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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 7165
January Session, 2025
AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT'S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
REVISIONS TO THE COMMERCE STATUTES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2025) The Department of Economic 1
and Community Development may establish and administer a program 2
for the sale of Connecticut brand merchandise and advertising space for 3
Connecticut businesses. All proceeds derived from the operation of such 4
program shall be deposited in the Tourism Fund. 5
Sec. 2. Section 31-53c of the general statutes is repealed and the 6
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 7
(a) For purposes of this section: 8
(1) "Business organization" means any sole proprietorship, 9
partnership, corporation, limited liability company, association, firm or 10
other form of business, municipality, regional council of governments, 11
Connecticut brownfield land bank or economic development agency, as 12
defined in section 32-760, or other legal entity, but excludes any 13
organization that is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the 14
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or that is a chamber of commerce under 15
Section 501(c)(6) of said Internal Revenue Code, or any subsequent 16 Substitute Bill No. 7165
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corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as amended 17
from time to time, and that (A) accepts financial assistance for a project 18
as defined in this section, and (B) such project is valued at not less than 19
ten million dollars and is not for the purposes described in subsection 20
(f) of this section; 21
(2) "Financial assistance" means any and all forms of loans, cash 22
payments, extensions of credit, guarantees, equity investments, tax 23
abatements or any other form of financing totaling one million dollars 24
or more; and 25
(3) "Project" means any construction, remodeling, refinishing, 26
refurbishing, rehabilitation, alteration or repair of any property owned 27
by a business organization. 28
(b) On and after July 1, 2018, if the Department of Economic and 29
Community Development provides financial assistance to any business 30
organization for any construction project of such business organization, 31
the Department of Economic and Community Development shall 32
require, as a condition of providing such financial assistance, that any 33
contract entered into by the business organization for such project shall 34
contain the following provision: "The wages paid on an hourly basis to 35
any person performing the work of any mechanic, laborer or worker on 36
the work herein contracted to be done and the amount of payment or 37
contribution paid or payable on behalf of each such person to any 38
employee welfare fund, as defined in subsection (i) of section 31-53, 39
shall be at a rate equal to the rate customary or prevailing for the same 40
work in the same trade or occupation in the town in which such 41
construction, remodeling, refinishing, refurbishing, rehabilitation, 42
alteration or repair project is being undertaken. Any contractor who is 43
not obligated by agreement to make payment or contribution on behalf 44
of such persons to any such employee welfare fund shall pay to each 45
mechanic, laborer or worker as part of such person's wages the amount 46
of payment or contribution for such person's classification on each pay 47
day." 48 Substitute Bill No. 7165
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(c) Any contractor or subcontractor who knowingly or wilfully 49
employs any mechanic, laborer or worker in any project receiving 50
financial assistance from the Department of Economic and Community 51
Development for such project, at a rate of wage on an hourly basis that 52
is less than the rate customary or prevailing for the same work in the 53
same trade or occupation in the town in which such project is located, 54
or who fails to pay the amount of payment or contributions paid or 55
payable on behalf of each such person to any employee welfare fund, as 56
defined in subsection (i) of section 31-53, or in lieu thereof to the person, 57
as provided by subsection (b) of this section, shall be fined not less than 58
two thousand five hundred dollars but not more than five thousand 59
dollars for each offense and (1) for the first violation, shall be 60
disqualified from bidding on contracts for projects for which the 61
Department of Economic and Community Development provides 62
financial assistance until the contractor or subcontractor has made full 63
restitution of the back wages owed to such persons and for an additional 64
six months thereafter, and (2) for subsequent violations, shall be 65
disqualified from bidding on contracts for projects for which the 66
Department of Economic and Community Development provides 67
financial assistance until the contractor or subcontractor has made full 68
restitution of the back wages owed to such persons and for not less than 69
an additional two years thereafter. In addition, if it is found by the 70
contracting officer representing the business organization that any 71
mechanic, laborer or worker employed by the contractor or any 72
subcontractor directly on the site for the work covered by the contract 73
has been or is being paid a rate of wages less than the rate of wages 74
required by the contract to be paid as required by this section, the 75
business organization may (A) by written or electronic notice to the 76
contractor, terminate such contractor's right to proceed with the work 77
or such part of the work as to which there has been a failure to pay said 78
required wages and to prosecute the work to completion by contract or 79
otherwise, and the contractor and the contractor's sureties shall be liable 80
to the business organization for any excess costs occasioned the business 81
organization thereby, or (B) withhold payment of money to the 82
contractor or subcontractor. The contracting business organization shall, 83 Substitute Bill No. 7165
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not later than two days after taking such action, notify the Labor 84
Commissioner, in writing or electronically, of the name of the contractor 85
or subcontractor, the project involved, the location of the work, the 86
violations involved, the date the contract was terminated and steps 87
taken to collect the required wages. 88
(d) The Labor Commissioner may make complaint to the proper 89
prosecuting authorities for the violation of any provision of subsection 90
(c) of this section. 91
(e) The Labor Commissioner shall predetermine the prevailing rate 92
and the amount of payment or contributions paid or payable on behalf 93
of each person to any employee welfare fund, as defined in subsection 94
(i) of section 31-53, in each town where such contract is to be performed, 95
in the same manner as provided in subsection (d) of section 31-53. 96
(f) If the Department of Economic and Community Development 97
provides financial assistance to any business organization, including 98
any nonprofit organization that is exempt from taxation under Section 99
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent 100
corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as amended 101
from time to time, for the purpose of remediation, demolition or 102
abatement of pollution in buildings, soil or groundwater located at a 103
