Connecticut 2022 2022 Regular Session

Connecticut House Bill HB05427 Comm Sub / Bill

Filed 04/25/2022

                     
 
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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 5427  
February Session, 2022 
 
 
 
 
 
AN ACT CONCERNING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE OFFICE 
OF FINANCE WITHIN THE OFFICE OF POLICY AND MANAGEMENT.  
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General 
Assembly convened: 
 
Section 1. Subsection (c) of section 7-374c of the general statutes is 1 
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 2 
1, 2022): 3 
(c) Any municipality which has no outstanding pension deficit 4 
funding bonds, other than an earlier series of such obligations issued 5 
under subsection (b) of section 7-374b or this section to partially fund an 6 
unfunded past pension obligation, may authorize and issue pension 7 
deficit funding bonds to fund all or a portion of an unfunded past 8 
benefit obligation, as determined by an actuarial valuation, and the 9 
payment of costs related to the issuance of such bonds in accordance 10 
with the following requirements. 11 
(1) The municipality shall, within the time and in the manner 12 
prescribed by regulations adopted by the secretary or as otherwise 13 
required by the secretary, notify the secretary of its intent to issue such 14 
pension deficit funding bonds and shall include with such notice (A) the 15 
actuarial valuation, (B) an actuarial analysis of the method by which the 16 
municipality proposes to fund any unfunded past benefit obligation not 17 
to be defrayed by the pension deficit funding bonds, which method may 18  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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include a plan of issuance of a series of pension deficit funding bonds, 19 
(C) an explanation of the municipality’s investment strategic plan for 20 
the pension plan with respect to which the pension deficit funding 21 
bonds are to be issued, including, but not limited to, an asset allocation 22 
plan, (D) a [three-year] five-year financial plan, including the major 23 
assumptions and plan of finance for such pension deficit funding bonds, 24 
(E) a comparison of the anticipated effects of funding the unfunded past 25 
benefit obligation through the issuance of pension deficit funding bonds 26 
with the funding of the obligation through the annual actuarially 27 
recommended contribution, prepared in the manner prescribed by the 28 
secretary, (F) documentation of the municipality's authorization of the 29 
issuance of such pension deficit funding bonds including a certified 30 
copy of the resolution or ordinance of the municipality authorizing the 31 
issuance of the pension deficit funding bonds and an opinion of 32 
nationally recognized bond counsel as to the due authorization of the 33 
issuance of the bonds, (G) documentation that the municipality has 34 
adopted an ordinance, or with respect to a municipality not having the 35 
authority to make ordinances, has adopted a resolution by a two-thirds 36 
vote of the members of its legislative body, requiring the municipality 37 
to appropriate funds in an amount sufficient to meet the actuarially 38 
required contribution and contribute such amounts to the plan as 39 
required in subdivision (3) of subsection (c) of this section, (H) the 40 
methodology used and actuarial assumptions that will be utilized to 41 
calculate the actuarially recommended contribution, (I) a draft official 42 
statement with respect to the issuance of the pension deficit funding 43 
bonds, and (J) such other information and documentation as reasonably 44 
required by the secretary or the Treasurer to carry out the provisions of 45 
this section. The secretary and the Treasurer may, if they deem 46 
necessary, hire an independent actuary to review the information 47 
submitted by the municipality. 48 
(2) Not later than ten days after the sale of the pension deficit funding 49 
bonds, the municipality shall provide the secretary and the Treasurer 50 
with a final financing summary comparing the anticipated effects of 51 
funding the unfunded past benefit obligation through the issuance of 52  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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the pension deficit funding bonds with the funding of the obligation 53 
through the annual actuarially recommended contribution, prepared in 54 
the manner prescribed by the secretary. 55 
(3) As long as the pension deficit funding bonds or any bond 56 
refunding such bonds are outstanding, the municipality shall (A) for 57 
each fiscal year of the municipality commencing with the fiscal year in 58 
which the bonds are issued, appropriate funds in an amount sufficient 59 
to meet the actuarially required contribution and contribute such 60 
amount to the plan, and (B) notify the secretary annually, who shall in 61 
turn notify the Treasurer, of the amount or the rate of any such 62 
actuarially recommended contribution and the amount or the rate, if 63 
any, of the actual annual contribution by the municipality to the pension 64 
plan to meet such actuarially recommended contribution. On an annual 65 
basis, the municipality shall provide the secretary and the Treasurer 66 
with: (i) The actuarial valuation of the pension plan, (ii) a specific 67 
identification, in a format to be determined by the secretary, of any 68 
changes that have been made in the actuarial assumptions or methods 69 
compared to the previous actuarial valuation of the pension plan, (iii) 70 
the footnote disclosure and required supplementary information 71 
disclosure required by GASB Statement Number 27 with respect to the 72 
pension plan, and (iv) a review of the investments of the pension plan 73 
including a statement of the current asset allocation and an analysis of 74 
performance by asset class. With respect to a municipality which issues 75 
pension deficit funding bonds on or after July 1, 2006, in any fiscal year 76 
for which such municipality fails to appropriate sufficient funds to meet 77 
the actuarially required contribution in accordance with the provisions 78 
of this subdivision there shall be deemed appropriated an amount 79 
sufficient to meet such requirement, notwithstanding the provisions of 80 
any other general statute or of any special act, charter, special act 81 
charter, home-rule ordinance, local ordinance or local law. 82 
(4) The municipality shall not issue pension deficit funding bonds 83 
prior to, or more than six months subsequent to, receipt of the written 84 
final review required under subsection (d) of this section. A 85  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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municipality may renotify the secretary of its intention to issue pension 86 
deficit funding bonds and provide the secretary with updated 87 
information and documentation in the manner and as described in 88 
subdivision (1) of this subsection, and request an updated final review 89 
from the secretary if more than six months will elapse between the 90 
receipt of the prior final review of the secretary and the proposed date 91 
of issue of the pension deficit funding bonds. 92 
Sec. 2. Subsection (e) of section 7-392 of the general statutes is 93 
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 94 
1, 2022): 95 
(e) The treasurer or other officer having authority over the financial 96 
affairs of any reporting agency shall, annually, file a statement 97 
concerning the accounts and finances of such agency with the (1) town 98 
clerk of the town in which such agency is located, and (2) Secretary of 99 
the Office of Policy and Management, upon the secretary's request. Such 100 
statement shall include, but shall not be limited to, a listing of major 101 
disbursements and sources of receipts and shall be filed not later than 102 
ninety days after the end of the fiscal year or period which is the subject 103 
of the statement. Each treasurer or other officer who fails to file a 104 
statement required pursuant to this subsection shall be fined five 105 
hundred dollars for each statement not filed. The fine shall be levied and 106 
collected by the town clerk. 107 
