TOMORROW: Statewide Property Tax Public Hearing
TOMORROW, Monday, March 22 beginning at 10:00 a.m., the Planning and Development Committee will be hold a public hearing on two bills that would impact your property taxes. One bill would also push to remove zoning control from local municipalities, which I do not support. Towns like Ashford, Tolland and Willington have already taken steps on their own to diversify their housing stock, and it is not in the best interest of these towns or any towns to take those decisions away from the local community.
There is no doubt that creating more affordable housing is a major priority for all 169 Connecticut municipalities, but this must be done at the local level where municipal leaders and zoning experts can explore options with the unique needs and geography of each town in mind.
BILLS OF CONCERN
Raised Bill 1068, An Act Concerning Property Taxes and Affordable Housing, would create a NEW statewide property tax on all homes valued over $300,000, and if passed, this bill would go into effect on OCTOBER 1, 2021.
The bill would create the follow tiered tax on residential property:
If a town provides…
- at least 10% affordable housing: no tax would apply
- between 8% and <10% affordable housing: 4/10ths of one mill rate applies
- between 6% and <8% affordable housing: 8/10ths of one mill rate applies
- between 4% and <6% affordable housing: 1 and 2/10ths mill rate applies
- between 2% and <4% affordable housing: 1 and 6/10ths mill rate applies
- between 0% and <2% affordable housing: 2 mills rate applies
This tax structure mirrors the one proposed in SB 172, which had a public hearing in the Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee last Monday. If you submitted testimony against SB 172 for last week’s hearing, you may submit the same testimony to the Planning and Development Committee for this upcoming hearing. Just be sure to change the bill number in your updated testimony.
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There is also one additional bill of concern on Monday’s agenda regarding local zoning.
Raised Bill 1066, An Act Concerning Municipalities and Shared Services, is a “dummy bill” that could become a much larger threat to local control of zoning/”home rule”. While this bill in its current form does not carry much weight, additional language could be added and sent to the House and Senate for debate and a vote.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL HEARING AGENDA
TAKE ACTION!
Testify LIVE via Zoom
Please register by 3:00 p.m. TODAY!
- The speaking order will be posted on the Planning and Development Committee website at 8:00 p.m. tomorrow. Look under “Public Hearing Testimony”.
Testify via Email
- Email written testimony (Word of PDF format) to PDtestimony@cga.ct.gov. Please include your name and “NO to SB 1068 [and/or] SB 1066” in the document AND in the subject line of your email.
Testify by Phone
- Call the Phone Registrant Line and leave your information: (203) 350-3769
Testimony should clearly state testifier name and related bill number. The Committee requests that testimony be limited to matters related to the items on the Agenda. The first hour of the hearing is reserved for elected municipal and state officials. Speakers will be limited to three minutes of testimony. The Committee encourages witnesses to submit a written statement and to condense oral testimony to a summary of that statement. All public hearing testimony, written and spoken, is public information. As such, it will be made available on the CGA website and indexed by internet search engines.
If you have any questions about these bills or how to testify, please reach out to me. I am happy to discuss these bills and walk you through the registration process.
Email: Tammy.Nuccio@housegop.ct.gov