General Assembly

 

Substitute Bill No. 1134

    January Session, 2015

 

*_____SB01134FIN___043015____*

AN ACT CONCERNING LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT OF STATE TAX CREDITS AND A STUDY OF INTERNATIONAL AND EXPORT TRADE.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subsection (f) of section 12-7b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2015):

(f) (1) The Office of Fiscal Analysis shall not make known in any manner any information obtained from any such report or inventory, or any information obtained pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection, which would allow the identification of any taxpayer or of the amount or source of income, profits, losses, expenditures or any particulars thereof set forth or disclosed in any return, statement or report required to be filed with or submitted to the commissioner which is discernible from such report or inventory, or from such information obtained pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection, except as provided in this subsection. The Office of Fiscal Analysis may disclose such information to other state officers and employees when required in the course of duty. No such officer or employee shall make known any such information to any other person except as provided in this subsection. Any person who violates any provision of this subsection shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

(2) (A) For the purposes of revenue estimating and forecasting only, the Office of Fiscal Analysis may disclose information to any person under a contractual obligation to provide services for the purposes of revenue estimating and forecasting to said office, but only to the extent necessary in connection with the providing of such services for the purposes of revenue estimating and forecasting. No such person under a contractual obligation to provide such services to said office shall make known any such information to any other person, except as provided in this subsection.

(B) For the purposes of facilitating legislative oversight of state tax credits and tax policy and the purposes of revenue estimating and forecasting only, the Office of Fiscal Analysis may request, and the Commissioner of Revenue Services shall provide, for each type of tax levied by the state, all available return information, as defined in subdivision (2) of subsection (h) of section 12-15, pertaining to such type of tax levied by the state, to said office, provided names, addresses, account and registration numbers, and, to the extent in excess of four digits, Standard Industrial Classification Manual codes and North American Industrial Classification System United States Manual codes shall first have been redacted from such return information by said commissioner. For the purposes of facilitating legislative oversight of state tax credits and tax policy and the purposes of revenue estimating and forecasting only, the Office of Fiscal Analysis may provide information from such return information to the cochairpersons, vice-chairpersons and ranking members of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to finance, revenue and bonding, at a meeting called by the cochairpersons of said committee, but no more frequently than annually, provided such meeting is closed to the public. Such meeting shall not be a meeting for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act, as defined in section 1-200, and no person shall make known any such return information disclosed at such meeting to any other person, except as provided in this subsection.

Sec. 2. (Effective from passage) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall study (1) the capacity of Connecticut businesses to engage in international trade, and (2) methods to increase the amount of goods and services exported by Connecticut businesses. Such study shall include an analysis of programs administered by the Department of Economic and Community Development related to international trade and exports. Not later than January 1, 2016, the commissioner shall submit a report to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to commerce and finance, revenue and bonding, in accordance with section 11-4a of the general statutes, concerning recommended methods to enhance the ability of Connecticut businesses to engage in international trade and export goods and services. At a minimum, such report shall: (A) Identify Connecticut business sectors with exportable goods and services, (B) assess the extent to which Connecticut businesses in such sectors engage in export trade, (C) identify the obstacles that prevent Connecticut businesses from engaging in such export trade, and (D) recommend methods for eliminating such obstacles.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:

Section 1

July 1, 2015

12-7b(f)

Sec. 2

from passage

New section

FIN

Joint Favorable Subst.