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General Assembly Governor's Bill No. 979
January Session, 2023
LCO No. 4058
Referred to Committee on ENVIRONMENT
Introduced by:
Request of the Governor Pursuant
to Joint Rule 9
AN ACT PROMOTING ENERGY AFFORDABILITY, ENERGY
EFFICIENCY AND GREEN CITIES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) In order to secure cost-1
effective resources and provide more reliable electric service for the 2
benefit of the state's electric ratepayers, to make reasonable further 3
progress toward the greenhouse gas emissions reduction levels set out 4
in section 22a-200a of the general statutes and to meet the state's energy 5
and environmental goals and policies established in the Integrated 6
Resources Plan, pursuant to section 16a-3a of the general statutes and 7
the Comprehensive Energy Strategy, pursuant to section 16a-3d of the 8
general statutes, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental 9
Protection, in consultation with the procurement manager identified in 10
subsection (l) of section 16-2 of the general statutes, the Office of 11
Consumer Counsel and the Attorney General, may, in coordination 12
with other states in the control area of the regional independent system 13
operator, as defined in section 16-1 of the general statutes, or on behalf 14
of Connecticut alone, issue multiple solicitations for long-term contracts 15 Governor's Bill No. 979
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from providers of resources described in subsection (b) of this section. 16
(b) In any solicitation issued pursuant to this subsection, the 17
Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection may seek 18
proposals from providers of transmission resources and associated 19
transmission infrastructure, including, but not limited to, transmission 20
infrastructure for offshore wind resources, provided such transmission 21
resources are located in or interconnect to the control area of the regional 22
independent system operator or the control area of an adjacent regional 23
independent system operator. Proposals under this subsection shall not 24
have a contract term exceeding forty years. 25
(c) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, in 26
consultation with the procurement manager identified in subsection (l) 27
of section 16-2 of the general statutes, the Office of Consumer Counsel 28
and the Attorney General shall evaluate project proposals received 29
under any solicitation issued pursuant to subsection (b) of this section 30
based on factors, including, but not limited to, (1) improvements to the 31
reliability of the electric system, including during winter peak demand; 32
(2) fuel diversity; (3) the extent to which the proposal contributes to 33
meeting the requirements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and 34
improve air quality in accordance with sections 16-245a, 22a-174 and 35
22a-200a of the general statutes; (4) whether the proposal is in the best 36
interest of ratepayers because it obviates the need for future reliability 37
upgrades; and (5) whether the proposal is aligned with the policy goals 38
outlined in the Integrated Resources Plan, pursuant to section 16a-3a of 39
the general statutes, and the Comprehensive Energy Strategy, pursuant 40
to section 16a-3d of the general statutes, including, but not limited to, 41
environmental impacts. In conducting such evaluation, the 42
commissioner, in coordination with the Commissioner of Economic 43
Development, may consider the extent to which project proposals 44
provide economic benefits for the state. 45
(d) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection may 46
direct the electric distribution companies to enter into agreements with 47
transmission resources and associated transmission infrastructure, from 48 Governor's Bill No. 979
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proposals selected pursuant to this section, for periods of not more than 49
forty years on behalf of all customers of the state's electric distribution 50
companies. 51
(e) Any agreement entered into pursuant to this section shall be 52
subject to review and approval by the Public Utilities Regulatory 53
Authority, provided such review shall be completed not later than one 54
hundred twenty days after the authority receives the agreement. The 55
authority shall approve agreements if it determines (1) the agreement 56
provides for the delivery of adequate and reliable products and services, 57
for which there is a clear public need, at a just and reasonable price, (2) 58
the agreement is prudent and cost effective, and (3) any provider of 59
transmission resources under the agreement has the technical, financial 60
and managerial capabilities to perform pursuant to such agreement. The 61
net costs of any such agreement, including costs incurred by the electric 62
distribution companies under the agreement and reasonable costs 63
incurred by the electric distribution companies in connection with the 64
agreement, shall be recovered through a fully reconciling component of 65
electric rates for all customers of electric distribution companies. Any 66
net revenues from the sale of products purchased in accordance with 67
long-term contracts entered into pursuant to this section shall be 68
credited to customers through the same fully reconciling rate 69
component for all customers of the contracting electric distribution 70
company. The commissioner may hire consultants with expertise in 71
quantitative modeling of electric and gas markets to assist in 72
implementing this section, including, but not limited to, the evaluation 73
of proposals submitted pursuant to this section. All reasonable costs 74
