SB 263 — AN ACT CONCERNING WATER SAFETY AND SWIM INSTRUCTION.

Senate General Assembly RaisedFile Bill No.

263587 February Session, 2026 LCOSenate Bill No.

1361263 ReferredSenate, toApril 13, 2026 The Committee on COMMITTEEAppropriations ONreported CHILDRENthrough IntroducedSEN. by:

(KID)OSTEN ANof ACTthe CONCERNING19th WATERDist., SAFETYChairperson ANDof SWIMthe INSTRUCTION.Committee on the part of the Senate, that the bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING WATER SAFETY AND SWIM INSTRUCTION.

The department may contract with one or more nonprofit entitiesSB263 that/ provideFile swimming lessons and water safety skills LCO 1361 1 of 2 Raised Bill No.

263587 instruction1 toSB263 provideFile swimmingNo. lessons under the program.

587 entities that provide swimming lessons and water safety skills instruction to provide swimming lessons under the program.

Section 1 October 1, 2026 New section KID Joint Favorable C/R APP LCOAPP 1361Joint 2Favorable ofSB263 2/ File No.

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587 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:

Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 27 – FY 28 $ Department of Energy and GF - Cost Approx.

$1 million/6,000 Environmental Protection lessons Note:

GF=General Fund Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill results in a significant cost to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), beginning in FY 27, associated with requiring the department to establish and administer a free swim program to certain children who qualify.

It is estimated that every 6,000 lessons administered by DEEP will result in an additional cost of approximately $1 million.

The cost estimate is based on a previously funded free swim program administered by DEEP, which provided free swim lessons at various state parks .

It is estimated that there are approximately 202,959 SNAP households and 29,768 WIC children who could qualify under the program.

The exact number of eligible participants would be dependent upon where the children reside, as only families who reside in a qualified census tract are eligible.

The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to the number of lessons administered.

1Thisprogram wasfunded with $1millioninARPAfundsallocatedto DEEP($500,000 in FY 22 and $500,000 in FY 23).

SB263 / File No.

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587 OLR Bill Analysis SB 263 AN ACT CONCERNING WATER SAFETY AND SWIM INSTRUCTION.

SUMMARY This bill requires the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), by May 1, 2027, and within available appropriations, to establish and administer an annual program for free swimming lessons during the summer to children under age 17 who meet certain criteria.

To qualify, participants must live in a qualified census tract or be eligible for either the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) administered by the Department of Social Services, or the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) administered by the Department of Public Health.

The bill also allows DEEP to (1) contract with non-profit organizations that provide swimming lessons and water safety skills instruction for the program’s swimming lessons and (2) accept public and private gifts, grants, and donations to create and administer the program.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

October 1, 2026 BACKGROUND Qualified Census Tract A “qualified census tract” is any census tract, during a given year, where either (1) 50% or more of the households had an income less than 60% of the area median gross income or (2) the poverty rate is at least 25%.

Qualified census tracts are designated by the U.S.

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (26 U.S.C.

§ 42(d)(5)(B)(ii);

see CGS § 4-66c).

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587 COMMITTEE ACTION Committee on Children Joint Favorable Change of Reference - APP Yea 13 Nay 4 (03/03/2026) Appropriations Committee Joint Favorable Yea 51 Nay 0 (04/01/2026) SB263 / File No.

587 5