OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS
Legislative Office Building, Room 5200
Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa
sHB-6325
AN ACT CONCERNING THE SECRETARY OF THE STATE,
ABSENTEE BALLOTS AND ELECTION AUDITS.
As Amended by House "A" (LCO 10272)
House Calendar No.: 367
Senate Calendar No.: 568
Primary Analyst: DC 6/7/21
Contributing Analyst(s):
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact:
Municipalities Effect FY 22 $ FY 23 $
Various Municipalities Potential
Cost
See Below See Below
Explanation
This bill establishes a task force to study the feasibility of
implementing procedures under which absentee ballot applicants
return absentee ballots using one envelope, and a working group to
examine risk-limiting audits and oversee a related pilot program,
within available appropriations, in five to ten municipalities for the
2021 municipal elections.
The establishment of a task force has no fiscal impact as PA 17-236
prohibits transportation allowances for task force members.
A municipality may incur minimal costs to take part in the pilot
program; however, as the pilot program is voluntary it is assumed that
a municipality would participate only to the extent it has available
resources.
The bill establishes a twenty-two-member Council on Sexual 2021HB-06325-R01-FN.DOCX Page 2 of 3
Misconduct Climate Surveys, which will be part of the legislative
department. The council members will be reimbursed for expenses
necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties. This potential
cost is anticipated to be minimal. By January 1, 2022, and every two
years thereafter, the council will submit a report to the higher
education committee including the data points that each institution's
survey must encompass, the recommended sexual misconduct climate
surveys, and the recommended guidelines for survey implementation.
The bill requires employers to give an employee two hours of
unpaid time off from his or her regularly scheduled work on the day of
a regular state election to vote, if the employee requests it in advance.
This is effective until June 30, 2024.
The bill states that a voter’s name and address is confidential and
prohibits their disclosure from the voter registry list if the voter
submits a signed statement to the secretary of the state indicating that
nondisclosure is necessary for the safety of the voter or his or her
family. Giving a false statement is a class A misdemeanor, punishable
by up to one year in prison, up to a $2,000 fine.
Lastly, the bill also moves up the deadline by which minor parties
must file a copy of their party rules with the Secretary of the State,
from at least 60 days to at least 180 days, before nominating candidates
for office. This provision has no fiscal impact.
House "A" establishes a twenty-two-member Council on Sexual
Misconduct Climate Surveys, requires employers to give an employee
two hours of unpaid time off from his or her regularly scheduled work
on the day of a regular state election to vote, and states that a voter’s
name and address is confidential and prohibits their disclosure from
the voter registry list if the voter submits a signed statement to the
secretary of the state indicating that nondisclosure is necessary for the
safety of the voter or his or her family.
2021HB-06325-R01-FN.DOCX Page 3 of 3
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to inflation.
The preceding Fiscal Impact statement is prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly,
solely for the purposes of information, summarization and explanation and does 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.