OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS
Legislative Office Building, Room 5200
Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa
HB-5544
AN ACT CONCERNING FEE WAIVERS FOR VETERANS
ATTENDING PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
Primary Analyst: JS 4/6/21
Contributing Analyst(s):
Reviewer: SB
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 22 $ FY 23 $
Board of Regents for Higher
Education
Tuition Fund -
Revenue Loss
1.7 million
to 2 million
1.7 million
to 2 million
UConn Tuition Fund -
Revenue Loss
800,000 to 1
million
800,000 to 1
million
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill, which waives certain constituent unit fees for veterans,
results in an annual revenue loss to the constituent units, beginning in
FY 22, estimated at $2.5 million to $3 million. Of the total annual
revenue loss, approximately $1.7 million to $2 million will be
experienced by the Board of Regents, while the University of
Connecticut will have an estimated revenue loss of $800,000 to $1
million.
The revenue loss estimates are based on annual veteran fee revenue
data provided by the constituent units for FY 19 through FY 21. As the
bill waives these fees for veterans, this revenue will be lost. At the four
Connecticut State Universities, annually 385 to 471 veterans paid an
estimated $1.5 million to $1.6 million in mandatory, programmatic,
optional, and extension fees. At the 12 community colleges, annually
608 to 1,080 veterans paid an estimated $290,000 to $320,000 in these
fees. Finally, at UConn, annually 224 to 242 veterans paid an estimated 2021HB-05544-R000296-FN.DOCX Page 2 of 2
$870,000 to $920,000. The estimate considers enrollment volatility at
the Board of Regents institutions.
The estimate assumes that all fees except room and board are
waived by the bill. If the bill is interpreted to include room and board
fees, then the revenue loss will increase substantially. For example, FY
21 data from the University of Connecticut indicates that the room and
board revenue loss could reach approximately $1.1 million if all
eligible veterans choose to take advantage of the waiver.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to changes in fee levels and the number
of enrolled veterans who are eligible for the fee waiver.