associated with the commissioner's solicitation and review of proposals 75
pursuant to this section shall be recoverable through the same fully 76
reconciling rate component for all customers of the electric distribution 77
companies. 78
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective January 1, 2024) (a) As used in this section, 79
"Connecticut home energy label" or "label" means a label developed by 80
the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection that 81
provides a score regarding a residence's energy efficiency and is 82 Governor's Bill No. 979
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consistent with all nationally recognized ratings, including the United 83
States Department of Energy Home Energy score, the Home Energy 84
Rating System Index score and the Energy Star score. 85
(b) (1) In developing the Connecticut home energy label, the 86
commissioner shall consider factors, including, but not limited to, (A) 87
the cost effectiveness of the labeling process, (B) the ability of a 88
residence's owner to conduct the labeling process and generate a label 89
for the residence without outside or professional assistance, (C) the 90
clarity of the information the label provides regarding the residence's 91
estimated energy efficiency, (D) the standardization of the label, (E) the 92
ability of the label to integrate information generated by existing 93
nationally recognized ratings, and (F) the accuracy and reliability of the 94
label. 95
(2) In developing the label, the commissioner shall provide an 96
opportunity for public comment. 97
(c) (1) Any landlord, upon (A) listing any dwelling unit for rent 98
through a multiple listing service, real estate brokers' organization or 99
other service, organization or facility related to the business of selling or 100
renting dwelling units, including private listing services, or (B) offering 101
any dwelling unit for rent through a means other than those specified in 102
subparagraph (A) of this subdivision, shall provide a Connecticut home 103
energy label, with an electronic link to the Internet web site that contains 104
the report for such Connecticut home energy label for the dwelling unit, 105
to any prospective tenant at the tenant's request or prior to the tenant's 106
signing of a lease for the dwelling unit. For dwelling units listed 107
pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this subdivision, the landlord shall 108
provide the Connecticut home energy label and electronic link through 109
the service, organization or facility through which the landlord lists the 110
dwelling unit. 111
(2) The provisions of this section shall apply: (A) On and after (i) July 112
1, 2024, or (ii) thirty days after the commissioner's public release of the 113
Connecticut home energy label, whichever is later, to any municipality 114 Governor's Bill No. 979
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that contains a census tract in which the average percentage of gross 115
household income spent on home heating and electricity costs is not less 116
than ten per cent; (B) on or after July 1, 2025, to any municipality that 117
contains a census tract in which the average percentage of gross 118
household income spent on home heating and electricity costs is not less 119
than six per cent; (C) on or after July 1, 2026, to any municipality 120
containing a census tract in which the average percentage of gross 121
household income spent on home heating and electricity costs is not less 122
than four per cent; and (D) on or after July 1, 2027, to all municipalities. 123
(3) The Commissioners of Housing and Energy and Environmental 124
Protection shall, not later than March first of each year, publish on the 125
Departments of Housing's and Energy and Environmental Protection's 126
Internet web sites a list of municipalities that meet the criteria set forth 127
in subdivision (2) of this subsection according to the Low-Income 128
Energy Affordability Data Tool maintained by the United States 129
Department of Energy, or a successor tool. 130
(4) The provisions of this section shall not apply to: (A) The rental of 131
any dwelling unit for which rent payments include a fixed amount for 132
all charges for electricity, natural gas or heating fuel, as defined in 133
section 16a-23m of the general statutes; (B) any dwelling unit in a 134
building that was constructed on or after January 1, 2000; or (C) on or 135
before July 1, 2027, any dwelling unit in any building occupied by the 136
landlord of such building as a residence. 137
(d) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 51-164p of the 138
general statutes, any municipality subject to the provisions of this 139
section may, by ordinance, establish a civil penalty payable to such 140
municipality for a violation of this section, provided such civil penalty 141
shall not exceed five hundred dollars for a first violation and one 142
thousand dollars for any subsequent violation. 143
(2) Any person assessed any civil penalty under subdivision (1) of 144
this subsection may appeal such assessment to the Superior Court not 145
later than thirty days after the mailing date of the notice of such 146 Governor's Bill No. 979
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assessment by filing a petition to reopen the assessment, together with 147
an entry fee equal to the entry fee for a small claims case under section 148
52-259 of the general statutes, at the Superior Court facility designated 149
by the Chief Court Administrator. Such petition shall entitle such person 150
to a hearing under the rules of the judges of the Superior Court. 151
(3) The remedies in this subsection shall be in addition to any other 152
remedies available at law, or in equity, to any person. This section shall 153
