Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com May 16, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 13 J oin us at CBIA's first-ever conference on women in business leadership. While the focus is on challenges and opportunities for women, the event is open to everyone. Meet women entrepreneurs and senior executives in diverse industries and roles, including those related to yours, and hear their unique stories. WHEN & WHERE 6.8.16 Check-in & networking breakfast: 7:30 am Program: 8:15–noon Infinity Music Hall & Bistro 32 Front St., Hartford PRICE CBIA members. . . . . . .$85 Nonmembers . . . . . . . $125 Table of 8 . . . . . . . . . $650 SCAN TO REGISTER! 860.244.1977 cbia.com registrar@cbia.com @CBIANews See our full agenda and speaker lineup at cbia.com/ events PANEL DISCUSSIONS & KEYNOTES WILL EXPLORE: Female perspective Lonely at the top? Equal financial footing Emerging leaders Midcareer shift Barriers for women in business WHEN WOMEN LEAD House, Senate pass bills affecting wide-ranging CT industries By Matt Pilon mpilon@HartfordBusiness.com T hroughout the legislative session, Hart- ford Business Journal tracked a host of bills that could impact private industry. Here's a brief overview of six bills that passed the House and Senate and are await- ing approval by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy as of May 12. S.B. 351: Doctor noncompetes The bill sets limits on physician non-compete agreements and allows non-hospital entities, such as independent practice associations, to establish medical foundations to employ doctors. Under the bill, noncompetes cannot restrict a doctor's competitive activities for more than one year and beyond a 20-mile radi- us for the primary site the doctor practices. Hospitals protested the bill, arguing that noncompetes protect their investments in training new doctors. The Office of Fiscal Analysis, which analyzed the potential finan- cial impacts of the legislation, said UConn Health may have to provide inducements to keep new physicians and could lose some rev- enue if patients follow physicians who leave for nearby private practice. H.B. 5591: Creates government- administered retirement program This bill creates a retirement savings plan for employees of Connecticut compa- nies that don't offer one. It requires employ- ers to automatically enroll most employees, though workers can opt out. The plan would be administered by a quasi-public board of directors that would contract with finan- cial institutions to manage the funds and charge administrative fees to participants. The bill faced opposition from the financial-services sector. Legislators ulti- mately opted to remove traditional IRAs, which have pre-tax con- tributions, as an option in the plan. Gov. Dannel Malloy earlier this month threatened to veto the bill if it didn't contain caps on fees and open up fund management to multiple private firms, among other changes. H.B. 5636: Apprenticeship tax credit for 'S' corporations This measure allows small manufacturers and other employers registered as "S" corpora- tions to claim a $7,500 tax credit for each appren- tice they hire. The credit has been pursued intently in recent years by business owners who say it would defray their costs of training and pay- ing apprentices. It, too, would level the field for them to compete for and retain talent against larger "C'' corporations like Pratt, GE and Electric Boat that have had access to apprenticeship tax credits for some time. H.B. 5510: Regulates electric-vehicle charging stations This bill creates new require- ments for owners of publicly avail- able charging stations for electric, zero-emission and fuel-cell electric vehicles. Owners of charging sta- tions would be required to register them annually with the Department of Motor Vehicles for a $50 fee. The DMV would also be required to regularly track and publish data on the number of electric vehicles in the state. Owners of charging stations that charge driver fees would be required to provide multiple payment options. Legislators also sought to remove some uncertainty by stating that owning a public charging station doesn't automatically subject an owner to utility-like regulation. H.B. 5425: Boosting brownfield redevelopment This bill allows the Department of Economic and Community Development to certify special- ity nonprofit land banks designed to acquire, remediate and redevelop contaminated brown- fields through agreements with municipalities. As nonprofits, the brownfield land banks could access grants currently unavailable to private developers, and they would not be required to pay state and local taxes on prop- erty they acquire or on income they derive from it. Municipalities would be allowed to forgive delinquent property taxes for land acquired by a land bank. S.B. 445: Studying digital infrastructure for industries This bill would convene a working group to study the anticipated digital infrastruc- ture needs of the healthcare, insurance, edu- cation and research industries. That study would include access to data centers and high-speed broadband, the potential benefits of building out such infrastructure, and the means to encourage that development. An earlier version of the bill, which was opposed by the telecom industry, called for a task force to develop a strategic plan for the private development of an ultra-high-speed broadband network to support the various industries. n P H O T O S | H B J F I L E

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