CHAPTER 97
MUNICIPALITIES: GENERAL PROVISIONS

      Sec. 7-121n. Sustainable energy program. (a) As used in this section:

      (1) "Energy improvements" means any renovation or retrofitting of qualifying real property to reduce energy consumption or installation of a renewable energy system to service qualifying real property, provided such renovation, retrofit or installation is permanently fixed to such qualifying real property;

      (2) "Qualifying real property" means a single-family or multifamily residential dwelling or a nonresidential building, regardless of ownership, that a municipality has determined can benefit from energy improvements;

      (3) "Property owner" means an owner of qualifying real property who desires to install energy improvements and provides free and willing consent to the contractual assessment; and

      (4) "Sustainable energy program" means a municipal program that authorizes a municipality to enter into contractual assessments on qualifying real property with property owners to finance the purchase and installation of energy improvements to qualifying real property within its municipal boundaries.

      (b) Any municipality, that determines it is in the public interest, may establish a sustainable energy program to facilitate the increase of energy efficiency and renewable energy. A municipality shall make such a determination after issuing public notice and providing an opportunity for public comment regarding the establishment of a sustainable energy program.

      (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 7-374 or any other public or special act that limits or imposes conditions on municipal bond issues, any municipality that establishes a sustainable energy program under this section may issue bonds, as necessary, for the purpose of financing (1) energy improvements; (2) related energy audits; and (3) renewable energy system feasibility studies and the verification of the installation of such improvements. Such financing shall be secured by special contractual assessments on the qualifying real property.

      (d) (1) Any municipality that establishes a sustainable energy program pursuant to this section may partner with another municipality or a state agency to (A) maximize the opportunities for accessing public funds and private capital markets for long-term sustainable financing, and (B) secure state or federal funds available for this purpose.

      (2) Any municipality that establishes a sustainable energy program and issues bonds pursuant to this section may supplement the security of such bonds with any other legally available funds solely at the municipality's discretion.

      (3) Any municipality that establishes a sustainable energy program pursuant to this section may use the services of one or more private, public or quasi-public third-party administrators to provide support for the program.

      (e) Before establishing a program under this section, the municipality shall provide notice to the electric distribution company, as defined in section 16-1, that services the municipality.

      (f) If the owner of record of qualifying real property requests financing for energy improvements under this section, the municipality implementing the sustainable energy program shall:

      (1) Require performance of an energy audit or renewable energy system feasibility analysis on the qualifying real property before approving such financing;

      (2) Enter into a contractual assessment on the qualifying real property with the property owner in a principal amount sufficient to pay the costs of energy improvements and any associated costs the municipality determines will benefit the qualifying real property and may cover any associated costs;

      (3) Impose requirements and criteria to ensure that the proposed energy improvements are consistent with the purpose of the program; and

      (4) Impose requirements and conditions on the financing to ensure timely repayment, including, but not limited to, procedures for placing a lien on a property for which an owner defaults on repayment.

      (g) Prior to entering a contractual assessment, the municipality shall provide each property owner the following notice, which shall be set forth in at least fourteen-point bold type: SEEK LEGAL ADVICE BEFORE PARTICIPATING IN THIS LOAN PROGRAM TO ENSURE UNDERSTANDING OF POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES, INCLUDING A POSSIBLE DEFAULT UNDER YOUR MORTGAGE.

      (h) Any assessment levied pursuant to this section shall have a term not to exceed the calculated payback period for the installed energy improvements, as determined by the municipality, and shall have no prepayment penalty. The municipality shall set a fixed rate of interest for the repayment of the principal assessed amount at the time the assessment is made. Such interest rate, as may be supplemented with state or federal funding as may become available, shall be sufficient to pay the financing costs of the program, including delinquencies.

      (i) Assessments levied pursuant to this section and the interest and any penalties thereon shall constitute a lien against the qualifying real property on which they are made until they are paid. Such lien shall be levied and collected in the same manner as the general taxes of the municipality on real property, including, in the event of default or delinquency, with respect to any penalties and remedies and lien priorities, provided such lien shall not have priority over any prior mortgages.

      (j) The area encompassing the sustainable energy program in a municipality may be the entire municipal jurisdiction of the municipality or a subset of such.

      (P.A. 11-80, S. 100.)

      History: P.A. 11-80 effective July 1, 2011.

      Sec. 7-127d. Neighborhood youth center grant program. (a) There is established a neighborhood youth center grant program which shall be administered by the Department of Education.

      (b) Grants may be made to city and nonprofit agencies serving the cities of Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford, New Britain, Norwalk, Stamford and Waterbury for the purpose of supporting neighborhood centers for youths between twelve and seventeen years of age. Agencies serving each eligible city may receive from the funds authorized for the program an amount that is proportionate to the population of the city between twelve and seventeen years of age whose families have incomes below the federal poverty level determined from 1990 data of the United States Bureau of the Census as a percentage of the aggregate population of such ages and family income level in all eligible cities in the state, except that the cities of Bridgeport, New Haven and Hartford shall receive grants in equal amounts based on the average of the funds otherwise allocated among the three cities from such formula.

      (c) Seventy-five per cent of all grants made (1) pursuant to sections 7-127d to 7-127g, inclusive, and (2) to municipalities which, in the aggregate, receive seventy-five thousand dollars or more, shall be made to cities and nonprofit agencies providing on-site athletic or recreational programs.

