distribution company (i.e., Eversource or United Illuminating)
and (2) approved by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority before
January 1, 2022.
Under the bill, a “renewable energy project” is a Class I renewable
energy source (e.g., solar, wind, fuel cells), but it does not include any
offshore wind facility procured under certain laws that authorize
DEEP to solicit proposals to procure power from these resources.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMEN T PROGRAMS
The bill requires a covered project’s developer to take appropriate
actions to ensure that a workforce development program is
established. Under the bill, a “workforce development program” is a
program that gives newly hired and existing employees the
opportunity to develop skills that will enable them to qualify for
higher paying jobs on a covered project. This includes (1)
apprenticeship training through an apprenticeship program registered
with the state Department of Labor (DOL) or a federally recognized
state apprenticeship agency that complies with federal regulations on 2021SB-00999-R02-BA.DOCX
Researcher: LRH Page 3 6/2/21
apprenticeships and (2) pre-apprenticeship training that will enable
students to qualify for registered apprenticeship training.
COMMUNITY BENEFITS AGREEMENTS
If a covered project has a nameplate capacity of at least five MW, the
bill requires the project’s developer to also take all reasonable actions
to ensure that a community benefits agreement is entered into with the
appropriate community organizations representing residents of the
community where the project will be located (i.e., the host
community).
Under the bill, a “community benefits agreement” is an agreement
between the covered project’s developer and community -based
organizations, or a coalition of them, that details the project’s (1)
contributions to the host community and (2) aspects that will mitigate
the host community’s adverse conditions and create opportunities for
local business, communities, and workers.
CONTRACTOR AND SUBCO NTRACTOR CERTIFICATI ONS
The bill requires a covered project’s developer to take all necessary
actions to ensure that each contractor and subcontractor involved in
building the project completes a sworn certification that:
1. it has the necessary resources to perform its portion of the
covered project, including the necessary technical, financial, and
personnel resources;
2. it has all of the contractor, specialty contractor, or trade licenses,
certifications, or certificates required by the applicable state or
local laws;
3. it participates in apprenticeship training through a DOL-
registered apprenticeship program or a federally recognized
state apprenticeship agency that complies with federal
regulations;
4. during the previous three years it has not (a) been debarred by a
government agency; (b) defaulted on a project; (c) had any 2021SB-00999-R02-BA.DOCX
Researcher: LRH Page 4 6/2/21
license, certification, or other business credential revoked or
suspended; or (d) been found in violation of any law applicable
to the contractor’s or subcontractor’s business that resulted in
the payment of a fine, back pay damages, or any other type of
penalty of at least $10,000;
5. it will not pay personnel employed on the project less than the
applicable wage and fringe benefit rates for the classification in
which the personnel are employed and required for the project;
and
6. it has not misclassified and will not misclassify employees as
independent contractors.
The bill requires the developer to submit the sworn certifications to
the labor commissioner at least 30 days before project construction
begins. Under the bill, the certifications are public documents that
must be made available without redaction on DOL’s website within
seven days after they were submitted.
Debarment Penalties
If a certification contains false, misleading, or materially inaccurate
information, the bill subjects the contractor or subcontractor that
prepared it, after notice and opportunity to be heard, to debarment
under the state’s debarment law, which generally makes a person or
firm that disregarded its obligations under the state’s prevailing wage
law ineligible to (1) contract with the state or its political subdivisions
and (2) work on a public works project covered by the prevailing wage
law.
The debarment law requires the labor commissioner to distribute a
list of these debarred persons and firms to all state agencies and
political subdivisions. The bill requires the commissioner to include on
the list persons or firms that he found to have submitted false,
misleading, or materially inaccurate information on the sworn
certifications required by the bill.
By law, (1) state agencies and political subdivisions cannot award 2021SB-00999-R02-BA.DOCX
Researcher: LRH Page 5 6/2/21
contracts to persons and firms on the list and (2) general contractors on
a prevailing wage public works project cannot award any work under
the contract to a person or firm on the list. Both bans last for a period
of up to three years, as determined by the labor commissioner, after
the debarred person or firm first appears on the list (CGS § 31-53a(b)).
Other Noncompliance Penalties
Under the bill, a developer’s failure to take reasonable steps to
ensure that the certifications are accurate and truthful is a violation of
the bill subject to penalties and sanctions for noncompliance. It
requires the labor commissioner to adopt regulations that establish the
applicable penalties and sanctions for this noncompliance.
PREVAILING AND STAND ARD WAGES
The bill requires each contractor and subcontractor on a covered
project to pay each construction employee on the project at least the
wages and benefits that the state’s prevailing wage law require for the
employee’s corresponding job classification on a public works project.
It subjects the contractors and subcontractors to the prevailing wage
law’s reporting and compliance requirements and its penalties and
sanctions for violations. Among other things, this (1) requires them to
submit to the project’s developer monthly certified payroll records
with certain specified information (e.g., that the wages and benefits
meet prevailing wage requirements and that employees have the
necessary workers’ compensation insurance coverage); (2) subjects
them to fines between $2,500 and $5,000 for willful failures to pay the
required wages; and (3) makes failing to file the certified payroll
records a class D felony subject to a fine of up to $5,000, five years
imprisonment, or both.
The bill also requires that each operations, maintenance, and
security employee employed in a building or facility that is built in a
covered project be paid at least the prevailing wage or the “standard
wage,” including benefits, for the employee’s corresponding job
classification. 2021SB-00999-R02-BA.DOCX
Researcher: LRH Page 6 6/2/21
Exemption for Project Labor Agreements
The bill exempts construction projects that are covered by a project
labor agreement (PLA) from its prevailing wage requirements. Under
the bill, the PLA must:
1. bind all contractors and subcontractors on the covered project to
the PLA by including specifications in all relevant solicitation
provisions and contract documents;
2. allow all contractors and subcontractors to compete for
contracts and subcontracts on the project regardless of whether
they are parties to collective bargaining agreements;
3. establish uniform terms and conditions of employment for all
construction labor employed on the project;
4. guarantee against strikes, lockouts, and similar job disruptions;
5. have mutually binding procedures for resolving labor disputes;
and
6. include any other provisions negotiated by the parties to
promote the covered project’s successful delivery.
BACKGROUND
Prevailing Wage
The state’s prevailing wage law requires employers on certain
public works projects to pay their construction workers wages and
benefits equal to those that are customary or prevailing for the same
work, in the same trade or occupation, in the same town. The
requirement applies to new construction projects of $1 million or more
and renovation projects of $100,000 or more (CGS § 31-53).
Standard Wage
The state’s standard wage law generally requires private contractors
who do building and property maintenance, property management,
and food service work in state buildings to pay their employees wages
and benefits determined by the labor commissioner. In general, an 2021SB-00999-R02-BA.DOCX
Researcher: LRH Page 7 6/2/21
employee’s standard wage equals the hourly wage and benefits
received by the most employees doing the same type of work under a
union contract, as long as the contract covers at least 500 employees in
Hartford County. If there is no such contract, then the commissioner
sets the hourly rate based on the Federal Register of Wage
Determinations, plus a 30% surcharge for health and retirement
benefits (CGS § 31-57f).
COMMITTEE ACTION
Labor and Public Employees Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 9 Nay 4 (03/23/2021)