SB 285 — AN ACT CONCERNING TIME LIMITS IN THE TEMPORARY FAMILY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM DURING A STATE PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.

Senate General Assembly RaisedFile Bill No.

285220 February Session, 2022 LCOSenate Bill No.

2412285 ReferredSenate, toMarch 30, 2022 The Committee on HUMANHuman SERVICESServices Introducedreported by:through SEN.

(HS)MOORE ANof ACTthe CONCERNING22nd TIMEDist., LIMITSChairperson INof THEthe TEMPORARYCommittee FAMILYon ASSISTANCEthe PROGRAMpart DURINGof Athe STATESenate, PUBLICthat HEALTHthe EMERGENCY.bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING TIME LIMITS IN THE TEMPORARY FAMILY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM DURING A STATE PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.

The commissioner shall disregard ninety dollars of earned income in determining applicableSB285 family/ income.File No.

The220 commissioner1 maySB285 grantFile a subsequent LCO 2412 \\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2022SB-00285-R01 of 3 SB.docx Raised Bill No.

285220 six-monthapplicable extension if each adult in the family meetsincome. one or more of the following criteria:

The commissioner may grant a subsequent six-month extension if each adult in the family meets one or more of the following criteria:

(I) A month shall count toward the limit if the family receives assistance for any day of the month, provided any months of temporary family assistance received during [the] a state public health emergency [declared by Governor Ned LamontLamont] shallincluding, but not beincluded]limited including,butnotlimitedto,anysuchemergencydeclaredto, any such emergency declared by the Governor or the General Assembly related to the COVID-19 pandemic, [shall not be included] as defined in section 4-216a, may be excluded at the discretion of the commissioner, in consultation with the Secretary of theSB285 Office/ ofFile Policy and Management, and (II) a month in which a family LCO 2412 {\\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2022SB-00282 of 3 R01-SB.docx } Raised Bill No.

285220 receives2 temporarySB285 assistanceFile forNo. needy families benefits that are issued from a jurisdiction other than Connecticut shall count toward the limit.

220 theOffice of Policy and Management,and(II) amonthin whicha family receives temporary assistance for needy families benefits that are issued from a jurisdiction other than Connecticut shall count toward the limit.

Section 1 from passage 17b-112(c) HS Joint Favorable LCOSB285 2412/ R01-SB.docxFile }OUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2022SB-00285-No. 3 of 3

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220 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:

See Below Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill specifies that months in which Temporary Family Assistance (TFA) benefits are received during a state public health emergency, regardless of who declared such emergency, may not count towards the TFA time limit of 21-months (with extensions).

While this conforms to current practice, it potentially precludes future savings to the extent the time-limit would have otherwise been applicable if a state public health emergency was declared by someone other than Governor Lamont.

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

SB285 / File No.

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220 OLR Bill Analysis SB 285 AN ACT CONCERNING TIME LIMITS IN THE TEMPORARY FAMILY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM DURING A STATE PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.

SUMMARY By law, Temporary Family Assistance (TFA) provides cash assistance to families, generally subject to a21-monthtime limit with upto two six- monthextensions.Currentlawexcludesfromthistimelimitanymonths of TFA benefits received during a public health emergency declared by Governor NedLamont.

Thisbillinstead allowstheDepartmentofSocial Services commissioner to exclude from the time limit any months of benefits received during a state public health emergency, including emergencies declared by the governor or the legislature related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The commissioner may do so at her discretion, in consultation with the Office of Policy and Management secretary.

Existing law also exempts certain families from the time limit (e.g., a family with a needy caretaker relative who is incapacitated or of an advanced age).

EFFECTIVE DATE:

Upon passage COMMITTEE ACTION Human Services Committee Joint Favorable Yea 13 Nay 7 (03/17/2022) SB285 / File No.

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