Researcher: JKL Page 1 4/2/25
OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 9
AN ACT CONCERNING THE ENVIRONMENT, CLIMATE AND
SUSTAINABLE MUNICIPAL AND STATE PLANNING, AND THE USE
OF NEONICOTINOIDS AND SECOND -GENERATION
ANTICOAGULANT RODENTICIDES.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
SUMMARY
§§ 1-5 — FLOOD DISCLOSURES
Requires certain insurance producers and brokers to (1) notify certain insurance applicants
about flood insurance availability, and (2) post a flood insurance notice on the policy
declarations page; requires financial institutions to notify mortgage applicants of flood damage
risk and who to contact for flood insurance information; requires certain property sellers to
give prospective buyers a flood disclosure notice that the DCP commissioner must develop;
requires landlords to give tenants a flood disclosure notice before entering into or renewing a
lease, and include a specific notice in rental agreements
§§ 6 & 7 — COASTAL SITE PLAN REVIEWS
Makes new single-family home construction subject to coastal site plan review under the
Coastal Management Act; requires municipal zoning commissions and zoning boards of
appeals to give DEEP a copy of each coastal site plan for any activity proposed within certain
FEMA-designated areas or sites with tidal wetlands, beaches, or dunes
§ 8 — BAN ON USING STATE FUNDS IN FLOODWAY
Generally prohibits state funds from being used to build new residential structures on
repetitive-loss properties or within the floodway or coastal high-hazard area
§ 9 — LOCAL EVACUATION AND HAZARD MITIGA TION PLANS
Requires municipal evacuation or hazard mitigation plans to identify and address certain
threats due to sea level change (e.g., to critical infrastructure) and ways to avoid or reduce
climate change’s effects; requires use of geospatial data in identifying those threats
§ 10 — MUNICIPAL CULVERT AND BRIDGE DATA
Requires each municipality to annually submit a geospatial data file to its regional council of
governments on its culverts and bridges; requires each regional council of governments to
annually submit the files to OPM
§ 11 — MUNICIPAL RESERVE FUNDS
Explicitly allows municipal reserve funds to cover expenditures intended to increase a capital
improvement’s resiliency against climate change impacts
§ 12 — TOWN AID ROAD
Expands the eligible uses of Town Aid Road program funds by adding construction,
reconstruction, improvements, and maintenance to increase resiliency against increased
precipitation, flooding, sea level rise, and extreme heat 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 2 4/2/25
§§ 13-16 — PLANS OF CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT
Generally expands the information that must be included in local, regional, and the state’s
plans of conservation and development to include strategies for responding to, and information
related to, climate change effects (e.g., increased precipitation or extreme heat)
§ 17 — CIVIL PREPAREDNESS PLAN
Beginning October 1, 2028, requires the state’s civil preparedness plan and program to
consider observed and projected climate trends related to certain situations
§ 18 — ZONING REGULATIONS
Requires that municipal zoning regulations provide for proper ways to mitigate and avoid the
negative effects of sea level change; allows the regulations to (1) require or promote resilience
and (2) give incentives for using flood-risk reduction building methods
§§ 18-20 & 35 — TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS
Allows municipal zoning regulations to provide for (1) a regional TDR system and (2) sending
and receiving sites in conjunction with a multi-town or regional TDR system; allows COGs to
administer joint or multi-town TDR systems; allows two or more municipalities to set up a TDR
bank; sets criteria for eligible sending and receiving sites
§ 21 — STATE WATER PLAN UPDATE
Requires the state water plan’s next update to (1) consider (a) the potential impact of climate
change on water resource quality and (b) temperatures and precipitation information when
identifying water quantities and qualities for various uses and (2) include recommendations
and an implementation plan for reducing effects on water from climate change and extreme
weather
§ 22 — WATER SUPPLY AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEM
REGULATION AND PERMI T REVIEW
On a 10-year basis beginning by the end of 2028, requires DEEP, DPH, and PURA to review
and revise their water supply regulations and DEEP and DPH to review and revise their
sewage disposal system permitting processes and related regulations, all to include certain
projections
§§ 23-32 — RESILIENCY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS
Creates a framework authorizing municipalities to establish resiliency improvement districts to
finance capital projects addressing climate change mitigation, adaptation, or resilience; allows
municipalities to finance projects in these districts by designating incremental property tax
revenue and specified savings generated in the district, imposing benefit assessments on real
property in the district, and issuing bonds backed by these revenue streams and other sources;
allows municipalities to fix property tax assessments in the district for up to 30 years
§ 33 — SECOND-GENERATION ANTICOAGULANT R ODENTICIDES
Requires DEEP, by January 1, 2026, to classify second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides
as restricted use pesticides
§ 34 — NEONICOTINOIDS
Prohibits, beginning January 1, 2026, selling, possessing, or using pesticides with
neonicotinoids; exempts certain uses (e.g., on agricultural plants or to eliminate certain
invertebrate pests)
SUMMARY 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 3 4/2/25
This bill makes changes in laws related to planning for and preparing
against certain hazards and climate change (e.g., sea level rise, rising
groundwater, extreme heat, wildfire, drought, or flooding). Among
other things, the bill:
1. requires certain entities to give consumers flood disclosure
notices;
2. requires updates to local, regional, and state plans of
conservation and development, the state’s civil preparedness
plan, and local evacuation or hazard mitigation plans;
3. allows municipal zoning regulations to provide for regional
transfer of development rights systems;
4. requires updates to the state water plan and reviews of water
supply and sewage disposal system regulations to account for
certain projections; and
5. creates a framework for municipalities to establish resiliency
improvement districts.
The bill requires the Department of Energy and Environmental
Protection (DEEP) to classify second-generation anticoagulant
rodenticides as restricted use pesticides. It also prohibits selling,
possessing, or using pesticides with neonicotinoids, except for certain
uses (e.g., on agricultural plants or to eliminate certain invertebrate
pests).
A section-by-section analysis follows below.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2025, except as specified below.
§§ 1-5 — FLOOD DISCLOSURES
Requires certain insurance producers and brokers to (1) notify certain insurance
applicants about flood insurance availability, and (2) post a flood insurance notice on the
policy declarations page; requires financial institutions to notify mortgage applicants of
flood damage risk and who to contact for flood insurance information; requires certain
property sellers to give prospective buyers a flood disclosure notice that the DCP
commissioner must develop; requires landlords to give tenants a flood disclosure notice
before entering into or renewing a lease, and include a specific notice in rental agreements 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 4 4/2/25
Personal Risk Insurance (§ 1)
The bill requires insurance producers or brokers to provide an
applicant for a personal risk insurance policy (e.g., a homeowners or
renters insurance policy) written disclosure of the availability of flood
insurance coverage. The disclosure must explain the option of
purchasing flood insurance through the Federal Emergency
Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program
(NFIP) or private insurers. The producer or broker must get the
applicant’s written acknowledgement that he or she received the
disclosure and whether he or she declined to purchase flood insurance.
The bill also requires the insurers to include on a personal risk
insurance policy declarations page a specific notice that the policy does
not include flood insurance.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2026
Mortgage Loans (§ 2)
The bill requires a creditor (e.g., state or federal bank, credit union,
mortgage lender or correspondent lender, or other financial institution)
to give a mortgage loan applicant a notice written in plain language with
certain information about flood insurance by the mortgage closing date.
