CHAPTER 127c
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT:
HOUSING. GENERAL PROVISIONS

      Sec. 8-37xx. State-assisted housing sustainability: Definitions. As used in sections 8-37yy to 8-37aaa, inclusive:

      (1) "Eligible housing" means the housing that is in the housing loan portfolio that was transferred from the Department of Economic and Community Development to the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority pursuant to section 8-37uu;

      (2) "Financial assistance" means grants, loans, deferred loans, no interest and low interest loans, loan guarantees, interest subsidies and similar financings; and

      (3) "Fund" means the State-Assisted Housing Sustainability Fund established pursuant to section 8-37yy.

      (June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-4, S. 103; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5, S. 1.)

      History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-4 effective July 1, 2007; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5 substituted "Finance Authority" for "Finance Department" in Subdiv. (1) and made a technical change, effective October 6, 2007.

      Sec. 8-37yy. State-Assisted Housing Sustainability Fund. Financial assistance for preservation of eligible housing. Regulations. (a) The Department of Economic and Community Development shall, in consultation with the State-Assisted Housing Sustainability Advisory Committee, established pursuant to section 8-37zz, establish and maintain the State-Assisted Housing Sustainability Fund for the purpose of the preservation of eligible housing. The moneys of the fund shall be available to the department to provide financial assistance to the owners of eligible housing for the maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, and modernization of eligible housing and for other activities consistent with preservation of eligible housing, including, but not limited to, (1) emergency repairs to abate actual or imminent emergency conditions that would result in the loss of habitable housing units, (2) major system repairs or upgrades, including, but not limited to, repairs or upgrades to roofs, windows, mechanical systems and security, (3) reduction of vacant units, (4) remediation or abatement of hazardous materials, including lead, (5) increases in development mobility and sensory impaired accessibility in units, common areas and accessible routes, (6) relocation costs and alternative housing for not more than sixty days, necessary because of the failure of a major building system, and (7) a comprehensive physical needs assessment. Financial assistance shall be awarded to applicants consistent with standards and criteria adopted in consultation with the recommendations of the State-Assisted Housing Sustainability Advisory Committee.

      (b) In each of the fiscal years ending June 30, 2008, and June 30, 2009, the department may expend not more than seven hundred fifty thousand dollars from the fund for reasonable administrative costs related to the operation of the fund, including the expenses of the State-Assisted Housing Sustainability Advisory Committee, the development of analytic tools and research concerning the capital and operating needs of eligible housing for the purpose of advising the General Assembly on policy regarding eligible housing and the study required by section 107 of public act 07-4 of the June special session*. Thereafter, the department shall prepare an administrative budget which shall be effective upon the approval of said committee.

      (c) (1) The department shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to implement the provisions of this section and sections 8-37xx, 8-37zz and 8-37aaa. Such regulations shall establish (A) guidelines for grants and loans, and (B) a process for certifying an emergency condition in not more than forty-eight hours and for committing emergency funds, including costs of resident relocation, if necessary, not more than five business days after application by the owner of eligible housing for emergency repair financial assistance. The guidelines under subparagraph (A) of this subdivision shall provide for deferred payment of principal and interest upon approval of the committee.

      (2) The department shall adopt written policies and procedures to implement such provisions while in the process of adopting such policies and procedures in regulation form, and the commissioner shall print a notice of intention to adopt the regulations in the Connecticut Law Journal not later than twenty days prior to implementing such policies and procedures. The department shall submit final regulations to implement said sections to the legislative regulation review committee not later than October 1, 2009. Policies and procedures implemented pursuant to this subdivision shall be valid until the time final regulations are effective.

      (d) In reviewing applications and providing financial assistance under this section, the department, in consultation with the State-Assisted Housing Sustainability Advisory Committee, shall consider the long term viability of the eligible housing and the likelihood that financial assistance will assure such long term viability. As used in this section, "viability" includes, but is not limited to, continuous habitability and adequate operating cash flow to maintain the existing physical plant and any capital improvements and to provide basic services required under the lease and otherwise required by local codes and ordinances.

      (e) On or before February 1, 2009, and annually thereafter, the department, in consultation with the State-Assisted Housing Sustainability Advisory Committee, shall submit a report on the operation of the fund, for the previous calendar year, to the General Assembly, in accordance with section 11-4a. The report shall include an analysis of the distribution of funds and an evaluation of the performance of said fund and may include recommendations for modification to the program.

      (June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-4, S. 104; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5, S. 2.)

      *Note: Section 107 of public act 07-4 of the June special session is special in nature and therefore has not been codified but remains in full force and effect according to its terms.