not be construed to limit or restrict the authority of any state or local 154
housing or health code enforcement agency. 155
Sec. 3. Section 47a-1 of the general statutes is repealed and the 156
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 1, 2024): 157
As used in this chapter and sections 47a-21, 47a-23 to 47a-23c, 158
inclusive, 47a-26a to 47a-26g, inclusive, 47a-35 to 47a-35b, inclusive, 47a-159
41a, 47a-43, [and] 47a-46 and [section] 47a-7b and section 2 of this act: 160
(a) "Action" includes recoupment, counterclaim, set-off, cause of 161
action and any other proceeding in which rights are determined, 162
including an action for possession. 163
(b) "Building and housing codes" include any law, ordinance or 164
governmental regulation concerning fitness for habitation or the 165
construction, maintenance, operation, occupancy, use or appearance of 166
any premises or dwelling unit. 167
(c) "Dwelling unit" means any house or building, or portion thereof, 168
which is occupied, is designed to be occupied, or is rented, leased or 169
hired out to be occupied, as a home or residence of one or more persons. 170
(d) "Landlord" means the owner, lessor or sublessor of the dwelling 171
unit, the building of which it is a part or the premises. 172
(e) "Owner" means one or more persons, jointly or severally, in whom 173
is vested (1) all or part of the legal title to property, or (2) all or part of 174
the beneficial ownership and a right to present use and enjoyment of the 175
premises and includes a mortgagee in possession. 176 Governor's Bill No. 979
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(f) "Person" means an individual, corporation, limited liability 177
company, the state or any political subdivision thereof, or agency, 178
business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, two or more 179
persons having a joint or common interest, and any other legal or 180
commercial entity. 181
(g) "Premises" means a dwelling unit and the structure of which it is 182
a part and facilities and appurtenances therein and grounds, areas and 183
facilities held out for the use of tenants generally or whose use is 184
promised to the tenant. 185
(h) "Rent" means all periodic payments to be made to the landlord 186
under the rental agreement. 187
(i) "Rental agreement" means all agreements, written or oral, and 188
valid rules and regulations adopted under section 47a-9 or subsection 189
(d) of section 21-70 embodying the terms and conditions concerning the 190
use and occupancy of a dwelling unit or premises. 191
(j) "Roomer" means a person occupying a dwelling unit, which unit 192
does not include a refrigerator, stove, kitchen sink, toilet and shower or 193
bathtub and one or more of these facilities are used in common by other 194
occupants in the structure. 195
(k) "Single-family residence" means a structure maintained and used 196
as a single dwelling unit. Notwithstanding that a dwelling unit shares 197
one or more walls with another dwelling unit or has a common parking 198
facility, it is a single-family residence if it has direct access to a street or 199
thoroughfare and does not share heating facilities, hot water equipment 200
or any other essential facility or service with any other dwelling unit. 201
(l) "Tenant" means the lessee, sublessee or person entitled under a 202
rental agreement to occupy a dwelling unit or premises to the exclusion 203
of others or as is otherwise defined by law. 204
(m) "Tenement house" means any house or building, or portion 205
thereof, which is rented, leased or hired out to be occupied, or is 206 Governor's Bill No. 979
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arranged or designed to be occupied, or is occupied, as the home or 207
residence of three or more families, living independently of each other, 208
and doing their cooking upon the premises, and having a common right 209
in the halls, stairways or yards. 210
Sec. 4. Section 29-253 of the general statutes is repealed and the 211
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2023): 212
(a) The State Building Code, including any amendment to said code 213
adopted by the State Building Inspector and Codes and Standards 214
Committee, shall be the building code for all towns, cities and boroughs, 215
except as provided in subsection (c) of this section. 216
(b) Nothing in this section shall prevent any town, city or borough 217
from adopting an ordinance governing the demolition of buildings 218
deemed to be unsafe. As used in this subsection, "unsafe building" 219
means a building that constitutes a fire hazard or is otherwise 220
dangerous to human life or the public welfare. 221
(c) (1) Any town, city or borough may, through its legislative body, 222
adopt a building code for residential or commercial buildings that 223
requires compliance with the zero energy residential or commercial 224
building provisions of the International Energy Conservation Code, or 225
a successor code. 226
(2) Any town, city or borough that adopts or revises a building code 227
pursuant to this subsection shall inform the State Building Inspector and 228
the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection of such 229
adoption or revision. 230
Sec. 5. Section 20-334d of the general statutes is repealed and the 231
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2023): 232
(a) As used in this section: 233
(1) "Accredited continuing professional education" means any 234
education of an electrician or plumber that is: (A) [designed] Designed 235
to maintain professional competence in the practice, pursuit and 236 Governor's Bill No. 979
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standards of electrical work or plumbing and piping work; [,] (B) 237