Sec. 3. Section 7-393 of the general statutes is repealed and the 108 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2022): 109 
Upon the completion of an audit, the independent auditor shall file 110 
certified copies of the audit report with (1) the appointing authority, (2) 111 
in the case of a town, city or borough, with the clerk of such town, city 112 
or borough, (3) in the case of a regional school district, with the clerks of 113 
the towns, cities or boroughs in which such regional school district is 114 
located and with the board of education, (4) in the case of an audited 115 
agency, with the clerks of the towns, cities or boroughs in which such 116 
audited agency is located, and (5) in each case, with the Secretary of the 117  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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Office of Policy and Management. Such copies shall be filed within six 118 
months from the end of the fiscal year of the municipality, regional 119 
school district or audited agency, but the secretary may grant an 120 
extension of not more than thirty days, provided the auditor making the 121 
audit and the chief executive officer of the municipality, regional school 122 
district or audited agency shall jointly submit a request in writing to the 123 
secretary stating the reasons for such extension at least thirty days prior 124 
to the end of such six-month period. If the reason for the extension 125 
relates to deficiencies in the accounting system of the municipality, 126 
regional school district or audited agency the request must be 127 
accompanied by a corrective action plan. The secretary may, after a 128 
hearing with the auditor and officials of the municipality, regional 129 
school district or audited agency, grant an additional extension if 130 
conditions warrant. Said auditor shall preserve all of his working papers 131 
employed in the preparation of any such audit until the expiration of 132 
three years from the date of filing a certified copy of the audit with the 133 
secretary and such working papers shall be available, upon written 134 
request and upon reasonable notice from the secretary, during such time 135 
for inspection by the secretary or his authorized representative, at the 136 
office or place of business of the auditor, during usual business hours. 137 
Any municipality, regional school district, audited agency or auditor 138 
who fails to have the audit report filed on its behalf within six months 139 
from the end of the fiscal year or within the time granted by the secretary 140 
shall be referred by the secretary to the Municipal Finance Advisory 141 
Commission established pursuant to section 7-394b, assessed a civil 142 
penalty of not less than one thousand dollars but not more than ten 143 
thousand dollars [. The] or both, except that the secretary may waive 144 
such [penalty] penalties if, in [his] the secretary's opinion, there appears 145 
to be reasonable cause for not having completed or provided the 146 
required audit report, provided an official of the municipality, regional 147 
school district or audited agency or the auditor submits a written 148 
request for such waiver. 149 
Sec. 4. Subsection (d) of section 7-395 of the general statutes is 150 
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 151  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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1, 2022): 152 
(d) The secretary shall refer to the Municipal Finance Advisory 153 
Commission any municipality that has not been previously referred to 154 
said commission pursuant to subsection (b) of this section or section 7-155 
576, 7-576a, as amended by this act, or 7-576c, as amended by this act, 156 
provided the municipality has: 157 
(1) A negative fund balance percentage; 158 
(2) Reported a fund balance percentage of less than five per cent in 159 
the three immediately preceding fiscal years; 160 
(3) Reported [a declining fund balance trend] an operating deficit in 161 
the two immediately preceding fiscal years and a fund balance 162 
percentage of less than five per cent in the immediately preceding fiscal 163 
year, as determined by the statement of revenues, expenditures and 164 
changes in fund balance of the general fund of the audited financial 165 
statements of the municipality; 166 
(4) Issued tax or [bond] revenue anticipation notes in the three 167 
immediately preceding fiscal years to meet cash liquidity; 168 
(5) [Had a general fund annual operating budget deficit of one and 169 
one-half per cent or more of such municipality's general fund revenues 170 
in the immediately preceding fiscal year] Did not file an annual audit 171 
report in the twelve months after the end of the fiscal year; 172 
(6) [Had a general fund annual operating budget deficit of two per 173 
cent or more of such municipality's average general fund revenues in 174 
the two immediately preceding fiscal years] Reported an annual audit 175 
that included at least one material or significant audit finding that was 176 
reported in the annual audits of the two immediately preceding fiscal 177 
years; or 178 
(7) Received a bond rating below A from a bond rating agency. 179  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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Sec. 5. Section 7-406c of the general statutes is repealed and the 180 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2022): 181 
(a) Not later than July 1, 2014, the Secretary of the Office of Policy and 182 
Management shall, in consultation with the Department of Education, 183 
the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and the Council of Small 184 
Towns, develop and implement a uniform system of accounting for 185 
municipal revenues and expenditures, including, but not limited to, 186 
board of education and grant agency expenditures and revenue. Such 187 
uniform system of accounting shall include a uniform chart of accounts 188 
to be used at the municipal level. Such chart of accounts shall include, 189 
but not be limited to, all amounts and sources of revenue and donations 190 
of cash and real or personal property in the aggregate totaling five 191 
hundred dollars or more received by a municipality. The secretary shall 192 
make such chart of accounts available on the Internet web site of the 193 
Office of Policy and Management. 194 
(b) Not later than June 30, 2015, each municipality shall implement 195 
the uniform system of accounting for municipal revenues and 196 
expenditures developed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section by 197 
using such uniform system to complete and file annual reports with the 198 
Office of Policy and Management as may be required by the secretary in 199 
order to increase transparency regarding municipal expenditures and to 200 
meet the state's benchmarking goals. Any annual report required 201 
pursuant to this subsection shall be filed not later than January thirty-202 
first annually. 203 
(c) Not later than January 31, 2023, and annually thereafter, each 204 
municipality shall file financial data with the Office of Policy and 205 
Management. Such data shall (1) be filed electronically, in a form and 206 
manner prescribed by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and 207 
Management, and (2) contain such municipality's audited financial 208 
statements and any other information required by said secretary to 209 
determine the financial condition of such municipality. 210 
Sec. 6. Section 7-560 of the general statutes is repealed and the 211  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2022): 212 
Whenever used in subsection (a) of section 7-394b, and sections 7-560 213 
to 7-579, inclusive, the following definitions shall apply: 214 
(1) "Attorney General" means the Attorney General of the state of 215 
Connecticut. 216 
(2) "Certified municipality" means a municipality that has been 217 
certified as a tier I or tier II municipality by the secretary. 218 
(3) "Chief executive officer" means the officer described in section 7-219 
193. 220 
(4) "Debt service payment fund" means the fund into which the 221 
proceeds of the property tax intercept procedure are deposited and from 222 
