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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 1179
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 6620
Referred to Committee on COMMERCE
Introduced by:
(CE)
AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE CONNECTICUT COMMUNITY
MAKERSPACE INITIATIVE PROGRAM.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2025) (a) For the purposes of this 1
section: 2
(1) "Financial assistance" means any and all forms of grants, loans, 3
cash payments or other forms of financing. 4
(2) "Makerspace" means a community space that (A) provides access 5
to tools and technology, (B) results in the prototyping, creation, 6
production or assembly of tangible personal property, and (C) supports 7
the development of educational opportunities. 8
(b) On or before January 1, 2026, the Department of Economic and 9
Community Development shall establish and administer a pilot 10
program to provide financial assistance to eligible entities for the 11
establishment or expansion of makerspaces in the state. The 12
Commissioner of Economic and Community Development s hall (1) 13
establish eligibility criteria and an application process for participation 14
in the pilot program, and (2) explore means of funding the pilot 15
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program, including, but not limited to, through public-private 16
partnerships, grant programs, federal funds or state funds and the 17
Connecticut Manufacturing Innovation Fund. 18
(c) Applications for participation in such pilot program shall be 19
submitted in a form and manner prescribed by the department. Each 20
application shall include, but need not be limited to, the following: (1) 21
An explanation of the makerspace the applicant is seeking to establish 22
or expand; (2) the amount of financial assistance for such makerspace 23
that the applicant seeks; and (3) such other information as the 24
department deems necessary. 25
(d) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development 26
may award financial assistance to entities participating in the pilot 27
program not exceeding in the aggregate five million dollars. The 28
amount of any financial assistance issued pursuant to this section to an 29
eligible entity shall not exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars per 30
fiscal year. 31
(e) Not later than two years after the receipt of any financial assistance 32
pursuant to this section, and annually thereafter, each participant in the 33
pilot program shall submit a report to the Department of Economic and 34
Community Development detailing the progress of the establishment or 35
expansion of the makerspace proposed in such entity's application and 36
containing any additional information deemed necessary by the 37
Commissioner of Economic and Community Development. 38
(f) Not later than January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, the 39
Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall submit 40
a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general 41
statutes, containing an evaluation of the operation and effectiveness of 42
the pilot program to the joint standing committee of the General 43
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to commerce. 44
Sec. 2. Section 32-7o of the general statutes is repealed and the 45
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 46
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(a) There is established the Connecticut Manufacturing Innovation 47
Fund, which shall be a nonlapsing fund held by the Treasurer separate 48
and apart from all other moneys, funds and accounts. The following 49
moneys shall be deposited in the fund: (1) Any moneys required or 50
permitted by law to be deposited in the fund; (2) any moneys received 51
in return for financial assistance awarded from the Connecticut 52
Manufacturing Innovation Fund pursuant to the program established in 53
subsection (k) of this section; (3) all private contributions, gifts, grants, 54
donations, bequests or devises received by the fund; and (4) to the extent 55
not otherwise prohibited by state or federal law, any local, state or 56
federal funds received by the fund. Investment earnings credited to the 57
assets of such fund shall become part of the assets of such fund. The 58
Treasurer shall invest the moneys held by the Connecticut 59
Manufacturing Innovation Fund subject to use for financial assistance 60
in accordance with subsections (d) and (k) of this section. 61
(b) Any moneys held in the Connecticut Manufacturing Innovation 62
Fund may, pending the use or application of the proceeds thereof for an 63
authorized purpose, be (1) invested and reinvested in such obligations, 64
securities and investments as are set forth in subsection (f) of section 3-65
20 and in participation certificates in the Short Term Investment Fund 66
created under sections 3-27a and 3-27f, (2) deposited or redeposited in 67