approved by the commissioner; [,] and (C) provided (i) by an agency, 238
institution or organization that has been approved by the commissioner, 239
and (ii) in-person or through an online technology platform that 240
includes real-time video with audio, requires participants to 241
periodically confirm their active engagement during the educational 242
training session and enables participants to interact with instructors in 243
real time during the entire educational training session; 244
(2) "Certificate of continuing education" means a document that: (A) 245
[an] An agency, institution or organization that has been approved by 246
the commissioner and offers accredited continuing professional 247
education issues to an electrician or plumber; [,] (B) certifies that an 248
electrician or plumber has satisfactorily completed a specified number 249
of continuing education hours; [,] and (C) bears the (i) name of such 250
agency, institution or organization, (ii) title of the program, (iii) dates 251
during which the program was conducted, (iv) number of continuing 252
education hours satisfactorily completed, and (v) signature of the 253
director of such agency, institution or organization or of such director's 254
authorized agent; and 255
(3) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Consumer 256
Protection. 257
(b) (1) The commissioner, with the advice and assistance of the 258
Electrical Work Board established pursuant to subsection (b) of section 259
20-331, shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to: [(1)] 260
(A) Establish additional requirements for accredited continuing 261
professional education for electricians licensed pursuant to sections 20-262
330 to 20-341, inclusive; [(2)] (B) establish qualifying criteria for 263
accredited continuing professional education programs and establish 264
qualifying criteria for acceptable certificates of continuing professional 265
education; and [(3)] (C) provide for the waiver of required accredited 266
continuing professional education for electricians for good cause. Such 267
regulations shall require not less than four hours per year of accredited 268
continuing professional education for such electricians, except upon 269 Governor's Bill No. 979
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request of the Electrical Work Board, the commissioner may increase 270
such hours to a maximum of seven hours. 271
(2) The commissioner, with the advice and assistance of the Electrical 272
Work Board established pursuant to subsection (b) of section 20-331, 273
shall amend the regulations adopted pursuant to subdivision (1) of this 274
subsection to provide that: (A) Accredited continuing professional 275
education programs for electricians shall include, but need not be 276
limited to, training in the mechanics and application of thermal space 277
and water heating systems other than electric resistance and fossil fuel 278
combustion systems; and (B) an electrician shall be required to complete 279
the continuing professional education described in subparagraph (A) of 280
this subdivision not later than (i) two years after the electrician obtains 281
a license pursuant to sections 20-330 to 20-341, inclusive, or (ii) not later 282
than two years after the regulations amended pursuant to this 283
subdivision are finalized, if the electrician obtains a license pursuant to 284
sections 20-330 to 20-341, inclusive, on or before September 30, 2023. The 285
commissioner shall maintain on the Department of Consumer 286
Protection's web site a list of manufacturer-sponsored certification 287
programs for thermal space and water heating systems other than 288
electric resistance and fossil fuel combustion systems, which shall be 289
considered accredited continuing professional education programs 290
pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this subdivision. 291
(c) (1) (A) The commissioner, with the advice and assistance of the 292
Plumbing and Piping Work Board established pursuant to subsection 293
(d) of section 20-331, shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 294
54, to: [(1)] (i) Establish additional requirements for accredited 295
continuing professional education programs for plumbers licensed 296
pursuant to sections 20-330 to 20-341, inclusive, which regulations shall 297
require not more than a total of seven hours of accredited continuing 298
professional education every two years, except in the event of significant 299
changes to the building code, as approved by the International Code 300
Council, that relate to plumbing, the commissioner, at such 301
commissioner's discretion, may require more than a total of seven hours 302
of accredited continuing professional education every two years; [(2)] 303 Governor's Bill No. 979
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(ii) establish qualifying criteria for accredited continuing professional 304
education programs and establish qualifying criteria for acceptable 305
certificates of continuing professional education; and [(3)] (iii) provide 306
for the waiver of required accredited continuing professional education 307
for plumbers for good cause. 308
(B) The commissioner, with the advice and assistance of the Plumbing 309
and Piping Work Board established pursuant to subsection (d) of section 310
20-331, shall amend the regulations adopted pursuant to subparagraph 311
(A) of this subdivision to provide that: (i) Accredited continuing 312
professional education programs for plumbers shall include, but need 313
not be limited to, training in the mechanics and application of thermal 314
space and water heating systems other than electric resistance and fossil 315
fuel combustion systems; and (ii) a plumber shall be required to 316