which debt service on all outstanding general obligations of a 223 
municipality which have a term of more than one year and additionally 224 
all outstanding general obligations which the municipality determines 225 
are to be supported by the tax intercept procedure shall be paid as 226 
provided in subsection (a) of section 7-394b and sections 7-560 to 7-579, 227 
inclusive. 228 
(5) "Debt service payment fund requirement" means an amount at 229 
least equal to the aggregate amount of principal, sinking fund 230 
installments, if any, and interest during the then current fiscal year as 231 
the same become due and payable on all outstanding general 232 
obligations of the municipality which have a term of more than one year 233 
and additionally all outstanding general obligations which the 234 
municipality determines are to be supported by the tax intercept 235 
procedure. 236 
(6) "Deficit" means with respect to the general fund of any 237 
municipality, any cumulative excess of expenditures, encumbrances, or 238 
other uses of funds for any fiscal year and all prior fiscal years over 239 
revenues of the municipality for such period and the prior year's 240 
unassigned fund balance, as reflected in the most recent audited 241  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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financial statements of such municipality. For purposes of determining 242 
such excess, revenues shall not include the proceeds of tax anticipation 243 
notes and expenditures shall not include any principal payment of tax 244 
anticipation notes. 245 
(7) "Deficit obligation" means any general obligation with a term of 246 
more than one year or any bond or any note issued in anticipation 247 
thereof, issued by a municipality either for the purpose of or having the 248 
effect of reducing, eliminating or preventing a general fund, special 249 
revenue fund or enterprise fund deficiency, other than any obligation 250 
issued pursuant to chapter 110. 251 
(8) "Designated tier I municipality" means a municipality designated 252 
as a tier I municipality in accordance with the provisions of section 7-253 
576a, as amended by this act. 254 
(9) "Designated tier II municipality" means a municipality designated 255 
as a tier II municipality in accordance with the provisions of section 7-256 
576b, as amended by this act. 257 
(10) "Designated tier III municipality" means a municipality 258 
designated as a tier III municipality in accordance with the provisions 259 
of section 7-576c, as amended by this act. 260 
(11) "Designated tier IV municipality" means a municipality 261 
designated as a tier IV municipality in accordance with the provisions 262 
of section 7-576e, as amended by this act. 263 
(12) "Equalized mill rate" means the tax rate derived from the most 264 
recent available grand levy of a municipality divided by the equalized 265 
net grand list on which such levy is based, as determined by the 266 
secretary in accordance with section 10-261a. 267 
(13) "Fund balance" means the amount that assets and deferred 268 
outflow of resources of a municipality's general fund exceeds the 269 
liabilities and deferred inflow of resources of the general fund of the 270 
municipality, as of the fiscal year ended as reflected in the municipality's 271  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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most recent audited financial statements presented in accordance with 272 
generally accepted accounting principles. 273 
(14) "Fund balance percentage" means the fund balance of the general 274 
fund of a municipality as of the fiscal year ended in the municipality's 275 
most recent audited financial statements and presented in accordance 276 
with generally accepted accounting principles, divided by the sum of 277 
revenues of the general fund and operating transfers into the general 278 
fund for the fiscal year. 279 
(15) "General fund deficiency" means a deficit or a projected fiscal 280 
year deficit, or both. 281 
(16) "General obligation" means an obligation issued by a 282 
municipality and secured by the full faith and credit and taxing power 283 
of such municipality including any contingent obligation which is 284 
payable from the general fund and is subject to annual appropriation. 285 
(17) "Maximum required capital reserve" means the maximum 286 
aggregate amount of principal, interest and other amounts due and 287 
owing during any succeeding fiscal year, excluding any sinking fund 288 
installments payable in a prior fiscal year on outstanding general 289 
obligations of a certified municipality supported by a special capital 290 
reserve fund issued pursuant to subsection (a) of section 7-394b and 291 
sections 7-568 to 7-579, inclusive. 292 
(18) "Minimum required capital reserve" means the aggregate 293 
amount of principal, sinking fund installments, interest and other 294 
amounts due and owing during the next succeeding fiscal year on 295 
outstanding general obligations of a certified municipality supported by 296 
a special capital reserve fund pursuant to subsection (a) of section 7-394b 297 
and sections 7-560 to 7-579, inclusive. 298 
(19) "Municipal Accountability Review Board" means the Municipal 299 
Accountability Review Board established pursuant to section 7-576d, as 300 
amended by this act. 301  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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(20) "Municipal aid" means formula grants, grants, payments in lieu 302 
of taxes, reimbursements, payments and other funding provided by the 303 
state to municipalities and used to fund municipal general fund 304 
budgets, including education budgets. 305 
(21) "Municipal Finance Advisory Commission" means the Municipal 306 
Finance Advisory Commission established in section 7-394b. 307 
(22) "Municipal restructuring fund loan" means a loan received by a 308 
municipality from the Municipal Restructuring Fund pursuant to 309 
section 7-576i, as amended by this act. 310 
[(22)] (23) "Municipal revenue increase in fiscal year ending June 30, 311 
2018, as a per cent of revenues" means the net difference in estimated 312 
municipal revenues from state sources and new municipal taxing 313 
authority as compiled by the secretary pursuant to section 4-71b for the 314 
fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, as compared to the estimated municipal 315 
revenues from such sources compiled by the secretary pursuant to 316 
section 4-71b for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017, divided by the sum 317 
of revenues of the general fund and operating transfers into the general 318 
fund as reported in the municipality's audited financial statements for 319 
the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016. 320 
[(23)] (24) "Municipality" means any town, city, borough, 321 
consolidated town and city, consolidated city and borough, any 322 
metropolitan district, any district, as defined in section 7-324, and any 323 
other political subdivision of the state having the power to levy taxes 324 
and to issue bonds, notes or other obligations. 325 
[(24)] (25) "Obligation" means any bond, bond anticipation note or 326 
other interim funding obligation, certificate of participation, security, 327 
financing lease, installment purchase agreements, capital lease, 328 
receivable or other asset sale, refinancing covered by this definition and 329 
any other transaction which constitutes debt in accordance with both 330 
municipal reporting standards in section 7-394a and the regulations 331 
prescribing municipal financial reporting adopted by the secretary. 332  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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[(25)] (26) "Outstanding obligation" means any obligation with 333 
respect to which a principal or interest payment, sinking fund 334 
installment or other payment or deposit is, or will be, due in the future 335 
and for which moneys or defeasance securities have not been deposited 336 
in escrow. 337 
[(26)] (27) "Projected fiscal year deficit" means, with respect to the 338 
general fund of any municipality during any fiscal year, the excess of 339 
estimated expenditures and uses of funds for the fiscal year over 340 