Specifically, the notice must inform the applicant that (1) standard
homeowners insurance policies do not cover flood related losses, (2)
flood damage can happen regardless of if the property is in a designated
flood zone, and (3) the applicant may want to consult an insurance
producer or broker about flood insurance availability and benefits. The
applicant must sign and date the notice, and the creditor must keep a
copy of it with the applicant’s mortgage records.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2026
Residential Condition Report (§§ 3 & 4)
The bill requires a person selling residential property on or after July
1, 2026, to give a prospective buyer a flood disclosure notice when he or
she gives the required written condition report. 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 5 4/2/25
It requires the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP)
commissioner, by June 15, 2026, to develop the notice in consultation
with DEEP, the housing and insurance departments, industry
representatives, and housing advocates.
Under the bill, the notice must at least include the following:
1. if the property is in a (a) FEMA-designated floodplain, (b) Special
Flood Hazard Area per FEMA’s current flood insurance rate
maps for the area, or (c) moderate risk flood hazard area;
2. if federal law requires the property to have flood insurance
coverage;
3. if the seller (or previous owners) received assistance from FEMA,
the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), or other state or
federal disaster assistance for flood damage;
4. if a FEMA elevation certificate is available;
5. if the seller ever filed a flood damage claim under a flood
insurance policy;
6. if the structure has experienced water penetration or damage
from seepage or a natural flood event; and
7. any other information the DCP commissioner requires.
Under the bill, transfers of newly built residential real property for
which there is an implied warranty are subject to this flood disclosure
notice requirement, despite being exempt from giving a residential
condition report. The seller must give the flood disclosure notice when
he or she would have otherwise needed to give a residential condition
report absent the exemption.
Landlord/Tenant Rental Agreements (§ 5)
The bill requires a landlord to give a tenant, before entering into or
renewing a rental agreement on or after July 1, 2026, a flood disclosure
notice. The DCP commissioner, by June 15, 2026, must develop this 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 6 4/2/25
notice in consultation with DEEP, the housing and insurance
departments, industry representatives, and housing advocates.
Under the bill, the notice must at least include the following:
1. if the leased premises (including common areas and parking
areas) are in a (a) FEMA-designated floodplain, (b) Special Flood
Hazard Area per FEMA’s current flood insurance rate maps for
the area, or (c) moderate risk flood hazard area;
2. if federal law requires the premises to have flood insurance
coverage;
3. if the landlord or any tenant (or previous owner or tenant)
received assistance from FEMA, the U.S. SBA, or other state or
federal disaster assistance for flood damage;
4. if a FEMA elevation certificate is available;
5. if the landlord or any tenant ever filed a flood damage claim
under a flood insurance policy;
6. if, and how often, the premises experienced flood damage, water
seepage, or pooled water from a natural flood event;
7. if the landlord has actual knowledge that the premises have been
flooded; and
8. any other information the DCP commissioner requires.
The bill also requires rental agreements to have a specific notice to
tenants that (1) standard renters insurance policies do not typically
cover flood damage and (2) flood insurance may be available through
FEMA’s NFIP. The notice must also encourage them to review their
policy.
§§ 6 & 7 — COASTAL SITE PLAN REVIEWS
Makes new single-family home construction subject to coastal site plan review under the
Coastal Management Act; requires municipal zoning commissions and zoning boards of
appeals to give DEEP a copy of each coastal site plan for any activity proposed within
certain FEMA-designated areas or sites with tidal wetlands, beaches, or dunes 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 7 4/2/25
By law, coastal municipalities must perform coastal site plan reviews
under the state’s Coastal Management Act (CMA). The CMA requires
coastal site plan reviews for certain activities in the coastal boundary
and landward of the mean high water mark to determine conformity
with municipal zoning regulations and certain state statutory
requirements.
The bill applies coastal site review requirements to building new
single-family homes. Current law allows municipalities to exempt the
construction of these homes from coastal site plan review, except when
the structure is (1) on an island not connected to the mainland by an
existing road bridge or causeway or (2) within 100 feet of tidal wetlands,
coastal bluffs and escarpments, beaches, and dunes.
The bill also requires municipalities to give DEEP a copy of each
coastal site plan for any activity proposed within a FEMA-designated V,
VE, A, or AE area (i.e. special flood hazard areas), or Limit of Moderate
Wave Action (LiMWA) area (i.e. where wave heights are between 1.5
and 3 feet), or any site with tidal wetlands, beaches, or dunes. They must
do this within 15 days after receiving the plan. DEEP may comment on
a plan within 35 days after receiving it, and DEEP’s comments must be
considered before final action is taken on the plan. Current law requires
this process only for the coastal site plans of shoreline flood and erosion
control structures.
The law also currently requires the municipal zoning commissions to
give DEEP a copy of a submitted coastal site plan and receive DEEP’s
comments for consideration. The bill extends these requirements to
zoning boards of appeals.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2025
§ 8 — BAN ON USING STATE FUNDS IN FLOODW AY
Generally prohibits state funds from being used to build new residential structures on
repetitive-loss properties or within the floodway or coastal high-hazard area
The bill generally prohibits, beginning December 1, 2025, any state
entity from using state funds, and any recipient of state funds or federal
funds provided through a state agency, from using any of it to directly 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 8 4/2/25
subsidize building any new residential structure or reconstruction of a
residential structure that increases the finished habitable living space
when the structure is located on a repetitive-loss property or within the
floodway or coastal high-hazard area (e.g., FEMA-designated coastal
AE, VE, and V zones and LiMWAs).
However, the prohibition does not apply to (1) projects that began
construction before that date and (2) reconstruction solely to bring the
structure into FEMA compliance or for work performed on an area of
property that is outside of the floodway or coastal high-hazard areas.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
§ 9 — LOCAL EVACUATION AND HAZARD M ITIGATION PLANS
Requires municipal evacuation or hazard mitigation plans to identify and address certain
threats due to sea level change (e.g., to critical infrastructure) and ways to avoid or reduce
climate change’s effects; requires use of geospatial data in identifying those threats
Beginning October 1, 2025, the bill requires municipal evacuation
plans and municipal hazard mitigation plans to identify and address (1)
threats to surface transportation, critical infrastructure, and local land
uses due to sea level change and (2) actions, strategies, and capital
projects to avoid or reduce impacts and risks from climate change (e.g.,
increased precipitation, flooding, sea level rise, and extreme heat). The
transportation, infrastructure, land uses, actions, strategies, and capital
projects must be identified in geospatial data using the state’s plane
coordinate system, as applicable, which must be provided to the
Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP), the
Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Office of Policy and
Management (OPM) if they ask for it. This work may be done regionally.
§ 10 — MUNICIPAL CULVERT AND BRIDGE DATA
Requires each municipality to annually submit a geospatial data file to its regional council
of governments on its culverts and bridges; requires each regional council of governments
to annually submit the files to OPM
Beginning by October 1, 2026, the bill requires each municipality to
annually submit a geospatial data file on each culvert and bridge within
its control and boundaries to the regional council of governments (COG)
to which it belongs. 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 9 4/2/25
Under the bill, the report must include each culvert’s and bridge’s (1)
geospatial data, using the state’s plane coordinate system; (2) locational
coordinates; and (3) age and dimensions. It must also have any other
information determined necessary by, and be in the format set by, OPM
in consultation with DOT and DEEP.
The bill then requires each COG, beginning by December 1, 2026, to
annually (1) submit the geospatial data file to the OPM secretary and (2)
report any municipality that did not submit its data file.
§ 11 — MUNICIPAL RESERVE FUNDS
Explicitly allows municipal reserve funds to cover expenditures intended to increase a
capital improvement’s resiliency against climate change impacts
Existing law restricts the use of municipal reserve funds to specified
purposes, including financing capital and nonrecurring expenditures to
plan, construct, reconstruct, or acquire a specific capital
improvement. The bill explicitly allows the funds to cover these
expenditures when they are intended to increase a capital
improvement’s resiliency against climate change impacts (e.g.,
increased precipitation, flooding, sea level rise, and extreme heat).
