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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6659
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 5695
Referred to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS
Introduced by:
(APP)
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E ESTABLISHMENT OF T HE
CONNECTICUT BABY BON D TRUST.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) As used in this section and 1
sections 2 to 8, inclusive, of this act: 2
(1) "Designated beneficiary" means an individual born on or after July 3
1, 2021, whose birth was subject to medical coverage provided under 4
HUSKY Health, as defined in section 17b-290 of the general statutes; 5
(2) "Eligible expenditure" means an expenditure associated with any 6
of the following: (A) Education of a designated beneficiary; (B) 7
ownership of a home by a designated beneficiary; (C) ownership of a 8
business by a designated beneficiary; or (D) any investment in financial 9
assets or personal capital that provides long-term gains to wages or 10
wealth, as prescribed by the Treasurer; and 11
(3) "Trust" means the Connecticut Baby Bond Trust. 12
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) (a) There is established the 13 Raised Bill No. 6659
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Connecticut Baby Bond Trust. The trust shall constitute an 14
instrumentality of the state and shall perform essential governmental 15
functions as provided in sections 1 to 8, inclusive, of this act. The trust 16
shall receive and hold all payments and deposits or contributions 17
intended for the trust, as well as gifts, bequests, endowments or federal, 18
state or local grants and any other funds from any public or private 19
source and all earnings until disbursed in accordance with section 7 of 20
this act. 21
(b) The amounts on deposit in the trust shall not constitute property 22
of the state and the trust shall not be construed to be a department, 23
institution or agency of the state. Amounts on deposit in the trust shall 24
not be commingled with state funds and the state shall have no claim to 25
or against, or interest in, such funds. Any contract entered into by or any 26
obligation of the trust shall not constitute a debt or obligation of the state 27
and the state shall have no obligation to any designated beneficiary or 28
any other person on account of the trust and all amounts obligated to be 29
paid from the trust shall be limited to amounts available for such 30
obligation on deposit in the trust. The amounts on deposit in the trust 31
may only be disbursed in accordance with the provisions of section 7 of 32
this act. The trust shall continue in existence as long as it holds any 33
deposits or has any obligations and until its existence is terminated by 34
law and upon termination any unclaimed assets shall return to the state. 35
Property of the trust shall be governed by section 3-61a of the general 36
statutes. 37
(c) The Treasurer shall be responsible for the receipt, maintenance, 38
administration, investing and disbursements of amounts from the trust. 39
The trust shall not receive deposits in any form other than cash. 40
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) The Treasurer, on behalf of the 41
trust and for purposes of the trust, may: 42
(1) Receive and invest moneys in the trust in any instruments, 43
obligations, securities or property in accordance with section 4 of this 44
act; 45 Raised Bill No. 6659
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(2) Enter into one or more contractual agreements, including 46
contracts for legal, actuarial, accounting, custodial, advisory, 47
management, administrative, advertising, marketing and consulting 48
services for the trust and pay for such services from the gains and 49
earnings of the trust; 50
(3) Procure insurance in connection with the trust's property, assets, 51
activities or deposits to the trust; 52
(4) Apply for, accept and expend gifts, grants or donations from 53
public or private sources to enable the trust to carry out its objectives; 54
(5) Adopt regulations in accordance with chapter 54 of the general 55
statutes for purposes of this act; 56
(6) Sue and be sued; 57
(7) Establish one or more funds within the trust and maintain 58
separate accounts for each designated beneficiary; and 59
(8) Take any other action necessary to carry out the purposes of this 60
act, and incidental to the duties imposed on the Treasurer pursuant to 61
this act. 62
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) Notwithstanding the provisions 63
of sections 3-13 to 3-13h, inclusive, of the general statutes, the Treasurer 64
shall invest the amounts on deposit in the trust in a manner reasonable 65
and appropriate to achieve the objectives of the trust, exercising the 66
discretion and care of a prudent person in similar circumstances with 67
similar objectives. The Treasurer shall give due consideration to rate of 68
return, risk, term or maturity, diversification of the total portfolio within 69
the trust, liquidity, the projected disbursements and expenditures and 70
the expected payments, deposits, contributions and gifts to be received. 71
The Treasurer shall not require the trust to invest directly in obligations 72
of the state or any political subdivision of the state or in any investment 73
or other fund administered by the Treasurer. The assets of the trust shall 74
be continuously invested and reinvested in a manner consistent with the 75 Raised Bill No. 6659
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objectives of the trust until disbursed for qualified expenses as defined 76
by this act or expended on expenses incurred by the operations of the 77
trust. 78
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) The property of the trust and the 79
earnings on the trust shall be exempt from all taxation by the state and 80
all political subdivisions of the state. 81
Sec. 6. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) (a) Notwithstanding any 82
provision of the general statutes, no moneys invested in the Connecticut 83
Baby Bond Trust shall be considered to be an asset for purposes of 84
determining an individual's eligibility for assistance under the 85
temporary family assistance program, as described in section 17b-112 of 86
the general statutes, programs funded under the federal Low Income 87
Home Energy Assistance Program block grant and the federally 88
appropriated weatherization assistance program. 89
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, no moneys 90
invested in the trust shall be considered to be an asset for purposes of 91
determining an individual's eligibility for need-based, institutional aid 92
grants offered to an individual at the public eligible educational 93
institutions in the state. 94
Sec. 7. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) (a) The Treasurer shall establish 95
in the Connecticut Baby Bond Trust an accounting for each designated 96
beneficiary. Each such accounting shall include the amount transferred 97
to the trust pursuant to section 8 of this act, plus the designated 98
beneficiary's pro rata share of total net earnings from investments of 99
sums held in the trust. 100
(b) Upon a designated beneficiary's eighteenth birthday, if such 101
beneficiary is a resident of the state, such beneficiary shall become 102
eligible to receive the total sum of the accounting under subsection (a) 103
of this section to be used for a qualified expense. The Treasurer may 104
adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 of the 105
general statutes, to carry out the purposes of this section. 106 Raised Bill No. 6659
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(c) If a designated beneficiary is deceased before his or her eighteenth 107
birthday, or is no longer a resident of the state on his or her eighteenth 108
birthday, such accounting shall be credited back to the trust. 109
(d) The Treasurer shall furnish each eligible beneficiary with an 110
annual statement relating to the individual's accounting, which shall 111
include (1) a statement of the balance attributable to the individual, (2) 112
a projection of the balance's growth by the time the individual attains 113
the age of eighteen, (3) resources and information to promote financial 114
wellness and capability, and (4) such other information as the Treasurer 115
deems relevant. 116
Sec. 8. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) Upon the birth of a designated 117
beneficiary, the Treasurer shall transfer five thousand dollars from the 118
General Fund to the trust to be credited toward the accounting of such 119
designated beneficiary as described in section 7 of this act. 120
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 3 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 4 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 5 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 6 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 7 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 8 July 1, 2021 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To establish the Connecticut Baby Bond Trust.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline,
except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is
not underlined.]