      History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-4 effective June 29, 2007; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5 amended Subsec. (c) to insert Subdiv. (1) designator, substitute regulations to implement section and Secs. 8-37xx, 8-37zz and 8-37aaa for procedures to implement section, and insert Subdiv. (2) to require written policies and procedures while in the process of adopting regulations, effective October 6, 2007.

      Sec. 8-37zz. State-Assisted Housing Sustainability Advisory Committee. (a) There is established a State-Assisted Housing Sustainability Advisory Committee. The committee shall consist of the following members:

      (1) One appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, who may be a member of the General Assembly;

      (2) One appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, who may be a member of the General Assembly;

      (3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, who shall represent a housing authority with one hundred or more but less than two hundred fifty units of eligible housing and be appointed from a list submitted by the Connecticut Chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials;

      (4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, who shall represent a housing authority with fewer than one hundred units of eligible housing and be appointed from a list submitted by the Connecticut Chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials;

      (5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, who shall represent a housing authority with two hundred fifty or more units of eligible housing and be appointed from a list submitted by the Connecticut Chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials;

      (6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, who shall represent a housing authority with fewer than one hundred units of eligible housing and be appointed from a list submitted by the Connecticut Chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials;

      (7) Four appointed by the Governor;

      (8) The State Treasurer, or the Treasurer's designee; and

      (9) The State Comptroller, or the Comptroller's designee.

      (b) The committee shall meet at least quarterly and shall advise the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development and the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority on the administration, management, procedures and objectives of the financial assistance provided pursuant to section 8-37yy, including, but not limited to, the establishment of criteria, priorities and procedures for such financial assistance and the adoption of regulations pursuant to section 8-37yy.

      (c) The chairperson and vice-chairperson of the committee shall be selected by the committee from among its members. The chairperson, or the vice-chairperson in the absence of the chairperson, may establish subcommittees and working groups of the members as needed and designate a chairperson of each such subcommittee.

      (d) The initial term of the members appointed to the committee pursuant to subdivisions (1) to (7), inclusive, of subsection (a) of this section shall be staggered by lottery conducted by the committee. After the initial term, the terms of all members shall be three years. Members may be reappointed for an unlimited number of terms.

      (June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-4, S. 105; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5, S. 3.)

      History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-4 effective July 1, 2007; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5 made technical changes and amended Subsec. (b) to require committee to advise on the adoption of regulations, effective October 6, 2007.

      Sec. 8-37aaa. Grants for physical needs assessment of eligible housing. (a) The Department of Economic and Community Development shall design and administer a program of grants to owners of eligible housing to pay the cost of a comprehensive physical needs assessment for each eligible housing development. The final design of this program shall be subject to review by the State-Assisted Housing Sustainability Advisory Committee established pursuant to section 8-37zz. Such assessment may be a twenty-year life cycle analysis covering all physical elements, adjusted for observed conditions, and shall include, at a minimum, an evaluation of (1) dwelling units; building interiors and building envelopes; community buildings and amenities; site circulation and parking; site amenities such as lots; mechanical systems, including an analysis of technological options to reduce energy consumption and pay-back periods on new systems that produce heat and domestic hot water; and site conditions, (2) compliance with physical accessibility guidelines under Title II of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, and (3) hazardous materials abatement, including lead paint abatement. The costs of such needs assessments shall be paid from the fund.

      (b) A copy of each completed comprehensive physical needs assessment shall be submitted to the Department of Economic and Community Development in a format prescribed by the department. The format shall be designed by the department so that a baseline of existing and standardized conditions of eligible housing can be prepared and annually updated to reflect changes in the consumer price index and annual construction costs.

      (June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-4, S. 106.)

      History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-4 effective July 1, 2007.

      Sec. 8-37lll. Certification of affordable housing units within certified historic structures. Regulations. (a) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall review applications for affordable housing tax credits submitted pursuant to subsection (e) of section 10-416b. Upon determination that an application contains affordable housing as required by said section the commissioner shall issue a certificate to that effect. The commissioner shall monitor projects certified under this section to ensure that the affordable housing units 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. The commissioner may impose a fee in an amount not exceeding two thousand dollars to cover the cost of reviewing applications and monitoring projects that qualify for affordable housing tax credits pursuant to subsections (a) to (i), inclusive, of section 10-416b.

      (b) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, in consultation with the Commission on Culture and Tourism, may adopt regulations, pursuant to chapter 54, for monitoring of projects that qualify for affordable housing tax credits pursuant to subsections (a) to (i), inclusive, of section 10-416b by the Department of Economic and Community Development, or by local housing authorities, municipalities, other public agencies or quasi-public agencies, as defined in section 1-120, designated by the department. Such regulations shall include provisions for ensuring that affordable units developed under subdivision (3) of subsection (e) of section 10-416b 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.

      (P.A. 07-250, S. 22.)

      History: P.A. 07-250 effective July 1, 2007.