AN ACT ALLOWING MUNICIPALITIES TO IMPOSE COMMERCIAL VACANCY ASSESSMENTS IN CERTAIN DISTRICTS.

Senate
sSB363 / File No. 296 1

General Assembly File No. 296
February Session, 2026 Substitute Senate Bill No. 363

Senate, April 1, 2026

The Committee on Planning and Development reported
through SEN. RAHMAN of the 4th Dist., Chairperson of the
Committee on the part of the Senate, that the substitute bill
ought to pass.

AN ACT ALLOWING MUNICIPALITIES TO IMPOSE COMMERCIAL
VACANCY ASSESSMENTS IN CERTAIN DISTRICTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026, and applicable to assessment 1
years commencing on or after October 1, 2026) (a) As used in this section: 2
(1) "Active renovation" means construction or repair work lasting not 3
less than ninety consecutive days and undertaken pursuant to an 4
approved building permit; 5
(2) "Municipality" has the same meaning as provided in section 7-148 6
of the general statutes; and 7
(3) "Vacant" means not occupied or actively used for greater than one 8
hundred eighty days, consecutive or nonconsecutive, in an assessment 9
year. 10
(b) Any municipality may, by vote of its legislative body, or, in a 11
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municipality where the legislative body is a town meeting, its board of 12
selectmen, adopt an ordinance imposing an assessment on any real 13
property that is (1) vacant, (2) located in a zone that allows for 14
commercial use and not used for any residential purpose, (3) located at 15
ground level, if such real property is part of a building or structure 16
containing two or more levels, and (4) located in a defined area adopted 17
by the municipality in which such assessment is applicable. Such 18
assessment shall be at a rate determined by the municipality, provided 19
such rate does not exceed five dollars per square foot for any assessment 20
year during which such property remains vacant. 21
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, 22
no assessment shall be imposed on real property pursuant to this section 23
if: 24
(1) The owner of such real property is engaged in active renovation 25
of the property, or a permit application concerning such property is 26
pending; 27
(2) The owner identifies specific legal or regulatory barriers, 28
including pending litigation, environmental reviews or permitting 29
delays that have prevented occupancy or use of the real property during 30
the preceding assessment year; or 31
(3) Such real property has been impacted by a natural disaster, or is 32
deemed uninhabitable by state or local authorities. 33
(d) If a municipality adopts an ordinance imposing an assessment on 34
vacant real property pursuant to this section, such municipality shall 35
specify the form and manner of application for any owner of such 36
property to claim an exemption from such assessment pursuant to 37
subsection (c) of this section. 38
(e) Any assessment on real property pursuant to this section shall be 39
due and payable on the same date as real property taxes collected 40
pursuant to chapter 204 of the general statutes. Any such assessment 41
may be appealed pursuant to the provisions of section 12 -111 of the 42
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general statutes. 43
(f) Any assessment collected pursuant to this section shall be 44
deposited into a fund established by the municipality. Such fund shall 45
be used solely for infrastructure improvements, the remediation of 46
blight or the promotion of development in the area defined by the 47
municipality pursuant to subdivision (4) of subsection (b) of this section. 48
The proceeds of such fund shall not be used for operating expenses of 49
any kind or be considered a part of the municipal general fund. 50
Expenditures from such fund shall be authorized in the same manner as 51
any other capital expenditure of the municipality. Any income earned 52
by any moneys on deposit in such fund shall accrue to the fund. 53
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 October 1, 2026, and
applicable to assessment
years commencing on or
after October 1, 2026
New section

Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
Subdiv. (a)(1) was rewritten for clarity; in Subdiv. (b)(2), "zoned" was
changed to "located in a zone that allows", for accuracy; in Subdiv. (b)(4),
"identified" was changed to "adopted", for accuracy, and "in which such
assessment is applicable" was added for clarity; and in Subdiv. (c)(2), "or
use" was added after "occupancy", for accuracy.

PD Joint Favorable Subst.

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The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact: None
Municipal Impact:
Municipalities Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
All Municipalities Potential
Revenue
Gain
None Potential

Explanation
The bill allows municipalities to impose a fine on vacant commercial
property that meets certain criteria. This results in a revenue gain to
municipalities beginning in FY 28 to the extent this fine is imposed. Any
revenue gain is dependent on the number of fines imposed and the
amount of the fine.1
The bill specifies how the revenue from fines must be spent which
does not result in a fiscal impact.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to the number and amount of fines.

1 The bill allows the fine to be set at up to $5 per square foot and charge it for each
assessment year that the space is vacant.
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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 363

AN ACT ALLOWING MUNICIPALITIES TO IMPOSE COMMERCIAL
VACANCY ASSESSMENTS IN CERTAIN DISTRICTS.

SUMMARY
This bill allows municipalities to impose fines on certain property
owners if their property (1) is in a municipally defined area; (2) is zoned
for commercial use; and (3) has been vacant (meaning not occupied or
actively used) for more than 180 days, either in a row or
nonconsecutively. Under the bill, municipalities may impose the fine on
vacant real property ( generally land, buildings, and other
improvements permanently attached to the land ) that is not used for
residential purposes, but only on the ground level of multi -story
buildings.
It allows municipalities to set the fine at up to $5 per square foot and
charge it for each assessment year the space is vacant. Revenue from the
fines must be used to improve the defined area, as described below.
Under the bill, a property is exempt from the fine if:
1. its owner is actively renovating it (doing permitted construction
or repair work lasting at least 90 consecutive days);
2. a permit application for it is pending;
3. a natural disaster impacted it;
4. its owner identifies specific legal or regulatory barriers that kept
it from being occupied or used during the last assessment year
(including pending litigation, environmental reviews , or
permitting delays); or
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5. state or local authorities deemed it uninhabitable.
The bill requires municipalities to deposit collected fines into a fund
the municipality establishes and use these funds and an y interest that
accrues solely to improve infrastructure, remediate blight, or promote
development in the defined area. It specifies funds may not be used for
the municipality’s operating expenses or treated as part of its general
fund. It requires that authorizations to use these funds be made in the
same way as for other capital expenditures.
Under the bill, to establish this fine and defined area, the
municipality’s legislative body (or board of selectmen if the legislative
body is a town meeting) must (1) vote to adopt an ordinance and (2)
establish how owners may claim an exemption.
The bill makes the fines due on the same date as taxes on real
property and allows people to appeal the fines to the board of
assessment appeals in the same way as property taxes are appealed
under existing law.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2026, and applicable to assessment
years starting on and after that date.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Planning and Development Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 16 Nay 5 (03/13/2026)