As under existing law, reserve funds may also be used to (1) acquire
a specific piece of equipment; (2) pay property tax revaluation costs; and
(3) pay the costs associated with preparing, amending, or adopting a
municipal plan of conservation and development. By law, the
municipality’s budget-making authority must recommend, and its
legislative body must approve, any expenditure from the reserve fund.
§ 12 — TOWN AID ROAD
Expands the eligible uses of Town Aid Road program funds by adding construction,
reconstruction, improvements, and maintenance to increase resiliency against increased
precipitation, flooding, sea level rise, and extreme heat
The bill expands the eligible uses of municipal Town Aid Road (TAR)
program grants to include construction, reconstruction, improvements,
and maintenance to increase resiliency against increased precipitation,
flooding, sea level rise, and extreme heat.
By law, $12.5 million of money appropriated to DOT is allocated each 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 10 4/2/25
fiscal year for distribution under the TAR program. Currently,
municipalities can use their TAR grant for a variety of activities, such as
highway and bridge construction or maintenance, snow plowing and
sanding, tree trimming or removal, installing traffic signs and signals,
traffic control, vehicle safety programs, parking planning, and
providing essential public transportation services and facilities.
§§ 13-16 — PLANS OF CONSERVATION AND DEV ELOPMENT
Generally expands the information that must be included in local, regional, and the state’s
plans of conservation and development to include strategies for responding to, and
information related to, climate change effects (e.g., increased precipitation or extreme heat)
Plans of conservation and development are statements of
development, resource management, and investment policies created
by certain government entities. Municipalities and COGs must update
their plans at least once every 10 years, and OPM must submit an
updated plan to the legislature for its approval once every five years
(CGS §§ 8-23, 8-35a & 16a-24 et seq.).
The bill requires each type of plan (i.e. local, regional, and state) to
include strategies for responding to, and information related to, climate
change effects, as described below.
Local Plans (§§ 13 & 14)
Required Considerations. State law sets out what local planning
commissions (or a special committee a commission appoints) must
consider when preparing local plans of conservation and development,
including things like the municipality’s needs; protecting and
preserving agriculture; using development patterns that are consistent
with the municipality’s soil, terrain, and infrastructure capacity; the
state and regional plans of conservation and development; and the most
recent sea level change scenario.
For plans adopted on or after October 1, 2026, the bill broadens the
commissions’ considerations to include the most recent hazard and
climate projections from federal and state authorities, such as the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), FEMA,
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and UConn. 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 11 4/2/25
Plan Purposes. State law sets the requirements for local plans of
conservation and development. The bill adds to the mandated content
by requiring plans adopted beginning October 1, 2026, to:
1. include a climate change vulnerability assessment (see below);
2. take into account identified threats, vulnerabilities, and impacts
from the vulnerability assessment for the recommended most
desirable land uses;
3. note inconsistencies with reducing vehicle mileage as a growth
management principle;
4. identify infrastructure (e.g., facilities, public utilities, and
roadways) critical for evacuation and sustaining quality of life
during a natural disaster that must always be operational;
5. identify strategies and design standards that may be used to
avoid or reduce risks from natural disasters, hazards, and climate
change; and
6. include geospatial data that is (a) used to prepare the plan or (b)
needed to convey the plan’s information.
The bill allows local plans of conservation and development to
identify areas vulnerable to climate change effects to prioritize funding
for infrastructure needs and resilience planning.
Under the bill, the climate change vulnerability assessment must (1)
be based on information from the above-referenced state and federal
authorities (i.e. NOAA, FEMA, EPA, and UConn) and (2) assess existing
and anticipated threats to and vulnerabilities from natural disasters,
hazards, and climate change (e.g., increased temperatures, drought,
flooding, wildfire, storms, and sea level rise). It must also assess the
impacts of the disasters and hazards to individuals, communities,
institutions, businesses, economic development, public infrastructure
and facilities, public health, safety, and welfare.
Additionally, the assessment must: 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 12 4/2/25
1. identify goals, policies, and techniques to avoid or reduce the
above threats, vulnerabilities, and impacts;
2. describe any consistencies and inconsistencies between the
assessment and any existing or proposed municipal natural
hazard mitigation plan, floodplain management plan,
comprehensive emergency operations plan, emergency response
plan, post-disaster recovery plan, long-range transportation plan,
or capital improvement plan; and
3. identify and recommend any needed (a) integration of data from
the assessment into these plans and (b) actions to make the
assessment and plans consistent.
Lastly, the bill allows a planning commission or its special committee
to use information and data from the plans that are compared for
consistency as part of the vulnerability assessment (e.g., hazard
mitigation or emergency response plans) when preparing the plan of
conservation and development. This explicitly includes using a
document the applicable COG coordinated. However, this data cannot
be incorporated by reference; it must be summarized and applied in the
plan to the municipality’s specific policies, goals, and standards.
Optional Commission Recommendations. The bill similarly
expands the topics for which commissions and special committees may
make recommendations in their plans. Existing law permits
recommendations for things such as airports; parks; locations for public
buildings, public utilities, and public housing projects; programs to
implement the plan; and priority funding areas.
The bill also permits recommendations for a (1) land use program to
promote reducing and avoiding risks from natural disasters, hazards,
and climate change; (2) transfer of development rights program, which
sets criteria for sending and receiving sites and related technical details
(see § 20 below); and (3) identifying a resiliency improvement district,
which the bill authorizes municipalities to establish (see §§ 23-32 below).
Plan Submission. Under existing law, the planning commission 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 13 4/2/25
must submit a copy of the plan to OPM, along with a description of any
inconsistencies between the plan and the state plan of conservation and
development, within 60 days after adopting it. The bill requires that (1)
the submission also include the geospatial data used to prepare the plan,
as prescribed by the OPM secretary , and (2) the described
inconsistencies include a comparison with the applicable regional plan
of conservation and development.
Regional Plans (§ 15)
By law, regional conservation and development plans must, among
other things, identify areas where it is feasible and prudent to promote
compact, transit-accessible, pedestrian-oriented mixed-use
development patterns. They also note inconsistencies of those patterns
with certain specified growth management principles, such as
protecting environmental assets that are critical to public health and
safety. The bill adds protecting ecosystem services to these principles.
Current law allows for regional plans of development to encourage
energy-efficient development patterns, use of solar and other forms of
renewable energy, and energy conservation. Under the bill, the plans
may also include land use strategies to reduce climate change effects,
and the development patterns must be resilient in addition to energy
efficient.
The bill also requires these plans, beginning October 1, 2025, to (1)
show consistency with the regional long-range transportation plan and
the regional summary of the hazard mitigation plan (where there is a
regional hazard mitigation plan) and (2) identify critical facilities in the
region along with geospatial data showing the facilities’ location,
address, and general function. This data must be available to DESPP,
DOT, and OPM if they ask for it.
State Plan (§ 16)
The state plan of conservation and development (POCD) is a five-
year plan to guide state agency action affecting land and water
resources. OPM, through its secretary, prepares revisions to the plan
and the law specifies numerous considerations and components the 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 14 4/2/25
POCD must address and include (CGS § 16a-24 et seq.).
The bill broadens the required considerations and recommendations
related to flooding and erosion beginning with POCDs adopted after the
adoption of the 2025-2030 POCD. Specifically, as shown in the table
below, these later plans must also (1) consider risks from changes in the
rate and timing of precipitation and increased average temperatures
from extreme heat; (2) identify impacts from the extreme heat and
drought; and (3) make land use strategy recommendations that
minimize risks to public health, infrastructure, and the environment.
