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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 456
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A PILOT PROGRAM FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF TEN -YEAR PLANS TO
ERADICATE CONCENTRATED POVERTY IN THE STATE.
SUMMARY
This bill creates a pilot program to reduce the levels of concentrated
poverty in the state by developing and implementing 10-year plans for
certain targeted “concentrated poverty census tracts.” Under the bill,
these are census tracts in which at least 30% of the households have
incomes below the federal poverty level (FPL) that were identified by
the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) under the high poverty-
low opportunity (HPLO) program, as of January 1, 2024. The bill also
declares that the state has a concentrated poverty crisis that creates long-
term disadvantages for impacted residents.
The bill creates a new office within the Department of Economic and
Community Development (DECD) to, among other things, oversee the
plans’ implementation and monitor the state’s progress in reducing
concentrated poverty. It requires the office to develop a 10-year plan for
each participating census tract (or groups of tracts) together with
specified state agencies and local officials and the community
development corporation (CDC) established by community members to
help implement the plan. Among other things, it (1) requires the plans
to include a list of possible projects determined to be the most
appropriate and effective to eliminate concentrated poverty in the tract
or tracts and (2) gives these projects priority for specified state grants.
The bill requires DECD to report to the legislature on the office’s
progress in developing and implementing the 10-year plans and, by
January 1, 2029, recommend whether to expand the pilot program to all
qualifying tracts. 2024SB-00456-R000587-BA.DOCX
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The bill also allows the CDCs established by community members to
bring a mandamus action against state or municipal officials who do not
timely fulfill their requirements or responsibilities under the program
or a 10-year plan to compel them to do so.
Lastly, the bill (1) renames the HPLO census tracts as “concentrated
poverty census tracts” and makes corresponding changes throughout
the program’s statutory provisions and (2) specifies that these census
tracts are based on the poverty level of households, rather than residents
(see BACKGROUND).
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
DECLARATION
The bill declares that Connecticut has a concentrated poverty crisis
that takes a critical toll on people who live in communities with
concentrated poverty. It states that concentrated poverty creates lifelong
and persistent disadvantages across generations by:
1. lowering the quality of educational and employment
opportunities,
2. limiting health care access and diminishing health outcomes,
3. increasing crime exposure,
4. reducing available choices for affordable and properly
maintained housing, and
5. imposing obstacles to wealth-building and economic mobility.
It also declares that developing and implementing the bill’s 10-year
plans to eliminate concentrated poverty in Connecticut are necessary for
the public’s benefit.
OFFICE OF NEIGHBORHO OD INVESTMENT AND CO MMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT
The bill creates a new Office of Neighborhood Investment and
Community Engagement within DECD and requires that it have staff 2024SB-00456-R000587-BA.DOCX
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dedicated exclusively to the following:
1. carrying out the bill’s pilot program,
2. overseeing the implementation of the 10-year plans developed
under the program,
3. monitoring the state’s progress in reducing concentrated
poverty,
4. coordinating communication between the program’s various
parties, and
5. distributing information in a timely and efficient way.
PILOT PROGRAM
Eligible Census Tracts
Under the bill, the pilot program is open to any concentrated poverty
census tract or group of tracts (qualifying tract) in (1) the four
municipalities with the greatest number of these tracts (i.e., Bridgeport,
Hartford, New Haven, and Waterbury) or (2) any municipality with a
qualifying tract that requests to participate in the program. To be
eligible, the qualifying tract must also have a certified CDC (see
BACKGROUND) created by its community members to help carry out
the 10-year plan and the municipality’s responsibilities under the
program.
10-Year Plans
The bill requires the Office of Neighborhood Investment and
Community Engagement to develop a 10-year plan for each
participating qualifying tract to reduce the levels of concentrated
poverty in Connecticut by doing the following:
1. reducing the percentage of households living in the tract or tracts
with incomes below the FPL to 20% or less and
2. making sustained improvements in community infrastructure
and other underlying conditions that prolong concentrated
poverty and economic inertia in the tract or tracts. 2024SB-00456-R000587-BA.DOCX
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In developing these plans, the office must consult with DECD’s Office
of Community Economic Development Assistance (OCEDA), OPM, the
Office of Workforce Strategy (OWS), Office of Early Childhood (OEC),
State Department of Education, applicable CDCs serving the qualifying
tract, municipal chief elected officials (CEO), and any other public or
private entity the DECD commissioner finds relevant or necessary to
achieve these purposes.
Each plan must include, at a minimum:
1. measurable implementation steps, target dates for completing
each step, and the state or local official or agency responsible for
doing so;
2. minimum statewide averages for educational metrics (e.g.,
kindergarten-, college-, and career- readiness and grade level
reading and mathematics) to serve as benchmarks for
improvements in each tract or tracts; and
3. a list of possible projects, as described below.
Projects
The bill requires the Office of Neighborhood Investment and
Community Engagement, together with each applicable CEO and CDC,
to develop a list of possible projects for each participating qualifying
tract’s 10-year plan. In doing so, they must (1) determine the types of
projects they deem most appropriate and effective for eliminating
concentrated poverty in the tract or tracts and (2) consider the project
eligibility criteria for the certified CDC grant program, HPLO program,
and the Community Investment Fund 2030 program (see
BACKGROUND ).
Under the bill, the possible projects must include capital projects,
workforce development programs, housing development, community
and neighborhood improvements, and education initiatives to help
residents in meeting and exceeding the educational metrics described
above. 2024SB-00456-R000587-BA.DOCX
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Required Reports and Informational Forum
Progress Report. The bill requires the DECD commissioner, by June
1, 2025, to give the Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee, a written
progress report on the 10-year plans. He must submit the finished plans
to the General Assembly by January 1, 2026.
