OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS
Legislative Office Building, Room 5200
Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa
sSB-11
AN ACT CONCERNING CONNECTICUT RESILIENCY PLANNING
AND PROVIDING MUNICIPAL OPTIONS FOR CLIMATE
RESILIENCE.
Primary Analyst: LG 4/2/24
Contributing Analyst(s): EMG, WL, PM, TM, MP, JP, RP, CR, JS
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 25 $ FY 26 $
Insurance Dept. IF - Potential
Cost
Up to
$40,000
None
Department of Energy and
Environmental Protection
GF - See Below See Below See Below
Treasurer, Debt Serv. GF - Potential
Cost/Revenue
See Below See Below
Note: GF=General Fund; IF=Insurance Fund
Municipal Impact: None Below
Explanation
The bill results in various impacts that are described below.
Sections 1-10 establish and outline the powers of resiliency
improvement districts that are similar to increment financing districts.
The sections permit municipalities to establish these resiliency
improvement districts and provide guidelines for how they can be used.
The impact of these sections is dependent on how municipalities use the
districts.
The sections require municipalities that establish a resiliency
improvement district to first develop a district master plan and financial
plan. This results in a potential cost to municipalities to develop these
plans. There is an additional, minimal cost to municipalities that choose 2024SB-00011-R000198-FN.DOCX Page 2 of 5
to establish these districts associated with holding a public hearing. A
municipality may also incur costs by issuing bonds for various
economic development projects.
The sections also allow municipalities to fix the assessment of certain
properties within a resiliency improvement district. This would
preclude any grand list growth resulting from an increase in the
assessment of the property.
Municipalities may also impose benefits assessments on real
property in the district that benefits from public improvements. This
may result in a potential revenue gain to municipalities that is
dependent on what the change in assessed value is as a result of the
improvements.
The sections require municipalities to: (1) replace any affordable
housing units within the district that are demolished or reduced as a
result of a resiliency improvement project, or (2) replace two units for
each affordable unit that was demolished or reduced if they have to be
relocated outside of the district boundary. This results in a potential cost
to municipalities to the extent that affordable housing units are
demolished.
Sections 11 and 12 make changes to the requirements that must be
included in municipalities' Plans of Conservation and Development
(POCDs), including a climate change vulnerability assessment and use
of geospatial (GIS) data, among others. These sections require any
POCDs adopted after October 1, 2026, to include these new
requirements.
1
Beginning in FY 26, this may result in costs of up to $20,000 for
various municipalities to include the new requirements in their POCDs.
Costs to municipalities will depend on what is needed to meet these
requirements and may include technology, programs for GIS data, or
1
Under current law, municipalities are required to update their plan of conservation
and development at least once every ten years. 2024SB-00011-R000198-FN.DOCX Page 3 of 5
consultants.
These provisions may also result in a revenue loss to various
municipalities to the extent they are unable to adopt the POCDs with
the new requirements. Failure to do so, consistent with current law,
results in a municipality becoming ineligible for discretionary state
funding.
2
Section 15 expands allowable uses of municipal reserve funds. This
may result in a municipality using its reserve funds more quickly
beginning in FY 25.
Section 16 expands allowable uses of Town Aid Road (TAR) grants
to include building, improving, and maintaining resiliency for roads,
bridges, and related structures that may be impacted by increased
precipitation, flooding, sea level rise, and extreme heat. This may result
in a municipality using its TAR grant more quickly beginning in FY 25.
Section 17 requires each municipality to submit a report of the
culverts and bridges located within the municipality and outlines what
must be included in the report, including geospatial data and any other
information required by the Office of Policy and Management (OPM).
This may result in a cost to various municipalities, likely beginning in
FY 26, that is dependent on what information must be included in the
report.
Sections 22, 23, and 36 permit and outline the requirements for
municipal zoning regulations to allow for a regional transfer of
development rights system. Any fiscal impact is dependent on how land
is used as a result.
Sections 27-31 make various changes to bond-funded programs,
including the Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Program
2
Discretionary state funding includes, but is not limited to, any source of funding that
a state agency administers through a competitive process. This may include: the Urban
Action Program and Small Town Economic Assistance Program. 2024SB-00011-R000198-FN.DOCX Page 4 of 5
(OSWA) administered by DEEP.
3
Future General Fund debt service
costs may be incurred sooner under the bill 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 bill 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 34 authorizes the Department of Energy and Environmental
Protection (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.
The section also requires relocation of some utilities, including
electric, which results in a potential rate increase. This legislation moves
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.
Section 35 requires DEEP, in consultation with the Insurance
Department (DOI), to report on establishing a coastal resiliency fund to
be supported by a surcharge on certain insurance policies. This may
result in a one-time cost to DOI of up to $40,000 in FY 25 for consultants
to assist the department in recommending a fund and surcharge design
3
No change is anticipated to the portion of OSWA that is funded through the
Community Investment Account. 2024SB-00011-R000198-FN.DOCX Page 5 of 5
to maximize compliance.
The bill includes various other requirements that do not result in a
fiscal impact to the state or municipalities.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to inflation, how municipalities choose
to use the resiliency improvement districts, and the terms of any bonds
issued.