estimated revenues and any cumulative unassigned general fund 341 
balance from the prior fiscal year. For purposes of determining such 342 
excess, estimated revenues shall not include the proceeds of tax 343 
anticipation notes and estimated expenditures shall not include any 344 
principal payment of tax anticipation notes. 345 
[(27)] (28) "Property taxes" means all taxes on real and personal 346 
property levied by the municipality in accordance with the general 347 
statutes including any interest, penalties and other related charges, and 348 
shall not mean any rent, rate, fee, special assessment or other charge 349 
based on benefit or use. 350 
[(28)] (29) "Property tax intercept procedure" means a procedure 351 
where a municipality provides for the collection and deposit in a debt 352 
service payment fund maintained with a trustee of all property taxes 353 
needed to meet the debt service payment fund requirement and which 354 
meets all the requirements of section 7-562. 355 
[(29)] (30) "Property tax levy" means the mill rate of the municipality 356 
multiplied by the net taxable grand list of the municipality. 357 
[(30)] (31) "Revenues" means, with respect to the general fund for any 358 
municipality for any fiscal year, property taxes and other moneys that 359 
are generally available for, accounted for and deposited in the 360 
municipality's general fund. 361 
[(31)] (32) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Office of Policy and 362 
Management. 363  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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[(32)] (33) "Special capital reserve fund" means the fund established 364 
pursuant to section 7-571 to secure the timely payment of principal and 365 
interest on general obligations issued by a certified municipality 366 
approved by the Treasurer pursuant to section 7-573. 367 
[(33)] (34) "State" means the state of Connecticut. 368 
[(34)] (35) "Tier I municipality" means any municipality which has 369 
applied to and been certified by the secretary as a tier I municipality. 370 
[(35)] (36) "Tier II municipality" means any municipality which has 371 
applied to and been certified by the secretary as a tier II municipality. 372 
[(36)] (37) "Treasurer" means the Treasurer of the state of Connecticut. 373 
[(37)] (38) "Trustee" means any trust company or bank having the 374 
powers of a trust company within or without the state, appointed by the 375 
municipality as trustee for the municipality's tax intercept procedure or 376 
special capital reserve fund and approved by the Treasurer, as well as 377 
any successor trust company or bank having the powers of a trust 378 
company within or without the state succeeding a prior trust company 379 
or bank as trustee, so appointed and approved. 380 
Sec. 7. Section 7-576a of the general statutes is repealed and the 381 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2022): 382 
(a) [The chief elected official of a municipality may apply to the 383 
secretary to request designation as a tier I municipality if any of the 384 
following conditions exist: (1) The municipality has no bond rating, or 385 
its highest bond rating is A or above, provided the municipality has no 386 
rating that is not investment grade, receives less than thirty per cent of 387 
its current fiscal year general fund budget revenues in the form of 388 
municipal aid from the state, has a positive fund balance percentage, 389 
and has a municipal revenue increase in fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, 390 
as a per cent of revenues of two per cent or more, (2) the municipality 391 
has no bond rating or its highest bond rating is A, provided the 392 
municipality has no rating that is not investment grade, receives less 393  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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than thirty per cent of its current fiscal year general fund budget 394 
revenues in the form of municipal aid from the state, and had a positive 395 
fund balance percentage of less than five per cent, or (3) the 396 
municipality's highest bond rating is AA or above, provided the 397 
municipality has no rating that is not investment grade, receives thirty 398 
per cent or more of its current fiscal year general fund budget revenues 399 
in the form of municipal aid from the state, has an equalized mill rate of 400 
less than thirty, has a positive fund balance percentage, and has a 401 
municipal revenue increase in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, as a 402 
per cent of revenues of two per cent or more.] Any municipality referred 403 
pursuant to subsection (d) of section 7-395, as amended by this act, to 404 
the Municipal Finance Advisory Commission shall be designated a tier 405 
I municipality. The chief elected official of any municipality that does 406 
not meet the conditions identified under subsection (d) of section 7-395, 407 
as amended by this act, may apply to the Municipal Finance Advisory 408 
Commission for designation as a tier I municipality, provided such 409 
official (1) expects that such municipality will meet one or more such 410 
conditions in the following twenty-four month period, and (2) submits 411 
a report to the Municipal Finance Advisory Commission, in a form and 412 
manner prescribed by the commission, that confirms that such condition 413 
or conditions will be met in such period. 414 
(b) The secretary shall refer any municipality [which has requested 415 
designation] designated as a tier I municipality to the Municipal Finance 416 
Advisory Commission, pursuant to the provisions of section 7-395, as 417 
amended by this act. In addition to the requirements of section 7-394b, 418 
such municipality shall prepare and present a [three-year] five-year 419 
financial plan to the Municipal Finance Advisory Commission for its 420 
review and approval. 421 
Sec. 8. Section 7-576b of the general statutes is repealed and the 422 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2022): 423 
(a) The chief elected official of a municipality designated as a tier I 424 
municipality pursuant to section 7-576a, as amended by this act, may 425 
apply to the secretary to request designation as a tier II municipality if 426  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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[any of the following conditions exist: (1) The municipality has no bond 427 
rating from a bond rating agency, or, if its highest bond rating is A, 428 
provided the municipality has no rating that is not investment grade, 429 
receives thirty per cent or more of its current or prior fiscal year general 430 
fund budget revenues were or are in the form of municipal aid from the 431 
state, has a positive fund balance percentage of five per cent or more, 432 
has an equalized mill rate of less than thirty, and has a municipal 433 
revenue increase in fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, as a per cent of 434 
revenues of two per cent or more, (2) the municipality has no bond 435 
rating from a bond rating agency, or, if its highest bond rating is A, 436 
provided the municipality has no rating that is not investment grade, 437 
receives thirty per cent or more of its current or prior fiscal year general 438 
fund budget revenues were or are in the form of municipal aid from the 439 
state, has an equalized mill rate of less than thirty, and has a positive 440 
fund balance percentage of less than five per cent, (3) the municipality's 441 
highest bond rating is AA or higher, provided the municipality has no 442 
rating that is not investment grade, receives thirty per cent or more of 443 
its current or prior fiscal year general fund budget revenues were or are 444 
in the form of municipal aid from the state, and has an equalized mill 445 
rate of thirty or more, (4) the municipality's highest bond rating is AA 446 
or higher, provided the municipality has no rating that is not investment 447 
grade, and has a negative fund balance percentage, or (5) the 448 
municipality's highest bond rating is Baa or BBB, provided the 449 
municipality has no rating that is not investment grade, has a positive 450 
fund balance percentage and] the municipality has held one or more 451 
