04.20.18 Connecticut Legislative Status Report

Bills listed as of 4.20.18 | For latest information, check Bill Tracker at bit.ly/CTbills
LEGISLATIVE STATUS REPORT
6
Bioscience
SB 195 Features changes to pharmacy and
drug control statutes including requiring
manufacturers to operate a system for
identifying and reporting suspicious
orders of controlled substances and
requiring manufacturers to provide
updated inventory records of controlled
substances every year instead of every
two years. Awaiting action Senate;
CBIA monitoring.
SB 197 Adds biological products to
existing laws governing substitution
of generic drugs. This bill with certain
modifications (especially regarding mail
order delivery) would be beneficial for
patients and the industry. Awaiting
action Senate; CBIA evaluating.
SB 213 Creates a quasi-public state entity
to identify high-growth, high-demand
jobs in the state in fields including
finance, computer science, engineering,
manufacturing, healthcare, insurance,
and biomedicine. Awaiting action Senate;
CBIA supports (with changes).
SB 266 Encourages the growth of
bioscience venture capital in the state
by providing a personal income tax
exemption for income earned by active
managers of venture capital funds.
Awaiting action Senate; CBIA supports.
SB 379 Limits when insurers can change
prescription drug formularies during
insurance policy terms. Awaiting action
Senate; CBIA monitoring.
SB 446 Requires Connecticut Innovation
and the Department of Economic and
Community Development to develop
a short- and long-term strategic plan
for the state’s bioscience sector, along
with a marketing and promotional
plan to complement the strategic plan.
SB 539 Gives a microbiome working
group the state established to develop
a plan to foster the microbiome sector
more time to submit and present a
report to lawmakers. Awaiting action
Senate; CBIA supports.
SB 541 Establishes various initiatives to
promote innovation, entrepreneurship,
and intrapreneurship in the state, and
specifies that Connecticut Innovations
shall constitute the subsidiary
corporation of CTNext. Awaiting action
HB 5273 Requires the commissioner of
Economic and Community Development
to conduct an overview of issues relating
to economic development in the state.
Awaiting action House; CBIA monitoring.
HB 5275 Requires the Department of
to study issues related to the state’s
bioscience industry with emphasis on
efforts to build a bioscience jobs pipeline.
Awaiting action House; CBIA supports.
HB 5290 Makes statutory changes to
establish the Office of Health Strategy
as per 2017 state budgetary legislation.
Awaiting action Senate; CBIA monitoring.
HB 5384 Imposes additional disclosure
and reporting requirements on drug
manufacturers regarding rebates and
drug costs. Awaiting action House;
CBIA evaluating.
HB 5439 Requires the Department of
to revise its website to include
information about the bioscience
sector and resources for crowdfunding
opportunities. Awaiting action House;
CBIA supports.
Budgets (State & Local)
SB 10 Initially contained $190 million in
tax incentives to implement Governor’s
budget. Now contains delays in various
fund transfers. Awaiting action Senate;
CBIA evaluating.
SB 11 Features various provisions
addressing recent federal tax changes,
including imposing a new 6.99% income
tax on most pass-through businesses.
The tax is offset by a credit at the
personal or corporate income tax level.
The bill also decouples state and federal
laws related to the depreciated value of
capital investments. This effectively
changes depreciation schedules, with
particular impact on manufacturers.
Awaiting action Senate; CBIA evaluating.
SB 367 Implements a review of the
employment and retirement benefits for
state employees and elected or appointed
officials to determine the long-term
impact on the state’s economy. Awaiting
action Senate; CBIA supports.
HB 5034 Implements the Governor’s
budget recommendations. Awaiting
action House; CBIA monitoring.
HB 5327 Reviews the process by which
appropriations are made from the
General Fund in the state budget.
Awaiting action House; CBIA evaluating.
Business Law & Liability
SB 193 Creates a mechanism by which the
Department of Consumer Protection may
process a consumer complaint made
against anyone in an area over which
DCP has jurisdiction. Bill was amended
to require the DCP to provide notice to
the person about whom the complaint
was made via certified mail and require
that person respond within 14 days or
be subject to a $250 fine. Fines may be
waived if respondent demonstrates good
cause for failure to respond. Awaiting
action Senate; CBIA opposes.
