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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 996 (File 174, as amended by Senate "A")*
AN ACT CONCERNING HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IN THE STATE,
ESTABLISHING A HOUSING AUTHORITY RESIDENT QUALITY OF
LIFE IMPROVEMENT GRANT PROGRAM AND A HOUSING CHOICE
VOUCHER TASK FORCE AND REQUIRING THE DISCLOSURE OF
CERTAIN NATURAL PERSON OWNERSHIP INTERESTS IN REAL
PROPERTY.
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a grant program, administered by the
Department of Housing (DOH), to provide housing authorities with
funding for improvements to their residential buildings. It also creates
related requirements for the application process, funding limits, and use
of the grants.
The bill also establishes a task force to study the federal Housing
Choice Voucher (HCV) program and its implementation in the state. It
requires the task force to report its findings and recommendations to the
Housing Committee and the state’s congressional delegation by January
16, 2024.
Current law allows municipalities to require that landlords renting to
HCV program participants provide identifying information for certain
individuals that exercise control of these properties (i.e., controlling
participants). The bill extends this provision to also cover nonresident
owners of rental property and makes it applicable only to business
entities. It also provides additional specificity as to what individuals and
entities qualify as controlling participants (generally those that exercise
financial or operational control on behalf of a natural person who
exercises substantial control of these business entities).
Finally, the bill makes minor and technical changes.
*Senate Amendment “A” modifies the “controlling participant” 2023SB-00996-R01-BA.DOCX
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definition by (1) amending which individuals and entities are
considered a controlling participant, (2) eliminating the requirement
under current law that a controlling participant’s financial or
operational control be exercised on a day-to-day basis, (3) specifying
that a controlling participant exercises control on behalf of a natural
person who exercises substantial control of the business entity, and (4)
eliminating the option of satisfying the natural person’s control
requirement in the underlying bill through a certain ownership stake.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage, except the provisions on
municipal landlord identification requirements, which take effect
October 1, 2023.
§ 1 — GRANT PROGRAM F OR HOUSING AUTHORITI ES
The bill establishes a new grant program to provide housing
authorities with funding for improvements to their residential
buildings, as may be recommended by their resident advisory boards
(see BACKGROUND). It requires DOH to award program grants within
available appropriations and begin accepting applications by October 1,
2023.
Under the bill, housing authorities can apply for a grant by
submitting applications to DOH as the commissioner prescribes. The
department must evaluate applications and can award up to $250,000 in
total grants under the program per fiscal year. These grants must
provide an ongoing benefit to residents of the housing authority-
managed building or buildings subject to the proposed improvements,
as determined by the commissioner.
Additionally, the commissioner may adopt regulations to carry out
the program.
§ 2 — HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER PROGRAM TASK FORCE
The bill establishes a 12-member task force to study the federal HCV
program (see BACKGROUND ) and its implementation in the state,
including any disparate impacts the program has on the development
of at-risk children and youth or families. 2023SB-00996-R01-BA.DOCX
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Membership, Initial Appointments, and Vacancies
Task force members may be General Assembly members and must
include (1) the Housing Committee chairpersons and ranking members,
or their designees, (2) two each appointed by the minority leaders of the
House and Senate, and (3) one each appointed by the four other
legislative leaders. The legislative leaders must make the initial task
force appointments no later than 30 days after the bill’s passage and
appointing authorities fill vacancies.
Chairpersons, Meetings, and Reporting Requirement
The bill requires the House speaker and Senate minority leader to
each select a task force member to serve as a chairperson. The
chairpersons must schedule the task force’s first meeting and hold it no
later than 60 days after the bill’s passage.
The bill requires the task force, by January 16, 2024, to report on its
findings and recommendations to the Housing Committee and the
state’s congressional delegation. The task force terminates when it
submits this report or January 16, 2024, whichever is later. The Housing
Committee’s administrative staff serves as the task force’s
administrative staff.
§ 3 — MUNICIPAL LANDLORD IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
Under existing law, generally unchanged by the bill, municipalities
can require nonresident owners and landlords renting to HCV program
participants (also known as project-based housing providers or PBHPs)
to provide (1) their current residential addresses or (2) the current
residential address of the agent in charge of the building if the owners
are a business entity that owns rental property (i.e., a corporation,
partnership, trust, or other legally recognized entity).
Current law includes an additional “controlling participant”
requirement for PBHPs. It requires that they provide identifying
information and the current residential address of each controlling
participant associated with the property, meaning an individual or
entity that exercises day-to-day financial or operational control. If a
controlling participant is a business entity, the PBHP must identify and 2023SB-00996-R01-BA.DOCX
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provide the residential address for a natural person who exercises
control over that entity.
The bill makes changes to this “controlling participant” requirement.
It only requires a PBHP to disclose the identifying information and
current residential addresses of its controlling participants if the PBHP
is a business entity. It also redefines controlling participant to mean an
individual, entity, or agent that exercises financial or operational control
on behalf of a natural person who (1) is not a minor and (2) directly or
indirectly and through any contract, arrangement, understanding, or
relationship, exercises substantial control of a business entity that owns
rental property. Finally, the bill extends this requirement to nonresident
owners in addition to PBHPs.
BACKGROUND
Resident Advisory Boards
Federal law generally requires public housing agencies (PHAs) to
establish at least one resident advisory board to assist and make
recommendations on the development of a PHA’s public housing
agency plan (42 U.S.C. § 1437c-1(e)). A housing authority located in
Connecticut that does not administer any Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) programs or receive HUD funding is not
considered a PHA and so is not subject to this requirement.
HCV Program and PBHPs
The HCV program is the federal government’s main program for
helping very low-income families afford private market housing (42
U.S.C. § 1437f(o)). Eligible households that are issued a housing voucher
must find housing that meets the program’s requirements. HUD funds
the program and it is administered locally by PHAs and statewide by
DOH.
State law defines PBHPs as property owners who contract with HUD
to provide housing to tenants under the HCV program.
Related Bills
sSB 4 (File 203), § 6, reported favorably by the Housing and 2023SB-00996-R01-BA.DOCX
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Appropriations committees, and sHB 6781 (File 208), § 9, reported
favorably by the Housing Committee, both contain similar provisions
on municipal landlord identification requirements.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Housing Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 15 Nay 0 (02/28/2023)
Appropriations Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 53 Nay 0 (05/01/2023)