Table: Required POCD Contents Under Current Law and the Bill
Current Law (2025-2030 POCD) Future POCDs Under the Bill
Consider risks due to increased coastal
flooding and erosion (depending on site
topography), based on the most recent sea
level change scenario for Connecticut
published by UConn’s Marine Sciences
Division
Consider risks due to:
• increased flooding and erosion
(depending on site topography), based
on the most recent sea level change
scenario for Connecticut published by
UConn’s Marine Sciences Division and
other sources OPM deems appropriate,
and
• changes in the rate and timing of
annual precipitation and increased
average temperatures from extreme
heat
Identify impacts from the increased flooding
and erosion on infrastructure and natural
resources
Identify impacts from extreme heat, drought,
and increased flooding and erosion on
infrastructure and natural resources
Make recommendations for siting future
infrastructure and property development to
minimize using areas prone to the flooding
and erosion
Make recommendations for:
• siting future infrastructure and property
development to minimize using areas
prone to the flooding and erosion and
• land use strategies that minimize risks
to public health, infrastructure, and the
environment
Consider the state’s greenhouse gas (GHG)
reduction goals*
Consider the state’s GHG reduction goals*
*The Global Warming Solutions Act requires the state to reduce GHG emissions to certain levels, like
45% below 2001 emission levels by January 1, 2023, and 80% below 2001 emission levels by January 1,
2050. It also requires the state to reduce GHG emissions from electricity supplied to electric customers in 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 15 4/2/25
the state to zero percent by January 1, 2040 (CGS § 22a-200a).
§ 17 — CIVIL PREPAREDNESS PLAN
Beginning October 1, 2028, requires the state’s civil preparedness plan and program to
consider observed and projected climate trends related to certain situations
By law, the DESPP commissioner must prepare a comprehensive
state plan and program for civil preparedness (activities and measures
to address certain disasters or emergencies), subject to the governor’s
approval. Beginning October 1, 2028, the bill requires the plan and
program to consider observed and projected climate trends related to
extreme weather events, drought, coastal and inland flooding, storm
surge, wildfire, extreme heat, and any other hazards the commissioner
deems relevant.
§ 18 — ZONING REGULATIONS
Requires that municipal zoning regulations provide for proper ways to mitigate and avoid
the negative effects of sea level change; allows the regulations to (1) require or promote
resilience and (2) give incentives for using flood-risk reduction building methods
The bill requires that zoning regulations adopted under the Zoning
Enabling Act (as opposed to a special act) include proper ways to
mitigate and avoid the potential negative effects of sea level change on
public health, public welfare, and the environment. In doing so, the
regulations must consider the most recent sea level change scenario for
Connecticut published by UConn’s Marine Sciences Division.
The bill allows zoning regulations to require or promote resilience
(i.e. the ability to prepare for and adapt to changing conditions and
withstand and recover rapidly from deliberate attacks, accidents, or
naturally occurring threats or incidents, such as those associated with
climate change), including risks from extreme heat, drought, or
prolonged or intense precipitation. It also allows them to give incentives
for developers who use flood-risk reduction building methods.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2025
§§ 18-20 & 35 — TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS
Allows municipal zoning regulations to provide for (1) a regional TDR system and (2)
sending and receiving sites in conjunction with a multi-town or regional TDR system;
allows COGs to administer joint or multi-town TDR systems; allows two or more
municipalities to set up a TDR bank; sets criteria for eligible sending and receiving sites 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 16 4/2/25
Municipal or Regional TDR Systems (§§ 18, 20 & 35)
A transfer of development rights (TDR) system involves separating
the right to develop land from the land itself, a process that makes the
development right a marketable credit. These systems usually involve
designating (1) preservation areas (i.e. sending sites) where building is
restricted and (2) development areas (i.e. receiving sites) where
developers can exceed permitted densities if they buy development
rights from owners in the preservation areas. Existing law allows (1) a
single municipality to establish a TDR system through its zoning
regulations and (2) two or more municipalities to enter into an
agreement for a joint or multi-town TDR system.
The bill allows municipalities to provide for (1) a regional TDR
system through their zoning regulations, just as existing law allows for
municipal TDR systems, and (2) sending and receiving sites in
conjunction with a multi-town or regional TDR system. The bill also
allows COGs or other agencies to administer these joint or multi-town
TDR systems.
As under current law for municipal TDR systems, the bill allows
regional TDR systems to vary density limits in connection with a
transfer. It also eliminates the current requirement that a TDR system
adopted through zoning regulations require both parties (transferors
and transferees) to apply jointly for the transfer.
TDR Banks (§ 20)
The bill allows two or more municipalities that have entered into a
TDR agreement to enter into an interlocal agreement to set up a TDR
bank. (It does not specify a TDR bank’s purposes or duties.) These
interlocal agreements must:
1. identify the receiving site and include the local development
rights legislation that was or will be adopted by the municipality
or municipalities where the site is located,
2. describe procedures for terminating the TDR bank, and
3. describe the conversion ratio to be used in the receiving site. 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 17 4/2/25
Under the bill, the conversion ratio may express the extent of
additional development rights in any combination of units, floor area,
height, or other applicable development standards that the municipality
may modify to create incentives for purchasing development rights.
Eligible Receiving Sites. Under the bill, each of these receiving sites
must be:
1. eligible to connect with a public water system;
2. within one-half mile from public transportation facilities (e.g.,
rail and bus stations) and above the 500-year flood elevation;
3. outside the boundaries of core forest (i.e. unfragmented forest
land that is at least 300 feet from the boundary between forest
land and non-forest land, as determined by the DEEP
commissioner); and
4. outside the boundaries of any area impacted by the state’s most
recent sea level change scenario.
Eligible Sending Sites. The bill specifies that eligible sending sites
may include:
1. core forest or agricultural land;
2. farm land classified under the “PA 490 program” (which allows
eligible land to be assessed for property tax purposes based on its
current use, rather than its fair market value);
3. areas identified as containing habitat for endangered or
threatened species (as identified under state or federal law or a
written determination of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or
state and federally recognized tribe); and
4. areas within the boundaries of a floodplain or area impacted by
the state’s most recent sea level change scenario.
Definitions (§ 19) 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 18 4/2/25
Under the bill, a “receiving site” is one or more designated sites or
land areas to which development rights from one or more sending sites
may be transferred and where increased development is allowed to
occur because of the transfer. A “sending site” is one or more designated
sites or land areas in which development rights are designated for use
in one or more receiving sites.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2025, except the section defining receiving
and sending sites is effective upon passage.
§ 21 — STATE WATER PLAN UPDATE
Requires the state water plan’s next update to (1) consider (a) the potential impact of
climate change on water resource quality and (b) temperatures and precipitation
information when identifying water quantities and qualities for various uses and (2)
include recommendations and an implementation plan for reducing effects on water from
climate change and extreme weather
The bill requires the next update to the state water plan to consider
(1) the potential impact of climate change on water resource quality and
(2) past conditions and predictions of future temperatures and
precipitation when identifying available quantities and qualities of
surface water and groundwater that are for public water supply, health,
economic, recreation, and environmental benefits on a regional basin
scale. It must also have recommendations and an implementation plan
to reduce effects on water quality and quantity from climate change and
extreme weather events.
