SB 395 — AN ACT STUDYING EFFORTS TO INCREASE VOTER PARTICIPATION AND AUTHORIZING MUNICIPAL PILOT PROGRAMS TO PROMOTE SUCH EFFORTS.

Senate General Assembly RaisedFile Bill No.

395497 February Session, 2026 LCOSenate Bill No.

2144395 ReferredSenate, toApril 8, 2026 The Committee on GOVERNMENTGovernment ADMINISTRATIONAdministration ANDand ELECTIONSElections Introducedreported by:through SEN.

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AN ACT STUDYING EFFORTS TO INCREASE VOTER PARTICIPATION AND AUTHORIZING MUNICIPAL PILOT PROGRAMS TO PROMOTE SUCH EFFORTS.

(1)SB395 One/ appointedFile byNo. the speaker of the House of Representatives;

LCO497 2144 1 ofSB395 3File Raised Bill No.

395497 (2)(1) One appointed by the presidentspeaker pro tempore of the Senate;House of Representatives;

(2) One appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate;

(g)Not laterthanFebruary 1,2027,thetask force shallsubmit areport on its findings and recommendations, including potential legislation to appropriate funds or provide other resources to municipalities for the purposesSB395 of/ increasingFile voter participation, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters LCO 2144 2 of 3 Raised Bill No.

395497 relating2 toSB395 elections,File inNo. accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes.

497 purposes of increasing voter participation, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to elections, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes.

2 July 1, 2026 New section GAE Joint Favorable LCOSB395 2144/ 3File ofNo. 3

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497 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the 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:

None Municipal Impact:

Municipalities Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $ Various Municipalities Potential See Below See Below Cost Explanation The bill empowers municipalities to create a pilot program to achieve 100% voter participation, resulting in a potential cost to municipalities beginning in FY 27.

The exact cost will depend on the number of municipalities that choose to establish a pilot program under the legislation and the components of the pilot programs.

The bill additionally establishes a task force to study a variety of topics related to increasing voter participation, which has no fiscal impact to the state or municipalities, as the task force has sufficient expertise to meet the bill's requirements.

The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future, subject to the number of municipalities that establish pilot programs.

SB395 / File No.

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497 OLR Bill Analysis SB 395 AN ACT STUDYING EFFORTS TO INCREASE VOTER PARTICIPATION AND AUTHORIZING MUNICIPAL PILOT PROGRAMS TO PROMOTE SUCH EFFORTS.

SUMMARY This bill establishes a nine-member task force to study ways to achieve 100% voter participation and enhance civic engagement, and assess administrative and financial barriers to reach these goals.

By February 1, 2027, the task force must submit a report to the Government Administration and Elections (GAE) Committee on its findings and recommendations, including any potential legislation to direct resources or funds to municipalities to increase voter participation.

The taskforceterminatesonthedateit submitsitsreportorFebruary1,2027, whichever is later.

The bill also allows municipalities, within existing resources, to establish a pilot program to promote the goal of achieving 100% voter participation.

The program may include efforts to enhance civic engagement, such as voter outreach and education campaigns.

The bill specifies that these pilot programs are subject to the state’s election laws and municipal restrictions on diverging from certain state election policies.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

July 1, 2026 VOTER PARTICIPATION TASK FORCE The task force must study (1) efforts to achieve, by January 1, 2030, 100% voter participation in the state, and potential implementation options;

(2) ways to generally enhance civic engagement;

(3) the experiences of jurisdictions that require citizens to vote;

(4) municipal officials’ needs in administering elections with 100% participation;

and SB395 / File No.

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497 (5) needed budgetary resources to achieve 100% participation.