The commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) David Lehman approved awarding at least twenty years’ worth of tax credits to Cigna Corp to update their data center in Windsor through email, bypassing the required review process, according to a report from the Auditors of Public Accounts.
“DECD could not provide documentation to show that the program director reviewed and signed off on the letter of intent for the sole assistance agreement executed under the program,” the auditors wrote. “Omission of the required review increases the risk that the letter of intent could incorporate inappropriate terms and conditions.”
DECD officials, in their response, agreed with the finding in part, acknowledging the director’s review was not “formally documented,” but stating that approval came from the commissioner.
“Although director review and approval was not formally documented, provided email correspondence with the Commissioner indicated and superseded directorial approval and documented the Commissioner’s approval,” department officials wrote in their response. “As per, this instance was the first (and to date only) data center project and was therefore highly iterative in process with the direct involvement of the Commissioner.”
To date, Cigna is the only company to have applied for and received the tax credit in 2023 and has since received over $17 million in tax credits but has created only five jobs, according to DECD’s 2025 annual report, which showed the company reported qualified investments of $863 million generating $21.9 million in state revenue. There is no contractual obligation for job creation, and DECD recommended continuing the program “due to the positive impact on state revenue.”
The Qualified Data Center Incentives Program was approved on a bipartisan basis by the General Assembly under an emergency certification process in 2021, pushed by Lehman and Gov. Ned Lamont. Sales tax and property tax credits for equipment are awarded based on the size of the investment and whether the data center will be built in an opportunity zone or enterprise zone. The credits can range from twenty to thirty years, depending on the size and location of the data center.
State leaders were hoping to capitalize on news that New Jersey was considering implementing a financial transactions tax, which would tax the sale of stocks and bonds, and would massively impact data centers that serve the New York Stock Exchange potentially driving those data centers to Connecticut to avoid the tax.
The tax credit bill was supported by Anders Franzon, General Counsel for Members Exchange, an electronic exchange operator for stocks and options headquartered in New Jersey, who praised Connecticut’s plan and hinted at relocation. That never happened, nor did the financial transactions tax in New Jersey.
While support for data centers among Connecticut lawmakers was wide in 2021, rising electricity and energy costs, the development of artificial intelligence, and environmental concerns have pushed a public backlash against the development of data centers, not only in Connecticut, but across the country.
Connecticut is already home to many small and mid-sized data centers, but municipalities are beginning to push back against further development, passing moratoriums against data center construction, even as Gov. Lamont, technology businesses and some municipalities are pushing for expansion.
This past legislative session saw a bill that would eliminate the data center tax credit receive a public hearing before the Energy and Technology Committee before being sent to the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee where it lingered until session ended. Supporters cited energy and environmental concerns, while those who wanted to maintain the tax credit argued eliminating it would hurt the state’s business climate and competitiveness.
Should new data centers be developed, the DECD stated in the audit that they will go through the proper approval process.
“A multistep review and approval process is weakened when management bypasses lower-level administrators that may be more familiar with the issues related to the assistance agreement,” the auditors wrote. “DECD appears to recognize this as it agrees that it will subscribe to the established approval procedures for the program.”
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Keep up the good work!!
There will be plenty to investigate as the primary and elections get closer..this is scary times for people that are not paying attention.