As used in sections 32-220 to 32-234, inclusive:
(a) “Business development project” means a project undertaken by an eligible applicant involving one or more of the following:
(1) The construction, substantial renovation, improvement or expansion of a facility;
(2) The acquisition of new machinery and equipment;
(3) The acquisition, improvement, demolition, cultivation or disposition of real property, or combinations thereof, or the remediation of contaminated real property;
(4) The creation at a facility, within twenty-four months of the initiation of a hiring program, not less than ten new jobs or an increase in the number of persons employed at the facility of twenty per cent, whichever is greater;
(5) Economic diversification of the economy of an area of the state or manufacturing or other economic base business where such area or business is substantially reliant upon defense and related industry;
(6) Participation in the avoidance of an imminent plant closing or relocation by a manufacturing or other economic base business or assist or improve the economy of an area of the state which has been or is likely to be significantly and adversely impacted by one or more major plant closings or relocations;
(7) Support research and development or commercialization of technologies, products, processes or techniques of a manufacturing or other economic base business;
(8) Creation or support of organizations and activities specifically leveraging federal resources that provide technical and engineering assistance to small manufacturers or other economic base businesses to assist them with the design, testing, manufacture and marketing of new products, the exporting of state products and services, and the instruction and implementation of new techniques and technologies;
(9) Support of substantial workforce development efforts;
(10) Promotion of community conservation or development or improvement of the quality of life for urban residents of the state;
(11) Promotion of the revitalization of underutilized, state-owned former railroad depots and areas adjacent to such depots; or
(12) Promotion of export activities, including sponsorship of programs that support exportation, assistance to companies in accessing federal Department of Commerce services, and provision of marketing materials and web site improvements for exporters;
(b) “Business support services” means activities related to a municipal development project or business development project which support the economic competitiveness of manufacturing or exporting or economic base businesses or which further the interests of the state, including, but not limited to, facilities and services related to day care, job training, education, transportation, employee housing, energy conservation, pollution control and recycling, provided activities related to employee housing shall be limited to feasibility and implementation studies;
(c) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development;
(d) “Economic base business” means a business that the commissioner determines will materially contribute to the economy of the state by creating or retaining jobs, exporting products or services beyond the state's boundaries, encouraging innovation in products or services, adding value to products or services or otherwise supporting or enhancing existing activities important to the economy of the state;
(e) “Economic cluster” means an economic cluster, as defined in section 32-4e, recognized by the commissioner;
(f) “Department” means the Department of Economic and Community Development;
(g) “Development plan” means a plan for a municipal development project prepared in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of section 32-223;
(h) “Eligible applicant” means any for-profit or nonprofit organization, or any combination thereof, any municipality, regional council of governments or any combination thereof and further provided, in the case of a loan made by Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated in which the department purchases a participation interest, “eligible applicant” means the for-profit or nonprofit organization, or any combination thereof, that will receive the proceeds of such loan;
(i) “Financial assistance” means grants, funds for the purchase of insurance policies and payment of deductibles for insurance policies to cover remediation costs, extensions of credit, loans or loan guarantees, participation interests in loans made to eligible applicants by Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated or combinations thereof;