By law, the Water Planning Council (WPC) is responsible for
preparing and periodically updating the state water plan, which is used
to manage the state’s water resources. The WPC is comprised of the
DEEP and Department of Public Health (DPH) commissioners, the
Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) chairperson, and the
OPM secretary, or their designees. Adoption of the plan, and revisions
to it, involves (1) an opportunity for the public to review the plan, attend
a public hearing on it, and submit written comments; (2) legislative
review, which may include a public hearing; and (3) approval by the
governor if the legislature does not timely approve it (i.e. within 24
months after its original submission) (CGS §§ 25-33o and 22a-352). 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 19 4/2/25
§ 22 — WATER SUPPLY AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEM
REGULATION AND PERMI T REVIEW
On a 10-year basis beginning by the end of 2028, requires DEEP, DPH, and PURA to
review and revise their water supply regulations and DEEP and DPH to review and
revise their sewage disposal system permitting processes and related regulations, all to
include certain projections
The bill requires DEEP, DPH, and PURA to each (1) review their
respective regulations on water supply and (2) revise them to include
the most concurrent projections on precipitation, temperature, and
other conditions that could impact water quality, quantity, and
distribution.
The bill also requires DEEP and DPH to each review and revise their
sewage disposal system permitting processes and related regulations to
include the most concurrent projections on precipitation, flooding, sea
level rise, and other conditions that could impact public safety and
environmental quality.
These efforts must be done every 10 years, beginning by December
31, 2028.
§§ 23-32 — RESILIENCY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS
Creates a framework authorizing municipalities to establish resiliency improvement
districts to finance capital projects addressing climate change mitigation, adaptation, or
resilience; allows municipalities to finance projects in these districts by designating
incremental property tax revenue and specified savings generated in the district, imposing
benefit assessments on real property in the district, and issuing bonds backed by these
revenue streams and other sources; allows municipalities to fix property tax assessments
in the district for up to 30 years
Overview
The bill allows municipalities, through their legislative bodies, to
establish a resiliency improvement district to finance capital projects
meant to address climate change mitigation, adaptation, or resilience. It
allows a municipality to finance projects in the district by (1) designating
all or part of the new or incremental real property tax revenue and
specified savings generated in the district for repaying the costs
incurred to fund the projects; (2) imposing assessments on real property
in the district benefiting from certain public improvements (i.e. benefit
assessments); and (3) issuing bonds with up to 30-year terms backed by
various sources, including these revenue streams, to pay project costs. 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 20 4/2/25
The bill imposes certain criteria for designating a resiliency
improvement district that generally parallel those in existing law for
designating a tax increment financing district. It specifies a process for
establishing a resiliency improvement district that, among other things,
requires a municipality to (1) consider the proposed district’s
contribution to the municipality and its residents, (2) determine whether
it conforms with its plan of conservation and development, and (3) hold
at least one public hearing on the proposal.
It requires a municipality’s legislative body to adopt a master plan
for the resiliency improvement district and prescribes the plan’s
components, including a financial plan that defines the costs and
revenue sources required to accomplish the master plan. It also allows
municipalities to fix property tax assessments in the district for up to 30
years.
To carry out a district master plan, the bill allows municipalities to
issue bonds with up to 30-year terms backed by various sources,
including (1) their full faith and credit (i.e. general obligation (GO)
bonds); (2) the income, proceeds, revenues, and property within the
district; and (3) tax increment revenues, increased savings, and benefit
assessments.
Establishing the District (§ 24(a), (d) & (e))
The bill allows a municipality’s legislative body to establish a
resiliency improvement district within the municipality’s boundaries
subject to the bill’s requirements. (Under the bill, a “municipality” is a
town, city, borough, consolidated town and city, or consolidated town
and borough.) The district is effective when the legislative body
approves it and adopts a district master plan, as described below. If the
municipality operates under a charter that prohibits these districts, the
bill prohibits it from establishing one.
The bill also allows two or more contiguous municipalities to enter
into an interlocal agreement to set up a district and adopt a district
master plan for a district made up of contiguous properties partially
located in each. They must adopt the agreement before they set up the 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 21 4/2/25
district or plan according to the interlocal agreement law. The
agreement must divide among the participating municipalities any
power, right, duty, or obligation set out in the bill. As with other
districts, joint districts are effective when the respective legislative
bodies approve it and adopt a district master plan.
Advisory Board (§ 31)
The bill allows the legislative body of each applicable municipality to
create a board to advise it and designated administrative entities on (1)
planning, building, and implementing the district master plan and (2)
maintaining and operating the district after the plan’s completion. The
advisory board’s members must include people who own or occupy real
property in or next to the district.
Conditions for Approval (§ 25)
The bill requires municipalities (through their legislative bodies, or
board of selectmen if the legislative body is a town meeting) to take
certain steps before establishing a district and approving a district
master plan.
Planning Commission. The municipality must give the proposed
district master plan to its planning commission, if it has one, and ask it
to study the plan and issue a written advisory opinion, with a
determination as to whether it is consistent with the municipality’s plan
of conservation and development.
Public Hearing. The municipality must hold at least one public
hearing on the proposed district. It must publish notice of the hearing at
least 10 days in advance in a conspicuous place on the municipality’s
website (or municipalities’ websites, in the case of a joint district) and
include (1) the hearing’s date, time, and place; (2) a legal description of
the proposed district’s boundaries; and (3) the draft district master plan.
The draft plan must also be (1) available for people to physically review
it and (2) posted on each applicable municipality’s website.
Approval Criteria. The municipality must determine whether the
proposed district meets certain criteria. First, it must consider if it and 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 22 4/2/25
its master plan will contribute to the municipality’s well-being or
improve its residents’ health, welfare, or safety.
In addition, it must determine whether the proposed district meets
the following conditions:
1. it must contain an area that experiences, or is likely to experience,
adverse impacts from hazards or climate change (e.g., sea level
rise, rising groundwater, extreme heat, wildfire, drought, or
flooding);
2. it must have been identified in (a) a municipal hazard mitigation
plan, (b) a local or regional plan of conservation and
development, or (c) another related planning process;
3. the plan must show that it reduces risks from these identified
adverse impacts in the district;
4. a portion of its real property must be suitable for commercial,
industrial, mixed-use, or retail uses or transit-oriented
development; and
5. it must not increase the vulnerability and risk to adjacent
properties or other hazards in the district.
If there are existing residential uses in the district, the proposed
district must also provide for replacing or renovating these residential
buildings under certain conditions. Specifically, if the district is in a
flood zone or within the sea level rise boundaries in the sea level change
scenario for Connecticut published by UConn’s Marine Sciences
Division, it must:
1. include a height standard of at least two feet of freeboard above
the base flood elevation, or as designated by the state building
code or municipal building requirements, whichever imposes a
greater height standard, and indicate whether construction of or
renovation to commercial or industrial buildings must be flood-
proofed or elevated; and 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 23 4/2/25
2. allow vehicles to access these buildings at a height of two feet
above base flood elevation.
Lastly, the original assessed value of the proposed district (i.e. the
value of all taxable real property in the district as of the prior October
1), plus the original assessed value of all of the existing tax increment
districts within the relevant municipalities, cannot exceed 10% of the
total value of taxable property in the municipalities as of the October 1
immediately before the district’s establishment. This calculation does
not include any districts consisting entirely of contiguous property
owned by a single taxpayer (i.e. parcels divided by a road, power line,
railroad line, or right-of-way).
Dissolving the District or Changing Its Boundaries (§ 24(c))
Under the bill, a municipality’s legislative body may generally vote
to dissolve a district or change its boundaries at any time. But it may not
dissolve the district or decrease its boundaries if the district has any
outstanding bonds, other than municipal GO bonds.
