DECD wants to sell CT-branded merchandise to help fund tourism industry

HBJ PHOTO | DAVID KRECHEVSKY The State Capitol in Hartford.

Write a Comment

Lawmakers on Tuesday heard testimony on a bill that would allow the state Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) to sell Connecticut-branded merchandise, as well as to require businesses receiving state aid to remain in the state.

The state legislature’s Commerce Committee held a public hearing on several bills, including House Bill 7165, which revises several state commerce statutes.

In testimony submitted in advance of the public hearing, DECD Commissioner Daniel O’Keefe said the bill, in part, would allow DECD to create a program to sell state-branded merchandise, as well as advertising space, on CTvisit.com, the state’s tourism website.

Any revenue from that program would be deposited into the state tourism fund’s statewide marketing account, he said.

“DECD hopes to follow in the footsteps of our sister agencies, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and Department of Agriculture (DoAg) in creating a sales program,” O’Keefe said. “This will help tourism funding become more self-sustaining.”

The commissioner also said Section 4 of the bill clarifies that tax credit programs administered by DECD or Connecticut Innovations, the state’s quasi-public investment arm, “are not considered ‘state assistance’ with respect to existing nonrelocation requirements for companies that receive DECD assistance.”

State law prevents a business from relocating outside of the state for 10 years after receiving assistance, or during the term of a loan or loan guarantee, whichever is longer, unless the full amount of the assistance is repaid to the state, and a penalty equal to 5% of the total
assistance received is paid to the state.

Non-relocation requirements are in place to protect the state’s assets, O’Keefe said, so that resources are not awarded “to a business that, in turn, leaves the state. However, tax credits are issued only after they are legally earned by recipient companies, so the protection that the non-relocation requirement provides the state is moot.”

He added that the proposed revision conforms with DECD’s existing practice.

Other sections of the bill would revise state laws regarding:
The intellectual and developmental disabilities workforce development program.

How the prevailing wage is applied to brownfield cleanup projects.
The sale, exchange or lease of real property under the custody and control of DECD.
Permitting the state to support AdvanceCT, the nonprofit that promotes job creation and capital investment in the state, and
Construction projects funded by the department.