Connecticut 2023 Regular Session Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 18 D · 1 R cosponsors

HB 6862 — AN ACT CONCERNING BROADBAND CONSTRUCTION AND THE PREVAILING WAGE.

Last action — TABLED FOR HOUSE CALENDAR

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 2023 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there are no live odds of enactment. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

30 added · 204 removed

30 line(s) added, 204 removed.

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House of Representatives General Assembly File No.
General Assembly Substitute Bill No.
491 January Session, 2023 Substitute House Bill No.
6862 January Session, 2023 AN ACT CONCERNING BROADBAND CONSTRUCTION AND THE PREVAILING WAGE.
6862 House of Representatives, April 11, 2023 The Committee on Labor and Public Employees reported through REP.
SANCHEZ, E.
of the 24th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING BROADBAND CONSTRUCTION AND THE PREVAILING WAGE.
The commissioner shall establish criteria consistent with any requirement of federal law for the grants, including, but not limited to, (1) application requirements, (2) applicant eligibility, (3) addressing unserved areas in distressed municipalities, (4) broadband Internet access service speed, and (5) an applicant's commitment to pay at least twenty per cent of the costs for any project entered into pursuant to this section with such applicant's own funding, provided such funding does not derive from sHB6862 / File No.
The commissioner shall establish criteria consistent with any requirement of federal law for the grants, including, but not limited to, (1) application requirements, (2) applicant eligibility, (3) addressing unserved areas in distressed municipalities, (4) broadband Internet access service speed, and (5) an applicant's commitment to pay at least twenty per cent of the costs for any project entered into pursuant to this section with such applicant's own funding, provided such funding does not derive from government grants, loans or subsidies to [said] such applicant.
491 1 sHB6862 File No.
(b) In awarding such grants, the commissioner [may] shall give priority to applicants (1) based on the percentage of [said] such applicant's commitment to cost sharing, (2) that are able to demonstrate that such applicant (A) provides robust training programs to its LCO \\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2023HB-06862-R021 of 9 HB.docx Substitute Bill No.
491 government grants, loans or subsidies to [said] such applicant.
6862 workforce that will be performing the work under the contract, provided such contract contains requirements that are tied to titles, uniform wage scales and skill codes recognized in the industry, and (B) requires occupational health and safety training for its workforce performing the work under the contract, (3) that will use a directly employed workforce to perform the work under the contract being funded by the program, (4) that are able to demonstrate that such applicant has programs to promote training and hiring pipelines for underrepresented communities, and (5) that, (A) within the last five years, have had robust records of compliance with the Connecticut Labor Code, Occupational Safety and Health Act, Fair Labor Standards Act,TitleVIIoftheCivilRightsActof1964andallotherapplicablelabor or employment laws, or (B) have mitigated violations with labor compliance agreements and measures in order to ensure future labor compliance.
(b) In awarding such grants, the commissioner [may] shall give priority to applicants (1) based on the percentage of [said] such applicant's commitment to cost sharing, (2) that are able to demonstrate that such applicant (A) provides robust training programs to its workforce that will be performing the work under the contract, provided such contract contains requirements that are tied to titles, uniform wage scales and skill codes recognized in the industry, and (B) requires occupational health and safety training for its workforce performing the work under the contract, (3) that will use a directly employed workforce to perform the work under the contract being funded by the program, (4) that are able to demonstrate that such applicant has programs to promote training and hiring pipelines for underrepresented communities, and (5) that, (A) within the last five years, have had robust records of compliance with the Connecticut Labor Code, Occupational Safety and Health Act, Fair Labor Standards Act,TitleVIIoftheCivilRightsActof1964andallotherapplicablelabor or employment laws, or (B) have mitigated violations with labor compliance agreements and measures in order to ensure future labor compliance.
Each applicant shall be awarded a point total that ranges from zero to onehundredpoints.ForgrantsfundedbytheBroadbandEquity,Access sHB6862 / File No.
Each applicant shall be awarded a point total that ranges from zero to onehundredpoints.ForgrantsfundedbytheBroadbandEquity,Access and Development program, satisfaction of the criteria described in subdivisions (2) to (5), inclusive, of subsection (b) of this section and the "Fair Labor Practices" outlined in the National Telecommunications and Information Notice of Funding Opportunity published on May 13, 2022, together, shall be awarded at least twenty-five points.
491 2 sHB6862 File No.
For grants not LCO {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2023HB-068622 of 9 R02-HB.docx } Substitute Bill No.
491 and Development program, satisfaction of the criteria described in subdivisions (2) to (5), inclusive, of subsection (b) of this section and the "Fair Labor Practices" outlined in the National Telecommunications and Information Notice of Funding Opportunity published on May 13, 2022, together, shall be awarded at least twenty-five points.
6862 funded by the Broadband Equity, Access and Development program, satisfaction of the criteria described in subdivisions (2) to (5), inclusive, of subsection (b) of this section shall be awarded a substantial point allocation, constituting of at least fifteen points.