meetings with the Municipal Finance Advisory Committee, and (1) has 452 
an equalized mill rate of not less than thirty, or (2) received thirty per 453 
cent or more of its current year audited revenues in the form of 454 
municipal aid from the state. Any such official that applies for such 455 
designation pursuant to this subsection shall provide a copy of such 456 
application to the Municipal Finance Advisory Committee not later than 457 
ten days after making such application. 458 
(b) The secretary shall [refer any municipality which has requested 459 
designation as a tier II] (1) designate any tier I municipality as a tier II 460  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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municipality at the request of such municipality, if the secretary 461 
determines that the fiscal condition of the municipality warrants such 462 
designation, based on the secretary's review of the reports and findings 463 
of the Municipal Finance Advisory Commission concerning such 464 
municipality, and (2) refer such municipality to the Municipal 465 
Accountability Review Board established pursuant to section 7-576d, as 466 
amended by this act. Said board shall have the same authority and 467 
responsibilities possessed by the Municipal Finance Advisory 468 
Commission with respect to tier II certified municipalities referred to it, 469 
including, but not limited to, requiring that such municipalities prepare 470 
and present to said board for its review and approval a [three-year] five-471 
year financial plan and monthly financial reports, in a manner 472 
prescribed by said board. In preparing and adopting its annual budgets, 473 
such municipality shall only include assumptions respecting state 474 
revenues and property tax revenues as approved by such board and 475 
such board shall approve or disapprove all obligations issued by a 476 
designated tier II municipality pursuant to section 7-575 and this 477 
section, provided it shall only approve such obligations which in its 478 
judgment improve the financial condition of such municipality. 479 
(c) The Municipal Finance Advisory Commission may, after holding 480 
at least one meeting with a designated tier I municipality, recommend 481 
to the secretary that such municipality be designated as a tier II 482 
municipality. Any such recommendation shall be made on the basis of 483 
such municipality's financial condition, which shall be documented by 484 
the commission in a report submitted to the secretary. A copy of such 485 
report shall be provided to such municipality not later than ten days 486 
after such submission. Not later than forty-five days after such 487 
submission, the secretary may approve or reject such recommendation. 488 
If the secretary does not approve or reject such recommendation during 489 
such forty-five-day period, such recommendation shall be deemed 490 
rejected. 491 
Sec. 9. Section 7-576c of the general statutes is repealed and the 492 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2022): 493  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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(a) The chief elected official of a municipality designated as a tier I 494 
municipality pursuant to section 7-576a, as amended by this act, or the 495 
legislative body of such municipality, by majority vote, may apply to 496 
the secretary to request designation as a tier III municipality after 497 
holding at least one meeting with the Municipal Finance Advisory 498 
Commission, if [any of the following conditions exist: (1) The 499 
municipality has at least one bond rating from a bond rating agency that 500 
is below investment grade, or (2) the municipality has no bond rating 501 
from a bond rating agency, or, if its highest bond rating is A, Baa or BBB, 502 
provided the municipality has no rating that is not investment grade, 503 
and it has either (A) a negative fund balance percentage, or (B)] the 504 
municipality (1) has an equalized mill rate that is thirty or more, [and it 505 
receives] or (2) received thirty per cent or more of its current [or prior 506 
fiscal year general fund budget revenues were or are] year audited 507 
revenues in the form of municipal aid from the state. Prior to submission 508 
of such request by a chief elected official, such official shall provide 509 
notice of intent to apply for such designation to the legislative body of 510 
such municipality. Such legislative body shall have [thirty] forty-five 511 
days from receipt of such notice to approve or reject the chief elected 512 
official's decision to submit such a request. If such legislative body does 513 
not approve or reject such decision during such [thirty-day] forty-five-514 
day period, the chief elected official's decision to submit such request 515 
shall be deemed approved by such legislative body. Any chief elected 516 
official or legislative body that submits a request pursuant to this 517 
subsection shall provide a copy of such request to the Municipal Finance 518 
Advisory Commission not later than ten days after submitting such 519 
request. The secretary shall designate a municipality as tier III if [: (i) A 520 
municipality meets either condition described in subdivision (1) or (2) 521 
of] a request for such designation has been made pursuant to this 522 
subsection, and based on reports and findings of the Municipal Finance 523 
Advisory Commission, the secretary finds that the fiscal condition of the 524 
municipality warrants such designation. [, (ii) the municipality] 525 
(b) Any municipality that (1) receives a bond rating below investment 526 
grade from a rating agency, (2) issues refunding bonds that [(I)] (A) have 527  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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a term of more than twenty-five years, [(II)] (B) do not achieve net 528 
present value savings pursuant to the provisions of section 7-370c, and 529 
[(III)] (C) have annual debt service obligations associated with any 530 
existing debt and such refunding bonds in any year that are greater than 531 
the first full year debt service obligation following the issuance of such 532 
refunding bonds, or [(iii) the municipality] (3) issues a deficit obligation 533 
[or has issued a deficit obligation in the five years preceding July 1, 534 
2017.] shall be designated as a tier III municipality. Any municipality 535 
that meets one or more conditions described in subdivisions (1) to (3), 536 
inclusive, of this subsection, shall notify the secretary not later than ten 537 
days after having met such condition or conditions. 538 
(c) The Municipal Finance Advisory Commission may, after holding 539 
at least one meeting with a designated tier I municipality, recommend 540 
to the secretary that such municipality be designated as a tier III 541 
municipality. Any such recommendation shall be made on the basis of 542 
such municipality's financial condition, which shall be documented by 543 
the commission in a report submitted to the secretary. A copy of such 544 
report shall be provided to such municipality not later than ten days 545 
after such submission. Not later than forty-five days after such 546 
submission, the secretary may approve or reject such recommendation. 547 
If the secretary does not approve or reject such recommendation during 548 
such forty-five-day period, such recommendation shall be deemed 549 
rejected. 550 
[(b)] (d) The secretary shall refer any municipality that is a designated 551 
tier III municipality to the Municipal Accountability Review Board 552 
established pursuant to the provisions of section 7-576d, as amended by 553 
this act. 554 
[(c) Notwithstanding any provision of this section, no municipality 555 
shall be designated a tier III municipality prior to July 1, 2018, by any 556 
means other than an application as described in subsection (a) of this 557 
section, except a municipality with a population of one hundred twenty 558 
thousand or more that has a bond rating of Caa1 or less.] 559  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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Sec. 10. Subdivision (6) of subsection (b) of section 7-576d of the 560 
