Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Housing Committee
                          JOINT FAVORABLE REPORT
     Bill No.:    HB-5209
         Title:   AN ACT CONCERNING HOUSING AUTHORITY JURISDICTION.
  Vote Date:      3/15/2022
 Vote Action:     Joint Favorable Substitute
    PH Date:      3/1/2022
     File No.:
Disclaimer: The following JOINT FAVORABLE Report is prepared for the benefit of the
members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and
explanation and does not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber
thereof for any purpose.
SPONSORS OF BILL:
Housing Committee
REASONS FOR BILL: Unlike private developers, housing authorities are not allowed to build
affordable housing outside of their jurisdiction. Often, private developers struggle to find ways
to make housing affordable. Housing authorities are given federal subsidy to make
development projects more affordable. This bill would allow housing authorities to act like a
developer, while still requiring them to follow the same zoning restrictions of the municipality.
The benefit being that the housing authority will have a greater ability to build affordable
housing since their projects aren't dictated by profit. Expanding jurisdiction of these housing
authorities is meant to expand the amount of affordable housing available in areas.
SUBSTITUTE LANGUAGE: LCO: 3111
The substitute language removes the requirement for neighboring municipalities to agree by
proper resolution to the expansion of the area of operation of a housing authority expanding
into a neighboring municipality.
RESPONSE FROM ADMINISTRATION/AGENCY:
None Expressed
NATURE AND SOURCES OF SUPPORT:
Karen DuBois-Walton, President of Elm City Communities/Housing Authority of the City of
New Haven. Support stems from my concern about the lack of affordable housing in our
state and the continued segregation of our communities. Further, my support stems from my
knowledge that allowing PHAs to develop as any other developer can is a reasonable and
sensible step forward that can be taken this session. However, my support rests upon the
understanding that needed language changes are needed to the bill currently submitted
Elias Estabrook, Commissioner on the City of New Havens Affordable Housing Commission.
Support of an amendment to HB-5209 would allow public housing authorities (PHAs) to
operate in high-opportunity areas within 20 miles of their municipality, without the permission
of the legislative body of the town in which these PHAs intend to develop and operate. The
bill as amended allows housing authorities to act as a developer like any other developer.
Hartford Foundation for Public Giving supports the bill in order to provide the residents with
access to housing options in high and very high opportunity communities
Anthony Johnson, Connecticut Chapter of the National Association of Housing and
Redevelopment Officials. Support comes from appreciation of the Housing Committees work
to provide equitable language that protects the interests of municipal government and
Connecticuts longstanding and constitutional codified tradition of home rule, which is why
ConnNAHRO is testifying in support of this bill. We do not however support the substitute
language offered by Elm City Communities. No such language was ever shared for our
review.
Erin Kemple, Executive Director of the Connecticut Fair Housing Center. Supports this bill
(with amendments). Because the State of Connecticut is a recipient of funds from the US
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), it has an obligation to affirmatively
further fair housing. However, H.B. 5209, as it came out of LCO, reinforces the requirement
that housing authorities obtain the approval of the towns legislative body. We support the
language proposed by Elm City Communities (the New Haven Housing Authority), which
corrects this problem.
Zachary McKeown, Senior Legislative Associate of CCM. Supports this bill with the language
that allows a housing authority to adopt an expanded area of operation provided the
governing body of the municipality to be included in the expanded area of operation adopts
an agreement authorizing such housing authority to operate in that municipality.
Anika Singh Lemar, Clinical Professor of Law | Yale Law School. Supports this bill with
amendments that ought to ensure that Housing Authorities can act just as other developers
and funders can, without seeking approval of a neighboring towns political body. They would
remain subject to local zoning and other (eg inland wetlands) approvals but would need local
political approval simply to act.
Carol J, Martin, Executive Director of the Housing Authority for Fairfield and Westport.
Supports the bill with the following changes: proposed text lines 222-through 233 should be
removed from the proposed bill because it treats housing authorities differently than any other
developer seeking to develop affordable housing.
Raphael L. Podolsky, Connecticut Legal Services. Supports this bill with the following
amendments: 5209, as it came out of LCO, erroneously is the exact opposite of the bills
intended purpose  it reinforces the requirement that housing authorities obtain the approval
of the towns legislative body. We support the substitute language proposed by Elm City
Communities (the New Haven Housing Authority), which corrects this error.
                                                                         Page 2 of 3 HB-5209
Kevin Alvarez, Director of Legislative Affairs, City of New Haven. Supports this bill with the
following amendments: As currently written in Section 2, parts b and c, this bill would expand
the jurisdiction of a Housing Authority only in the cases of a municipality passing a resolution
to affirm that expansion. This provision undermines the entire intention of the bill by
reinforcing the central problem it seeks to address: the lines by which Housing Authorities
operate are arbitrary, inefficient, and a poor way to allocate resources effectively.
Will Viederman, Housing Policy Manager at Elm City Communities/the Housing Authority of
New Haven. Supports this bill with the amendments that would not compound affordable
housing into neighboring towns that have already had resource constraints or limited
opportunity. Rather, by constraining any new areas of operation to high opportunity census
tracts, the state can ensure that new affordable housing is placed where there is the most
resource to integrate new residents.
Eli Sabin Legislative affairs associate Connecticut Voices for Children. Supports this bill
because enabling public housing authorities to build affordable housing and administer
housing vouchers in areas with more resources will disrupt patterns of segregation and
expand housing choice and opportunity for low-income families and children.
Betsy Gara, Executive Director Connecticut Council of Small Towns. Supports this bill
because it requires the approval or input of the municipality regarding the expanded area of
jurisdiction. The bill further provides that if the governing body of such municipality does not
adopt an agreement with a housing authority that requests such agreement, the governing
body's failure to adopt the agreement cannot be construed to be a violation of section 8-30g
or of any other provision of the general statutes
NATURE AND SOURCES OF OPPOSITION:
None Expressed
 Reported by: Jason Snukis                                 Date: March 21, 2022
                                                                          Page 3 of 3 HB-5209
Statutes affected: 
Raised Bill: 8-39, 8-40, 8-44b, 8-50, 8-45a, 8-389, 8-113a, 8-116d, 8-119h, 8-119l
HSG Joint Favorable Substitute: 8-39, 8-40, 8-44b, 8-50, 8-45a, 8-389, 8-113a, 8-116d, 8-119h, 8-119l
File No. 229: 8-39, 8-40, 8-44b, 8-50, 8-45a, 8-389, 8-113a, 8-116d, 8-119h, 8-119l
JUD Joint Favorable: 8-39, 8-40, 8-44b, 8-50, 8-45a, 8-389, 8-113a, 8-116d, 8-119h, 8-119l