(j) “For-profit organization” means a for-profit partnership or sole proprietorship or corporation or limited liability company which is an economic base business or has a North American Industrial Classification code of 311111 through 339999 or 493110, 493120, 493130, 493190, 511210, 512110, 512120, 512191, 522210, 522293, 522294, 522298, 522310, 522320, 522390, 523110, 523120, 523130, 523140, 523210, 523910, 524113, 524114, 524126, 524127, 524128, 524130, 524292, 541711, 541712, 551111, 551112, 551114, 561422, 611310, 611410, 611420, 611430, 611513, 611519, 611710 and 624410 or any business that is part of an economic cluster, or any establishment or auxiliary or operating unit thereof, as defined in the North American Industrial Classification System Manual, which has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the commissioner that it has the qualifications, including financial qualifications, necessary to carry out a business development project;
(k) “Implementing agency” means one of the following agencies designated by a municipality under section 32-223: (1) An economic development commission, redevelopment agency; sewer authority or sewer commission; public works commission; water authority or water commission; port authority or port commission or harbor authority or harbor commission; parking authority or parking commission; (2) a nonprofit development corporation; or (3) any other agency designated and authorized by a municipality to undertake a project and approved by the commissioner;
(l) “Municipal development project” means a business development project through which real property is acquired by a municipality or implementing agency as part of such project;
(m) “Municipality” means a town, city, consolidated town and city or consolidated town and borough;
(n) “Nonprofit organization” means a municipality or nonprofit corporation as defined in section 33-1002 and organized under the laws of this state and for purposes of this chapter includes any constituent unit of the state system of higher education;
(o) “Planning commission” means a planning and zoning commission designated pursuant to section 8-4a or a planning commission created pursuant to section 8-19;
(p) “Project” means a municipal development project or business development project;
(q) “Project area” means the area within which a municipal development project or business development project is located;
(r) “Real property” means land, buildings and other structures and improvements thereto, subterranean or subsurface right, any and all easements, air rights and franchises of any kind or nature;
(s) “Site and infrastructure improvements” means improvements to: (1) Sanitary sewer facilities; (2) natural gas pipes, electric, telephone and telecommunications conduits and other facilities and waterlines and water supply facilities, except for any such pipes, wires, conduits, waterlines or facilities which a public service company, as defined in section 16-1, water company, as defined in section 25-32a, or municipal utility is required to install pursuant to any provision of the general statutes or any special act, regulation or order of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority or a certificate of public convenience and necessity; (3) storm drainage facilities, including facilities to control flooding; (4) site grading, landscaping, environmental improvements, including remediation of contaminated sites, parking facilities, roadways and related appurtenances; (5) railroad spurs; (6) public port or docking facilities; and (7) such other related improvements necessary or appropriate to carry out the project;
(t) “State” means the state of Connecticut;
(u) “Targeted investment community” means a municipality which contains an enterprise zone designated pursuant to section 32-70;
(v) “Total project cost” means costs of any kind or nature relating to the planning, implementation and completion of a municipal or business development project;
(w) “Legislative body” means (1) the board of selectmen in a town that does not have a charter, special act or home rule ordinance relating to its government, or (2) the council, board of aldermen, representative town meeting, board of selectmen or other elected legislative body described in a charter, special act or home rule ordinance relating to its government in a city, consolidated town and city, consolidated town and borough or a town having a charter, special act, consolidation ordinance or home rule ordinance relating to its government.
(P.A. 90-270, S. 3, 38; P.A. 91-340, S. 1, 2, 8; P.A. 92-236, S. 27, 42, 48; P.A. 93-158, S. 8, 11; 93-160; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-2, S. 194, 203; P.A. 95-250, S. 1; 95-270, S. 2, 11; 95-272, S. 19, 29; P.A. 96-180, S. 105, 166; 96-211, S. 1, 5, 6; 96-239, S. 9, 17; 96-256, S. 188, 209; P.A. 97-211, S. 4, 5, 7; P.A. 98-203, S. 1, 13; P.A. 99-216, S. 6, 7; P.A. 00-171, S. 3, 4; P.A. 01-96, S. 5; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-7, S. 25, 26, 28; P.A. 08-34, S. 2; P.A. 10-75, S. 18; P.A. 11-80, S. 1; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1, S. 152; P.A. 13-247, S. 308.)
