State Budget Includes Workforce Development Measures

A number of workforce development measures were included in the two-year state budget lawmakers approved in the final days of the 2019 legislative session.

Sections 97 and 98 of the budget reduce the administrative burden on businesses by exempting employers from obtaining a certificate showing the age of an employee under age 18 when the employer hires a minor through the youth development program.

Sections 183 to 189 create the Partnership for Connecticut, a nonprofit corporation organized and established through philanthropic enterprises to promote public education and economic development, while also bolstering the public-private collaboration.

Sections 212 to 227 create the Municipal Redevelopment Authority, a quasi-public agency designed to stimulate economic development by working specifically to generate growth in areas around transit stations and town centers.

MRDA will work on development projects with regional and local town boards to customize such plans, while also hiring local employees.

Tax Credits

The budget also contained provisions pertaining to grants and tax credits that impact our students and future workforce.

Sections 264 to 269 caps six education grants to local or regional boards of education.

These caps require the grants be proportionately reduced if state budget appropriations do not fund the full amounts required by the respective statutory formulas.

Unfortunately, the budget repeals the $500 income tax credit for college graduates in STEM fields.

Some of the grants that fall under the cap include funding for adult education, special education, and bilingual programs.

Unfortunately, Section 387 repeals the refundable personal income tax credit for college graduates in STEM fields, such as science, technology, engineering, and math.

Currently, the annual credit amount is $500.

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For more information, contact CBIA’s Michelle Rakebrand (860.244.1921) | @MRakebrand