District Powers (§ 24(b) & (f))
Development. The bill authorizes a municipality, within a district
and consistent with its district master plan, to:
1. acquire, construct, reconstruct, improve, preserve, alter, extend,
operate, and maintain property or promote development to meet
the plan’s objectives (in doing so, it may acquire property, land,
and easements through negotiation or by other legal means);
2. execute and deliver contracts, agreements, and other documents
related to the district’s operation and maintenance;
3. issue bonds and other obligations as the bill allows;
4. enter into fixed assessment agreements for real property in the
district, subject to the restrictions described below;
5. accept grants, advances, loans, or other financial assistance from
public or private sources and do anything necessary or desirable 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 24 4/2/25
to secure the aid (the bill specifies that this funding includes
funds from the Climate Change and Coastal Resiliency Reserve
Fund, stormwater authorities, and flood prevention, climate
resilience, and erosion control systems); and
6. according to terms it establishes, (a) provide services, facilities, or
property; (b) lend, grant, or contribute funds; and (c) take any
other action it is authorized to perform for other municipal
purposes.
These powers are in addition to those the municipality has under the
Constitution, the statutes, special acts, or the bill’s other provisions.
Fixing Assessments in the District. The bill allows a municipality,
through its board of selectmen, town council, or other governing body,
to enter into written agreements with a taxpayer to fix the assessment of
real property in the district for up to 30 years. The property’s fixed
assessment, plus the value of any future improvements, cannot be less
than its assessment as of the last regular assessment date without the
future improvements.
Fixed assessment agreements must be recorded on the municipality’s
land records. This recording (1) constitutes notice to the property’s
subsequent purchasers or encumbrancers, whether they acquire the
property voluntarily or involuntarily, and (2) is binding.
A municipality may bring an action in the Superior Court for the
judicial district in which it is located to force a taxpayer to comply with
the agreement’s terms.
Tax Abatements for Affordable Housing in the District. The bill
specifies that it does not limit a municipality’s authority under the law
to offer, enter into, or change any tax abatement for real property in the
district if that property has at least one affordable housing unit. (By law,
a unit is affordable if it costs a household no more than 30% of its
income, for households making up to the median income of the town
where the unit is located.) 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 25 4/2/25
District Master Plan (§ 26)
Requirement. The bill requires a municipality’s legislative body to
adopt a (1) “district master plan” for the district and (2) statement of the
percentage or amount of “increased assessed value” that will be
designated as “captured assessed value” under the plan, as described
below. It must adopt the plan (1) at the same time it adopts the district,
subject to the bill’s procedures, and (2) after receiving the planning
commission’s (or combined planning and zoning commission’s) written
advisory opinion or 90 days after it requested the opinion, whichever
comes first.
Purpose. Under the bill, the “district master plan” is a statement of
means and objectives prepared by the municipality, or municipalities
acting under an interlocal agreement, relating to a district designed to
do the following:
1. reduce the risk of, or exposure to, extreme events, hazards, and
climate change effects;
2. support economic development;
3. provide housing opportunities in existing residential areas;
4. improve or broaden the tax base; and
5. build or improve the physical facilities and structures needed for
“resilience projects,” “environmental infrastructure,” or “clean
energy projects.”
Under the bill, “resilience projects” are those (including capital
projects) designed and implemented to address climate change
mitigation, adaptation, or resilience. They include projects (1) mitigating
the effects of river, bay, sea, or groundwater rise; extreme heat or the
urban heat island effect; or drought and (2) meant to reduce flooding
risk. (By law, “resilience” is the ability to prepare for and adapt to
changing conditions and withstand and recover rapidly from deliberate
attacks, accidents, or naturally occurring threats or incidents, such as
those associated with climate change.) 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 26 4/2/25
“Environmental infrastructure” is structures, facilities, systems,
services, and improvement projects related to water, waste and
recycling, climate adaptation and resiliency, agriculture, land
conservation, parks and recreation, and environmental markets such as
carbon offsets and ecosystem services. “Clean energy projects” are
renewal energy projects using Class I renewable sources (e.g., wind and
solar).
Components. The district master plan must include:
1. a legal description of the district’s boundaries;
2. the tax identification numbers for its lots or parcels;
3. the present condition and uses of its land and buildings and how
building and improving physical facilities or structures will
reduce or eliminate risk from existing or expected hazards;
4. the district’s existing or expected hazards;
5. the public facilities, improvements, or programs anticipated to be
financed in whole or part;
6. if the district has existing residential housing, a plan to
rehabilitate, build, or replace the housing, subject to the state’s
plan of conservation and development and consolidated plan for
housing and community development, that includes meaningful
efforts to reduce displacement;
7. a plan for maintaining and operating the resiliency
improvements after they are completed;
8. the district’s maximum duration, which cannot exceed 50 fiscal
years, beginning with the year in which the district is established;
and
9. a financial plan, as described below.
Financial Plan Component. The bill requires the district master plan
to include a financial plan that identifies the project costs and revenue 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 27 4/2/25
sources required to accomplish the district master plan. The financial
plan must contain:
1. cost estimates (a) for the anticipated public improvements and
developments and (b) to support relocating or temporarily
housing displaced residents;
2. the maximum amount of indebtedness to be incurred to
implement the plan;
3. the anticipated revenue sources (e.g., increased savings, fees,
assessments, grants, or other sources);
4. a description of the terms and conditions of any agreements,
including any anticipated savings agreements, assessment
agreements, contracts, or other obligations related to the master
plan;
5. estimates of the district’s increased assessed values and increased
savings; and
6. for each year, the (a) portion of the increased assessed values and
savings that will be applied to the plan as captured assessed
values and (b) resulting tax increments.
Amending and Reviewing the Master Plan. The bill (1) authorizes
the legislative body of each applicable municipality to amend the master
plan and (2) requires it to review the plan at least once every 10 years
after its initial approval in order for the district and plan to remain in
effect. (However, as long as any debt authorized and issued by the
municipality under the bill’s authority is outstanding, a district cannot
be dissolved for failing to comply with this requirement.) The bill
specifies that these provisions do not apply to plans that include
development funded in whole or part by federal funds if federal law
prohibits it.
Tax Increment Revenues (§ 27)
In addition to imposing benefit assessments to finance projects, the 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 28 4/2/25
bill allows municipalities to finance projects using the incremental (1)
real property tax revenue generated in the district (“tax increment”) and
(2) savings to district residents or businesses resulting from the
reduction of any existing insurance premium or other premium,
surcharge, or fee after the district’s implementation (“increased
savings”). It also allows the municipality to use this revenue stream to
repay the bonds issued to finance the projects, as described below.
Captured Assessed Value. The bill generally allows each applicable
municipality to designate all or part of the district’s tax increment and
increased savings to finance all or part of the district’s master plan. In
the case of any existing or planned residential use in the district, it
allows the municipality to use the percentage of this revenue and
savings needed to (1) rehabilitate, build, or replace dwellings and (2)
increase or improve access to affordable housing within the
municipality, either in or next to the district.
Under the bill, the amount of tax increment revenue designated by
the municipality is determined by the district’s “captured assessed
value,” that is, the percentage or amount of the incremental increase in
property values (“increased assessed value”) that is used from year to
year to finance the plan’s project costs. The incremental increase in
property values is the amount by which the value of the district’s
property as of October 1 of each year (“current assessed value”) exceeds
its value as of October 1 of the tax year before the district was established
(“original assessed value”). The captured assessed value is subject to
any fixed assessment agreements.