SB 327 Establishes Connecticut as a
Continuing Professional Education
reciprocity state with respect to CPA
license renewal requirements Awaiting
action Senate; CBIA supports.

7
HB 5191 Allows post-sale warranty
work reimbursements to power
equipment dealers. Awaiting action
House; CBIA opposes.
HB 5251 Allows for the establishment
of benefit limited liability companies.
HB 5252 Allows indirect purchasers of
products to pursue economic damages
for antitrust violations. Awaiting action
House; CBIA supports.
HB 5258 Modernizes and streamlines
arbitration procedures by adopting
the Revised Uniform Arbitration Act.
HB 5412 Allows additional time for a
limited liability company or foreign LLC
to file its annual report by extending the
time frame from April to July 1st of the
year in which the LLC was formed or
the foreign LLC registered to conduct
business in the state. Awaiting action
House; CBIA supports.
HB 5467 Sets a burdensome and high
standard for a business’s retention of
video surveillance footage, and demands
a higher standard of proof by a
defendant in objecting to production of
surveillance in premises liability claims
Awaiting action House; CBIA opposes.
HB 5491 Significantly and unfairly
expands upon a myriad of exemptions
currently used to shield money from
a bank execution after an individual
fails to pay a court-ordered judgment.
Campaign Finance & Ethics
SB 499 Requires the disclosure of the
name, home address, occupation, and
employer of anyone who gives any size
contribution to any candidate, political
party, or political committee. Awaiting
action Senate; CBIA evaluating.
SB 500 Allows legislative candidates to
use the name of a statewide candidate
in their campaign ads without it being
deemed a campaign contribution to that
candidate in most circumstances.
HB 5173 Suppresses speech by prohibiting
the use of public voter registration
information for any personal, private,
or commercial use by private entities,
including for grassroots issue advocacy.
HB 5522 Redefines “coordination” to
the point that many activities that
nonprofits and other groups engage
in would be deemed campaign activity.
HB 5526 Requires overly burdensome
secondary levels of campaign
contribution disclosures and listing
of campaign expenditure vendor’s
sub-vendors. Awaiting action House;
CBIA evaluating.
Commerce/Economic
Development
HB 5273 Requires the commissioner of
to conduct an overview of issues relating
to economic development in the state.
Awaiting action House; CBIA monitoring.
HB 5589 Requires the commissioners of
and Revenue Services to study the
finance policies of surrounding states.
Education & Workforce
Development
SB 51 Requires the Board of Regents
for Higher Education to provide grants
to support and expand advanced
manufacturing certificate programs,
funded by a portion of the average
income tax liability from graduates of
the program. Awaiting action Senate;
CBIA evaluating.
SB 213 See Bioscience
SB 352 Extends by two more years
the ability of the state’s independent
colleges and universities to create new
and modified programs without approval
from the Office of Higher Education,
as long as specific financial and
accreditation guidelines are met.
SB 369 Requires the Department of
and Department of Labor to review job
development and training programs
and recommend revisions to make the
programs more effective. Awaiting action
SB 444 Provides funding for advanced
manufacturing training programs
administered by the regional workforce
development boards; makes space
available on the campus of Three
Rivers Community College for plastics
manufacturing training; and requires
the Commissioner of Economic and
Community Development to conduct
a comprehensive review of the capital
needs of the submarine industry every
three years. Awaiting action Senate;
CBIA supports.
SB 448 Requires the state Department of
to pursue public-private partnership
opportunities for operating mobile
manufacturing training labs; requires
the state Department of Education to
solicit input from the manufacturing
community in developing
manufacturing-related standards and
curricula; and adds one manufacturing
representative to the advisory council
of the Community-Technical Colleges
Board of Trustees. Awaiting action
SB 455 Modernizes the process for
educators to obtain professional
certification by eliminating obstacles,
and increasing competitiveness with
other states. Also requires the Office
of Higher Education to recommend
performance-based standards for future
exemptions. Awaiting action Senate;
CBIA supports.
Continued on Page 8

8
SB 535 Establishes the Apprenticeship
Connecticut initiative to develop workforce
pipeline programs and provide bond
funding for such programs, and dedicates
economic development and manufacturing
bonds for capital improvements to a
facility located in the state that is
engaged in the design, construction, and
lifecycle support of submarines for the
United States Navy. Awaiting action
Senate; CBIA supports (with changes).
