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2023 Op. Conn. Att'y Gen. 1 (2023)

handle is hein.sag/sagct0077 and id is 1 raw text is: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL CONNECTICUT WILLIAM TONG ATTORNEY GENERAL January 24, 2023 By Email Lawrence S. Fox Chair, State Contracting Standards Board 165 Capitol Avenue, Suite 1060 Hartford, Connecticut 06106 Re: Requestfor Formal Opinion Dear Chairman Fox: You wrote seeking a formal legal opinion concerning the Port Authority's ability to enter into public-private partnerships via their enabling statutes. The Connecticut Port Authority is a quasi-public agency charged with, among other things, coordinating the development of Connecticut's ports and harbors, with a focus on private and public investments. To achieve its goals, the Port Authority is broadly empowered to enter into contracts, joint ventures, and partnerships with both governmental and private entities. In 2011, the legislature created a special type of public-private partnership, codified at Chapter 55d of the General Statutes, and authorized state agencies to enter into such partnerships under certain circumstances. The statute creating these partnerships expressly included a quasi- public agency in the definition of state agency for purposes of the section. Conn. Gen. Stat. 4- 255(a). As explained below, the Port Authority, as a quasi-public agency, was able to enter into these Chapter 55d partnerships to the same extent and on the same terms as other quasi-public agencies from the time the Port Authority was created until the statute was modified in June 2021. The Port Autority's Creation and Powers In 2015, the General Assembly established the Connecticut Port Authority as a quasi-public agency. In 2018, the General Assembly explicitly gave the Authority the duty and power to: * Make and enter into all contracts and agreements that are necessary, desirable or incidental to the conduct of its business[.] 165 Capitol Avenue Hartford, Connecticut 06106 In,1ffim fivbe 'ctwziqu ft aOpprUr'I<i~ Eloy(,~9