History: P.A. 91-340 redefined “eligible applicant” to include any profit or nonprofit organization, any municipality, regional planning agency or any combination thereof, where defense diversification project is concerned and added Subsec. (w) defining a defense diversification project; P.A. 92-236 redefined “business development project” by adding Subdiv. (3) re inventors workshop projects and amended Subsec. (w) defining “defense diversification project” by inserting “primarily” in Subdiv. (4), inserting “or both” in Subdiv. (5) and adding Subdiv. (6) re activities increasing opportunities for former employees of a defense contractor or subcontractor; P.A. 93-158 added Subsec. (x) defining the term “legislative body”, effective June 23, 1993; P.A. 93-160 redefined “manufacturing or economic base business” to include businesses engaged in research and development directly related to agriculture and aquaculture; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-2 in Subsec. (w) included the support of the retention of naval operations under the definition of a regional defense diversification plan, effective June 21, 1994; 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. 95-270 redefined “nonprofit organization” to include constituent units of the state system of higher education, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-272 amended Subdiv. (w) to extend project date from June 30, 1996, to June 30, 1998, effective July 1, 1995 (Revisor's note: Introductory language “As used in sections 32-220 to 32-234, inclusive,” omitted through clerical error from the 1995 edition of the general statutes, was restored editorially by the Revisors); P.A. 96-180 amended Subsec. (a)(1) by substituting reference to Sec. 32-223 for Sec. 32-222, effective June 3, 1996; P.A. 96-239 added Subpara. (F) to Subsec. (a)(2), including certain railroad depot projects in definition of “business development project”, effective July 1, 1996; P.A. 96-256 amended definition of “nonprofit organization” to replace reference to Sec. 33-421 with Sec. 33-1002, effective January 1, 1997 (Revisor's note: In 1997 in Subsec. (n) the phrase “... and is organized under laws of this state ...” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “... and organized under the laws of this state ...” for consistency of usage); P.A. 97-211 redefined “eligible applicant” in Subsec. (f) and “financial assistance” in Subsec. (h) to add provision re participation of the department in loans made by the Connecticut Development Authority, effective June 24, 1997; P.A. 98-203 added a new Subsec. (d) defining “economic cluster”, relettered the existing Subsecs. and redefined “manufacturing or economic base business” to include economic cluster businesses, effective June 8, 1998; P.A. 99-216 amended Subsec. (a)(1) to include projects to remediate contaminated real property as eligible business development projects under this section, effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 00-171 redefined “financial assistance” in Subsec. (i) to add provision re funds for the purchase of insurance policies and payment of deductibles to cover remediation costs and redefined “site and infrastructure improvements” in Subsec. (t) to include remediation of contaminated sites; P.A. 01-96 amended Subsec. (t) by making a technical change; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-7 amended Subsec. (a)(1) to include projects which involve the cultivation of real property and make a technical change and amended Subsec. (l) to include a business engaged in the creation or development of vineyards and wineries and make a technical change, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 08-34 redefined “business development project” in Subsec. (a), defined “economic base business” in new Subsec. (d), redesignated existing Subsecs. (d) to (g) as new Subsecs. (e) to (h), redefined “eligible applicant” in new Subsec. (h), deleted former Subsec. (h) re definition of “facility”, redefined “for-profit organization” in Subsec. (j), deleted former Subsec. (l) re definition of “manufacturing or economic base business”, redesignated existing Subsecs. (m) to (w) as new Subsecs. (l) to (v), deleted former Subsec. (x) re definition of “defense diversification project”, redesignated existing Subsec. (y) as new Subsec. (w) and made a technical change therein, effective May 7, 2008; P.A. 10-75 amended Subsec. (a)(8) to add “activities specifically leveraging federal resources” and “the exporting of state products and services”, added Subsec. (a)(12) re promotion of export activities, and redefined “business support services” in Subsec. (b) to include exporting, effective July 1, 2010; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Department of Public Utility Control” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Public Utilities Regulatory Authority”, effective July 1, 2011; pursuant to June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1, “Connecticut Development Authority” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated” in Subsecs. (h) and (i), effective July 1, 2012; P.A. 13-247 amended Subsec. (h) to redefine “eligible applicant” by changing “regional planning agency” to “regional council of governments”, effective January 1, 2015.