Connecticut SB 514: AN ACT CONCERNING COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITY AGREEMENTS.

Bill Text

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General Assembly  
Substitute Bill No. 514  
February Session, 2026 
 
 
 
 
AN ACT CONCERNING COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITY 
AGREEMENTS.  
Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  in General 
Assembly convened: 
 
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) As used in this section: 1 
(1) "Certified  community  development  corporation"  has  the  same 2 
meaning as provided in section 32-7s of the general statutes; 3 
(2)   "Community   partnership   opportunity   agreement"   means   a 4 
written  agreement  entered  into  pursuant  to  this  section  among  the 5 
Department of Economic and Community Development, participating 6 
investors,    certified    community    development    corporations    and 7 
implementing organizations and independent evaluators to implement 8 
the provisions of this section; 9 
(3)  "Early  childhood  implementing  organization"  means  any  school 10 
or for-profit or nonprofit organization, with the professional capacity to 11 
provide  preschool  or  early  childhood  instruction  designed  to  increase 12 
kindergarten-readiness; 13 
(4)    "Implementing    organization"    means    an    early    childhood 14 
implementing  organization,  a  literacy  implementing  organization or  a 15 
workforce implementing organization, as applicable, that is responsible 16 
for  delivering  services  or  interventions  to  achieve  the  performance 17 
metrics set forth in a community opportunity partnership agreement; 18 

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(5)  "Independent  evaluator"  means  an  individual  or  entity  that is 19 
responsible for measuring performance metrics and progress milestones 20 
using methodologies set forth in a community opportunity partnership 21 
agreement  and  verifying  that  such  metrics  and  milestones  have  been 22 
met  and (A)  is  an  academic  institution,  a  professional  evaluative 23 
consultant  or  an  organization  with  a  documented  history  of  verifying 24 
performance-based  program  outcomes,  (B)  possesses  expertise  in  the 25 
specific  subject  matter  of  the  community  opportunity  partnership 26 
agreement,  including  educational  assessment  metrics  or  workforce 27 
development  metrics  or  both,  and  (C)  has  no  financial  interest  in  the 28 
outcome of the agreement other than the fee for evaluation services; 29 
(6)  "Literacy  implementing  organization"  means any  school  or  for-30 
profit  or  nonprofit  organization,  with  the  professional  capacity  to 31 
provide intensive tutoring or reading interventions designed to ensure 32 
grade-level reading proficiency by grade three; 33 
(7) "Participating investor" means a private, philanthropic or mission-34 
driven investor that provides the necessary capital to fund the initiatives 35 
set forth in a community opportunity partnership agreement; and 36 
(8)  "Workforce  implementing  organization"  means  an  institution  of 37 
higher  education  or  a  for-profit  or  nonprofit  organization,  with  the 38 
capacity to provide training in specialized skills, such as in health care, 39 
manufacturing or other high-demand fields. 40 
(b) (1) There is established a program under which the Department 41 
of Economic and Community Development shall enter into community 42 
partnership opportunity agreements to expand, in communities in  the 43 
state  that  are  experiencing  persistent  economic  disadvantages,  (A) 44 
educational    achievement,    pursuant    to    an    educational    outcome 45 
community partnership opportunity agreement, or (B) workforce skills, 46 
pursuant to a workforce outcome community partnership opportunity 47 
agreement, or both. Upon verification by the independent evaluator that 48 
all  the  performance  metrics  set  forth  in  the  community  partnership 49 
opportunity agreement have been met, each participating investor shall 50 

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receive   a   repayment   of   the   amount   of   invested   capital,   plus   a 51 
performance-based  premium  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the 52 
community partnership opportunity agreement. 53 
(2)   Each   community   partnership   opportunity   agreement   shall 54 
include, at a minimum: 55 
(A) A five-year performance period from the date such agreement is 56 
executed   that   includes   an   implementation   period   during   which 57 
interventions  are  delivered,  an  outcome  measurement  period  during 58 
which performance metrics are evaluated by an independent evaluator 59 
and the timing of baseline and performance progress measurements; 60 
(B)   Performance   metrics   and   progress   milestones,   evaluation 61 
methodologies to measure such metrics and milestones and the timing 62 
of the conduct of evaluations; 63 
(C) The participating investors and the amount of capital committed 64 
by such investors; 65 
(D) The certified community d