For grants not funded by the Broadband Equity, Access and Development program, satisfaction of the criteria described in subdivisions (2) to (5), inclusive, of subsection (b) of this section shall be awarded a substantial point allocation, constituting of at least fifteen points.
sHB6862 / File No.
Sec.
491 3 sHB6862 File No.
491 Sec.
(1) Whether the workforce is directly employed by the applicant or whether the proposed work will be performed by a subcontracted workforce;
LCO {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2023HB-068623 of 9 R02-HB.docx } Substitute Bill No.
6862 (1) Whether the workforce is directly employed by the applicant or whether the proposed work will be performed by a subcontracted workforce;
(c) Any person or entity that fails to meet the requirements of this section,or providesfalse informationintheirapplicationor themonthly report described in subsection (b) of this section, may be deemed sHB6862 / File No.
(c) Any person or entity that fails to meet the requirements of this section, or providesfalse information intheirapplicationor themonthly report described in subsection (b) of this section, may be deemed ineligible by the commissioner for future participation in grant programs through the Office of Telecommunications and Broadband.
491 4 sHB6862 File No.
491 ineligible by the commissioner for future participation in grant programs through the Office of Telecommunications and Broadband.
Subsections (a) to (e), inclusive, of section 31-53 of the general statutes, as amended by section 1 of public act 22-17, are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2023):
Subsections (a) to (e), inclusive, of section 31-53 of the general LCO {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2023HB-068624 of 9 R02-HB.docx } Substitute Bill No.
6862 statutes, as amended by section 1 of public act 22-17, are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2023):
(b) If the commissioner, upon inspection or investigation of a complaint, believes that a contractor or subcontractor has knowingly or wilfully employed any mechanic, laborer or worker in the construction, remodeling, refinishing, refurbishing, rehabilitation, alteration or repair of any public works project for or on behalf of the state or any of its agents, or any political subdivision of the state or any of its agents, or employs any mechanic, laborer or worker in a broadband installation project funded by a grant pursuant to section 16-330c, as amended by this act, at a rate of wage on an hourly basis that is less than the rate customary or prevailing for the same work in the same trade or sHB6862 / File No.
(b) If the commissioner, upon inspection or investigation of a complaint, believes that a contractor or subcontractor has knowingly or wilfully employed any mechanic, laborer or worker in the construction, remodeling, refinishing, refurbishing, rehabilitation, alteration or repair of any public works project for or on behalf of the state or any of its agents, or any political subdivision of the state or any of its agents, or employs any mechanic, laborer or worker in a broadband installation project funded by a grant pursuant to section 16-330c, as amended by this act, at a rate of wage on an hourly basis that is less than the rate customary or prevailing for the same work in the same trade or occupation in the town in which such public works project or broadband installation project is being constructed, remodeled, refinished, refurbished, rehabilitated, altered or repaired, or who has LCO {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2023HB-068625 of 9 R02-HB.docx } Substitute Bill No.
491 5 sHB6862 File No.
6862 failed to pay the amount of payment or contributions paid or payable on behalf of each such person to any employee welfare fund, or in lieu thereof to the person, as provided by subsection (a) of this section, such contractor or subcontractor shall be issued a citation and may be fined five thousand dollars for each offense.
491 occupation in the town in which such public works project or broadband installation project is being constructed, remodeled, refinished, refurbished, rehabilitated, altered or repaired, or who has failed to pay the amount of payment or contributions paid or payable on behalf of each such person to any employee welfare fund, or in lieu thereof to the person, as provided by subsection (a) of this section, such contractor or subcontractor shall be issued a citation and may be fined five thousand dollars for each offense.
In addition, if it is found by the contracting officer representing the state or political subdivision of the state that any mechanic, laborer or worker employed by the contractor or any subcontractor directly on the site for the work covered by the contract has been or is being paid a rate of wages less than the rate of wages sHB6862 / File No.
In addition, if it is found by the contracting officer representing the state or political subdivision of the state that any mechanic, laborer or worker employed by the contractor or any subcontractor directly on the site for the work covered by the contract has been or is being paid a rate of wages less than the rate of wages required by the contract to be paid as required by this section, the state or contracting political subdivision of the state may (A) by written or electronic notice to the contractor, terminate such contractor's right to LCO {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2023HB-068626 of 9 R02-HB.docx } Substitute Bill No.
491 6 sHB6862 File No.
6862 proceed with the work or such part of the work as to which there has been a failure to pay said required wages and to prosecute the work to completion by contract or otherwise, and the contractor and the contractor'ssuretiesshallbeliableto thestate or thecontracting political subdivision for any excess costs occasioned the state or the contracting political subdivision thereby, or (B) withhold payment of money to the contractor or subcontractor.
491 required by the contract to be paid as required by this section, the state or contracting political subdivision of the state may (A) by written or electronic notice to the contractor, terminate such contractor's right to proceed with the work or such part of the work as to which there has been a failure to pay said required wages and to prosecute the work to completion by contract or otherwise, and the contractor and the contractor'ssuretiesshallbeliableto thestate or thecontracting political subdivision for any excess costs occasioned the state or the contracting political subdivision thereby, or (B) withhold payment of money to the contractor or subcontractor.
