Strong Manufacturing Agenda Awaits House, Senate Action

The General Assembly has a robust agenda of pro-manufacturing bills that have received committee approval and are awaiting final action by the House and Senate.
This was made possible by the commitment of the legislature’s bipartisan Manufacturing Caucus, which worked together with a coalition of manufacturing organizations throughout the state.

Sources: Connecticut Department of Labor (1); National Association of Manufacturers (2).

Workforce Development

• SB 950: Reduces experience eligibility requirements for manufacturers to become technical high school teachers and requires state to create guidance on that career change option.
• SB 963: Includes provisions for expanding the pool of manufacturing teachers at the high school and community college levels and expands training and certification options.
• HB 7271: Creates a new state Technical High School System independent of the Department of Education.
• HB 7064: Helps smaller manufacturers offset the cost of apprenticeships and access a new generation of talent by extending the manufacturing apprenticeship tax credit to pass-through entities—LLCs, partnerships, and S corporations. (This bill awaits action by the Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee.)

Regulatory Reform

• SB 818 & SB 285: Require DEEP to waive penalties for certain first-time violations of administrative regulations.
• HB 7063: Requires proposed regulations to include a plain language summary, including a description of the business activities being regulated.
• SB 998 Requires DEEP to annually solicit up to three high priority environmental regulation concerns from the business community and meet with affected businesses to determine how to address those concerns.

Energy Costs

• SB 861: Requires ratepayer impact statement for any bill that, if passed, has a financial impact on electric ratepayers.
• HB 7012: Requires future Comprehensive Energy Strategies to include an assessment of progress in reducing electricity and other energy costs relative to other New England states, New York, and New Jersey, and provide recommendations for improving Connecticut’s competitiveness.

CBIA appreciates the active participation of manufacturers throughout the state who lent their voices to support this legislation, and the supportive legislators from both parties who are advancing a strong pro-manufacturing agenda.
CBIA will again be hosting Manufacturing Innovation Day at the State Capitol on May 17.

For more information, contact CBIA’s Eric Brown (860.244.1926) | @CBIAericb