any bank or banks, at the direction of the Treasurer, or (3) invested in 68
participation units in the combined investment funds, as defined in 69
section 3-31b. Proceeds from investments authorized by this subsection 70
shall be credited to the Connecticut Manufacturing Innovation Fund. 71
(c) The Connecticut Manufacturing Innovation Fund shall not be 72
deemed an account within the General Fund. The moneys of the fund 73
shall be used in accordance with the provisions of subsections (d) and 74
(k) of this section and are in addition to any other resources available 75
from state, federal or other entities that support the purposes described 76
in subsections (d) and (k) of this section. 77
(d) The Connecticut Manufacturing Innovation Fund shall be used: 78
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(1) To provide financial assistance to eligible recipients as may be 79
approved by the Manufacturing Innovation Advisory Board pursuant 80
to subsection (g) of this section, [and] (2) to pay or reimburse the 81
administrator for administrative costs pursuant to subsection (m) of this 82
section, and (3) to provide financial assistance to eligible recipients 83
pursuant to section 1 of this act. Such financial assistance shall be 84
awarded for the purpose of: (A) Furthering the development or 85
modernization of manufacturing equipment; (B) supporting 86
advancements in manufacturing; (C) supporting advanced 87
manufacturing research and development; (D) supporting expansion 88
and training by eligible recipients; (E) attracting new manufacturers to 89
the state; (F) supporting education and training programs designed to 90
meet an anticipated demand for appropriately skilled and trained 91
workers; (G) matching federal grants or otherwise leveraging federal 92
grant funds to aid Connecticut universities and nonprofit organizations 93
to increase research efforts; and (H) funding a voucher program as 94
described in subsection (k) of this section. Additionally, such financial 95
assistance shall target aerospace, medical device, composite materials, 96
digital manufacturing and other technologically advanced commercial 97
products and services' supply chains and related disciplines that are 98
likely to lead to an improvement in or development of products or 99
services that are commercializable and designed to advance the state of 100
technology and the competitive position of eligible recipients, and that 101
promise, directly or indirectly, to lead to job growth in the state in these 102
or related fields. 103
(e) The administrator, in consultation with the Manufacturing 104
Innovation Advisory Board, shall give priority consideration to 105
proposals from any company that is located in or planning to relocate 106
to: (1) A distressed municipality, as defined in section 32-9p; (2) a 107
targeted investment community, as defined in section 32-222; (3) a 108
public investment community, as defined in section 7-545; (4) an 109
enterprise zone designated pursuant to section 32-70; or (5) a 110
manufacturing innovation district established pursuant to subsection (f) 111
of this section. 112
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(f) The administrator, in consultation with the Manufacturing 113
Innovation Advisory Board, may establish manufacturing innovation 114
districts in order to promote economic development priorities identified 115
by the administrator. 116
(g) All expenditures from the Connecticut Manufacturing Innovation 117
Fund, except for administrative costs reimbursed to the administrator 118
pursuant to subsection (m) of this section, shall be approved by the 119
advisory board, provided the advisory board may delegate to staff of 120
the administrator the approval of transactions not greater than one 121
hundred thousand dollars. Any such approval by the advisory board 122
shall be (1) specific to an individual expenditure to be made; (2) for 123
budgeted expenditures with such variations as the advisory board may 124
authorize at the time of such budget approval; or (3) for a financial 125
assistance program to be administered by staff of the administrator, 126
subject to limits, eligibility requirements and other conditions 127
established by the Manufacturing Innovation Advisory Board at the 128
time of such program approval. 129
(h) The administrator shall provide any necessary staff, office space, 130
office systems and administrative support for the operation of the 131
Connecticut Manufacturing Innovation Fund in accordance with this 132
section. In acting as administrator of the fund, the Department of 133
Economic and Community Development shall have and may exercise 134
all of the powers set forth in this chapter, provided expenditures from 135
the fund shall be approved by the Manufacturing Innovation Advisory 136
Board pursuant to subsection (g) of this section. 137
