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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 5272
AN ACT CONCERNING THE EXPIRATION OF CERTAIN LAND USE
APPROVALS AND THE NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION GUARANTY
FUND.
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a hearing process for local land use authorities to
shorten the amount of time developers have to complete certain ongoing
land use projects that were approved during specified date ranges.
Under current law, these approvals’ expiration dates were
automatically extended, generally to at least 14 years after the date they
were approved. The bill also changes the covered approval date ranges
specified in current law and, in doing so, appears to automatically
reverse extensions granted for certain approvals.
Separately, the bill expands eligibility for the New Home
Construction Guaranty Fund. It allows consumers to recuperate money
from the fund for judgments awarded against certain individuals with
financial or operational control of a new home construction company
that violated certain laws (rather than only for judgments against the
construction company). It also (1) increases, from $30,000 to $50,000 per
claim, the maximum amount consumers may recuperate from the fund
and (2) lowers, from $750,000 to $650,000, the fund’s annual cap. It
correspondingly increases (from $300,000 to $400,000) the funds
exceeding this cap that must be annually transferred into the Consumer
Protection Enforcement Account. Existing law requires any remaining
excess to be transferred into the General Fund.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage, except the guaranty fund
provisions are generally effective July 1, 2024, and applicable to fiscal
years starting on or after that date.
§§ 1-7 — LAND USE APPROVAL E XPIRATION DATES 2024HB-05272-R000440-BA.DOCX
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Extended Project Completion Deadlines
By law, when a planning or zoning commission, combined planning
and zoning commission, or an inland wetlands agency (“land use
authority”) operating under the statutes approves a project, it must set
an expiration date that falls within the timeframes the law specifies.
Consequently, a developer must complete the project before that date or
resubmit it to the local commission or agency for approval. However,
current law gives developers more time to complete certain ongoing
projects without seeking reapproval from the applicable land use
authority (generally at least 14 years or 19 years, as applicable).
These extended timeframes for certain land use approvals are based
on (1) the approval type (e.g., site plans, subdivisions, wetlands permits,
and special permits and exceptions) and (2) if the approval was still in
effect on specified dates (which depends on when the approval was
granted). Specifically, the extension in current law applies to certain
approvals made:
1. before July 1, 2011, and that had not expired on July 12, 2021, and
2. between July 1, 2011, and June 9, 2021, and that did not expire
before March 10, 2020. (It is unclear if approvals granted after
March 10, 2020 (through June 9, 2021), could be considered
unexpired on that date. (These extended timeframes were
established in 2021; see BACKGROUND.)
The bill changes these qualifying dates to cover approvals made on
or before June 10, 2021, that were unexpired on July 12, 2021 (see below).
The bill also establishes a process for land use authorities to set an
earlier expiration date for these approvals, despite the extended
deadlines. The table below shows the existing extended deadlines for
the land use approvals subject to the bill’s provisions.
Table: Extended Deadlines for Land Use Approvals Subject to Bill
Land Use Approval Required Expiration Dates Bill §
Site plan approvals (except for
residential projects with 400 or more
At least 14 years after
approval (and up to 19
§ 1 2024HB-05272-R000440-BA.DOCX
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Land Use Approval Required Expiration Dates Bill §
units or commercial projects of
400,000 square feet or more)
years, if extended)
Subdivisions (projects with fewer
than 400 dwelling units)
At least 14 years after
approval (and up to 19
years, if extended)
§ 2
Subdivisions (projects with 400 or
more dwelling units)
19 years after approval § 3
Wetlands permits
At least 14 years after
approval (and up to 19
years, if extended)
§ 4
Special permits and special
exceptions (including those approved
by a municipality exercising land use
powers under a special act)
19 years after approval §§ 5, 6 & 7(b)
Site plans, subdivisions, or permits
approved by a municipality
exercising land use powers under a
special act
At least 14 years after
approval (and up to 19
years, if extended)
§ 7(a)
Hearings to Move Up Expiration Date
Under the bill, to set an earlier expiration date, a land use authority
must hold a public hearing that complies with procedural requirements
set in law. It may vote in favor of setting an earlier expiration date for
an approval if it finds that the work in connection with the approval (1)
is incomplete or substandard, creating a condition that poses a
significant hazard to the public, or (2) has not been done at all in the last
five years.
Automatically Shortened Expiration Dates
The bill changes the covered approval periods for extended project
completion deadlines as described above. It appears that, by changing
the covered periods, the bill automatically revokes certain extensions
granted under current law. Under current law, certain approvals were
extended if they were unexpired on March 10, 2020. Under the bill, those
same approvals would need to have still been in effect on July 12, 2021,
to be extended. It is unclear what the effect would be on an approval
that was extended under current law but no longer qualifies under the
bill (i.e., whether the approval’s original expiration date would apply, 2024HB-05272-R000440-BA.DOCX
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even if that date has passed).
§§ 8 & 9 — NEW HOME CONSTRUCTI ON GUARANTY FUND
Under current law, a consumer who is awarded a judgment (e.g., a
binding arbitration decision, court judgment, order, or decree) against a
registered new home construction contractor but is unable to satisfy the
judgment (i.e., get payment from the contractor) may apply to the
Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) to instead recuperate the
judgment amount (up to a specified maximum) from the New Home
Construction Guaranty Fund. (New home construction contractors
annually pay into this fund when renewing their registrations.)
Under the bill, consumers may also recuperate money from the fund
if the judgment was awarded against a person who exercises day-to-day
financial or operational control of a business entity that is a new home
construction contractor (i.e., a “controlling participant”). The company
must either be currently registered as a new home construction
company or have been registered within two years of entering into a
contract with a consumer harmed by the company.
The bill makes consumers awarded a judgement against a controlling
participant eligible for funds from the New Home Construction
Guaranty Fund subject to the same conditions and requirements the law
sets for consumers with a judgment against a contractor. For example,
among other things, the consumer:
1. must apply in writing to DCP within two years of the judgment
being finalized;
2. is eligible to receive payment from the fund (up to $50,000 under
the bill) for the actual damages and costs he or she was awarded
by the court (excluding punitive damages) and minus any
amount already recovered; and
3. must affirm that he or she has made a good faith effort to satisfy
the judgment by following statutory post-judgment procedures.
Additionally, the bill makes new home construction contractors and 2024HB-05272-R000440-BA.DOCX
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controlling participants liable for consumer payouts from the New
Home Construction Guaranty Fund that result from a judgment against
the controlling participant.
BACKGROUND
Executive Order Tolling Expirations
In May 2020 (during the emergencies declared due to COVID-19), the
governor signed EO 7JJ, which delayed the expiration date of various
land use approvals if the approval-holder was not in violation of the
approval’s conditions on March 10, 2020. In 2021, similar extensions
were codified into law (PA 21-34, §§ 3-9, and PA 21-163).
Related Bill
sSB 201, §§ 8 & 9, reported favorably by the General Law Committee,
also contains provisions allowing consumers to recuperate money from
the New Home Construction Guaranty Fund if they are unable to satisfy
a judgment against an individual associated with a new home
construction contractor. However, under this bill, the individual (i.e.,
“proprietor”) must have (1) an ownership interest in the construction
company and (2) been found guilty of violating the state’s new home
construction contractor laws for the company’s conduct.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Planning and Development Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 21 Nay 0 (03/22/2024)