Saud Anwar

Connecticut State Senate Approves Final Passage of Crumbling Foundation Relief with Crumbling Foundation Caucus, Local Legislator Support

Hartford – Today, State Senator Steve Cassano (D-Manchester) led and State Senator Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor) and State Senator Dan Champagne (R-Vernon) joined the Senate in its final passage of House Bill 6646, “An Act Concerning Crumbling Concrete Foundations,” legislation aiming to protect homeowners negatively impacted in recent years by crumbling concrete in their homes’ foundations. The legislation, developed by the bipartisan Crumbling Foundations Caucus, was previously passed by the House; with its passage today, it proceeds to the Governor’s desk for signing.

Sen. Cassano, Senate Chair of the Planning and Development Committee, led passage of the bill. Chairs of the Crumbling Foundations Caucus include Sen. Anwar, State Senator Dan Champagne (R-Vernon), State Representative Tom Delnicki (R-South Windsor) and State Representative Jaime Foster (D-East Windsor, Ellington).

“Knowing the extreme hardships suffered by so many with crumbling foundations, I’m proud to vote in support of this legislation to provide them with further support,” said Sen. Anwar. “By removing the cap on reassessment, we can provide them with accurate information about their homes, supporting finances as well; by establishing standards for quarries and building tests, we take further steps to prevent such an issue from arising again in the future. With the pain and anguish faced by those struggling with issues in their homes, purchases they sunk their lives into and planned to live for decades, we must do all we can to limit further struggles.”

“This has been a disaster for our community and it’s something that’s affected thousands of people, beyond homeowners. Businesses, apartment complexes, senior housing and school buildings have all been negatively impacted,” said Sen. Champagne. “For municipalities, it’s a significant loss of tax revenue that’s needed to operate. I’m proud to have worked with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to address this problem and get these families back to where they belong. This bill is a prime example of collaboration to do what’s right for the people that have entrusted us as their voice. I look forward to the Governor’s signature to get it across the finish line,” he said.

“This is great news for people that are victims of the crumbling foundation issue. Our work and our commitment to help people put both their lives and their homes back together continues. I’d like to thank the Senate for passing this bill out for the governor to sign,” said Rep. Delnicki.

“Crumbling foundations are a huge threat to our local property values and tax assessments. Most importantly, however, many households with crumbling foundations had to dip into their life savings or have diminished equity in order to address the issue. HB 6646 not only provides relief to those homeowners, it also includes provisions that will ensure that crumbling foundations will not be an issue in our community or state again, ” said Rep. Foster.

“What has been most pleasing to see is the way that Senators and Representatives from throughout the entire state have committed to funding this program to help people in our region,” said Sen. Cassano. “Some folks could have looked the other way, but people really came together. The fact that Connecticut is helping people in need, when everything they own is in jeopardy, is impressive.”

“The Crumbling Foundations bill previously passed by the House that the Senate sent to Governor Lamont today is a significant step forward in ensuring every homeowner impacted by this epidemic gets the support and resources they need to move back into their homes,” said State Representative Jeff Currey (D – East Hartford, Manchester, South Windsor). “Thank you to everyone at CFSIC, particularly Superintendent Michael Maglaras, and the advocates who worked tirelessly to make this program successful and for working to move this bill through the legislative process to provide additional relief to property owners.”

House Bill 6646 takes several steps to protect homeowners struggling with crumbling concrete foundations, most notably removing a five-year cap on reassessing properties, further establishing a quarry standard as well as testing requirements for buildings. By establishing standards for quarries and building tests, such an issue is less likely to arise in the future. The bill further includes language explicitly stating homes must be included in revaluation, allocates $175,000 to a study on nonresidential buildings and extends Freedom of Information protections to those reporting information to the Department of Consumer Protections.

The Crumbling Foundation Caucus has worked for years to combat crumbling foundations, which were caused by homes built with concrete containing the mineral pyrrhotite. That mineral, over time, caused the degradation of many homes’ foundations, requiring expensive fixes or abandonments of family homes.

Caption: The legislation passed the Senate Monday night by a 33-3 vote.