SB 536 Requires the University of
Connecticut to undertake a variety of
initiatives to better realign its objectives
and focus with creating and fostering
innovation and entrepreneurship in
the state and establishing itself as a
leading institution of higher education
in those areas. Awaiting action Senate;
CBIA evaluating.
SB 537 Requires the Secretary of the
Office of Policy and Management to
conduct a study of the economic
development and workforce training
needs of the state and related bonding.
Energy & Technology
SB 7 Implements recommendations
from the Governor’s Council on Climate
Change, including further incorporating
climate change concerns into local,
regional, and state planning documents.
It also establishes a new mandate for
a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas
emissions by 2030, and changes
the current requirement for a
Comprehensive Energy Strategy every
three years to a Comprehensive Climate
and Energy Strategy every four years.
SB 9 Implements the Department of
Energy and Environmental Protection’s
revised Comprehensive Energy Strategy;
creates new, aggressive annually
increasing Renewable Portfolio Standard
requirements; reduces penalties for non-
compliance with RPS standards; calls
for additional charges on ratepayers to
fund clean energy and energy efficiency
programs. The bill also seeks to reduce
the burden of shared solar programs on
ratepayers and also to stabilize funding
for clean energy and energy efficiency
programs. Awaiting action Senate;
CBIA supports (with changes).
Environment & Land Use
SB 103 Eliminates requirement for
the state Department of Energy and
Environmental Protection to adopt
regulations concerning fracking wastes,
thus creating a total ban on the practice,
and expands the scope of the ban to
include natural gas and oil wastes.
Awaiting action Senate; CBIA opposes.
SB 109 The original bill that required
the state Department of Energy and
Environmental Protection to report to
the legislature on the need to increase
fines for pollution has been replaced
with a proposal concerning wildlife
refuges. Awaiting action Senate.
SB 265 Requires the Department of
Energy and Environment Protection
to modify permit application forms to
provide an indication if the application
relates to a new business, business
expansion, or new product line, and
to give priority to such applications.
SB 268 Extends the maximum loan
term under the targeted brownfield
development loan program from
20 to 30 years. Awaiting action Senate;
CBIA supports.
SB 269 Directs the Department of Energy
and Environmental Protection to not
assess a fine or other penalty on a small
business for a minor, first-time violation
that is corrected within a reasonable
period of time not to exceed six months.
SB 336 Abandons the current state policy
of implementing a pilot shared solar
plan and calls for implementing a
statewide solar, ratepayer-supported,
shared solar program. Awaiting action
Senate; CBIA evaluating.
SB 343 Requires the updating of safety
plans for certain chemical facilities in
the state deemed to be at risk of flooding
and other events associated with climate.
SB 422 Provides tax incentives to
developers for the remediation of
brownfields. Awaiting action Senate;
CBIA evaluating.
SB 428 Requires the state Department
of Energy and Environmental Protection
to develop a strategy to ensure plastic
beverage bottles sold in the state contain
25% post-consumer recycled content
by 2025. Awaiting action Senate;
CBIA evaluating.
HB 5454 Changes current requirements
for 90-day permit processing for certain
permits at the state Department of Energy
and Environmental Protection to a “best
efforts” standard. Also requires DEEP to
establish a pilot program for using private
experts to assist with permit processing
at the expense of the applicant. Awaiting
action House; CBIA supports.
HB 5457 Increases the handling fee paid
to bottle redemption centers by reducing
the bottle deposit returned to consumers
from five cents to four cents. Awaiting
Healthcare
SB 16 Implements the governor’s budget
recommendations related to public
health, including: the Office of Health
Strategy’s operations; the administration
and collection of the hospital providers
tax; administration of the Tobacco and
Health Trust Fund; the funding,
planning, and administration of the all-
payer claims database; implementation
and administration of the state’s health
information technology strategy.
SB 208 Requires health insurance policies
that provide coverage for prescription
drugs to provide coverage for
intravenously administered drugs on
a basis no less favorable than orally
administered drugs. Awaiting action
Senate; CBIA opposes.