For each trade or sHB6862 / File No.
For each trade or occupation for which more than one collective bargaining agreement is in effect for the town in which such project is being constructed, the LCO {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2023HB-068627 of 9 R02-HB.docx } Substitute Bill No.
491 7 sHB6862 File No.
6862 collective bargaining agreement of historical jurisdiction shall prevail.
491 occupation for which more than one collective bargaining agreement is in effect for the town in which such project is being constructed, the collective bargaining agreement of historical jurisdiction shall prevail.
Prior to the award of any contract, purchase order, bid package or other designation subject to the provisions of this section, such agent shall certify to the Labor Commissioner, either in writing or electronically, the total dollar amount of work to be done in connection with such public works project or broadband installation project, regardless of whether such project consists of one or more sHB6862 / File No.
Prior to the award of any contract, purchase order, bid package or other designation subject to the provisions of this section, such agent shall certify to the Labor Commissioner, either in writing or electronically, the total dollar amount of work to be done in connection with such public works project or broadband installation project, regardless of whether such project consists of one or more contracts.
491 8 sHB6862 File No.
Upon the award of any contract subject to the provisions of LCO {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2023HB-068628 of 9 R02-HB.docx } Substitute Bill No.
491 contracts.
6862 this section, the contractor to whom such contract is awarded shall certify, under oath, to the Labor Commissioner the pay scale to be used by such contractor and any of the contractor's subcontractors for work to be performed under such contract.
Upon the award of any contract subject to the provisions of this section, the contractor to whom such contract is awarded shall certify, under oath, to the Labor Commissioner the pay scale to be used by such contractor and any of the contractor's subcontractors for work to be performed under such contract.
3 July 1, 2023 31-53(a) to (e) Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
3 July 1, 2023 31-53(a) to (e) LAB Joint Favorable Subst.
In Section 1(a) and (b), "said applicant" was changed to "[said] such applicant" for consistency with standard drafting conventions, Section 1(b)(2) and (3) were rewritten for clarity, in Section 2(a)(1) and (2), "contractor" was replaced with "applicant" for internal consistency, in Section 2(a)(3), "required" was replaced with "necessary" for accuracy, and "participant" was replaced with "applicant" for internal consistency, in Section 2(b), "section" was replaced with "subsection" for accuracy and "applicant" was replaced with "recipient" for accuracy, in Section 2(c), "described" was added before "in subsection" for accuracy and clarity and "by the commissioner" was added after "deemed ineligible" for accuracy and clarity.
APP Joint Favorable LCO {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2023HB-06862- 9 of 9 R02-HB.docx }
LAB Joint Favorable Subst.
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sHB6862 / File No.
491 9 sHB6862 File No.
491 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.
In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.
Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:
None Municipal Impact:
Municipalities Effect FY 24 $ FY 25 $ Various Municipalities STATE Potential Potential MANDATE 1 - Cost Explanation The bill makes changes to the state's broadband grants program, which result in potential increased costs to municipalities beginning in FY 24.
The bill (1) makes broadband installation projects funded by certain state grants subject to the state's prevailing wage law;
(2) prioritizes grants to applicants that meet certain criteria;
and (3) makes other changes not anticipated to result in a fiscal impact.
The prevailing wage provision may result in a potential cost to municipalities (for the municipalshare oftheproject cost)asthere willbeincreasedcontractual costs for these projects beginning in FY 24, to the extent that these projects currently fall below the existing prevailing wage threshold.
There is also potential for increased costs to municipalities beginning in FY 24 associated with the applicant criteria.
State mandate is defined in Sec.
2-32b(2) of the Connecticut General Statutes, "state mandate" means any state initiated constitutional, statutory or executive action that requires a local government to establish, expand or modify its activities in such a way as to necessitate additional expenditures from local revenues.
sHB6862 / File No.
491 10 sHB6862 File No.
491 The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation.
sHB6862 / File No.
491 11 sHB6862 File No.
491 OLR Bill Analysis sHB 6862 AN ACT CONCERNING BROADBAND CONSTRUCTION AND THE PREVAILING WAGE.
SUMMARY This bill requires the state’s Broadband Internet Access Service Grant Program to prioritize giving grants to applicants who meet certain labor-related criteria (e.g., have certain training programs and use a directly employed, rather than contracted, workforce).
It correspondingly requires applicants to the program to disclose certain related information when they apply.
The bill also brings broadband installation projects funded by grants from the program under the state’s prevailing wage law (see BACKGROUND).
In doing so, it (1) requires workers on the projects to be paid the applicable prevailing wage, (2) extends the law’s enforcement provisions to the contractors or subcontractors on the projects, and (3) requires the contracting agent to certify to the labor commissioner the total cost of the work to be done for the project.