      (d) Neighborhood youth center programs shall include the following components: (1) A neighborhood center, at a location convenient for youths within the neighborhood to be served, that is open regular hours including, but not limited to, evenings, weekends, school vacations and the summer and where all the other program components could be delivered; (2) athletic and recreational opportunities; (3) enrichment or tutoring activities; (4) skills training in areas such as problem-solving, decision-making, conflict resolution, peer counseling and life skills; (5) parent involvement in planning the grant initially and on an ongoing basis; (6) youth involvement, including, but not limited to, input into the planning and management of the program and youth leadership development activities; and (7) maximum use of existing neighborhood services for youths.

      (e) Neighborhood youth center programs may include the following components: (1) Matching youths on a one-to-one basis with positive adult role models; (2) vocational training and job placement; (3) preventive and interventive services for youths and their families; and (4) cultural opportunities.

      (May Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-6, S. 5, 28; P.A. 95-351, S. 23, 30; P.A. 96-226, S. 1, 4; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 185; P.A. 11-48, S. 206.)

      History: May Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-6 effective July 1, 1994; P.A. 95-351 amended Subsec. (b) by requiring Bridgeport, New Haven and Hartford to receive grants in equal amounts, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-226 amended Subsec. (b) to eliminate schools from eligibility for grants, inserted new Subsec. (c) re percentage of grants for on-site athletic or recreational activities, relettering former Subsec. (c) as Subsecs. (d) and (e) and amended Subsecs. (d) and (e) to require such programs to be at only one location within the neighborhood being served and to make certain activities mandatory and certain activities optional in such programs, effective July 1, 1996; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 amended Subsec. (a) to suspend operation of program for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2004, and June 30, 2005, effective August 20, 2003; P.A. 11-48 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing Office of Policy and Management with Department of Education re administration of program and deleting exception re suspension of operation of program for fiscal years 2004 and 2005, effective July 1, 2011.

      Sec. 7-127e. Application. Matching funds for neighborhood youth centers program and Leadership, Education, Athletics in Partnership program. Advisory committee for grant application review. (a) The Department of Education shall solicit competitive proposals under this program for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2011, and every two years thereafter. The Department of Education shall notify the eligible agencies of the amount of funds provided for each city in accordance with section 7-127d. Eligible agencies may file a grant application with the Department of Education on such form and at such time as the department may require.

      (b) Grant funds made available for the provisions of sections 7-127d to 7-127g, inclusive, shall not be used to supplant existing services. A minimum of twenty-five per cent of the total program costs for each neighborhood youth center program shall be supported with local funds or in-kind contributions which may include federal, local and private funds which support existing services.

      (c) The Department of Education shall review all grant applications received and make the decisions concerning which applications shall be funded and at what funding levels. Criteria for such decisions shall include (1) documentation of need for the program through crime and poverty statistics for the neighborhood to be served; (2) responsiveness to program component requirements; (3) reasonableness of costs; (4) soundness of program plan; (5) experience of the applicant agency in providing youth recreational services; and (6) evidence of collaboration and coordination with other children's services providers in the neighborhood. The Department of Education shall convene and chair an advisory committee to assist in grant application review. Such committee shall include representatives of the Judicial Department and the Departments of Children and Families, Education, Public Health and Social Services.

      (d) In order to be eligible to receive funds from the Department of Education for the Leadership, Education, Athletics in Partnership (LEAP) program, or the neighborhood youth centers program, an applicant must provide a match of at least fifty per cent of the grant amount. The cash portion of such match shall be at least twenty-five per cent of the grant amount.

      (May Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-6, S. 6, 28; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 96-226, S. 2-4; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 186; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-3, S. 30; P.A. 11-48, S. 207.)

      History: May Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-6 effective July 1, 1994; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-226 amended Subsec. (a) to require the solicitation of competitive proposals for the fiscal years beginning July 1, 1996, and July 1, 1999, and every two years thereafter and allowed the Office of Policy and Management to designate when agencies may file a grant application, replacing provision which had specified application date, and amended Subsec. (c) to add Subdiv. (6) including evidence of collaborations and coordinations with other children's services providers in the neighborhood as criteria for funding, effective July 1, 1996; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 amended Subsec. (a) to prohibit solicitation of competitive proposals for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2004, and June 30, 2005, effective August 20, 2003; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-3 was added editorially by the Revisors as Subsec. (d) re matching funds for the Leadership, Education, Athletics in Partnership program and the neighborhood youth centers program, effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 11-48 replaced "Office of Policy and Management" with "Department of Education" and made conforming changes throughout, and amended Subsec. (a) by replacing "1996, and July 1, 1999" with "2011", making a conforming change and deleting exception re no solicitation of proposals for fiscal years 2004 and 2005, effective July 1, 2011.

      Sec. 7-131v. Local and regional agricultural councils. (a) Any municipality may, by vote of its legislative body or, in a municipality where the legislative body is a town meeting, by vote of the board of selectmen, establish a local agricultural council to: (1) Provide information to local farmers and to municipal boards and commissions about the benefits of a balance between agriculture and other land uses; (2) educate municipal officials about agricultural laws and safety issues; (3) identify grant sources for farmers and municipalities; (4) enable a common understanding of agriculture among all municipal departments; (5) provide information and guidance about zoning issues relating to agriculture; (6) support local, regional and state vocational agricultural programs concerning agricultural matters; (7) provide conflict resolution and advisory services; (8) identify innovative opportunities for agriculture; and (9) create a climate that supports the economic viability of agriculture in the municipality.

      (b) Any two or more municipalities may form a regional agricultural council for the purposes set forth in subsection (a) of this section by vote of the legislative body or, in a municipality where the legislative body is a town meeting, by vote of the board of selectmen, of each municipality.

      (P.A. 11-188, S. 1.)