Page 656

House Bill No. 5506

Public Act No. 22-118 656 of 739

criteria for designation as such an area set forth in this section or in regulations adopted pursuant to this section, [provided] except that no such designation shall be removed (i) less than ten years from the original date of approval of such zone, or (ii) if the number of residents in such area with income below the poverty level, as determined by the most recent United States census, has not been reduced by at least seventy-five per cent from the original date of approval of such zone. (C) The commissioner may designate any additional area as an enterprise zone if that area is designated as an enterprise zone, empowerment zone or enterprise community pursuant to any federal legislation. Sec. 466. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) There is established an account known as the Connecticut Career Accelerator Program Account that is within the Office of Workforce Strategy for the purpose of supporting commercial driver's license training within the CareerConneCT workforce training program. The account shall contain any moneys required by law to be deposited therein and such moneys shall be held in such account. The account may accept gifts, grants or donations from public or private sources. Any balance remaining in the account at the end of any fiscal year shall be carried forward in the account for the fiscal year next succeeding. The account may be used for the purposes of the program described in subsection (b) of this section. (b) Not later than January 1, 2023, the Office of Workforce Strategy shall design a program to support individuals pursuing training to obtain a commercial driver's license, including through the use of income share agreements or equivalent financial instruments. The Office of Workforce Strategy may competitively procure a consultant to support the design and implementation of the program. The program shall be implemented not later than July 1, 2023. (c) The design of the program under subsection (b) of this section