(i) The Manufacturing Innovation Advisory Board shall establish an 138
application and approval process with guidelines and terms for 139
financial assistance awarded from the Connecticut Manufacturing 140
Innovation Fund to any eligible recipient. Such guidelines and terms 141
shall include: (1) A requirement that any applicant for financial 142
assistance operate in the state, or propose to relocate operations to the 143
state, in whole or in part, as a condition of such financial assistance; (2) 144
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limitations on the total amount of financial assistance that may be 145
awarded in the form of loans and grants; (3) eligibility requirements for 146
loans and grants, including a requirement for applicants to obtain 147
matching funds from nonstate sources; (4) a process for preliminary 148
review of applications for strength and eligibility by the administrator 149
before such applications are presented to the advisory board for 150
consideration; (5) return on investment objectives, including, but not 151
limited to, job growth and leveraged investment opportunities; and (6) 152
such other guidelines and terms as the advisory board determines to be 153
necessary and appropriate in furtherance of the objectives of this 154
section. 155
(j) Financial assistance awarded from the Connecticut Manufacturing 156
Innovation Fund to eligible recipients shall be used for costs related to 157
facilities, necessary furniture, fixtures and equipment, tooling 158
development and manufacture, materials and supplies, proof of concept 159
or relevance, research and development, compensation, apprenticeship 160
and such other costs that the Manufacturing Innovation Advisory Board 161
determines pursuant to subsection (i) of this section to be eligible for 162
financial assistance within the purposes of this section. 163
(k) The Manufacturing Innovation Advisory Board may establish a 164
voucher program that shall provide eligible recipients access to 165
technical experts in universities, nonprofit organizations and other 166
organizations that can provide specialized expertise to such eligible 167
recipients to solve engineering, marketing and other challenges. The 168
Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, in 169
consultation with the advisory board, may adopt regulations, in 170
accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to implement such 171
voucher program. 172
(l) On or before July 1, 2015, and prior to each fiscal year thereafter, 173
the administrator shall prepare a plan of operations and an operating 174
and capital budget for the Connecticut Manufacturing Innovation Fund, 175
provided not later than ninety days prior to the start of each fiscal year, 176
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the administrator shall submit such plan and budget to the 177
Manufacturing Innovation Advisory Board for its review and approval. 178
(m) Administrative costs shall be paid or reimbursed to the 179
administrator from the Connecticut Manufacturing Innovation Fund, 180
provided the total of such administrative costs in any fiscal year shall 181
not exceed five per cent of the total amount of the allotted funding for 182
such fiscal year as determined in the operating budget prepared 183
pursuant to subsection (l) of this section. Nothing in this section or 184
section 32-7n shall be deemed to require the administrator to risk or 185
expend the funds of the Department of Economic and Community 186
Development in connection with the administration of the Connecticut 187
Manufacturing Innovation Fund. 188
(n) Not later than January 1, 2016, and annually thereafter, the 189
administrator shall provide a report of the activities of the Connecticut 190
Manufacturing Innovation Fund to the Manufacturing Innovation 191
Advisory Board for the advisory board's review and approval. Upon 192
such approval, the advisory board shall provide such report, in 193
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the joint standing 194
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 195
relating to commerce. Such report shall contain available information on 196
the status and progress of the operations and funding of the Connecticut 197
Manufacturing Innovation Fund and the types, amounts and recipients 198
of financial assistance awarded and any returns on investment. 199
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 32-7o
Statement of Purpose:
To establish the Connecticut Community Makerspace Initiative
program to support entrepreneurship, innovation and economic
opportunity in the state.
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[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]
Co-Sponsors: SEN. KUSHNER, 24th Dist.; REP. QUINN, 82nd Dist.
REP. WINTER, 94th Dist.; SEN. WINFIELD, 10th Dist.
REP. MCGEE T., 116th Dist.; REP. SHANNON, 117th Dist.
SEN. RAHMAN, 4th Dist.; SEN. ANWAR, 3rd Dist.
S.B. 1179