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 561 
thereof (Effective October 1, 2022): 562 
(6) With respect to any municipality referred to the Municipal 563 
Accountability Review Board on or after [January 1, 2018] October 1, 564 
2022, in the case of any proposed collective bargaining agreement or 565 
amendments negotiated pursuant to sections 7-467 to 7-477, inclusive, 566 
including any such agreement negotiated by a board of education, 567 
notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (d) of section 7-474, or 568 
pursuant to section 10-153d, the Municipal Accountability Review 569 
Board shall have the same opportunity and authority to approve or 570 
reject, on not more than two occasions, collective bargaining agreements 571 
or amendments as are provided to the legislative body of such 572 
municipality in said respective sections, except that (A) any such 573 
agreement negotiated by a board of education shall be submitted to the 574 
Municipal Accountability Review Board by the bargaining 575 
representative of such board of education not later than fourteen days 576 
after any such agreement is reached, and (B) [the Municipal 577 
Accountability Review Board shall act upon such agreement, pursuant 578 
to this subdivision, not later than thirty days after submission by such 579 
bargaining representative] such agreement shall be considered 580 
approved thirty days after such submission if the Municipal 581 
Accountability Review Board has failed to approve or reject such 582 
agreement.  583 
Sec. 11. Subdivision (8) of subsection (b) of section 7-576d of the 584 
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 585 
thereof (Effective October 1, 2022): 586 
(8) The board shall monitor compliance with the municipality's 587 
[three-year] five-year financial plan and annual budget and recommend 588 
that the municipality make such changes as are necessary to ensure 589 
budgetary balance in such plan and budget. 590 
Sec. 12. Subsection (a) of section 7-576e of the general statutes is 591  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 592 
1, 2022): 593 
(a) (1) The chief elected official of a tier III municipality or the 594 
legislative body of such municipality, by a majority vote, may apply to 595 
the secretary to request designation as a tier IV municipality. The 596 
secretary may approve the request if the secretary determines that such 597 
designation is necessary to ensure the fiscal sustainability of the 598 
municipality and is in the best interests of the state. Prior to submission 599 
of any such request by the chief elected official, such official shall 600 
provide notice of intent to apply for such designation to the legislative 601 
body of such municipality. Such legislative body shall have thirty days 602 
from receipt of such notice to approve or reject the chief elected official's 603 
decision to submit such a request. If such legislative body does not 604 
approve or reject such decision to seek such designation during such 605 
thirty-day period, the chief elected official's decision to submit such 606 
request shall be deemed approved by such legislative body. 607 
(2) The Municipal Accountability Review Board may designate a tier 608 
III municipality as a tier IV municipality based on a finding by the board 609 
that the fiscal condition of such municipality warrants such a 610 
designation based upon an evaluation of the following criteria: (A) The 611 
balance in the municipal reserve fund; (B) the short and long-term 612 
liabilities of the municipality, including, but not limited to, the 613 
municipality's ability to meet minimum funding levels required by law, 614 
contract or court order; (C) the initial budgeted revenue for the 615 
municipality for the past five fiscal years as compared to the actual 616 
revenue received by the municipality for such fiscal years; (D) budget 617 
projections for the following [three] five fiscal years; (E) the economic 618 
outlook for the municipality; and (F) the municipality's access to capital 619 
markets. For the purpose of determining whether to make a finding 620 
pursuant to this subdivision, the membership of the board shall 621 
additionally include the chief elected official of such municipality, the 622 
treasurer of such municipality and a member of the legislative body of 623 
such municipality, as selected by such body. In conducting a vote on 624  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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any such determination, the treasurer of such municipality shall be a 625 
non-voting member of the board. The board shall submit such finding 626 
and recommended designation to the secretary, who shall provide for a 627 
thirty-day notice and public comment period related to such finding 628 
and recommendation. Following the public notice and comment period, 629 
the secretary shall forward the board's finding and recommended 630 
designation and a report regarding the comments received in this regard 631 
to the Governor. Following the receipt of such documentation from the 632 
secretary, the Governor may approve or disapprove the board's 633 
recommended designation. 634 
(3) If any municipality is designated as a tier IV municipality, the 635 
following individuals shall serve as ex-officio, nonvoting members of 636 
the Municipal Accountability Review Board, provided such additional 637 
members shall only serve for purposes of the tier IV municipality that 638 
they represent: (A) The chief elected official of such municipality, or the 639 
chief elected official's designee, (B) an elected member of the local 640 
legislative body of such municipality, or such member's designee, as 641 
selected by a majority vote of the local legislative body of such 642 
municipality, (C) in the case where the municipality has an elected 643 
treasurer, the municipal treasurer or other municipal official responsible 644 
for the issuance of bonds, and (D) a member of the minority party of the 645 
municipality's legislative body as elected by such minority party 646 
members. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 7-568 to 7-575, 647 
inclusive, and sections 7-576a, as amended by this act, and 7-576b, as 648 
amended by this act, a municipality designated as a tier IV municipality 649 
pursuant to this section shall retain such designation following the 650 
issuance of a deficit obligation subsequent to such municipality's 651 
designation as a tier IV municipality. With respect to a designated tier 652 
IV municipality, the Municipal Accountability Review Board shall have 653 
the same powers and responsibilities as it has with respect to designated 654 
tier III municipalities in addition to which it shall have the following 655 
additional or superseding authority and responsibilities: 656 
(i) To review and approve or disapprove the municipality's annual 657  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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budget, including, but not limited to, the general fund, other 658 
governmental funds, enterprise funds and internal service funds. No 659 
annual budget, annual tax levy or user fee for the municipality shall 660 
become operative until it has been approved by the board. If the board 661 
disapproves any annual budget, not later than the May twenty-first 662 
prior to the beginning of the new fiscal year, the board shall specify the 663 
reasons for such disapproval and shall provide the legislative body until 664 
the June fifteenth prior to the beginning of the new fiscal year to 665 
resubmit the annual budget in accordance with this section. If the 666 
legislative body has not adopted a budget by such June fifteenth date or 667 
its resubmitted annual budget is not approved by the board, the board 668 
shall adopt an interim budget and establish a tax rate and user fees. Such 669 
interim budget shall take effect at the commencement of the fiscal year 670 
and shall remain in effect until the municipality submits and the board 671 
approves a modified budget. Notwithstanding any provision of the 672 
general statutes, or any public or special act, local law, charter or 673 
ordinance or resolution, a municipality may approve a modified budget 674 
