Substitute House Bill No. 6436
Special Act No. 21-26
AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE OPEN CHOICE VOUCHERS PILOT
PROGRAM.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) Not later than June 15, 2022, the
Commissioner of Housing, in consultation with the Commissioner of
Education and housing, civil rights and education advocates, shall
establish the Open Choice Voucher pilot program. Such pilot program
shall designate twenty rental assistance program certificates under
section 8-345 of the general statutes over a period of two years for use
by families who (1) qualify as low income under the rental assistance
program, (2) have participated for at least one year in the interdistrict
public school attendance program, established under section 10-266aa
of the general statutes, in the Hartford region, and (3) would like to
move to the town where their child participating in the interdistrict
public school attendance program attends school.
(b) The Commissioner of Housing shall develop procedures for
landlord recruitment, family recruitment, housing search assistance and
counseling for such pilot program. As existing rental assistance
certificates become available, the commissioner shall make ten rental
assistance certificates available during the school year commencing in
2022 and ten additional rental assistance certificates during the school Substitute House Bill No. 6436
Special Act No. 21-26 2 of 2
year commencing in 2023 for such pilot program. All participants in the
pilot program shall have access to the residence mobility counseling
program established under section 8-348 of the general statutes.
(c) The Commissioner of Housing shall submit an interim report and
final report concerning such pilot program, in accordance with the
provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing
committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters
relating to housing and education. The commissioner shall submit the
interim report on or before August 31, 2022, and a final report on or
before August 31, 2023. Each report shall include, but need not be
limited to: (1) A summary of program implementation, including efforts
to inform and educate families about the program, recruit landlords and
provide search assistance and counseling, and (2) assessment of
program utilization rates, waiting list numbers, and the racial, ethnic
and household composition and income demographics of the program
participants and those on the waiting list. The final report shall include
an assessment of program performance during the pilot period based
on available data, including, but not limited to, data concerning both the
implementation of the program by the Department of Housing and the
use of the program, and any recommendations the commissioner may
have regarding future implementation or an extension of the pilot
program.