Carpino Hails Passage of First-Time Home Buyers Program for Conn. Graduates

HARTFORD—State Rep. Christie Carpino today voted for legislation that would help curb Connecticut’s alarming “brain drain” by helping graduates save money to buy their first home here. Carpino supported H.B. 6525, which includes a provision implementing the “Learn Here, Live Here” program. The program would allow recent graduates of public institutions of higher education and vocational-technical high schools to set aside a portion of their state income tax liability to be used in a future down payment of their first home. The graduate must remain in Connecticut for five years.

The proposal would see the state set aside income taxes paid by a program participant for no more than 10 years following graduation at a maximum of $2,500 per year. The bill also creates a pay-back schedule should a participant leave the state within five years after purchasing a home.

“This legislation is a tangible investment in the future of our state,” said Carpino, a member of the legislature’s Education Committee. “We’re losing too many young people to other states because they just can’t afford to buy a home here. This bill will go a long way toward reversing that trend.”

Connecticut ranks among the worst for retaining residents aged 18 to 34. What’s more, this state has struggled to keep and attract businesses over the years—failing to add a net job since 1990. Republicans have urged the passage of Learn Here, Live Here for the last several years claiming it will boost to the struggling economy and put Connecticut on more stable footing for future growth.

Under the legislation, the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development will not only establish “Learn Here, Live Here,” but also develop a comprehensive education program to promote its benefits among prospective graduates of those public educational institutions.

People who graduate in January 2014 will be the first ones eligible for the program. The bill establishes the First-Time Homebuyers account in 2012, as well as an annual program cap of $1 million.

The bill has been sent to the senate for consideration.