CHAPTER 116c
PUBLIC INVESTMENT COMMUNITIES

      Sec. 7-545. Definitions. (a) As used in this section and section 7-546:

      (1) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management;

      (2) "Municipality" means any town, consolidated town and city or consolidated town and borough;

      (3) "Per capita income" and "population" for each town means that enumerated in the most recent federal decennial census of population or that enumerated in the current population report series issued by the United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, whichever is more recent and available on January first of the fiscal year three years prior to the fiscal year in which payment is to be made pursuant to this section;

      (4) "Adjusted equalized net grand list per capita" means the most recent adjusted equalized net grand list per capita determined for each town pursuant to section 10-261;

      (5) "Equalized mill rate" means the tax rate derived from the most recent available grand levy of a town divided by the equalized net grand list on which such levy is based as determined by the secretary in accordance with section 10-261a;

      (6) "Per capita temporary family assistance" means the number obtained by adding together the unduplicated aggregate number of children eligible to receive benefits by town under the temporary family assistance program in October and May of each fiscal year, and dividing by two, such number to be certified and submitted annually, no later than the first day of July of the succeeding fiscal year, to the secretary by the Commissioner of Social Services. Such number shall be expressed as a percentage of the population of a town;

      (7) "Unemployment rate" means the average unemployment rate of a town as reported by the Labor Commissioner on the first day of July for the latest available twelve-month period;

      (8) "Eligibility index" is a measure of local burden determined by calculating a town's disparity in relation to all municipalities. Points shall be allocated for each of the following factors: (A) Per capita income, (B) adjusted equalized net grand list per capita, (C) equalized mill rate, (D) per capita temporary family assistance, and (E) unemployment rate. For each factor the variance shall be the difference between the first percentile and the one-hundredth percentile town factors. In calculating the eligibility index for unemployment rate, per capita temporary family assistance and equalized mill rate, the factor for the first percentile town shall be subtracted from the factor for the town and the result divided by the variance and multiplied by one hundred. In calculating the eligibility index for per capita income and adjusted equalized net grand list per capita, the factor for the first percentile town shall be subtracted from the factor for the town and the result shall be divided by the variance and multiplied by one hundred. The product of such multiplication shall then be subtracted from one hundred. The index points for all factors shall be totalled by town resulting in the overall eligibility index. The eligibility index listing shall be ranked for all towns from highest to lowest points according to need;

      (9) "Public investment communities" are municipalities requiring financial assistance to offset their service burdens with eligibility defined as one which is in the top quartile of the "eligibility index" scale;

      (10) "Grand levy" means the mill rate of the town multiplied by the net taxable grand list of the town and includes the value of special service districts if such districts contain fifty per cent or more of the value of total taxable property within the town.

      (b) On or before July 15, 1994, and annually thereafter, the secretary shall prepare the eligibility index for Connecticut municipalities.

      (P.A. 92-213, S. 1, 5; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-14, S. 4, 11; P.A. 93-99, S. 1, 3; 93-262, S. 1, 87; P.A. 94-65, S. 2, 4; P.A. 97-274, S. 4, 7; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-2, S. 9, 165.)

      History: May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-14 amended Subdiv. (10) to add "net taxable"; P.A. 93-99 amended Subdiv. (5) defining "equalized mill rate" to eliminate references to specific grand levy and to refer instead to most recent available grand levy, amended Subdiv. (7) to eliminate definition of "per capita unemployment" and to define "unemployment rate" and made technical changes in Subdiv. (8) defining "eligibility index", effective June 2, 1993, and applicable to applications for grants made on and after July 1, 1992; P.A. 93-262 replaced commissioner of income maintenance with commissioner of social services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 94-65 amended Subsec. (b) by substituting "July 15, 1994" for "July 1, 1991", effective May 19, 1994; (Revisor's note: In 1997 a reference in Subdiv. (7) of Subsec. (a) to "Commissioner of the Department of Labor" was replaced editorially by the Revisors with "Labor Commissioner" for consistency with customary statutory usage); P.A. 97-274 deleted reference to Sec. 7-547 in Subsec. (a), effective June 26, 1997; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-2 replaced references to aid to families with dependent children with temporary family assistance, effective July 1, 1997.

      Sec. 7-546. Grants-in-aid. Plan for activities. (a) The Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management shall establish a program of financial assistance in the form of grants-in-aid to public investment communities as defined in section 7-545. The amount of each grant shall be determined as follows: The population of the public investment community shall be multiplied by its eligibility index and the product divided by the product of the population of all public investment communities multiplied by the total eligibility index of all public investment communities. The resulting factors for each public investment community shall be totalled. The amount of the grant each public investment community shall be eligible for shall bear the same relationship to the total amount appropriated for such purpose as does the factor for each public investment community to the total of such factors.

      (b) Each public investment community determined to be eligible for a grant under section 7-545 and this section, in any year shall continue to be eligible during the four years next succeeding the year in which such public investment community was determined to be eligible.

      (c) Each town shall submit a plan for activities to be paid with grants under this section to the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development for his approval. Financial assistance under section 7-545 and this section, may be used for the following: Job training, community economic development, reduction in workers' compensation costs, facilitation of environmental compliance and permitting, manufacturers' tax rebates, contributions to regional economic development revolving loan funds and the creation of net new jobs in retail establishments and job retention and the creation of net new jobs in manufacturing establishments. Not more than five per cent of any amount received under this section may be used for planning and administrative costs.

      (P.A. 92-213, S. 2, 5; P.A. 93-99, S. 2, 3; P.A. 95-250, S. 1; P.A. 96-211, S. 1, 5, 6; P.A. 97-274, S. 5, 7.)

      History: P.A. 93-99 amended Subsec. (a) by making technical changes to calculations for the amount of a grant, effective June 2, 1993, and applicable to applications for grants made on and after July 1, 1992; P.A. 95-250 and P.A. 96-211 replaced Commissioner and Department of Economic Development with Commissioner and Department of Economic and Community Development; P.A. 97-274 deleted references to Sec. 7-547, effective June 26, 1997.

      Sec. 7-547. Report evaluating program. Section 7-547 is repealed, effective June 26, 1997.

      (P.A. 92-213, S. 3, 5; P.A. 97-274, S. 6, 7.)

      Secs. 7-548 to 7-559. Reserved for future use.