HB 5369 — AN ACT CONCERNING A BENEFITS CLIFF STUDY.

Substitute House ofBill Representatives General Assembly File No.

2835369 FebruarySpecial Session,Act 2024 Substitute House Bill No.

536924-8 HouseAN ofACT Representatives,CONCERNING AprilA 4,BENEFITS 2024CLIFF TheSTUDY. Committee on Human Services reported through REP.

GILCHREST of the 18th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING A BENEFITS CLIFF PILOT PROGRAM.

(Effective Julyfrom 1,passage) 2024) (a) The Commissionerstwo-generational ofinitiative, Socialestablished Services,pursuant Housingto andsection Early17b-112l Childhoodof shallthe establishgeneral astatutes, benefitsin cliffconsultation mitigationwith pilot program to support the economicDepartments self-sufficiency of certainSocial assistanceServices programand beneficiariesHousing byand graduallythe reducing,Office instead of automaticallyWorkforce eliminating,Strategy, assistanceshall programstudy benefitsstrategies whento incomemitigate frombenefits employmentcliffs causesand suchsupport beneficiariesthe toeconomic exceedmobility incomeof eligibilitypublic thresholds for the assistance programs.program beneficiaries.

(b) TheNot commissionerslater than January 1, 2025, the initiative, in consultation with the Departments of Social Services and Housing and the Office of Workforce Strategy, shall selectsubmit pilota programreport, participantsin accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to human services on athe randomized,results controlledof basisthe fromstudy beneficiariesand its recommendations.Forpurposesofthissection,"benefitscliff"meansthe loss or decrease of programspublic including,assistance butprogram notbenefits limitedwhen to:a beneficiary's income exceeds eligibility thresholds.

(1)Approved TheJune temporary5, family2024 assistance program authorized pursuant to section 17b-112 of the general statutes, (2) the supplemental nutrition assistance program authorized pursuant to section 17b-105a of the general statutes, (3) the child care subsidy program authorized pursuant to section 17b-749 of the general statutes, and (4) the rental assistance programs authorized pursuant to chapter sHB5369 / File No.

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283 138a of the general statutes.

The commissioners shall design the pilot program to ensure compliance with federal law regarding federal financial participation in the assistance programs.

(c) The pilot program shall last not more thantwo years fromthe date of its establishment.

The commissioners may gradually step down benefits for assistance program beneficiaries whose income from employment causes such beneficiaries to lose eligibility for such benefits, withreductionsinbenefitsfor themonthstheir income exceeds eligibility thresholds for the assistance programs.

(d) Not later than September 1, 2025, and September 1, 2026, the commissioners shall file a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, on the pilot program with the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, children, education, housing and human services.

Each report shall include the number of participants in the pilot program and the impact of the program on the economic self-sufficiency of such participants.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:

Section 1 July 1, 2024 New section HS Joint Favorable Subst.

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283 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 25 $ FY 26 $ Social Services, Dept.;

Office oGF - Potential See Below See Below Early Childhood Cost Note:

GF=General Fund Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill may result in a cost to the Department of Social Services associated with establishing a benefits cliff mitigation pilot program.

The pilot program must include participants from the Temporary Family Assistance program (TFA) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program(SNAP).Totheextentthepilotrequirementsextend beyond the current structure of gradually reducing program benefits when income from employment causes such beneficiaries to exceed income eligibility thresholds, DSS would incur additional costs.

Under SNAP, it is assumed any such program modifications would continue to align with federal provisions as it is a federal benefit.

The bill requires the pilot be designed to ensure compliance with federal law regarding federal financial participation in the assistance programs.

The pilot program must also include participants in the Care4Kids program under the Office of Early Childhood (OEC).

This may result in a cost to OEC associated with families remaining on the program longer while receiving tiered benefits.

To the extent state funds are necessary to supplement federal funds for the pilot, OEC would incur additional costs.

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283 The bill has no fiscal impact to the Department of Housing (DOH).

The Rental Assistance Program (RAP):

(1) already operates in a similar manner to thepilot programthebillrequiresand(2) can aligncosts with budgeted funding by limiting the amount of RAP certificates issued to new participants because it is not an entitlement.

The Out Years The pilot program must last no more than two years from the date it is established and is therefore not anticipated to result in an out-year impact.

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