Continued on Page 9

LEGISLATIVE STATUS REPORT (Continued)
9
Healthcare (continued)
SB 209 Decreases the time frame for
certain adverse determination review
requests from 72 to 48 hours. Typically,
the insurer is delayed in making a
determination while awaiting records
from the insured/patient physician.
Shortening the time allowed for the
insurer to act could have the reverse
effect and increase denials due to lack
of necessary information from any
third parties, including the patient’s
physician. Awaiting action Senate;
CBIA opposes.
SB 376 Requires insurance coverage for
certain prosthetic devices. Insurance
coverage for a prosthetic device must
be at least equivalent to the coverage
Medicare provides for such devices.
It also requires policies to cover repairs
or replacements of prosthetic devices
that the patient’s health care provider
determines are medically necessary.
Awaiting action Senate; CBIA opposes.
SB 380 Requires health insurers to cover
a prescribed drug during the duration of
grievance/review procedures. Awaiting
action Senate; CBIA opposes.
SB 384 Requires certain health insurance
policies to cover, at an annual physical,
screenings for mental or nervous
conditions. Also expands reporting
requirements for the insurance
commissioner, and changes the data
that must be included in the Consumer
Report Card. Awaiting action Senate;
CBIA monitoring.
HB 206 Permits certain pregnant
individuals to enroll in a health
insurance policy or plan no later than
30 days after the pregnancy has been
certified by a licensed health care
provider. Awaiting action Senate;
CBIA opposes.
HB 5039 Preserves a number of elements
of the federal Affordable Care Act,
including the individual mandate.
HB 5208 Creates caps on copayments for
patients accessing certain radiological
services. However, capping cost sharing
for any one service only means shifting
that cost into another insurance
payment, such as premiums,
deductibles, or coinsurance. Awaiting
action House; CBIA opposes.
HB 5210 Expands the definition of
mammograms to now include the term
breast tomosynthesis. Breast
tomosynthesis is an advanced type of
mammogram that is not currently a
mandated health benefit. The inclusion
of tomosynthesis to the current
mammogram definition would make it
new mandated health benefit. Awaiting
action House; CBIA opposes.
HB 5384 Imposes additional disclosure
and reporting requirements on drug
manufacturers regarding rebates and
drug costs. Awaiting action House;
CBIA evaluating.
HB 5463 Establishes a study group to
explore whether and how the state
should create a public option for
Medicaid, including premium
assessments, covered benefits,
and provider reimbursement rates.
Labor & Employment
SB 15 Prohibits employers from inquiring
about a prospective employee’s salary
history until a job offer with
compensation has been accepted by
the prospective employee, unless a
prospective employee has voluntarily
disclosed such information. Awaiting
action Senate; CBIA monitoring.
SB 132 Expands Connecticut’s workplace
sexual harassment prevention training
requirements to businesses with as few
as three workers. Also removes common
affirmative defense available to an
employer. Awaiting action Senate;
CBIA opposes.
SB 472 Among other things, prohibits
employers, other than financial
institutions, from using credit reports
on employees who have access to non-
financial assets—unless those assets
are library or museum collections, or
prescription drugs. Awaiting action
Senate; CBIA opposes.
HB 5043 Expands current state law to
require all employees at businesses
with 15 or more workers to undergo
sexual harassment prevention training
every five years while broadening the
definition of workplace harassment to
include that based on race, color,
religious creed, age, sex, gender identity
or expression, marital status, and
national origin. Awaiting action House;
CBIA evaluating.
HB 5044 Expands the state’s paid sick
leave mandate to businesses with
20 or more employees—including
manufacturers and certain nonprofits,
which were previously exempt. All
employees, not just service workers,
would be provided up to five days of
leave annually to care for their own
or a child’s illness. Also broadens the
definition of a child from an individual
who is under 18 years old to one who
is under 26. Awaiting action House;
CBIA opposes.
HB 5386 Prohibits employers or third
parties from inquiring about prospective
employee salary histories, provides
an affirmative defense to employers
subject to gender-based discrimination
claims, and modifies rules around
seniority systems to protect those out
on medical leave. Awaiting action Senate;
CBIA monitoring.