Annual Report. The commissioner must also, starting by February 1,
2027, and annually after, report on the:
1. Office of Neighborhood Investment and Community
Engagements’ implementation progress on each of the 10-year
plans,
2. status of any projects that are pending or in progress for each
tract, and
3. any other relevant or necessary information.
He must submit these annual reports to the General Assembly, OWS,
OEC, and OPM.
Informational Forums. Annually by March 1, from 2027 to 2029, and
biennially after that, the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee
must hold an informational forum for these annual reports. At each
forum, the DECD commissioner must present on the report and other
state and municipal officials, participating CDCs, and interested parties
may provide their comments on the report and pilot program.
Pilot Program Expansion. The DECD commissioner must, by
January 1, 2029, submit his recommendation to the Finance, Revenue
and Bonding Committee on whether the pilot program should be
expanded to all qualifying tracts in the state for which a certified CDC
has been established. If he recommends this expansion, the
commissioner and Office of Neighborhood Investment and Community
Engagement must immediately carry it out.
Priority for Certain State Grants
Under the bill, starting on the date DECD submits the 10-year plans 2024SB-00456-R000587-BA.DOCX
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to the General Assembly, the projects included in those plans must have
priority for the following state grants, subject to each grant program’s
existing criteria:
1. OCEDA grants for projects certified CDCs undertake in target
areas (§ 2);
2. DECD’s HPLO program grants for eligible projects
municipalities undertake in OPM-designated concentrated
poverty census tracts (§ 3); and
3. Community Investment Fund (CIF) 2030 grants for eligible
projects municipalities, CDCs, and nonprofits undertake in
municipalities designated as public investment communities or
alliance districts (§ 4).
For purposes of the CIF 2030 grants, the 10-year plan projects must
also meet the current criteria for priority status under the program.
Specifically, they must (1) be proposed by a municipality that (a) has
implemented local hiring preferences in accordance with state law or (b)
has or will leverage municipal, private, philanthropic, or federal funds
for the project and (2) have a project labor agreement or employ or will
employ ex-offenders or individuals with physical, intellectual, or
developmental disabilities. As under existing law, the CIF 2030 board
must additionally prioritize municipal applications that include a letter
of support for the proposed eligible project from a General Assembly
member or members in whose district the eligible project is or will be
located.
RIGHT OF ACTION AGAINST STATE OR MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS
Under the bill, if any state or municipal official does not timely fulfill
his or her requirements or responsibilities under the program or a 10-
year plan, a certified CDC created for a concentrated poverty census
tract that is aggrieved by this failure may bring a mandamus action
against the official. It must bring the action in the Superior Court for the
judicial district where the qualifying tract is located.
A writ of mandamus is a court order that compels a public official or 2024SB-00456-R000587-BA.DOCX
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agency to perform a specific duty. Under Connecticut Supreme Court
precedent, a writ is only proper when “(1) the law imposes on the party
against whom the writ would run a duty the performance of which is
mandatory and not discretionary; (2) the party applying for the writ has
a clear legal right to have the duty performed; and (3) there is no other
specific adequate remedy” (Miles v. Foley, 253 Conn. 381 (2000)).
BACKGROUND
HPLO Census Tracts
The law required OPM to compile a list of the census tracts in which
at least 30% of the residents have incomes below the FPL, according to
the most recent five-year U.S. Census Bureau American Community
Survey (i.e., HPLO census tracts). The table below lists the
municipalities in which these identified tracts are located and the
number of tracts per municipality.
Table: Number of HPLO Tracts by Municipality
Town No. of Identified Tracts
Bridgeport 11
Enfield 1
Hartford 19
Mansfield 2
Meriden 3
Middletown 1
New Britain 5
New Haven 10
New London 2
Stamford 1
Waterbury 7
Windham 2
CDC Certification Process and Grant Eligibility
Existing law allows organizations meeting certain requirements to
become certified CDCs by applying to DECD’s OCEDA. A “certified
CDC” is a 501(c)(3) federally tax-exempt organization that is certified by
the office and meets the following requirements:
1. focuses on serving areas in which the (a) current unemployment 2024SB-00456-R000587-BA.DOCX
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rate exceeds the state’s by at least 25% or (b) mean household
income is 80% or less of the state’s as determined by the most
recent decennial census (i.e., target areas),
2. works on urban community development with local residents
and businesses to create and expand economic opportunities for
low- and moderate-income people, and
3. shows the office that its constituency is meaningfully represented
on its board.
By law, the office must establish a grant program for projects that
certified CDCs seek to undertake in target areas, including
infrastructure improvements, housing rehabilitation, and streetscape
and business façade improvements. DECD has not implemented this
office or grant program to date.
HPLO Program
The HPLO program is a six-year, state bond-funded program
designed to fund eligible projects in qualifying census tracts designated
as HPLO census tracts. To qualify for the funding (which has not been
issued to date), a project must seek to reduce concentrated poverty and
its effects within the qualifying census tract. These projects generally
include (1) building, renovating, and rehabilitating mixed-income rental
and owner-occupied housing; (2) establishing or improving workforce
development programs; and (3) building, renovating, or rehabilitating
public infrastructure to support and improve private investment
opportunities, quality of life, and public safety.
CIF 2030
CIF 2030 is a five-year, state bond-funded program for financing
qualifying economic and community development projects and small
business grants in eligible municipalities (i.e., those designated as public
investment communities or alliance districts). The CIF 2030 board,
located within DECD, directs these investments. Eligible municipalities,
CDCs, and nonprofits may submit funding proposals for eligible
projects and grants to the board. 2024SB-00456-R000587-BA.DOCX
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COMMITTEE ACTION
Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 38 Nay 13 (04/03/2024)