General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5480
February Session, 2020 LCO No. 2695
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
AN ACT CONCERNING THE DELIVERY OF HEALTHY HOME
IMPROVEMENTS AND RETROFITS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
1 Section 1. Section 8-446 of the 2020 supplement to the general statutes
2 is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective
3 October 1, 2020):
4 (a) There is established an account to be known as the "Healthy
5 Homes Fund" which shall be a separate, nonlapsing account within the
6 General Fund. The account shall contain any moneys required by law to
7 be deposited in the account. Moneys in the account shall be expended
8 by the Department of Housing for the purposes of:
9 (1) Funding of not more than one million dollars, from remittances
10 transferred pursuant to section 38a-331 for the period beginning January
11 1, 2019, and ending December 31, 2019, shall be remitted to the
12 Department of Economic and Community Development to be used for
13 grants-in-aid to homeowners with homes located in the immediate
14 vicinity of the West River in the Westville section of New Haven and
15 Woodbridge for structurally damaged homes due to subsidence and to
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16 homeowners with homes abutting the Yale Golf Course in the Westville
17 section of New Haven for damage to such homes from water infiltration
18 or structural damage due to subsidence; [and]
19 (2) Funding a program, and any related administrative expense, to
20 reduce health and safety hazards in residential dwellings in
21 Connecticut, including, but not limited to, lead, radon and other
22 contaminants or conditions, through removal, remediation, abatement
23 and other appropriate methods. For purposes of this subdivision,
24 "administrative expense" means any administrative or other cost or
25 expense incurred by the Department of Housing in carrying out the
26 provisions of this [section] subdivision, including, but not limited to, the
27 hiring of necessary employees and entering into necessary contracts;
28 and
29 (3) Funding the pilot program, established pursuant to section 2 of
30 this act, and any related administrative expense, beginning on January
31 1, 2021, for a period of ten years, to provide energy efficiency retrofits in
32 not less than five hundred residential dwellings annually in
33 Connecticut. For purposes of this subdivision, "administrative expense"
34 means any administrative or other cost or expense incurred by the
35 Department of Housing in carrying out the provisions of this
36 subdivision, including, but not limited to, the hiring of necessary
37 employees and entering into necessary contracts.
38 (b) The Department of Housing shall notify the Department of Public
39 Health not later than thirty days after the deposit of remittances in the
40 Healthy Homes Fund pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (c) of
41 section 38a-331. Not later than thirty days after the deposit of
42 remittances pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (c) of section 38a-
43 331, the Department of Public Health shall notify each municipal health
44 department in the state annually regarding funds available pursuant to
45 the Healthy Homes Fund established pursuant to subsection (a) of this
46 section.
47 (c) Not later than January 1, 2020, and annually thereafter, the
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48 Commissioner of Housing shall report to the joint standing committees
49 of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to
50 housing, planning and development and appropriations and the
51 budgets of state agencies, in accordance with section 11-4a, regarding
52 the status of the Healthy Homes Fund established pursuant to this
53 section and all moneys deposited into and expended by the Department
54 of Housing pursuant to said account. Any such report may be submitted
55 electronically.
56 Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2020) (a) On or before January 1,
57 2021, the Department of Housing shall establish a pilot program to
58 provide energy efficiency retrofits in not less than five hundred
59 residential dwellings annually in Connecticut, beginning on January 1,
60 2021, for a period of ten years. The energy efficiency retrofits shall be
61 consistent with the guidelines set forth in the Conservation and Load
62 Management Plan submitted by the electric distribution companies, as
63 defined in section 16-1 of the general statutes, in coordination with the
64 gas companies, as defined in said section, to the Energy Conservation
65 Management Board pursuant to section 16-245m of the general statutes.
66 The pilot program shall be funded pursuant to subdivision (3) of
67 subsection (a) of section 8-446 of the general statutes, as amended by this
68 act.
69 (b) The Commissioner of Housing may contract with nonprofit
70 organizations to employ in-home environmental assessors to perform
71 energy efficiency retrofits pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. In
72 order to qualify for employment as an in-home environmental assessor,
73 a person shall (1) be certified to perform energy efficiency retrofits by a
74 nationally recognized certifying organization, or (2) have earned a
75 certificate in energy efficiency retrofits, in-home environmental
76 assessments or a related field from an accredited institution of higher
77 education.
78 (c) Not later than January 1, 2022, and annually thereafter, the
79 Commissioner of Housing shall report, in accordance with the
80 provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing
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81 committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters
82 relating to housing, energy and technology, planning and development
83 and the budgets of state agencies regarding the status of the pilot
84 program established pursuant to subsection (a) of this section and all
85 moneys deposited into the Healthy Homes Fund pursuant to
86 subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 8-446 of the general statutes,
87 as amended by this act, and expended by the Department of Housing
88 for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this section pursuant
89 to said account.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2020 8-446
Sec. 2 October 1, 2020 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To establish a pilot program for the delivery of home inspections, home
improvements and retrofits to create healthier, more energy efficient
homes.
[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.]
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