Guglielmo Hails Crumbling Concrete Confidentiality Bill

HARTFORD, CT - State Sen. Tony Guglielmo applauded Tuesday's state Senate’s passage of a bill that ensures confidentiality for residents making complaints about the crumbling home foundations that have plagued the area.

Cracks have been located in many homes throughout eastern Connecticut and the problem has been traced to a bad batch poured by the J.J. Mottes Company in the 1980s or 1990s, state officials.

The state Department of Consumer Protection has a Web page designed to assist those affected.

But Guglielmo, R-Stafford, said he wanted to make sure the 500 or so complaints he has received can be follow-up securely. Thus, he pushed House Bill 5180, "An Act Concerning Concrete Foundations," which passed the Senate with bipartisan support on May 3.

“The concrete foundation failures in our region are devastating,” Guglielmo said. “This legislation is the first step in a long process to resolve this issue. I am proud to have collaborated with other local legislators on both sides of the aisle to work out this language. For the first time we are able to provide relief to homeowners. This bill will allow affected homeowners to request a reassessment of their home value after a report from a professional engineer.”

The bill makes confidential for seven years any documents provided to the Department of Consumer Protection as part of this investigation.

“With this confidentiality clause, more people will report their failing foundation to the Department of Consumer Protection so we will have a better idea of how many homeowners are affected by the crumbling foundation issue,” Guglielmo said.

In addition, the legislation will require documentation of the name of the company who supplied the concrete and the company that poured a concrete foundation be kept by the building official for not less than 50 years. It further requires the Department of Consumer Protection to issue a report by January 2017 on the causes of failing foundations.

“For as long as I have been in the senate this is the largest issue to face our part of Connecticut. I have been to meetings with close to 500 people on this one issue," Guglielmo said. "This is an emotional issue. People have done nothing wrong, but their home, their biggest investment, is crumbling underneath them. They go into their basements to find the situation getting worse and worse. It takes a toll, not only financially but emotionally.

“There is much more to do to help the families that are suffering through uncertainty. The passage of this bill today was only the beginning.”