pursuant to this section after any applicable deadline for such adoption 675 
has passed. 676 
(ii) To review and approve all bond ordinances and bond resolutions 677 
of the municipality. 678 
(iii) To monitor compliance with the municipality's [three-year] five- 679 
year financial plan and annual budget and require that the municipality 680 
make such changes as are necessary to ensure budgetary balance in such 681 
plan and budget. 682 
(iv) To approve or reject all collective bargaining agreements for a 683 
new term, other than modifications, amendments or reopening of an 684 
agreement, to be entered into by the municipality or any of its agencies 685 
or administrative units, including the board of education. If it rejects an 686 
agreement, the board shall indicate the specific provisions of the 687 
proposed agreement present or missing which caused the rejection, as 688 
well as its rationale for the rejection. The board may indicate the total 689 
cost impact or savings that are acceptable in a new agreement. At any 690  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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time during negotiations and prior to reaching any agreement, or a 691 
modified agreement, the parties, by mutual agreement, may request 692 
guidance from the board as to the level and areas of savings that may be 693 
acceptable to the board in a new agreement. Following any rejection of 694 
a proposed collective bargaining agreement, the parties to the 695 
agreement shall have ten days from the date of the board's rejection to 696 
consider the board's concerns and propose a modified agreement. After 697 
the expiration of such ten-day period, the board shall approve or reject 698 
any such modified agreement. If the parties have been unable to reach a 699 
modified agreement or the board rejects such modified agreement, the 700 
board shall impose binding arbitration on the parties, in accordance 701 
with clause (v) of this subdivision, to arbitrate issues identified by the 702 
board as the cause for such inability or rejection. In establishing the 703 
issues to be arbitrated, as well as in making a determination to reject a 704 
proposed agreement, the board shall not be limited to matters raised or 705 
negotiated by the parties. Also, to approve or reject all modifications, 706 
amendments or reopeners to collective bargaining agreements entered 707 
into by the municipality or any of its agencies or administrative units, 708 
including the board of education. If it rejects a modification, amendment 709 
or reopener to an agreement, the board shall indicate the specific 710 
provisions of the proposed modification, amendment or reopener which 711 
caused the rejection, as well as its rationale for the rejection. The board 712 
may indicate the total cost impact or savings acceptable in a new 713 
modification, amendment or reopener. If the board rejects a proposed 714 
amendment or reopener to a collective bargaining agreement, the 715 
parties to the agreement shall have ten days from the date of the board's 716 
rejection to consider the board's concerns and put forth a revised 717 
modification, amendment or reopener. After the expiration of such ten-718 
day period, the board shall approve or reject any revised modification, 719 
amendment or reopener amendment. If the parties are unable to reach 720 
a revised modification, amendment or reopener or the board rejects 721 
such revised modification, amendment or reopener, the board shall 722 
impose binding arbitration upon the parties in accordance with clause 723 
(v) of this subdivision. The issues to be arbitrated shall be those 724 
identified by the board as causing such inability or rejection. Prior to the 725  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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board taking action on any such modification, amendment or reopener, 726 
the parties shall have an opportunity to make a presentation to the 727 
board. 728 
(v) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, with respect to 729 
collective bargaining agreements of the municipality or any of its 730 
agencies or administrative units, including, but not limited to, the board 731 
of education, that are in or are subject to binding arbitration, the board 732 
shall have the power to impose binding arbitration upon the parties any 733 
time after the seventy-fifth day following the commencement of 734 
negotiations or to reject any arbitration award pending municipal or 735 
board of education action pursuant to section 7-473c or 10-153f on the 736 
date the board is established. If, upon the date of a municipality's 737 
designation as a tier IV municipality, the parties are in binding 738 
arbitration, or if the board rejects a pending arbitration award, the board 739 
shall immediately replace any established binding arbitration panel 740 
with an arbitrator selected in accordance with this section. If the board 741 
imposes binding arbitration or replaces an existing binding arbitration 742 
panel, it shall do so with an arbitrator selected by the Governor from a 743 
list of three potential arbitrators approved by and submitted to the 744 
Governor by the board. Such list of potential arbitrators shall include 745 
former judges of the state or federal judicial systems or other persons 746 
who have experience with arbitration or similar proceedings. Prior to 747 
the Governor's selection of an arbitrator, the parties may provide 748 
recommendations for such selection to the board. The board shall not be 749 
limited to selecting arbitrators from those recommended by the parties. 750 
The board may reduce the time limits in the applicable provisions of the 751 
general statutes or any public or special acts governing binding 752 
arbitration by one-half. In imposing such arbitration or in replacing an 753 
arbitration panel, the board shall not be limited to consideration and 754 
inclusion in the collective bargaining agreement of the last best offers or 755 
the matters raised by or negotiated by the parties provided the board 756 
shall indicate reasons for raising any matters not negotiated by the 757 
parties. The board shall be given the opportunity to make a presentation 758 
before the arbitrator. In addition to any statutory factors that shall be 759  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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considered by the arbitrator with respect to proposed municipal or 760 
board of education collective bargaining agreements, the arbitrator shall 761 
give highest priority to the short and long-term fiscal exigencies that 762 
resulted in the municipality's designation as a tier IV municipality. Not 763 
later than ten days after the issuance of any of the arbitrator's decisions 764 
on the matters subject to such binding arbitration, the board may 765 
request reconsideration of one or more of such decisions and state its 766 
position as to the impact of such decisions on the short and long-term 767 
fiscal sustainability of the municipality. Not later than five days after the 768 
board's request for such reconsideration, the parties may submit 769 
comments to the arbitrator in response to the board's stated position. 770 
Not later than thirty days following the board's request for such 771 
reconsideration, the arbitrator, based on the record of the arbitration, 772 
may either modify or maintain the original arbitration decisions. The 773 
arbitrator's decisions shall be binding upon the parties. With respect to 774 
collective bargaining agreements negotiated pursuant to section 10-775 
153d and arbitration awards issued pursuant to section 10-153f, the 776 
provisions of this subdivision shall not apply until the board has 777 
rejected such agreement or award pursuant to subdivision (7) of 778 
subsection (b) of section 7-576d, as amended by this act, on two 779 
occasions. 780 
(4) (A) To require its approval of proposed transfers of a 781 
municipality's appropriations in excess of fifty thousand dollars, (B) to 782 
require its review, approval, disapproval or modification of the budget 783 
of the board of education for the municipality on a line-item basis and 784 
