AN ACT CONCERNING YOUTH OPPORTUNITIES AND URBAN REVITALIZATION.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) (1) "Eligible municipality" means a municipality ranked from one to eight, inclusive, when all municipalities are ranked in ascending order from one to eight based on town wealth, as defined in subdivision (26) of section 10-262f of the general statutes; and

(2) "Eligible entity" means a municipal agency or nonprofit organization operating within an eligible municipality.

(b) Within available appropriations, and not later than October 1, 2007, the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management shall establish an urban youth enrichment competitive grant program. Grants may be made to eligible entities to administer out-of-school time activities to local youth. Grants made under this section shall be used to provide eligible programs and services for youth between twelve and eighteen years of age. Such programs and services shall include, but not be limited to: (1) Mentoring and tutoring activities; (2) job training and experience; (3) social and cultural activities; (4) athletic and recreational opportunities; and (5) training in problem-solving, decision-making, conflict resolution, peer counseling and similar topics designed to enhance positive youth development. Grant recipients shall provide for parental and youth involvement, on an ongoing basis, in the planning and operation of such program.

(c) Each eligible entity may apply to the office for a grant, at such time and in such manner as the secretary prescribes. In awarding a grant under this section, the secretary shall consider: (1) Whether the proposal shows collaboration with local schools and other nonprofit organizations to expand youth access to programs funded by a grant made under this section; (2) the scope and hours of operation of the programs offered to ensure that activities are readily available to local youth during out-of-school times; and (3) the number of youth that can be served by such program.

(d) Grants made under this section shall be used to provide eligible programs and services for youth between twelve and eighteen years of age. Such programs and services shall include, but not be limited to: (1) Mentoring and tutoring activities; (2) job training and experience; (3) social and cultural activities; (4) athletic and recreational opportunities; and (5) training in problem-solving, decision-making, conflict resolution, peer counseling and similar topics designed to enhance positive youth development. Grant recipients shall provide for parental and youth involvement, on an ongoing basis, in the planning and operation of such program.

Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2007) (a) As used in this section:

(1) "Eligible municipality" means a municipality ranked from one to eight, inclusive, when all municipalities are ranked in ascending order from one to eight based on town wealth, as defined in subdivision (26) of section 10-262f of the general statutes; and

(2) "Eligible entity" means a municipal agency or nonprofit organization operating within an eligible municipality.

(b) Within available appropriations, and not later than October 1, 2007, the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management shall establish an urban opportunities alliance competitive grant program. Grants may be made to eligible entities for a one-stop center connecting urban youth to organizations providing youth employment opportunities, tutoring and mentoring services, juvenile justice diversionary programs, and activities for enrichment and recreation. Each eligible entity may apply for a grant, at such time and in such manner as the secretary prescribes. In awarding a grant under this section, the secretary shall consider, at a minimum, the following factors: (1) Whether the proposal demonstrates a comprehensive strategy to coordinate services and connect local organizations to local youth, (2) whether the proposal shows collaboration with local schools and other nonprofit organizations to expand access to such program, and (3) the number of youth expected to be served by such program and how such number would be reached.

Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2007) Within available appropriations, the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management shall establish a year-round youth career opportunities grant program. Grants may be made to nonprofit organizations that demonstrate successful strategies for helping persons between the ages of fourteen and twenty-four build career competencies, obtain career experience and training, graduate from high school and receive counseling on education opportunities beyond high school. Applicants may apply to the office for such grant, at such time and in such manner as the secretary prescribes, provided no award shall be made except to a nonprofit entity located in a municipality ranked from one to eight, inclusive, when all municipalities are ranked in ascending order from one to eight based on town wealth, as defined in subdivision (26) of section 10-262f of the general statutes. In awarding a grant under this section, the secretary shall consider: (1) Whether the proposal shows collaboration with local schools, institutions of higher education, the local business community and other pertinent entities that provide job-related services to youth, (2) the scope of programs available and hours of operation of the program to ensure activities are readily available to local youth, and (3) the number of youth that can be served by such program.

Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2007) (a) Within available appropriations, the Department of Administrative Services and the Office of Legislative Management shall adopt personnel policies providing state employees up to one hour per week and no more than forty hours per year of paid leave for the purpose of serving as volunteer mentors and tutors in approved programs.

(b) (1) As used in this subsection, "eligible municipality" means a municipality ranked from one to eight, inclusive, when all municipalities are ranked in ascending order from one to eight based on town wealth, as defined in subdivision (26) of section 10-262f of the general statutes.

(2) Within available appropriations, and not later than October 1, 2007, the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management shall establish a public service mentors grant program to provide matching grants to eligible municipalities for reimbursement of fifty per cent of the costs of providing municipal employees up to one hour per week and no more than forty hours per year of paid leave for the purpose of serving as volunteer mentors and tutors in approved programs. Each eligible municipality may apply to the office for such grant, at such time and in such manner as the secretary prescribes.

(3) The secretary shall award grants only to eligible municipalities whose applications include a process for public employees to serve as mentors or tutors and whose applications demonstrate: (1) A strategy for recruiting public employees as tutors and mentors, (2) collaboration among local schools and nonprofit organizations that provide youth services and enrichment activities to identify and register youth into the mentoring program, (3) collaboration with local schools and other nonprofit organizations to train mentors and inform them about resources available to them and youth, and (4) collaboration with local business organizations and regional workforce development boards to provide career mentoring opportunities to adolescents.

Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2007) (a) As used in this section:

(1) "Eligible municipality" means a municipality ranked from one to eight, inclusive, when all municipalities are ranked in ascending order from one to eight based on town wealth, as defined in subdivision (26) of section 10-262f of the general statutes; and

(2) "Eligible entity" means a municipal agency or nonprofit organization operating within an eligible municipality.

(b) Within available appropriations, and not later than October 1, 2007, the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management shall establish a community young artists pilot competitive grant program to provide competitive grants to municipalities and nonprofit organizations located in urban communities providing arts education and related training to local youth. Each eligible entity may apply to the office for such grant, at such time and in such manner as the secretary prescribes. In awarding a grant under this section, the secretary shall consider factors relating to: (1) Whether the proposal shows collaboration with an arts program affiliated with an institution of higher education, (2) whether the proposal shows collaboration with local schools and other nonprofit organizations to expand access to such program, (3) the scope of programs available and hours of operation of the program to ensure activities are readily available to local youth, and (4) the number of youth that can be served by such program.

Sec. 6. Section 10-416a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2007, and applicable to income years commencing on or after January 1, 2008):

(a) As used in this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates another meaning:

(1) "Commission" means the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism established pursuant to section 10-392;

(2) "Certified historic structure" means an historic commercial or industrial property that: (A) Is listed individually on the National or State Register of Historic Places, or (B) is located in a district listed on the National or State Register of Historic Places, and has been certified by the commission as contributing to the historic character of such district;

(3) "Certified rehabilitation" means any rehabilitation of a certified historic structure for residential use or for a mixed use consisting of primarily residential uses consistent with the historic character of such property or the district in which the property is located as determined by regulations adopted by the commission;

(4) "Owner" means any person, firm, limited liability company, nonprofit or for-profit corporation or other business entity which possesses title to an historic structure and undertakes the rehabilitation of such structure;

(5) "Placed in service" means that substantial rehabilitation work has been completed which would allow for issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the entire building or, in projects completed in phases, for individual residential units that are an identifiable portion of the building;

(6) "Qualified rehabilitation expenditures" means any costs incurred for the physical construction involved in the rehabilitation of a certified historic structure for residential use, excluding: (A) The owner's personal labor, (B) the cost of a new addition, except as required to comply with any provision of the State Building Code or the State Fire Safety Code, and (C) any nonconstruction cost such as architectural fees, legal fees and financing fees;

(7) "Rehabilitation plan" means any construction plans and specifications for the proposed rehabilitation of a certified historic structure in sufficient detail for evaluation by compliance with the standards developed under the provisions of subsections (b) to (d), inclusive, of this section; and

(8) "Substantial rehabilitation" or "substantially rehabilitate" means the qualified rehabilitation expenditures of a certified historic structure that exceed twenty-five per cent of the assessed value of such structure.

