OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS Legislative Office Building, Room 5200 Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200 http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa sHB-5223 AN ACT CONCERNING MINOR REVISIONS TO AGRICULTURE RELATED STATUTES. As Amended by House "A" (LCO 5170), Senate "A" (LCO 6116) House Calendar No.: 86 Senate Calendar No.: 437 Primary Analyst: RW 5/10/24 Contributing Analyst(s): JS OFA Fiscal Note State Impact: Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 25 $ FY 26 $ Resources of the General Fund GF - Potential Revenue Gain Up to $25,000 Up to $25,000 Treasurer, Debt Serv. GF - Revenue Gain/Cost See Below See Below Department of Energy and Environmental Protection GF - See Below See Below See Below Note: GF=General Fund Municipal Impact: Municipalities Effect FY 25 $ FY 26 $ Various Municipalities Potential Revenue Loss See Below See Below Explanation Section 1 results in a potential General Fund revenue gain of up to $25,000 per year, beginning in FY 25, from requiring businesses to get separate commercial kennel, grooming facility, and training facility licenses from the Department of Agriculture. The annual revenue gain will be dependent on the number of licensed commercial kennels that are also engaged in the business of grooming or training that will need to obtain a separate license for these operations. 2024HB-05223-R02-FN.DOCX Page 2 of 3 Sections 9-13 make various changes to bond-funded programs, including the Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Program (OSWA) administered by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). [1] Future General Fund debt service costs may be incurred sooner under the amendment to the degree that it causes authorized GO bond funds to be expended or to be expended more rapidly than they otherwise would have been. The amendment does not change GO bond authorizations relevant to the program. These sections result in a potential revenue gain to various municipalities beginning in FY 25 to the extent they qualify for the grant under the expanded eligibility. Section 14 authorizes DEEP to acquire up to 25.7 acres of property for the Resilient Bridgeport flood control project and to ensure relocations of utilities as needed. The section reduces the state share of utilities relocations by up to 50 percent, which may result in a one-time state savings of up to approximately $1.5 million when the project occurs in the next several years. The property acquisitions are expected to have a cost within the next few years; however, it is anticipated that both the state share of the utilities relocations and the acquisitions will be paid with federal funds. As the section requires relocation of some utilities, including electric, it results in a potential rate increase. This section shifts up to one-half of the cost of utility relocation from the state to utility companies, which will be recovered through the normal rate process. The extent of the impact will depend on the number of utilities required to be relocated and the total cost for that relocation. The other provisions of the bill make modifications to current statutes that are not anticipated to result in a state or municipal fiscal impact. House "A" strikes the original bill and its associated fiscal impact and [1] No change is anticipated to the portion of OSWA that is funded through the Community Investment Account. 2024HB-05223-R02-FN.DOCX Page 3 of 3 results in the fiscal impact described above. The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation. The preceding Fiscal Impact statement is prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for the purposes of information, summarization and explanation and does not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.