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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6692
January Session, 2023
AN ACT CONCERNING CERTAIN ARTS, CULTURE AND TOURISM
GRANTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 10-400 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2023): 2
With respect to arts activities, the Department of Economic and 3
Community Development shall encourage, within the state or in 4
association with other states, or both, participation in, and promotion, 5
development, acceptance and appreciation of, artistic and cultural 6
activities that shall include, but are not limited to, music, theater, 7
dance, painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, films and allied arts 8
and crafts and to this end shall have the following powers: (1) To join 9
or contract with consultants, private patrons, individual artists and 10
ensembles and with institutions, local sponsoring organizations and 11
professional organizations; (2) to enter into contracts to provide grants, 12
loans or advances to individuals, organizations, or institutions, public 13
or private, that are engaged in or plan to engage in artistic and cultural 14
programs or activities within the state, or that are engaged in or plan to 15
engage in the promotion, development, or encouragement of artistic 16
and cultural programs or activities within the state, including, but not 17
limited to, grants or loans to such individuals, organizations or 18
institutions, for the purposes of state-wide marketing, infrastructure or 19 Substitute Bill No. 6692
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workforce development; (3) to accept, hold and administer, on behalf 20
of the department, in accordance with the provisions of sections 4-28, 21
4-31, 4-31a and 4b-22, real property, personal property, securities, 22
other choses in action and moneys, or any interest therein, and income 23
therefrom, either absolutely or in trust, for any purpose of the 24
department. The department may acquire or receive such property or 25
money for its purposes by the acceptance of state or federal or public 26
or private loans, contributions, gifts, grants, donations, bequests or 27
devises, and the department shall deposit or credit the same in the 28
culture and tourism account established under section 10-395; (4) to 29
establish a nonprofit foundation for the purpose of raising funds from 30
private sources to encourage, within the state or in association with 31
other states, or both, participation in, and promotion, development, 32
acceptance and appreciation of, artistic and cultural activities that shall 33
include, but are not limited to, music, theater, dance, painting, 34
sculpture, architecture, literature, films, heritage, historic preservation, 35
humanities and allied arts and crafts. All funds received by the 36
foundation shall be held in the manner prescribed by sections 4-37e to 37
4-37j, inclusive; and (5) to perform such other acts as may be necessary 38
or appropriate to carry out the objectives and purposes of the 39
department. The General Assembly declares that all activities 40
undertaken in carrying out the policies set forth in this chapter shall be 41
directed toward encouraging and assisting, rather than in any way 42
limiting, the freedom of artistic expression that is essential for the well-43
being of the arts. Said department shall maintain a survey of public 44
and private facilities engaged within the state in artistic and cultural 45
activities and determine the needs of the citizens of this state and the 46
methods by which existing resources may be utilized, or new resources 47
developed, to fulfill these needs. The department shall maintain a 48
register of Connecticut artists. The name, town of residence and artistic 49
medium of any such artist residing in Connecticut shall be entered in 50
the register by the department upon the artist's request. 51
Sec. 2. Section 10-401 of the general statutes is repealed and the 52
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2023): 53 Substitute Bill No. 6692
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The Department of Economic and Community Development shall 54
establish and administer a special incentive grant program to provide 55
financial assistance for artistic and cultural programs and activities 56
pursuant to subdivision (2) of section 10-400, as amended by this act. 57
The department shall identify strategic goals, establish metrics and 58
establish an accountability structure for such grant program. No state 59
funds appropriated to the department for the purposes of said 60
program shall be disbursed unless one-third of the amount of such 61
financial assistance consists of nonfederal funds raised and received by 62
said department. 63
Sec. 3. Section 10-396 of the general statutes is repealed and the 64
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2023): 65
With respect to tourism activities, the Department of Economic and 66
Community Development shall: 67
(1) Develop, annually update and implement a strategic marketing 68
plan for the national and international promotion of Connecticut as a 69
tourism destination; 70
(2) Develop a Connecticut strategic plan for new tourism products 71
and attractions; 72
(3) Provide marketing and other assistance to the tourism industry; 73
(4) Ensure cooperation among the regional tourism districts; 74
(5) Within available appropriations, maintain, operate and manage 75
the visitor welcome centers in the state; 76
(6) Within available appropriations, develop and administer a grant 77
program to support programs and initiatives of entities primarily 78
engaging in activities relating to the tourism industry; 79
[(6)] (7) Develop and administer a program of challenge grants to 80
encourage innovation and job development, provide incentives for 81
coordinated activity consistent with the strategic marketing plan and 82 Substitute Bill No. 6692
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stimulate the development of private funds for tourism promotion; 83
[and] 84
[(7)] (8) Subject to available funds, assist municipalities to 85
accommodate tourist attractions within such municipalities or within 86
neighboring or adjoining municipalities; and 87
(9) Establish metrics and an accountability structure for tourism 88
investments made by the state. 89
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2023 10-400
Sec. 2 July 1, 2023 10-401
Sec. 3 July 1, 2023 10-396
CE Joint Favorable Subst. C/R FIN
FIN Joint Favorable Subst.