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OLR Bill Analysis
HB 5476
AN ACT CONCERNING THE PROVISION OF PARTIAL FEE
REDUCTIONS BY MUNICIPAL STORMWATER AUTHORITIES AND
THE INCLUSION OF HEATING, VENTILATING AND AIR
CONDITIONING SYSTEMS IN SCHOOL BUILDING PROJECT
GRANT PAYMENTS.
SUMMARY
The bill (1) expands the types of fee reductions that municipal
stormwater authorities (see BACKGROUND) must provide to
properties in their districts and (2) makes installing, replacing, or
repairing heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) systems
eligible for emergency school building project grants (which do not
require legislative approval).
The bill requires authorities to provide partial fee reductions for any
property in their districts whose owner:
1. maintains and operates an authority-approved stormwater
management system that (a) complies with state and local
standards in effect when the system was approved and (b)
effectively reduces, retains, or treats stormwater onsite or
2. has installed, and operates and maintains, infrastructure that
reduces, retains, or treats stormwater onsite and exceeds any
requirements applicable to the property under state and local
laws and regulations.
Existing law already requires authorities to provide a credit for any
property whose owner has installed and is maintaining current
authority-approved stormwater best management practices that reduce,
retain, or treat stormwater onsite.
Under the bill, all of these fee reductions must be in the form of a
credit proportional to the reduction in stormwater runoff.
The bill also eliminates the requirement that stormwater authorities 2022HB-05476-R000572-BA.DOCX
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consider a property’s grand list valuation when setting fees. Existing
law, unchanged by the bill, requires authorities to consider (1) the
amount of impervious surface generating stormwater runoff and (2)
land use types that result in higher concentrations of stormwater
pollution.
The bill also makes conforming and technical changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2022
BACKGROUND
Stormwater Authorities
PA 21-115, §§ 1-3, authorized all municipalities (rather than just those
participating in a pilot program) to establish a municipal stormwater
authority. The purpose of a local stormwater authority is to, among
other things, develop a stormwater management program and
recommend fees to levy on real property to fund the program. A
municipality’s legislative body must approve a stormwater authority’s
annual budget and the fees it plans to levy, and the total amount of fees
the authority plans to collect cannot exceed its projected spending.
Only New London, which participated in the pilot program, has
established a stormwater authority to date.
Related Bills
sSB 423 (File 320), favorably reported by the Labor and Public
Employees Committee, makes certain school HVAC projects eligible to
receive state reimbursement grants.
sSB 428 (File 449), favorably reported by the Education Committee,
requires the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) to administer
a grant reimbursement program for the cost of school indoor air quality
improvements, including the installation, replacement, or upgrading of
HVAC systems, beginning in FY 23.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 46 Nay 5 (04/05/2022)