🔒CT bill would create tax credit for manufacturers who donate equipment, supplies

A bill proposed in the state legislature would create a tax credit for manufacturers who donate equipment or supplies to manufacturing training programs at public high schools and technical schools. House Bill 5177 was introduced by Rep. Kara Rochelle (D-Ansonia), who serves as vice chair of the legislature’s Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee and also sits on the Commerce Committee. Rochelle said the idea for the bill did not come from the manufacturing community, but developed from her work on the two committees and the needs of her district — which includes manufacturers as well as Emmet O’Brien Technical High School and Ansonia and Derby high schools. She added that the bill is intended to help training programs statewide. “I’m really strongly focused on what's going to help address our workforce shortages in the manufacturing sector,” she said, adding that with thousands of such jobs unfilled, public schools need to expand their manufacturing training programs. “So the question really becomes, are we going to have the state pay for everything, or is there a way that we can incentivize and have the manufacturers get more skin in the game?” she asked. Rochelle said she spoke with the state Department of Revenue Services to determine that there is no existing tax credit, and is working with the state Department of Economic and Community Development to better focus the legislation. She described the current bill as “a rough sketch,” stating that she is a “firm believer in having a public hearing” first. “I'm not starting with an answer,” Rochelle said. “I'm starting with, here's the problem, we need to train more people, and here's a barrier, we need more equipment. And so how can we troubleshoot that?” A spokesperson for DECD said the department was unable to provide a comment on the legislation. Arizona, Louisiana and Oklahoma offer similar credits, ranging from 28% of the appraised value of the equipment in Louisiana to 50% of the donation amount in Oklahoma (or up to 75% for two-year pledges), with business entity limits up to $100,000 per year. Connecticut also previously had a program allowing businesses to claim a credit for donating new or recent computers to public or private schools (up to 50% of fair market value), but that credit ended in 2014 and is no longer available. Rochelle’s bill has been referred to the Commerce Committee for consideration.