O F F I C E O F L E G I S L A T I V E R E S E A R C H
P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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PA 23-156—sHB 6851
Energy and Technology Committee
AN ACT IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS OF T HE HYDROGEN
TASK FORCE
SUMMARY: This act requires the Department of Energy and Environmental
Protection (DEEP) to develop and approve a hydrogen strategic plan, extends
certain wage and workforce requirements to hydrogen projects, and requires DEEP
to seek federal funding opportunities for projects that advance hydrogen in the state.
Existing law requires renewable energy project developers to meet certain wage
and workforce requirements if their project meets certain criteria (“covered
projects”). Beginning January 1, 2025, the act extends these requirements to
hydrogen projects, which are projects producing, processing, transporting, storing,
or using hydrogen.
The act requires the DEEP commissioner to seek opportunities for federal
funding for projects or activities that advance hydrogen in the state. She must do
this in consultation with the governor, the Office of Policy and Management
secretary, and the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD)
commissioner. The act requires the DECD commissioner to identify the state’s
share of projects or activities needed to meet federal matching requirements.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2023, except the provision that requires DEEP to seek
federal funding is effective upon passage.
HYDROGEN STRATEGIC P LAN
The act requires DEEP to develop and approve a hydrogen strategic plan by
December 31, 2024. The plan must recommend policies, programs, and regulations
to grow the state’s hydrogen economy, consistent with the:
1. state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals;
2. approved Integrated Resource Plan, which is a plan DEEP develops every
two years, in consultation with Eversource and United Illuminating, by
reviewing the state’s energy capacity and needs and developing a plan to
procure various energy resources (CGS § 16-3a); and
3. Comprehensive Energy Strategy, which DEEP prepares every four years to
guide the state’s energy policy, among other things (CGS § 16a-3d).
The act additionally requires the hydrogen strategic plan to encourage using
hydrogen produced from renewable energy and prioritize applications for this
hydrogen to aviation, maritime shipping, ferry transportation, heavy-duty trucking,
and high-temperature industrial processes. The plan must also describe the current
and projected cost differences between using hydrogen produced from renewable
energy to power these sectors and processes and using fossil fuels to do it.
O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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COVERED PROJECT REQU IREMENTS
Under the act, starting January 1, 2025, hydrogen projects are “covered
projects” subject to labor and workforce requirements under CGS § 31-53d. Among
other things, these provisions require project developers to establish a workforce
development program, which 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 (e.g., apprenticeship programs).
Contractors and subcontractors on a covered project must pay each construction
employee on the project at least the wages and benefits that the state’s prevailing
wage law requires for the employee’s corresponding job classification on a public
works project. It subjects the contractors and subcontractors to the penalties and
sanctions for violating the prevailing wage law’s reporting and compliance
requirements (see BACKGROUND). Construction projects covered by a project
labor agreement (PLA) are exempt from this requirement if the PLA meets certain
other criteria.
Each operations, maintenance, and security employee employed in a building
or facility built in a covered project must be paid at least the prevailing wage or the
“standard wage” (see BACKGROUND), including benefits for the employee’s
corresponding job classification.
Developers must also submit sworn certifications to the labor commissioner
from each contractor and subcontractor that it meets certain conditions, including,
among other things, that it:
1. will not pay personnel employed on the project less than the applicable
wage and fringe benefit rates for the appropriate classification,
2. will not misclassify employees as independent contractors, and
3. participates in apprenticeship training through certain state or federal
apprenticeship programs.
Contractors and subcontractors can be debarred under the state’s debarment law
if a certification has false, misleading, or materially inaccurate information.
Developers who fail to take reasonable steps to ensure certifications are accurate
and truthful can face other noncompliance penalties set in regulations.
For covered projects with a nameplate capacity of at least five megawatts,
covered project developers must take all reasonable actions to ensure that a
community benefits agreement is entered into with the appropriate community
organizations representing community residents where the project will be located.
A nameplate capacity is generally a measurement of an electricity generation or
storage project’s maximum output. (Certain hydrogen projects may not have
nameplate capacities; presumably, they are not subject to this provision.) A
community benefits agreement details the project’s contribution to the community
and aspects that will mitigate the community’s adverse conditions and create
opportunities for local business, communities, and workers.
BACKGROUND
Prevailing Wage O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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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 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, or food service work at
state buildings to pay their employees wages and benefits as determined by the
labor commissioner. In general, an 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).