SB 456 — AN ACT CONCERNING A GRANT PROGRAM FOR WILDLIFE REHABILITATION FACILITIES IN THE STATE.

Senate General Assembly RaisedFile Bill No.

456478 February Session, 2026 LCOSubstitute Senate Bill No.

2421456 ReferredSenate, toApril 7, 2026 The Committee on ENVIRONMENTEnvironment Introducedreported by:through SEN.

(ENV)LOPES ANof ACTthe CONCERNING6th ADist., GRANTChairperson PROGRAMof FORthe WILDLIFECommittee REHABILITATIONon FACILITIESthe INpart THEof STATE.the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING A GRANT PROGRAM FOR WILDLIFE REHABILITATION FACILITIES IN THE STATE.

The commissioner may accept any funds or donations for the purpose of issuing such grants and may establish an account of the General Fund for the receipt of any such funds or donations.

(b) Any such registration requirement shall require a nonprofit wildlife organization to submit, on an annual basis, to the commissioner informationsSB456 concerning/ suchFile organization, including, but not limited to, LCO No.

2421478 1 ofsSB456 2File Raised Bill No.

456478 information concerning such organization, including, but not limited to, the name and contact information for the owner or operator of such wildlife rehabilitation organization, the location of any such facility in thestate, thespecific speciesof wildliferehabilitatedat any such facility, the financial structure of such wildlife rehabilitation organization, and the background, education and training of any staff member or volunteer, including, but not limited to, any veterinarian, utilized or employed by any such wildlife rehabilitation organization and any other information that the commissioner deems relevant.

Sec.

2.

(Effective July 1, 2026) The sum of five hundred thousand dollars is appropriated to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection from the General Fund, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, for the purpose of funding the wildlife rehabilitation organization grant program described in section 1 of this act.

Section 1 July 1, 2026 New section StatementSec. of Purpose:

To2 establishJuly a1, grant2026 programNew forsection certainENV nonprofitJoint wildlifeFavorable rehabilitationSubst. facilities in the state.

[ProposedsSB456 deletions/ areFile enclosedNo. in brackets.

Proposed478 additions2 aresSB456 indicatedFile by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.] LCO No.

2421478 2The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of 2the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $ Department of Energy and GF - Cost 581,304 81,304 Environmental Protection State Comptroller - Fringe GF - Cost 34,001 34,001 Benefits1 Note:

GF=General Fund Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill results in a cost to the state of $615,305 in FY 27 and $115,305 in FY 28, associated with establishing a grant program for certain nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation organizations.

In order to facilitate the program, set criteria for grants, and adopt implementing regulations, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) will require one Environmental Analyst 2 with an annual salary of $81,304 and corresponding fringe benefits of $34,001.

Additionally, the bill appropriates $500,000 to DEEP in FY 27 for purposes of this program.

The bill also allows DEEP to accept any funds or donations for purposes of issuing grants to qualifying organizations.

Spending Cap sHB 5032, the FY 27 Revised Budget as favorably reported by the 1The fringe benefit costs for most state employees are budgeted centrally in accounts administered by the Comptroller.

The estimated active employee fringe benefit cost associated with most personnel changes is 41.82% of payroll in FY 27.

sSB456 / File No.

478 3 sSB456 File No.

478 Appropriations Committee, is under the spending cap by $16.1 million in FY 27.

The appropriation contained within the bill would result in the budget being under the spending cap by $15.6 million in FY 27.

The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation.

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478 OLR Bill Analysis sSB 456 AN ACT CONCERNING A GRANT PROGRAM FOR WILDLIFE REHABILITATION FACILITIES IN THE STATE.

SUMMARY This bill allows the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) commissioner to create a grant program for certain nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation organizations and appropriates $500,000 in FY 27 for the program.

Specifically, organizations eligible to receive grants under this program must (1) have at least one in-state facility registered with DEEP and (2) meet registration requirements the commissioner sets.

Under the bill, any registration requirements the commissioner sets must require a wildlife rehabilitation organization to annually give DEEP information on the (1) organization’s owner or operator, including their name and contact information;

(2) applicable facility’s location;