OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS
Legislative Office Building, Room 5200
Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa
sHB-6767
AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER
PROTECTION'S RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING LICENSING
AND ENFORCEMENT.
As Amended by House "A" (LCO 8456)
House Calendar No.: 167
Primary Analyst: ME 5/24/23
Contributing Analyst(s):
Reviewer: RP
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 24 $ FY 25 $
Various Various -
Revenue Impact
See Below See Below
Note: Various=Various
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill makes various changes to consumer protection statutes
resulting in the revenue impact described below.
Section 2 requires heating fuel dealers to remove disconnected tanks
or equipment from consumers premises within 30 days and establishes
a fine of up to $250 for violations resulting in a potential revenue gain
to the state to the extent violations occur.
Sections 3, 4, 6, 8, 17 and 18 require certain individuals to submit to
and cover associated costs for a state criminal history records check
resulting in a potential revenue gain to the General Fund and the
Applicant Fingerprint Card Submission Account. DESPP conducts state
background checks for $75 per person and to the extent additional
background checks are requested, there is a potential revenue gain to
the state. State background checks require fingerprinting, which DESPP
conducts for $15 per person resulting in a potential revenue gain to the 2023HB-06767-R010823-FN.DOCX Page 2 of 3
Applicant Fingerprint Card Submission Account.
1
These sections also remove the Department of Consumer Protection's
(DCP) ability to charge a fee of up to $15 when an individual convicted
of a criminal offense request to know if it disqualifies them from
obtaining a certificate or license resulting in a potential revenue loss to
the state to the extent these fees are assessed.
Section 7 increases the civil penalty for a trade licensing violation to
$3,000 resulting in a potential revenue gain to the extent violations
occur. This section also creates a new fine of up to $5,000 for apprentice
hiring violations resulting in a potential revenue gain to the state to the
extent violations occur.
Section 9 prorates the fee for new home construction contractors
during the transition year
2
resulting in a potential revenue loss to the
extent higher license fees would have been paid. This section also
prorates the fee to the New Home Construction Guaranty Fund
3
and the
Home Improvement Guaranty Fund
4
resulting in a potential revenue
loss during the transition year to the extent higher fees would have been
paid.
Section 15 makes all fines $1,500 instead of a tiered structure starting
at $500, resulting in a potential revenue gain to the consumer protection
enforcement account
5
to the extent violations occur.
Section 20 requires late renewals for (within 90 days of expiration)
1
Funds in the non-lapsing Applicant Fingerprint Card Submission Account are used
for IT support and maintenance for the fingerprinting systems.
2
New home construction contractor registrations are transitioning from biennial to
annual fees in 2023, this eliminates the potential for overcharging certain contractors.
3
The New Home Construction Guaranty Fund is non -appropriated and makes
restitution payments to CT consumers for damages caused by licensed New Home
construction contractors
4
The Home Improvement Guaranty Fund is non-appropriated and makes restitution
payments to CT consumers for damages caused by licensed Home Improvement
contractors or salespersons.
5
The Consumer Protection Enforcement Account is a non-appropriated account that
funds positions dedicated to the enhanced enforcement of DCP licensing laws and
regulations. 2023HB-06767-R010823-FN.DOCX Page 3 of 3
DCP credentials to pay late fees of 10 percent and applies the existing
fee structure to reinstatements resulting in a potential revenue gain to
the state to the extent late renewals and reinstatements occur.
Section 503 increases the civil penalty to not more than $5,000 per
violation and removes the cap on civil penalties for any single event
resulting in a potential revenue gain to the state to the extent that these
violations occur.
The bill also makes various minor, technical, and conforming changes
to consumer protection statutes resulting in no fiscal impact to the state.
House "A" retains the current fee language for violating existing law's
written contract provisions in section 2 which removes the potential
revenue loss from this section in the underlying bill.
The amendment removes the Department of Consumer Protection's
(DCP) ability to charge a fee of up to $15 when an individual convicted
of a criminal offense request to know if it disqualifies them from
obtaining a certificate or license resulting in a potential revenue loss to
the state to the extent these fees are assessed.
The amendment also adds Section 503 which increases the civil
penalty to not more than $5,000 per violation and removes the cap on
civil penalties for any single event resulting in a potential revenue gain
to the state to the extent that these violations occur.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to the number of licenses applied for,
violations, and inflation.