complete the continuing professional education described in 317
subparagraph (B)(i) of this subdivision not later than (I) two years after 318
the plumber obtains a license pursuant to sections 20-330 to 20-341, 319
inclusive, or (II) not later than two years after the regulations amended 320
pursuant to this subparagraph are finalized, if the plumber obtains a 321
license pursuant to sections 20-330 to 20-341, inclusive, on or before 322
September 30, 2023. The commissioner shall maintain on the 323
Department of Consumer Protection's web site a list of manufacturer-324
sponsored certification programs for thermal space and water heating 325
systems other than electric resistance and fossil fuel combustion 326
systems, which shall be considered accredited continuing professional 327
education programs pursuant to subparagraph (B)(i) of this subdivision. 328
[(d)] (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of [subsection (c) of this 329
section] this subsection, any person who has been issued a P-6, P-7, W-330
8 or W-9 license pursuant to section 20-334a and the regulations of 331
Connecticut state agencies shall not be required to meet the continuing 332
education requirements established pursuant to [subsection (c) of this 333
section] this subsection. 334
[(e)] (d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) to [(d)] (c), 335
inclusive, of this section, all accredited continuing professional 336 Governor's Bill No. 979
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education offered under the provisions of this section shall: (1) Limit 337
class size to (A) fifty attendees if such accredited continuing professional 338
education is offered in-person, or (B) twenty-five attendees if such 339
accredited continuing professional education is offered through an 340
online technology platform; (2) not be offered or held at the place of 341
business of a licensed plumbing contractor if such accredited continuing 342
professional education is for plumbers and offered in-person; and (3) 343
not be offered or held at the place of business of a licensed electrical 344
contractor if such accredited continuing professional education is for 345
electricians and offered in-person. A provider of an accredited 346
continuing professional education course shall retain an audio-visual 347
recording of such course for a period of not less than thirty days after 348
completion of such course. Recordings shall be made available to the 349
department upon the department's request for such recordings. 350
Sec. 6. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2023) (a) The commissioner, with 351
the advice and assistance of the Heating, Piping, Cooling and Sheet 352
Metal Work Board established pursuant to subsection (c) of section 20-353
331 of the general statutes, shall adopt regulations, in accordance with 354
chapter 54 of the general statutes, to: (1) Establish a one-time 355
requirement for heating and cooling professionals licensed pursuant to 356
sections 20-330 to 20-341, inclusive, of the general statutes to participate 357
in an accredited education program; (2) establish qualifying criteria for 358
such accredited education programs and establish qualifying criteria for 359
acceptable certificates of education; and (3) provide for the waiver of 360
such requirement for such licensed heating and cooling professionals 361
for good cause. The commissioner shall maintain on the Department of 362
Consumer Protection's web site a list of manufacturer-sponsored 363
certification programs for thermal space and water heating systems 364
other than electric resistance and fossil fuel combustion systems, which 365
shall be considered accredited education programs pursuant to 366
subdivision (1) of this subsection. 367
(b) The regulations established pursuant to subsection (a) of this 368
section shall include, but need not be limited to, training in the 369
mechanics and application of thermal space and water heating systems 370 Governor's Bill No. 979
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other than electric resistance and fossil fuel combustion systems, which 371
a heating and cooling professional licensed pursuant to sections 20-330 372
to 20-341, inclusive, of the general statutes shall be required to complete 373
(1) not later than two years after the heating and cooling professional 374
obtains a license pursuant to sections 20-330 to 20-341, inclusive, of the 375
general statutes, or (2) not later than two years after the regulations 376
adopted pursuant to this section are finalized, if the heating and cooling 377
professional obtains a license pursuant to sections 20-330 to 20-341, 378
inclusive, of the general statutes on or before September 30, 2023. 379
Sec. 7. Section 23-8 of the general statutes is amended by adding 380
subsection (f) as follows (Effective October 1, 2023): 381
(NEW) (f) In order to ensure the benefits of open space and tree cover 382
are enjoyed equitably by residents of the state, it shall be the goal of the 383
state to increase the percentage of urban areas covered by tree canopy, 384
not later than January 1, 2024, to a level of five per cent of the total area 385
of such urban areas. For purposes of this subsection, "urban areas" 386
means the total area of environmental justice communities, as defined 387
in section 22a-20a, in the state. 388
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 January 1, 2024 New section
Sec. 3 January 1, 2024 47a-1
Sec. 4 October 1, 2023 29-253
Sec. 5 October 1, 2023 20-334d
Sec. 6 October 1, 2023 New section
Sec. 7 October 1, 2023 23-8(f)
Statement of Purpose:
To implement the Governor's budget recommendations.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]