to require the board of education to submit to it any budget transfers, or 785 
(C) to appoint a financial manager and delegate to such manager, in 786 
writing, such powers as the board deems necessary or appropriate for 787 
the purpose of managing the financial and administrative affairs of the 788 
municipality for the period of time during which the municipality is 789 
subject to the powers of the board provided the board may override any 790 
actions taken by such manager at any time and shall not delegate the 791 
powers enumerated under subdivisions (2), (3) and (5) to (7), inclusive, 792 
and (11) to (13), inclusive, of subsection (b) of section 7-576d, as 793  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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amended by this act, or subdivisions (1), (2) and (4) to (6), inclusive of 794 
this subsection. The board shall consult with such municipality and the 795 
board of education of such municipality, as applicable, to establish 796 
policies and procedures for the implementation of the provisions of 797 
subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this subdivision. 798 
(5) The board may require that the municipality or its board of 799 
education notify and submit to the board any or all municipal or board 800 
of education contracts that exceed (A) fifty thousand dollars for 801 
municipalities with a resident population under seventy thousand, or 802 
(B) one hundred thousand dollars for municipalities with a resident 803 
population of seventy thousand or more, not less than thirty days prior 804 
to execution of such contract, for the purpose of the board's review and 805 
approval of such contracts. The board shall establish policies and 806 
procedures, in consultation with any such municipality and such 807 
municipality's board of education, to implement the provisions of this 808 
subdivision. 809 
(6) To approve and authorize the issuance of obligations under 810 
section 7-575, including, with regard to a designated tier IV municipality 811 
otherwise ineligible to issue such obligations, for the purposes of issuing 812 
general obligations for purposes of deficit financing, addressing pension 813 
liabilities in accordance with section 7-374c, as amended by this act, debt 814 
restructuring and other purposes allowed for which municipal 815 
obligations are authorized by the general statutes. 816 
Sec. 13. Section 7-576f of the general statutes is repealed and the 817 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2022): 818 
(a) A municipality designated as a tier I municipality in accordance 819 
with section 7-576a, [or designated as a] as amended by this act, tier II 820 
municipality in accordance with section 7-576b, as amended by this act, 821 
tier III municipality in accordance with section 7-576c, as amended by 822 
this act, or tier IV municipality in accordance with section 7-576e, as 823 
amended by this act, shall retain such designation, notwithstanding any 824 
positive changes in the factors leading to its current designation, [or] 825  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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until, in the fiscal years following such designation, (1) there have been 826 
no [annual] audited operating [budgetary] deficits in the general fund 827 
of the municipality for two consecutive fiscal years, (2) the 828 
municipality's bond rating has either improved or remained unchanged 829 
since its most current designation, (3) the municipality has presented 830 
and the commission or board has approved a financial plan that projects 831 
a positive [unreserved] fund balance for the three succeeding 832 
consecutive fiscal years covered by such financial plan, where a positive 833 
fund balance of at least five per cent is projected in the third such fiscal 834 
year, and (4) the municipality's audits for such consecutive fiscal years 835 
have been completed and contain no general fund deficit. 836 
[Notwithstanding any other provisions of sections 7-560 to 7-575, 837 
inclusive, sections 7-568 to 7-579, inclusive, the municipality shall 838 
remain undesignated for purposes of a tier designation, unless 839 
circumstances would result in the municipality being designated as a 840 
tier numerically higher than its most recent designation.] 841 
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the Municipal 842 
Finance Advisory Commission may, by unanimous vote, end the 843 
designation of a municipality designated as a tier I municipality, based 844 
on an evaluation of such municipality's financial condition. 845 
Sec. 14. Subsection (a) of section 7-576i of the general statutes is 846 
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 847 
1, 2022): 848 
(a) Any designated tier II, III, or IV municipality shall be eligible to 849 
receive funding from the Municipal Restructuring Fund, which fund 850 
shall be nonlapsing. A designated tier II, III or IV municipality seeking 851 
such funds shall submit, for approval by the Secretary of the Office of 852 
Policy and Management, a plan detailing its overall restructuring plan, 853 
including local actions to be taken and its proposed use of such funds. 854 
Notwithstanding section 10-262j, a municipality may, as part of such 855 
plan and in consultation with its local board of education, submit a 856 
proposed reduction in the minimum budget requirement related to its 857 
education budget. The secretary shall consult with the Commissioner of 858  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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Education in approving or rejecting such proposed reduction. The 859 
secretary shall consult with the municipal accountability review board 860 
in making distribution decisions and attaching appropriate conditions 861 
thereto, including the timing of any such distributions and whether such 862 
funds shall be distributed in the form of a municipal restructuring fund 863 
loan subject to repayment by the municipality. The distribution of such 864 
assistance funds shall be based on the relative fiscal needs of the 865 
requesting municipalities. The secretary may approve all, none or a 866 
portion of the funds requested by a municipality. In attaching 867 
conditions to such funding, the secretary shall consider the impact of 868 
such conditions on the ability of a municipality to meet legal and other 869 
obligations. The board shall monitor and report to the secretary on the 870 
use of such funds and adherence to the conditions attached thereto. The 871 
secretary shall develop and issue guidance on the (1) administration of 872 
the municipal restructuring fund, (2) criteria for participation by 873 
municipalities and requirements for plan submission, and (3) 874 
prioritization for the awarding of assistance funds pursuant to this 875 
section. Any municipality that receives funding from the municipal 876 
restructuring fund, in addition to the other responsibilities and 877 
authority given to the board with respect to designated tiers II, III and 878 
IV municipalities, shall be required to receive board approval of its 879 
annual budgets. 880 
Sec. 15. Section 7-576g of the general statutes is repealed. (Effective 881 
October 1, 2022) 882 
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following 
sections: 
 
Section 1 October 1, 2022 7-374c(c) 
Sec. 2 October 1, 2022 7-392(e) 
Sec. 3 October 1, 2022 7-393 
Sec. 4 October 1, 2022 7-395(d) 
Sec. 5 October 1, 2022 7-406c 
Sec. 6 October 1, 2022 7-560 
Sec. 7 October 1, 2022 7-576a 
Sec. 8 October 1, 2022 7-576b  Substitute Bill No. 5427 
 
 
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Sec. 9 October 1, 2022 7-576c 
Sec. 10 October 1, 2022 7-576d(b)(6) 
Sec. 11 October 1, 2022 7-576d(b)(8) 
Sec. 12 October 1, 2022 7-576e(a) 
Sec. 13 October 1, 2022 7-576f 
Sec. 14 October 1, 2022 7-576i(a) 
Sec. 15 October 1, 2022 Repealer section 
 
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:   
In Section 13(a), "where the third such fiscal year projecting a positive 
fund balance of at least five per cent" was changed to "where a positive 
fund balance of at least five per cent is projected in the third such fiscal 
year" for clarity. 
 
PD Joint Favorable Subst. C/R 	FIN 
FIN Joint Favorable Subst.-LCO