(b) (1) The commission shall administer a system of tax credit vouchers within the resources, requirements and purposes of this section for owners rehabilitating certified historic structures.

(2) The credit authorized by this section shall be available in the tax year in which the substantially rehabilitated certified historic structure is placed in service. In the case of projects completed in phases, the tax credit shall be prorated to the substantially rehabilitated identifiable portion of the building placed in service. If the tax credit is more than the amount owed by the taxpayer for the year in which the substantially rehabilitated certified historic structure is placed in service, the amount that is more than the taxpayer's tax liability may be carried forward and credited against the taxes imposed for the succeeding five years or until the full credit is used, whichever occurs first.

(3) Any credits allowed under this section that are provided to multiple owners of certified historic structures shall be passed through to persons designated as partners, members or owners, pro rata or pursuant to an agreement among such persons designated as partners, members or owners documenting an alternative distribution method without regard to other tax or economic attributes of such entity. Any owner entitled to a credit under this section may assign, transfer or convey the credits, in whole or in part, by sale or otherwise to any individual or entity and such transferee shall be entitled to offset the tax imposed under chapter 207, 208, 209, 210, 211 or 212 as if such transferee had incurred the qualified rehabilitation expenditure.

(c) The commission shall develop standards for the approval of rehabilitation of certified historic structures for which a tax credit voucher is sought. Such standards shall take into account whether the rehabilitation of a certified historic structure will preserve the historic character of the building.

(d) The commission shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to carry out the purposes of this section. Such regulations shall include provisions for filing of applications, rating criteria and for timely approval by the commission.

(e) Prior to beginning any rehabilitation work on a certified historic structure, the [owner] applicant shall submit (1) a rehabilitation plan to the commission for a determination of whether or not such rehabilitation work meets the standards developed under the provisions of subsections (b) to (d), inclusive, of this section, [and] (2) an estimate of the qualified rehabilitation expenditures, and (3) for projects pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (f) of this section, the applicant shall provide the number of affordable housing units to be created, as defined in section 8-39a, the proposed rents or sale prices of such units and the median income for the municipality where the project is located. Applicants seeking a tax credit pursuant to subdivision (2 ) of subsection (f) of this section shall submit a copy of the application to the Department of Economic and Community Development. The provisions of this subsection shall not disqualify applications for tax credits for certified historic structures for which rehabilitation commenced but were not placed in service before July 1, 2006.

(f) If the commission certifies that the rehabilitation plan conforms to the standards developed under the provisions of subsections (b) to (d), inclusive, of this section, the commission shall reserve for the benefit of the owner an allocation for a tax credit equivalent to (1) twenty-five per cent of the projected qualified rehabilitation expenditures, [not exceeding two million seven hundred thousand dollars] or (2) thirty per cent of the projected qualified rehabilitation expenditures if at least twenty per cent of the units qualify as affordable housing pursuant to section 8-39a.

(g) Following the completion of rehabilitation of a certified historic structure, the owner shall notify the commission that such rehabilitation has been completed. The owner shall provide the commission with documentation of work performed on the certified historic structure and shall submit certification of the costs incurred in rehabilitating the certified historic structure. The commission shall review such rehabilitation and verify its compliance with the rehabilitation plan. Following such verification, the commission shall issue a tax credit voucher to the owner rehabilitating the certified historic structure or to the taxpayer named by the owner as contributing to the rehabilitation. The tax credit voucher shall be in an amount equivalent to the lesser of the tax credit reserved upon certification of the rehabilitation plan under the provisions of subsection (f) of this section or for certified rehabilitation projects twenty-five per cent of the actual qualified rehabilitation expenditures [not exceeding two million seven hundred thousand dollars] or for projects including affordable housing pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (f) of this section, thirty per cent of the actual qualified certified expenditures. In order to obtain a credit against any state tax due that is specified in subsections (h) to (k), inclusive, of this section, the holder of the tax credit voucher shall file the voucher with the holder's state tax return.