(If the grantrecipient isa private-sector entity,it isunclear who thecontracting agent would be for these projects.
In addition, the bill does not make a conforming change that would require the employers on these projects to submit certified payroll records to an agency or entity with oversight of them as required for other prevailing wage projects.) By law, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) commissioner must establish and administer the broadband grant program to support the deployment of broadband Internet access service.
Current law requires her to do this subject to the availability of federal funding, but the bill makes this subject to the availability of both state and federal funding.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
July 1, 2023 sHB6862 / File No.
491 12 sHB6862 File No.
491 LABOR-RELATED CRITERIA FOR BROADBAND GRANTS The law, unchanged by the bill, requires the DEEP commissioner to make the broadband program’s grant criteria consistent with any federallawfor thegrants,including applicationrequirements,applicant eligibility, addressing unserved areas in distressed municipalities, and the applicant’s commitment to pay at least 20% of a project’s costs with its own funding, among other things.
Current law allows the commissioner, when awarding grants, to prioritize applicants based on the percentage of the applicant’s commitment to cost sharing.
The bill requires the commissioner to prioritize applicants that do so and that:
1.
have robust training programs for their workforce that will be performing the contract, including requirements tied to titles, uniform wage scales, and industry-recognized skill codes;
2.
require occupational health and safety training for their workforce performing the contract;
3.
will perform the contract using a directly employed workforce;
4.
canshowthattheyhaveprogramstopromotetrainingandhiring pipelines for underrepresented communities;
and 5.
have either (a) robust compliance records over the past five years with the state’s labor code, the (presumably, federal) Occupation Safety and Health Act (OSHA), the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act, and all other applicable labor or employment laws or (b) mitigated violations withlabor compliance agreementsandmeasurestoensure future labor compliance (the bill does not specify what constitutes a “robust compliance record”).
(Because existing law also requires the commissioner to set eligibility criteria consistent with any federal requirement for the grants, if the bill’s criteria conflict with federal requirements, it is unclear which provision would prevail or how it would impact the state’s eligibility sHB6862 / File No.
491 13 sHB6862 File No.
491 for federal funds.) As under existing law, the commissioner can deny applicants that do not submit certain required information.
The bill requires that any disclosure made by an applicant about the above criteriabepublicly available ontheOffice ofTelecommunications and Broadband’s website.
The bill requires the commissioner to award grants based on a point system, with each applicant given 0 to 100 points.
For grants funded by the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Development (presumably, “Deployment”) program, applicants that satisfy the five criteria above and the “Fair Labor Practices” outlined in the National Telecommunications and Information (Administration) Funding Opportunity published on May 13, 2022, must be awarded at least 25 points.
(The “fair labor practices” generally require a demonstrated record of compliance with federal labor and employment laws.) For grants from other funding sources, the bill requires applicants that satisfy the five criteria above be awarded a substantial point allocation of at least 15 points.
(The bill does not specify how the remaining points in either point system must be evaluated or allocated.) The bill requires all projects funded by grants from the Broadband Internet Access Service Grant Program to be subject to the state’s prevailing wage requirements.
APPLICATION DISCLOSURES The bill requires applicants who apply for a grant from the program to give the DEEP commissioner the following information with their applications:
1.
whether the workforce is directly employed by the contractor or whether the proposed work will be performed by a subcontracted workforce;
2.
the subcontractors, if any, who the contractor plans to subcontract with to perform the proposed work;
and sHB6862 / File No.
491 14 sHB6862 File No.
491 3.
for each job title required for the proposed work, a description of (a) the wages, benefits, and applicable wage scales, including overtime rates, and a description of how the wages are calculated;
(b) the applicant’s training programs and whether they are tied to titles, uniform wage scales, and industry- recognized skill codes;
(c) safety training, and certification or licensure requirements, including whether the participant requires its employees to complete occupational safety and health training or any other training required by law;
and (d) the entity employing the workforce in each job title.
Under the bill, any applicant awarded a grant must also submit this information monthly to the commissioner.
Any person or entity that fails to meet these disclosure requirements may be deemed ineligible to participate in future grant programs through the Office of Telecommunications and Broadband.
The bill specifies that these disclosure requirements apply to any applicant that isa publicagency (it isunclear if they only apply to public agencies or what constitutes a “public agency” for these purposes).
BACKGROUND Prevailing Wage Law The state’s prevailing wage law requires employers on certain public works projects to pay their construction workers wages and benefits equal to those that are customary or prevailing for the same work, in the same trade or occupation, in the same town.
The requirement applies to new construction projects of $1 million or more and renovation projects of $100,000 or more.
COMMITTEE ACTION Labor and Public Employees Committee Joint Favorable Substitute Yea 9 Nay 3 (03/23/2023) sHB6862 / File No.
491 15
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Action History