Continued on Page 10

10
HB 5387 Establishes a new costly,
unsustainable paid FMLA mandate
that will apply to businesses with two
or more employees. The benefit is
funded by taking employee wages, but
businesses will be required to continue
to provide nonwage benefits to
employees on leave, and taxpayers
will be responsible for the 120-plus
new state employees needed to run
the program. Further, it extends the
right to use paid FMLA to care for
extended family members—including
siblings, grandparents, grandchildren,
or “anyone close to you that is related
by blood or anyone whose close
association with the employee is
equivalent to that of a family member.”
HB 5388 Adds to the cost of doing
business in the state by increasing the
minimum wage in steps to $15 per hour
by 2021, and then calling for automatic
annual increases beginning in 2023.
A fiscal analysis has determined the
bill will cost state taxpayers at least
$50 million. Awaiting action House;
CBIA opposes.
HB 5473 Prohibits employers from
requiring employee attendance at
meetings that may involve an employer’s
view on political matters, defined so
broadly that it includes discussions on
legislation, regulation, candidates for
office, or unionization of the workplace.
HB 5480 Makes long overdue
unemployment benefit reforms,
including: requiring employees earn
at least $2,000 per year to qualify for
benefits; freezing the maximum
benefit rate in any year in which the
Unemployment Compensation Trust
Fund has not attained 70% solvency;
requiring individuals to exhaust their
severance pay before receiving
unemployment benefits; and clarifying
that one instance of unexcused absence
means one day of no call, no show,
not two consecutive days. Awaiting
action Finance, Revenue, and Bonding;
CBIA supports.
Manufacturing
SB 11 See Budgets (State & Local)
SB 51 See Education & Workforce
Development
SB 261 Expands the scope of companies
that can take advantage of the
manufacturing apprenticeship tax credit
to pass-through entities. Awaiting action
SB 535 See Education & Workforce
Development
Regulatory Reform
SB 265 See Environment & Land Use
SB 269 See Environment & Land Use
HB 5264 Requires the attorney general
to issue opinions when requested by
businesses that have a dispute with a
state agency regarding its regulations.
Awaiting action Appropriations;
CBIA supports.
HB 5266 Authorizes state agencies to
suspend any civil penalty assessed
against any business entity for certain
minor, first-time violations of any
regulation upon written request where
such violations are promptly corrected.
Awaiting action Finance, Revenue, and
Bonding; CBIA supports.
Taxes (State & Local)
SB 528 Requires the Commissioner
of Revenue Services to study the tax
policies of the state. Awaiting action
Senate; CBIA evaluating.
SB 533 Requires the Commissioner of
Revenue Services to study the revenue
policies of the state. Awaiting action
Appropriations; CBIA evaluating.
HB 5574 Allows certain persons to file
for a property tax exemption,
notwithstanding certain statutory
deadlines. Awaiting action House;
CBIA supports.
HB 5581 Allows bonus depreciation and
asset expensing deductions to be taken
over two years and to phase out the
capital stock tax over three years.
HB 5584 Establishes a tax credit for
employers who provide paid family and
medical leave benefits and authorizes the
state treasurer to establish a family and
medical leave benefits account program.
HB 5585 Requires the Commissioner of
to develop specific benchmarks to assess
enterprise zone benefits recipients, and
allows the commissioner to negotiate
certain property tax exemptions with a
business seeking enterprise zone benefits
and the chief elected official of the
municipality in which such enterprise
zone is located. Awaiting action House;
CBIA evaluating.
HB 5586 Waives certain initial
occupational licensing fees for certain
individuals. Awaiting action House;
CBIA evaluating.
HB 5588 Requires the Commissioner of
Revenue Services to analyze the revenue
streams of the state. Awaiting action
Appropriations; CBIA evaluating.
HB 5589 See Commerce/Economic
Development
HB 5590 Delays the inclusion of
certain bond covenants for bonds
issued during certain time periods and
exclude refunding bonds and temporary
borrowings from the calculation of the
bond issuance cap. Awaiting action
House; CBIA opposes.
HB 5591 Diversifies municipal revenue
options and phases out the motor vehicle
property tax. Awaiting action House;
CBIA evaluating.

11
Transportation
SB 389 Creates the Connecticut
Transportation Authority, a quasi-public
agency charged with implementing and
maintaining highway tolls. Awaiting
action Senate; CBIA monitoring.