project site, only the remediation, demolition or abatement of pollution 104
in buildings, soil or groundwater portion of the project described in the 105
financial assistance contract between the business organization and the 106
department shall be covered by this section. Such financial assistance 107
contract executed by the department shall be limited to the purposes 108
described in this subsection and shall be separate from any contract for 109
redevelopment activities on the site. 110
Sec. 3. Section 32-7v of the general statutes is repealed and the 111
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 112
(a) (1) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development 113
shall, within available resources, establish a workforce [development] 114
incentive program to provide grants to [nonprofit organizations] 115 Substitute Bill No. 7165
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employers that employ individuals with intellectual disability, as 116
defined in section 1-1g. Such grants shall be awarded for infrastructure 117
expenditures, [start-up] programmatic costs or expansion costs. 118
(2) Any [nonprofit organization] employer that (A) employs, at the 119
time of application, a workforce of which not less than [ten] five per cent 120
consists of individuals with intellectual disability, as defined in section 121
1-1g, who have been employed for a period of not less than six months 122
in the previous calendar year and are paid not less than the minimum 123
fair wage established pursuant to section 31-58, and (B) is in compliance 124
with competitive integrated employment, as that term is used in 34 CFR 125
361.5(c)(9)(i)(D) and 34 CFR 361.5(c)(9)(ii)(B), as amended from time to 126
time, may apply for a grant under the program. 127
(3) Grants awarded pursuant to this section shall not exceed: 128
(A) Twenty-five thousand dollars per [nonprofit organization] 129
employer employing a workforce of which between [ten] five and 130
[thirty] twenty per cent, inclusive, consists of such individuals with 131
intellectual disability; and 132
(B) Seventy-five thousand dollars per [nonprofit organization] 133
employer employing a workforce of which more than [thirty] twenty-134
one per cent, but not more than thirty per cent, consists of such 135
individuals with intellectual disability. 136
(b) The Department of Economic and Community Development may 137
enter into an agreement, pursuant to chapter 55a, with a person, firm, 138
corporation or other entity to operate the program established pursuant 139
to this section. 140
(c) The commissioner shall prescribe the form and manner of the 141
application and such application procedure shall include a competitive 142
award process. 143
Sec. 4. Section 32-5a of the general statutes is repealed and the 144
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 145 Substitute Bill No. 7165
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The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development and 146
the board of directors of Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated shall 147
require, as a condition of any financial assistance provided on and after 148
June 23, 1993, under any program administered by the Department of 149
Economic and Community Development or such corporation to any 150
business organization, except for a business organization that receives 151
any such financial assistance in an amount not more than fifty thousand 152
dollars and is an eligible small business, as defined in section 31-3pp, or 153
under any assistance program that is funded entirely by the federal 154
government, in which case the commissioner may require, that such 155
business organization: (1) Shall not relocate outside of the state for ten 156
years after receiving such assistance or during the term of a loan or loan 157
guarantee, whichever is longer, unless the full amount of the assistance 158
is repaid to the state and a penalty equal to five per cent of the total 159
assistance received is paid to the state, except that this subdivision shall 160
not be applicable to financial assistance by the corporation in the form 161
of an equity investment or other financial assistance, including a 162
convertible or seed loan, with predominantly equity characteristics, and 163
(2) shall, if the business organization relocates within the state during 164
such period, offer employment at the new location to its employees from 165
the original location if such employment is available. For the purposes 166
of subdivision (1) of this section, the value of a guarantee shall be equal 167
to the amount of the state's liability under the guarantee. As used in this 168
section, "financial assistance" does not include any tax credit program 169
administered by the Department of Economic and Community 170
Development or Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, and "relocate" 171
means the physical transfer of a substantial portion, as determined by 172
the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, of the 173
operations of a business or any division of a business that independently 174
receives any financial assistance from the state from the location such 175
business or division occupied at the time it accepted the financial 176
assistance to another location. Notwithstanding the provisions of this 177
section, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development 178
shall adopt regulations in accordance with chapter 54 to establish the 179
terms and conditions of repayment, including specifying the conditions 180 Substitute Bill No. 7165
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under which repayment may be deferred, following a determination by 181
the commissioner of a legitimate hardship. 182
Sec. 5. Subsection (a) of section 32-228 of the general statutes is 183
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 184
2025): 185
(a) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development 186
may, with the approval of the Commissioner of Administrative Services, 187
the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management and the State 188
Properties Review Board, sell, exchange, lease or enter into agreements 189
concerning any real property belonging to the state and transferred to 190
the custody and control of the Department of Economic and 191
Community Development. The commissioner shall require, as a 192
condition of any sale, exchange, lease or agreement entered into 193
pursuant to this section, that such real property be used primarily for 194
manufacturing or economic base businesses, [or for] business support 195
services or cultural or historical attractions or sites. Prior to any such 196
sale, exchange, lease or agreement, the commissioner shall consult with 197
each municipality in which the land, improvement or interest is located. 198
Sec. 6. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2025) The state, acting through the 199
Department of Economic and Community Development or any other 200
state agency, governmental entity or the private sector, may, within 201
available appropriations, provide financial assistance, lend staff or 202
provide other in-kind contributions to AdvanceCT Foundation, Inc. 203
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2025 31-53c
Sec. 3 July 1, 2025 32-7v
Sec. 4 July 1, 2025 32-5a
Sec. 5 July 1, 2025 32-228(a)
Sec. 6 July 1, 2025 New section
Substitute Bill No. 7165
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CE Joint Favorable Subst.