Lawmakers Consider Critical Workforce Housing Proposals 

The General Assembly is considering several bills designed to expand workforce housing, one of the contributing factors behind Connecticut’s labor shortage.

Gov. Ned Lamont highlighted the issue in his Feb. 8 budget address, telling lawmakers “we are still desperately short of housing.”

“Millions of dollars for workforce training will go to naught if we don’t have enough housing where workers can afford to live,” he said.

“Having just climbed out of a fiscal crisis, I don’t want to fall into a housing crisis.”

Incentivizing Development

Lamont’s proposed budget nearly doubles state investment in affordable housing development to $600 million over the next two years, increasing the number of new housing units by 6,400.

CBIA’s 2023 Transform Connecticut policy solutions include incentivizing the development of workforce housing in opportunity zones and remediated brownfield sites.

"The labor shortage is the biggest drag on the state's economy," CBIA's @egjede tells @FOX61News' @JennBNews. "We must do more to get people into Connecticut. That means a greater focus on #affordability, #housing, and workforce development." #transformCT https://t.co/tS6MaWRK1B

— CBIA (@CBIANews) February 13, 2023

The legislature’s Planning and Development Committee is considering a bill that provides up to $11 million in tax credits for investments in federally recognized opportunity zones and former brownfield sites.

That bill, which also has the support of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, is designed to boost housing development and stimulate economic growth in underserved communities.

Property Tax Credits

The Planning and Development Committee is also considering HB 6558, which provides property tax abatements for five years to first-time home buyers.

The bipartisan measure, introduced by Rep. Joe Zullo (R-East Haven) and co-sponsored by Rep. Andre Bumgardner (D-Groton) and Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria (R-Seymour), also drew support from CBIA, CCM, the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Connecticut, and the Western Connecticut Council of Governments.

CBIA’s Pete Myers told committee members the bill was “a creative solution that would help to create more affordable housing options for workers in our state.”

CBIA’s Pete Myers said the bill was “a creative solution that would help to create more affordable housing options.”

“One of the major issues Connecticut businesses are facing is the lack of affordable housing options in Connecticut,” he said.

“This bill will help to move the needle on establishing more affordable housing options for Connecticut workers.”

The Lamont administration’s budget proposal also promotes transit-oriented development in cities and towns and improves worker access to transportation.

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For more information, contact CBIA’s Pete Myers (860.244.1921).