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Substitute House Bill No. 5467
Public Act No. 26-135
AN ACT CONCERNING THE DESIGNATION OF A DEPARTMENT OF
ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT EMPLOYEE FOR
THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING CONCIERGE SERVICES TO SMALL
BUSINESSES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 32 -9n of the general statutes is repealed and the
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026):
(a) There is established within the Department of Economic and
Community Development an Office of Small Business Affairs. Such
office shall aid and encourage small business enterprises, particularly
those owned and operated by minorities and other socially or
economically disadvantaged individuals in Connecticut. As used in this
section, "minority" means: (1) Black Americans, including all persons
having origins in any of the Black African racial groups not of Hispanic
origin; (2) Hispanic Americans, including all persons of Mexican, Puerto
Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or
origin, regardless of race; (3) all persons having origins in the Iberian
Peninsula, including Portugal, regardless of race; (4) women; (5) Asian
Pacific Americans and Pacific islanders; or (6) American Indians and
persons having origins in any of the original peoples of North America
and maintaining identifiable tribal affiliations through membership and
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Public Act No. 26-135 2 of 3
participation or community identification.
(b) Said Office of Small Business Affairs shall: (1) Administer at least
one regional office of the small business development center program
within the Department of Economic and Community Development; (2)
coordinate, with the director of the small business d evelopment center
program, the flow of information within the technical and management
assistance program within the Department of Economic and
Community Development; (3) encourage Connecticut Innovations,
Incorporated to grant loans to small businesse s, particularly those
owned and operated by minorities and other socially or economically
disadvantaged individuals; (4) coordinate and serve as a liaison
between all federal, state, regional and municipal agencies and
programs affecting small business aff airs; (5) administer any business
management training program established under section 32 -352 or
section 32 -355 as the Commissioner of Economic and Community
Development may determine; (6) provide a single point of contact for
small businesses seeking fin ancial and technical assistance from the
state and quasi-public agencies; (7) coordinate all state funded revolving
loan funds used to assist small businesses; and (8) establish, in
cooperation with the Commissioner of Economic and Community
Development, a nd within available appropriations, an informational
web page with a list and links to all small business resources available
and post them in a conspicuous place on the department's web site. The
office shall update this information on its web site on at least a quarterly
basis.
(c) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development
shall designate an existing employee of the Department of Economic
and Community Development to be responsible for providing concierge
services to small businesses in the state. For purposes of this subsection,
"concierge services" includes, but is not be limited to, providing
information and assistance relating to economic or community
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Public Act No. 26-135 3 of 3
development projects or programs administered by the department.
[(c)] (d) On or after February 1, 2011, the Office of Small Business
Affairs shall compile a summary of all small business activities and
programs available and incorporate such summary into the report
required pursuant to section 32-1m.