Once the municipality establishes the district and adopts its master
plan, its assessor must certify the original assessed value of the taxable
real property within the district’s boundaries. The assessor must also
annually certify the:
1. current assessed value of the district’s taxable real property,
2. amount by which the current assessed value has increased or
decreased from the original assessed value, and 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 29 4/2/25
3. amount of the captured assessed value.
Apportioning Property Taxes in the Municipality. The bill requires
that property taxes paid by property owners within the district be
apportioned equally with the property taxes paid by other property
owners in the municipality located outside the district. It specifies that
its provisions do not authorize the unequal apportionment or
assessment of taxes on real property in the municipality.
District Master Plan Fund (§ 27(c))
Under the bill, municipalities that designate a percentage or amount
of captured assessed value in their district master plans must establish
a fund for depositing the resulting incremental tax revenues and paying
project costs. They must also deposit in the fund any benefit assessments
imposed on real property in the district, as described below.
Account Structure. The fund must consist of a (1) project cost
account and (2) development sinking fund account for any bonds issued
to carry out or administer the district master plan. The bill authorizes
the municipality to transfer funds between the accounts, as long as the
transfers do not yield an insufficient balance in either account to cover
its annual obligations.
The project cost account is pledged to and charged with paying
project costs outlined in the financial plan, including reimbursing
project cost expenditures incurred by a public body (e.g., the
municipality, a developer, a property owner, or another third-party
entity), other than reimbursements paid with bond proceeds.
The development sinking fund account is pledged to and charged
with (1) paying interest and principal on district bonds as they come
due, including any redemption premium; (2) paying the costs of
providing or reimbursing any entity that provides a guarantee, letter of
credit, bond insurance policy, or other credit enhancement device used
to secure debt service payments on district bonds; and (3) funding any
required reserve fund.
Depositing Tax Increment Revenues. The municipality must 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 30 4/2/25
annually set aside all tax increment revenues on captured assessed
values and deposit the revenues in a specific order. The revenues must
first go to the development sinking fund account, in an amount
necessary to pay the annual debt service on the bonds issued
(considering estimated future revenues that will be deposited to the
account and earnings on this amount), excluding any GO bonds issued
by the municipality that are backed solely by its full faith and credit.
Any remaining revenues must go to the project cost account.
Excess Revenues. At any time during the district’s term, the
municipality’s legislative body may vote to return to the municipality’s
general fund any tax increment revenues remaining in either account
that exceed the amount necessary to pay the account’s obligations. In
doing so, it must consider any transfers made between the accounts.
Audit Requirement. The bill requires the district master plan fund
and its accounts to be audited annually by an independent auditor
according to generally accepted accounting principles. The audit report
must be (1) open to public inspection and (2) provided to the state’s
Auditors of Public Accounts.
Eligible Costs (§ 28)
The bill limits the use of a district master plan fund to paying certain
costs for (1) improvements made within the district, (2) improvements
made outside the district that are directly related to or necessary for the
district’s establishment or operation, and (3) environmental
improvement projects developed by the municipality that are associated
with the district.
Improvements Made in the District. The bill allows the fund to pay
the following costs for improvements made within the district:
1. capital costs, as described below;
2. financing costs, including closing and issuance costs, reserve
funds, and capitalized interest;
3. real property assembly costs; 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 31 4/2/25
4. technical and marketing assistance program costs;
5. professional service costs, including licensing, architectural,
planning, engineering, development, and legal expenses;
6. maintenance and operation costs (i.e. the cost of the activities
necessary to maintain and operate facilities after their
development, including informational, promotional, and
educational programs, as well as safety and surveillance
activities);
7. administrative costs, including reasonable charges for the time
municipal employees, other agencies, or third-party entities
spend implementing a district master plan; and
8. organizational costs related to the district’s planning and
establishment, including the cost of conducting environmental
impact studies, informing the public about the district, and
implementing the district master plan.
Under the bill, capital costs include the cost of:
1. acquiring or constructing land, improvements, infrastructure,
measures designed to improve resilience, environmental
infrastructure, clean energy projects, public ways, parks,
buildings, structures, railings, signs, landscaping, plantings,
curbs, sidewalks, turnouts, recreational facilities, structured
parking, transportation improvements, pede strian
improvements, and other related improvements, fixtures, and
equipment for public or private use;
2. demolishing, altering, remodeling, repairing, or reconstructing
existing buildings, structures, and fixtures;
3. remediating environmental contamination;
4. preparing a site and finishing work; and
5. incurring associated fees and expenses, such as licensing, 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 32 4/2/25
permitting, planning, engineering, architectural, testing, legal,
and accounting expenses.
Improvements Made Outside the District. For improvements made
outside the district that are directly related to or necessary for
establishing or operating the district, the fund may pay the:
1. portion of the costs reasonably related to constructing, altering,
or expanding facilities required due to improvements or
activities within the district, including roadways, traffic signals,
easements, sewage or water treatment plants or other
environmental protection devices, storm or sanitary sewer lines,
water lines, electrical lines, fire station improvement, and street
signs;
2. costs of public safety and public school improvements made
necessary by the district’s establishment; and
3. costs of mitigating any of the district’s adverse impacts on the
municipality and its constituents.
Benefit Assessments (§ 29)
Funding Mechanism. Under the act, a municipality that constructs,
improves, extends, equips, rehabilitates, repairs, acquires, provides a
grant for, or finances the cost of public improvements in a district may
assess a proportion of these costs as a benefit assessment on real
property in the district that benefits from these public improvements. It
may, by ordinance, apportion the value of the improvements according
to a formula that reflects the actual benefits accruing to the various
properties because of the development and maintenance (presumably,
the public improvements and their maintenance).
The municipality may (1) require property owners to pay the benefit
assessments in annual installments for up to 50 years and (2) forgive the
benefit assessments in any given year without affecting future
installments. It may assess buildings or structures constructed or
expanded in the district after the initial benefit assessment is imposed
as if they existed at the time of the original benefit assessment. 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 33 4/2/25
Revising and Adopting the Assessments. The municipality must
revise and adopt the assessments at least once a year within 60 days
before the start of the fiscal year. If the municipality imposes the benefit
assessments before acquiring or constructing the public improvements,
it may subsequently adjust the assessments once the improvements are
complete to reflect their actual cost.
Public Hearing and Notice Requirement. Before estimating and
imposing a benefit assessment, the municipality must hold at least one
public hearing on the payment schedule or any revisions to it. It must
publish a notice of the hearing at least 10 days in advance in a
conspicuous place on the municipality’s website (or municipalities’ sites
for joint districts). The notice must include:
1. the hearing’s date, time, and place;
2. a legal description of the district’s boundaries;
3. a statement that all interested property owners in the district will
be given an opportunity to be heard at the hearing and file
objections to the assessment amount;
4. the maximum assessment rate to be increased in any one year;
and
5. a statement indicating that the proposed list of properties to be
assessed and the estimated assessments against those properties
are available at the town or assessor’s office.
The notice may also include the maximum number of years that the
assessments will be levied. The municipality must make the proposed
benefit assessment schedule available to any member of the public,
upon request, by the notice’s publication date.
The bill generally applies the same statutory public hearing and
appeal procedures to district benefit assessments as apply under
existing law to municipal sewer system benefit assessments levied by
water pollution control authorities (CGS § 7-250). It substitutes the
municipality’s board of finance (or legislative body if it has none) for the 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 34 4/2/25
water pollution control authority for purposes of this process. The
municipality must also follow this notice and hearing process when
increasing benefit assessments or extending the number of years that
they will be levied.