HB 5046 Allows the Department of
Transportation to charge, collect, retain,
and fix the amount of all tolls on state
highways. Toll revenues will be used
for implementing and administering
electronic tolling and highway
maintenance, construction, and
administration costs, including debt
servicing. Awaiting action House;
CBIA monitoring.
HB 5309 Allows the Connecticut Port
Authority to make and enter into all
contracts and agreements necessary
to conduct business; enter into joint
ventures, invest in and participate with
any person or entity; receive and accept
from any source, aid, or contributions,
including money, property labor, and
other things of value; award grants and
subsidies, make loans, and provide other
forms of financial assistance; and charge
reasonable fees for its services. Awaiting
HB 5391 Implements tolls on interstate
highways and parkways through a
two-step process, beginning with a
Department of Transportation study
on overhead gantry locations and
anticipated revenues. The department
then submits a report to the legislature
in the 2019 session. If the House and
Senate fail to act within 30 days of
receiving the report, tolls would be
deemed approved. Awaiting action
House; CBIA monitoring.
HB 5393 Creates the Connecticut
Transportation Finance Authority,
a quasi-public agency charged with
implementing and maintaining
highway tolls. Awaiting action House;
CBIA monitoring.
It’s not surprising how many biopharma
bills were introduced this legislative
session, considering the state’s bioscience
investments, and that healthcare costs and
quality are major concerns for the public
and policymakers.
In fact, lawmakers introduced 42 bills
related to the biopharma industry this
legislative session.
Now that the public hearing phase is
done and most committee work complete,
a number of those bills remain for
consideration before the General Assembly.
Here are the top 10, ranked by importance:
HB 5384 is a complex bill that:
ff Requires pharmacy benefit managers to
register with the Connecticut Insurance
Department and submit annual finance
reports to the Office of Health Strategy
with information on drug company
rebates received by the pharmacy
benefits manager and administrative
fees paid by health carriers to pharmacy
benefit managers.
ff Allows health carriers to file complaints
with CID when a prescription drug’s
cost rises by more than 25% or more
and the price increase raises a health
plan’s premium by more than $1 per
month per member.
ff Requires the insurance commissioner
to investigate drug price complaints
and drug manufacturers to respond
to complaint filings with information
concerning use of the subject drug and
all rebates paid by the manufacturer
to the health carrier.
ff Requires drug companies to notify
OHS when they submit new drug
applications to the federal Food and
Drug Administration.
ff Requires OHS to annually identify up to
10 drugs provided at substantial cost to
the state or critical to public health and
for drug manufacturers to report certain
information on those drugs, such as
their research and development costs.
ff Requires managed care organizations
to certify to the insurance commissioner
that the majority of any manufacturer
rebates were passed on to the consumer.
Tax Exemptions, Biosimiliars
SB 266 provides a personal income tax
exemption for income earned by active
managers of venture capital funds.
SB 197 amends existing law to allow
substitution of generic-like biosimilar
medicines when biologic medicines are
prescribed.
SB 446 requires Connecticut Innovations
and the state Department of Economic and
Community Development to develop short-
and long-term strategic and marketing
plans for Connecticut’s bioscience center.
SB 379 limits non-federally regulated
(self-insured) plans from changing drug
formularies during a policy term without
60 days prior notice. It also allows patients
to continue using a drug on the same terms
and conditions during the policy term if the
provider deems the drug medically
necessary.
SB 541 makes a wide range of significant
and technical changes to several economic
development statutes to encourage
entrepreneurialism and growth of the
“entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
SB 539 gives a microbiome working group
the state established to develop a plan to
foster the sector more time to submit a
report to lawmakers.
HB 5275 requires DECD to study issues
related to the state’s bioscience industry
with an emphasis on efforts to build a
sector jobs pipeline.
HB 5589 requires the commissioners of the
Department of Revenue Services and DECD
to analyze and make recommendations
concerning the finance policies of
neighboring states.
HB 5439 requires DECD to include
information about the bioscience sector and
resources for crowdfunding opportunities
on its website. n
For more information, contact CBIA’s
Paul Pescatello (paul.pescatello@cbia.com;
860.244.1938) | @CTBio
Drug Costs, Tax Incentives, Workforce Development
Among Key Bioscience Bills

04.20.18 Connecticut Legislative Status Report

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