Klarides, 081117 CTAGO, AGO 2017-7

• Case Date: August 11, 2017
• Court: Connecticut

The Honorable Themis Klarides AGO 2017-7 No. 2017-07 Office of the Attorney General State of Connecticut August 11, 2017          The Honorable Themis Klarides          Republican Leader          State of Connecticut          House of Representatives          Legislative Office Building          300 Capitol Avenue, Suite 4200          Hartford, CT 06106-1591          Dear Representative Klarides:          You have asked for an opinion about certain legal questions pertaining to a proposed police training facility in the Town of Griswold. Specifically, you ask (1) whether the requirements under Chapter 297a of the General Statutes relating to priority funding areas apply to the proposed training facility; (2) whether the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) has satisfied the requirement of Conn. Gen. Stat. § 16a-35e that state agencies cooperate with municipalities to ensure programs and activities in rural areas sustain village character; and (3) whether the proposed training facility requires the approval of the State Properties Review Board as part of the State Facility Plan. We conclude that (1) the statutory requirements pertaining to priority funding areas, and in particular Conn. Gen. Stat. § 16a-35d, do not apply to the proposed facility; (2) we have no basis for concluding that DAS has not satisfied the statutory cooperation requirement; and (3) the legislature has expressly authorized the use of bond proceeds for the training facility project even though the proposed training facility is not included in the State Facility Plan.          Background          We understand that DAS is proposing to locate a State Police training facility in the Town of Griswold. We further understand that DAS has taken positions on each of the three issues you have raised. First, DAS maintains that the statutes relating to priority funding areas do not apply to state projects, such as the proposed facility here, "where a state agency is developing a facility to carry out its statutory mission." Letter to Hon. Kevin Skulczyck from Commissioner Melody A. Currey dated May 24, 2017. Second, DAS has indicated that "[throughout this process, communication with the Town of Griswold and other municipalities has been extensive. Public meetings were held in the Towns affected even though such meetings were not required." Id. Finally, as to the role of the State Properties Review Board, DAS indicated that capital projects such as this one are not included in the State Facility Plan but have been separately authorized by the General Assembly in bond authorization acts. Letter to Hon. Kevin Skulczyck from Commissioner Melody A. Currey dated Nov. 28, 2016.          The Applicability of Chapter 297a of the General Statutes to the Proposed Facility          Chapter 297a of the General Statutes addresses the funding of certain projects in "priority funding areas." The question of the applicability of Chapter 297a depends on the interpretation of its statutory language. As with all such statutory questions, a court's "fundamental objective is to ascertain and give effect to the apparent intent of the legislature." Town of Middlebury v. Connecticut Siting Council, 326 Conn. 40, 48 (2017) (internal quotation marks omitted). Of particular relevance to the interpretation of Chapter 297a's provisions is the principle that statutes limiting rights are not to be construed as applying to the State unless the legislature expressly or by necessary implication provides otherwise. State v. Lombardo Bros. Mason Contractors, Inc., 307 Conn. 412, 426-27(2012).          Section 16a-35d of the General Statutes provides that "no state agency, department or institution shall provide funding for a growth-related project unless such project is located in a priority funding area." Conn. Gen. Stat. § 16a-35d(a). Notwithstanding this prohibition, a state agency, with the approval of the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management (OPM), may provide funding for a growth-related project that is not located in a priority funding area

upon determination that such project is consistent with the plan of conservation and development, adopted under section 8-23, of the municipality in which such project is located and that such project (1) enhances other activities targeted by state agencies, departments and institutions to a municipality within the priority funding area, (2) is located in a distressed municipality, as defined in section 32-9, targeted investment community, as defined in section 32-222, or public investment community, as defined in section 7-545, (3) supports existing neighborhoods or communities, (4) promotes the use of mass transit, (5) provides for compact, transit

...