Collection and Enforcement. The municipality has the same
powers to collect and enforce the benefit assessments as it does for
municipal taxes. It must establish the payment due date and provide
notice of the due date at least 30 days in advance by (1) publishing it in
a conspicuous place on each applicable municipality’s website (with the
posting’s date and time) and (2) mailing it to the last known address of
each affected property owner. Assessment revenues must be paid into
the appropriate district master plan fund account.
Unpaid benefit assessments are liens against the property. Property
owners must pay the same interest rate on delinquent assessments as on
delinquent property taxes (1.5% per month or 18% per year). The liens
(1) may be continued, recorded, and released in the same manner as
property tax liens; (2) take precedence over all other liens and
encumbrances, except those for municipal property taxes; and (3) may
be enforced in the same way as property tax liens.
Bonds (§ 30)
To carry out or administer a district master plan or other functions
under the bill’s provisions, municipalities may issue bonds and other
obligations (e.g., refunding bonds, notes, interim certificates, and
debentures) backed by:
1. their full faith and credit (i.e. GO bonds);
2. the income, proceeds, revenues, and property within the district,
including grants, loans, advances, or contributions from state,
federal, or other sources;
3. tax increment and increased savings revenues and benefit
assessments; or
4. any combination of these sources. 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 35 4/2/25
Under the bill, only the municipality’s GO bonds count towards its
bond cap.
The bill requires municipalities to authorize these bonds, without the
state’s consent, by resolution of its legislative body, regardless of any
other statute, municipal ordinance, or charter provision governing
municipal bond issuances. The municipality’s legislative body, or the
municipal officers to which the legislative body delegates authority for
issuing the bonds, must determine:
1. how the bonds will be issued and sold;
2. their interest rates, including variable rates;
3. the term over which they will mature, which must be no more
than 30 years;
4. when interest will be paid;
5. whether and under what terms bonds may be purchased or
redeemed; and
6. all other issuing conditions.
It allows the municipality to secure the bonds by executing a trust
agreement with a bank or trust company that contains reasonable
provisions for protecting and enforcing bondholders’ rights. Any
pledge the municipality makes concerning such an agreement is (1)
valid and binding from the time it is made; (2) immediately subject to a
lien without physical delivery of the money; and (3) valid and binding
against all parties with claims against the municipality, regardless of
whether the parties received specific notice of the lien. It specifies that
any expenses the municipality incurs in carrying out the trust agreement
may be treated as project costs.
The bill assures bondholders that state and local entities may invest
in the bonds and that the state will not limit or alter the district, or the
municipality’s powers and duties with respect to the district, until the
bonds are repaid. 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 36 4/2/25
The bill specifies that its provisions do not restrict a municipality’s
ability to raise revenue to pay project costs by any other legal means.
Priority Projects (§ 32)
Under the bill, districts must prioritize the solicitation, selection, and
design of infrastructure projects designed to increase resilience and that
either:
1. use natural and nature-based solutions meant to restore,
maintain, or enhance ecosystem services and processes that
maintain or improve environmental quality in or next to the
district or
2. address the needs of environmental justice communities (i.e.
distressed municipalities or areas where at least 30% of the
population consists of low-income people who are not
institutionalized and have an income below 200% of the federal
poverty level) or vulnerable communities (i.e. populations that
may be disproportionately affected by climate change).
If the resiliency project results in affordable housing being
demolished or reduced, the municipality, resiliency project developer,
property owner, or a third-party entity must commit to replacing these
units in the district within four years. If this is not feasible within the
district, then the units must be replaced reasonably close to the district
at a rate of at least two units for each one that would have otherwise
been replaced in the district.
§ 33 — SECOND-GENERATION ANTICOAGULANT R ODENTICIDES
Requires DEEP, by January 1, 2026, to classify second-generation anticoagulant
rodenticides as restricted use pesticides
The bill requires the DEEP commissioner, by January 1, 2026, to
classify all second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides for restricted
use, meaning that they may cause unreasonable adverse environmental
effects. By law, this classification requires pesticides to be applied only
by, or under the direct supervision of, a certified applicator or subject to
other restrictions the commissioner imposes through regulations.
(Currently, DEEP classifies these rodenticides for general use, meaning 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 37 4/2/25
no specialized license is required to apply them.)
Under the bill, “second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides” are
pesticide products containing brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difenacoum,
or difethialone (see Background).
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
Background
Second-Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides . Most
rodenticides are anticoagulant compounds that interfere with blood
clotting and cause death from excessive bleeding. Second-generation
anticoagulants were developed to control rodents that are resistant to
first-generation anticoagulants. These pesticides are more likely to be
effective after a single feeding and may remain in animal tissue longer
than first-generation products. They are registered only for the
commercial and structural pest control markets.
Related Bill. sHB 6915 (File 112), favorably reported by the
Environment Committee, (1) prohibits using second-generation
anticoagulant rodenticides in Connecticut, subject to certain
exemptions, and (2) requires DEEP to report to the Environment
Committee on the potential implications of applying existing
restrictions and licensing requirements to this rodenticide use.
§ 34 — NEONICOTINOIDS
Prohibits, beginning January 1, 2026, selling, possessing, or using pesticides with
neonicotinoids; exempts certain uses (e.g., on agricultural plants or to eliminate certain
invertebrate pests)
The bill prohibits, beginning January 1, 2026, selling, possessing, or
using a pesticide that has any neonicotinoid (see Background —
Neonicotinoids). However, it exempts the following from the ban:
1. use on agricultural plants;
2. use to eliminate an invasive invertebrate pest if the DEEP
commissioner, after consulting with the Connecticut Agricultural
Experiment Station’s (CAES) director, determines that there is no
effective available alternative; and 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 38 4/2/25
3. any neonicotinoid that is not labeled for plant use, like those for
pet care, veterinary purposes, or indoor or structural pest control.
The bill authorizes the DEEP commissioner to assess a civil penalty
of up to $2,500 per violation to anyone who violates the ban.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
Agricultural Plants
Under the bill, an “agricultural plant” is a plant or plant part that is
grown, maintained, or produced for commercial purposes, such as for
sale or trade, research or experiments, or use (in whole or part) in
another location. It includes things like a grain, fruit, vegetable, wood
fiber or timber product, flowering or foliage plant or tree, seedling,
transplant, or turf grass for sod. The bill excludes from the definition
pasture or rangeland for grazing.
Invasive Invertebrate Pests
The bill allows the CAES director to consult with the Pesticide
Advisory Council to determine if a pesticide is the only effective control
option available for an invasive invertebrate pest.
Under the bill, this pest is any invertebrate species, including its eggs
or other biological material that can propagate the species, that also:
1. is regulated or under quarantine by CAES or the U.S. Department
of Agriculture or
2. occurs outside of its Level III ecoregion (i.e. an area defined by
the EPA based on things like geology, vegetation, soils, and
hydrology) and is, or threatens to be, a substantial pest to plants
of economic importance, an environmental harm, or harmful to
human, animal, or plant health.
Background — Neonicotinoids
By law, a neonicotinoid is a pesticide that selectively acts on an
organism’s nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (i.e. impacts the nervous
system), including clothianidin, dinotefuran, imidacloprid, 2025SB-00009-R000418-BA.docx
Researcher: JKL Page 39 4/2/25
thiamethoxam, and any other pesticide that the DEEP commissioner,
after consulting with CAES, determines will kill at least 50% of a bee
population when up to two micrograms of it is applied to each bee (CGS
§ 22-61k). Neonicotinoids that are labeled for treating plants are
“restricted use,” and may only be applied by someone certified under
state law to do so or by someone that person supervises.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Environment Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 24 Nay 9 (03/14/2025)