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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 998
January Session, 2023
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A TAX ABATEMENT FOR CERTAIN
CONSERVATION EASEMENTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2023, and applicable to assessment 1
years commencing on or after October 1, 2023) (a) For the purposes of this 2
section, (1) "nonprofit land conservation organization" means a 3
nonprofit land conservation organization that is tax exempt under 4
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any 5
subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, 6
as amended from time to time, (2) "greenway" has the same meaning 7
as provided in section 23-100 of the general statutes, and (3) 8
"conservation restriction" has the same meaning as provided in section 9
47-42a of the general statutes. 10
(b) Each municipality shall establish by ordinance, not later than 11
January 1, 2024, a program to provide for the abatement of real 12
property taxes due on any portion of land that (1) meets the criteria for 13
designation as a greenway established under subsection (b) of section 14
23-102 of the general statutes, (2) is a terrestrial recreational trail with a 15
clearly defined trail corridor that does not exceed one hundred feet in 16
width at its widest point, and (3) is subject to a recorded permanent 17
conservation restriction conveyed by the owner of the land, or such 18
owner's predecessor in title, to the municipality, the state or a 19 Substitute Bill No. 998
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nonprofit land conservation organization, provided such conservation 20
easement or any other encumbrance on the land shall not prohibit the 21
public use of any such terrestrial recreational trail for compatible 22
recreation. 23
(c) Whenever any municipality enacts an ordinance required by 24
subsection (b) of this section, an owner of land may apply for its 25
abatement under such ordinance by filing a written application for 26
such abatement with the assessor of such municipality. Any 27
application filed under this subsection shall be made upon a form 28
prescribed by the assessor and shall include (1) a description of the 29
land, (2) a copy of the recorded permanent conservation restriction 30
concerning the land, (3) a copy of the deed that establishes such 31
owner's ownership interest in the land, (4) a certified land survey that 32
depicts the boundaries of the terrestrial recreational trail on the land of 33
such owner, and (5) such other information as the assessor may require 34
to aid in determining whether such land qualifies for such tax 35
abatement pursuant to such ordinance. Any certification of a survey 36
required by this subsection shall be made by a licensed surveyor and 37
such certification shall be made in accordance with chapter 390 of the 38
general statutes. 39
(d) Not later than thirty days after receipt of a written application 40
under subsection (c) of this section, the assessor shall submit such 41
written application with the assessor's recommendation to either 42
approve or deny the tax abatement based on the criteria set forth in 43
subsection (b) of this section to the legislative body of the municipality 44
or, in a municipality where the legislative body is a town meeting, to 45
the board of selectmen. 46
(e) The abatement of any real property taxes under subsection (b) of 47
this section shall be approved by vote of the legislative body of the 48
municipality or, in a municipality where the legislative body is a town 49
meeting, by vote of the board of selectmen. 50
(f) Any abatement under this section shall continue upon the sale or 51 Substitute Bill No. 998
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transfer of the land unless the legislative body of the municipality, or 52
in a municipality where the legislative body is a town meeting, the 53
board of selectmen, votes to discontinue such abatement. 54
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 12-107e of the general statutes is 55
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 56
October 1, 2023): 57
(a) The planning commission of any municipality, in preparing a 58
plan of conservation and development for such municipality, may 59
designate upon such plan areas which it recommends for preservation 60
as areas of open space land, provided such designation is approved by 61
a majority vote of the legislative body of such municipality. Land, or a 62
portion thereof, including any terrestrial recreational trail corridor that 63
meets the criteria for designation as a greenway pursuant to chapter 64
454, included in any area so designated upon such plan as finally 65
adopted may be classified as open space land for purposes of property 66
taxation or payments in lieu thereof if there has been no change in the 67
use of such area which has adversely affected its essential character as 68
an area of open space land between the date of the adoption of such 69
plan and the date of such classification. 70
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2023, and
applicable to assessment
years commencing on or
after October 1, 2023
New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2023 12-107e(a)
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 1(b), "greenway" was changed to "terrestrial recreational
trail" for accuracy.
PD Joint Favorable Subst.