(h) The Commissioner of Revenue Services shall grant a tax credit to a taxpayer holding the tax credit voucher issued under subsections (e) to (i), inclusive, of this section against any tax due under chapter 207, 208, 209, 210, 211 or 212 in the amount specified in the tax credit voucher. Such taxpayer shall submit the voucher and the corresponding tax return to the Department of Revenue Services.

[(i) The aggregate amount of all tax credits which may be reserved by the commission upon certification of rehabilitation plans under subsections (b) to (d), inclusive, of this section shall not exceed fifteen million dollars in any one fiscal year.]

[(j)] (i) The commission may charge an application fee in an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars to cover the cost of administering the program established pursuant to this section.

Sec. 7. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2007) (a) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development may charge an application fee in an amount not to exceed two thousand dollars to cover the cost of maintaining applications and monitoring projects for compliance with affordable housing provisions pursuant to section 8-39a of the general statutes and for projects that qualify for affordable housing tax credits pursuant to section 10-416a of the general statutes, as amended by this act.

(b) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall adopt regulations pursuant to chapter 54 of the general statutes regarding the monitoring of projects that qualify for affordable housing tax credits pursuant to section 10-416a of the general statutes, as amended by this act, by the Department of Economic and Community Development, local housing authorities, municipalities or other public agencies designated by the department. Such regulations shall include provisions for ensuring that affordable units developed under subdivision (3) of subsection (e) of section 10-416a of the general statutes, as amended by this act, are maintained as affordable for a minimum of ten years and may require deed restrictions or other fiscal mechanisms designed to ensure compliance with project requirements.

Sec. 8. Subsection (c) of section 4-66c of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2007):

(c) Any proceeds from the sale of bonds authorized pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section or of temporary notes issued in anticipation of the moneys to be derived from the sale of such bonds may be used to fund (1) grants-in-aid to municipalities, or to an intermediary designated by a municipality receiving a grant-in-aid, provided such intermediary invests such funds consistent with and toward qualifying for federal new markets tax credits, or (2) the grant-in-aid programs of said departments, including, but not limited to, financial assistance and expenses authorized under chapters 128, 129, 130, 133, 136 and 298, and section 16a-40a, provided any such program shall be implemented in an eligible municipality or is for projects in other municipalities which the State Bond Commission determines will help to meet the goals set forth in section 4-66b. For the purposes of this section, "eligible municipality" means a municipality which is economically distressed within the meaning of subsection (b) of section 32-9p, which is classified as an urban center in any plan adopted by the General Assembly pursuant to section 16a-30, which is classified as a public investment community within the meaning of subdivision (9) of subsection (a) of section 7-545, or in which the State Bond Commission determines that the project in question will help meet the goals set forth in section 4-66b. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, proceeds from the sale of bonds pursuant to this section may, with the approval of the State Bond Commission, be used for transit-oriented development projects, as defined in section 13b-79o, in any municipality.

Statement of Purpose:

To provide tax credits for affordable housing and funds to eligible municipalities for (1) urban youth enrichment, (2) establishment of a one-stop center connecting urban youth to organizations providing youth employment opportunities, tutoring and mentoring services, juvenile justice diversionary programs and enrichment and recreation activities, (3) development of successful strategies to help youth build career competencies, obtain career experience and training, (4) establishment of mentoring opportunities for public employees, and (5) arts education and related training to local youth.

[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.]