  1. TABLED FOR HOUSE CALENDAR

  2. NO NEW FILE BY COMM. ON Appropriations

  3. RPTD. OUT OF LCO

  4. FILED WITH LCO

  5. Joint Favorable

  6. REF. BY HOUSE TO COMMITTEE ON Appropriations

  7. FILE NO. 491

  8. HOUSE CALENDAR NUMBER 319

  9. FAV. RPT., TABLED FOR HOUSE CALENDAR

  10. RPTD. OUT OF LCO

  11. REFERRED TO Office of Legislative Research AND Office of Fiscal Analysis 04/11/23

  12. FILED WITH LCO

  13. Joint Favorable Substitute

  14. PUBLIC HEARING 0309

  15. REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Labor and Public Employees

Sponsors

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25 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 162 not signed on

Sponsors (25)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (162)

162 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

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Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors HB 6862?
HB 6862 is sponsored by Jorge Cabrera (Democratic), Eleni Kavros DeGraw (Democratic), Tercyak, Peter A., Juan R. Candelaria (Democratic), Kate Farrar (Democratic), Anthony L. Nolan (Democratic), Hochadel, Jan, Kara Rochelle (Democratic), Derek Slap (Democratic), Josh Elliott (Democratic), Rick Lopes (Democratic), Marx, Martha, Anne M. Hughes (Democratic), Michel, David, Jillian Gilchrest (Democratic), Arnone, Tom, D'agostino, Michael, Mary M. Mushinsky (Democratic), Tom Delnicki (Republican), Brandon Chafee (Democratic), Kevin Brown (Democratic), Hubert D. Delany (Democratic), Amy Morrin Bello (Democratic), Fred Gee (Democratic), and Aundre Bumgardner (Democratic).
What is the current status of HB 6862?
This bill died with 2023 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track HB 6862?
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