Commerce committee considers broad DECD statutory changes, including prevailing wage, IDD hiring grants and AdvanceCT updates

The committee considered HB 7165 (LCO 6587), an agency bill from the Department of Economic and Community Development that packages six substantive statutory changes intended as housekeeping and program updates.

Representative Meskers summarized the bill's components: authorizing DECD to sell branded merchandise with proceeds deposited to the tourism fund; clarifying when prevailing wage applies to projects that receive state funding; expanding and relaxing eligibility criteria for a grant program supporting employers who hire individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD); revising the non-relocation agreement language tied to tax credits; allowing conveyance of certain state-owned properties for cultural or historic use; and updating statutory language to reflect the Connecticut Economic Resource Center's new name, AdvanceCT.

On the IDD grant changes, the bill lowers the percentage thresholds for awards. Representative Meskers described the revisions on the record: previously, to qualify for a $25,000 grant, a company had to have between 10 and 30 percent of its workforce identified as IDD; under the bill that range would change to 5–20 percent. For the highest award ($75,000), the new threshold would be 21–30 percent of the workforce identified as IDD, lowered from the prior 30 percent requirement.

The bill also separates the film tax credit into a different measure "which we'll see on Thursday," according to the sponsor. On prevailing wage, Senator Martin asked for clarification of Section 2. The sponsor explained that Section 2 codifies Department of Labor interpretations regarding when prevailing wage applies to state grants and clarifies which entities are explicitly enumerated: municipalities, councils of governments (COGs), Brownfields land banks, regional and not-for-profit economic development agencies, and 501(c)(6) organizations such as chambers of commerce when they participate in Brownfields projects. That clarification was offered as a response to prior audit findings and aims to delineate the boundary between grant-funded work (subject to prevailing wage) and the private vertical construction work of redevelopment projects.

Committee members moved HB 7165; the motion was seconded and discussion followed. The bill was placed on the consent calendar per the committee record excerpt.

Committee discussion recorded that the non-relocation agreement language was repeatedly flagged by auditors and that DECD sought to align tax-credit practice with timing of earned credits. The proposal to permit conveyance of state-owned property for cultural or historic uses would expand current statutory limits that previously focused on manufacturing and industrial uses. The statutory rename restores authority and appropriation language allowing DECD to assist AdvanceCT with personnel and program support.

The committee's recorded discussion did not include final floor votes in this excerpt; members moved the bill forward for further consideration.