OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS
Legislative Office Building, Room 5200
Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa
sHB-6635
AN ACT CONCERNING TEMPORARY FAMILY ASSISTANCE.
Primary Analyst: LD 4/19/21
Contributing Analyst(s): ES
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 22 $ FY 23 $
Resources of the General Fund GF – Potential
Revenue Loss
$760,000 $1.6 million
Social Services, Dept. GF - Cost At least $5.4
million
At least $5.4
million
Note: GF=General Fund
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill increases the length of time, from 21 months with
extensions to 60 months (the federal maximum), that a family subject
to time limits can receive TFA benefits. This results in a cost to the
Department of Social Services (DSS) of at least $5 million annually.
DSS will incur additional costs if former clients re-enroll in the
program. The agency may incur additional costs for system
adjustments to reflect eligibility changes.
The bill also increases the benefit amount paid to families for
children born while enrolled in the program by eliminating the "family
cap" provision. This results in a cost to DSS of approximately $400,000
annually.
The bill also requires DSS to provide a Cost-of-Living Adjustment
(COLA) whenever funds appropriated for TFA lapse and are sufficient
to cover the adjustment. This could result in a revenue loss to the 2021HB-06635-R000507-FN.DOCX Page 2 of 2
Resources of the General Fund by expending funds that would
otherwise lapse. The COLA must be equal to the most recent
percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers
(CPI-U). The value of the COLA is estimated to be $760,000 in FY 22
and $1.6 million in FY 23, assuming lapsing funds are available.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to program enrollment, the availability
of lapsing funds, and the change in CPI-U.