June 26, 2024
SENATE DEMOCRATS PASS PRO-BUSINESS SPECIAL SESSION AGENDA
HARTFORD – Senate Democrats voted today to approve a special session package of legislation that will increase business activity in the state. The bill’s provisions include creating a new class of “innovation banks” to forgiving the interest on certain past business tax underpayments, creating a new state-chartered regional water authority, lowering local property taxes on commercial vehicles, reinvigorating the school construction bid process, and streamlining the state’s historic preservation process.
“Today was a good day in the Senate as we voted to bring new business to Connecticut, reduced taxes that would have damaged a number of employers and made small, but valuable, changes to a number of policies,” said State Senator Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor).
The bill in question:
- Creates a new class of “innovation banks,” which typically perform financial-related activities such as wholesale banking and merchant banking, and recruit them to operate in Connecticut.
- Allows the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority to amend its charter to possibly acquire the Aquarion Water Company, thereby creating a state-chartered regional water authority.
- Forgives any interest due on any business tax underpayment that was made as a result of businesses taking the employee retention tax credit, which was offered for 21 months by the Biden administration during the COVID-19 crisis.
- Requires local tax assessors to tax commercial motor vehicles with certain permanent attachments as motor vehicles (with a maximum tax rate of 32.46 mills) and not as personal property (which some towns tax at 40 mills or more).
- Requires cities and towns to set different mill rates for motor vehicles and property, with motor vehicles tax rates as low as zero if a town chooses.
- In an effort to avoid criminal acts or the perception of impropriety, reinstates the state prohibition on construction managers on school construction projects from bidding on subcontracts.
- Creates a timeline by which the State Historic Preservation Office determines the preservation and redevelopment needs of historic properties.
- Changes the formula and timeframe by which state insurance companies pay assessments to operate the state Insurance Department, Office of Healthcare Advocate, and Office of Health Strategy.
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