OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS
Legislative Office Building, Room 5200
Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa
sSB-1059
AN ACT CONCERNING THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTION
OMBUDS, THE USE OF ISOLATED CONFINEMENT, SECLUSION
AND RESTRAINTS, SOCIAL CONTACTS FOR INCARCERATED
PERSONS AND TRAINING AND WORKERS' COMPENSATION
BENEFITS FOR CORRECTION OFFICERS.
Primary Analyst: ME 4/26/21
Contributing Analyst(s): LD, CP
Reviewer: PR
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 22 $ FY 23 $
Correction, Dept. GF - Cost 8.2-10.4
million
8.3-10.6
million
State Comptroller - Fringe
Benefits
1
GF - Cost 0.9-1.8
million
0.9-1.8
million
Department of Emergency
Services and Public Protection;
Correction, Dept.; Judicial Dept.
Technical Services
Revolving Fund -
Revenue Loss
7.8 million 7.8 million
Governmental Accountability,
Off.
GF - Cost Up to 1.0
million
Up to 1.1
million
State Comptroller - Fringe
Benefits
GF - Cost Up to
419,745
Up to
432,337
Correction, Dept. GF - Potential
Cost
See Below See Below
Note: GF=General Fund
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill makes various changes regarding the laws that govern the
Department of Correction (DOC) and results in the impact listed
below.
1
The fringe benefit costs for most state employees are budgeted centrally in accounts
administered by the Comptroller. The estimated active employee fringe benefit cost
associated with most personnel changes is 41.3% of payroll in FY 22 and FY 23. 2021SB-01059-R000616-FN.DOCX Page 2 of 3
Section 1 expands the correction ombuds program to include all
inmates in DOC custody and relocates the program to the Office of
Governmental Accountability (OGA) resulting in a cost to the OGA.
To meet the requirements of the bill the OGA will have to hire up to 12
ombudsmen and one administrative assistant resulting in a cost of up
to $1.5 million in FY 22 and FY 23 (costs include salary, other expenses,
and fringe benefits).
The current ombuds program is only for juvenile inmates (less than
35 inmates are under 18) and the bill expands this to the entire DOC
population, which is 8,965 inmates as of 4/23/21.
Section 2-3 require increased supervision of isolated inmates,
decreases the use of restraints, and allows inmates to receive at least 8
hours of out of cell time per day resulting in a cost to DOC. To meet
the requirements of these sections DOC will have to hire between 44-
88 additional correction officers for a cost of $3.1-$6.1 million in FY 22
and $3.2-$6.3 million in FY 23 (costs include salary, other expenses,
and fringe benefits).
2
Section 2 also requires a physician and therapist to conduct a
physical examination and mental health evaluation before holding an
inmate in isolated confinement resulting in a potential cost to DOC.
Physicians and therapists typically work first-shift, Monday-Friday at
DOC facilities and are on-call all other times. To the extent this section
results in more medical staff being on-call in order to perform
evaluations there is a potential cost to the state.
Section 3 requires the DOC to provide writing and postage
materials to inmates free of charge resulting in a cost of approximately
$400,000 per year
3
. The annual cost will depend on the number of
inmates in DOC custody and how many letters inmate choose to write.
Section 3 requires the DOC to let inmates make at least two free 60-
2
The cost assumes each DOC facility will add one to two additional correctional
officer posts for the first and second shifts.
3
Cost includes paper, postage, envelopes, and writing instruments. 2021SB-01059-R000616-FN.DOCX Page 3 of 3
minute phone calls per week and results in a cost and a revenue loss to
the state. Currently, inmates pay for each call and a portion of that
money compensates the vendor for providing the service and the
remainder goes to the state to fund various programs. It will cost DOC
approximately $5.7 million per year to allow inmates to make two free
60-minute calls per week. The exact cost will depend on the number of
inmates in DOC custody, the number of calls made, and the length of
the calls.
The bill results in an approximate $7.8 million revenue loss to the
state in FY 22 and FY 23. This money goes to DOC for expanding
inmate educational services and reentry program initiatives, and the
remainder pays for criminal justice information system (in DESPP) and
for probation staffing in the Judicial Department.
Sections 4-8 result in a potential cost to the DOC to the extent that
correction officers apply for Workers' Compensation benefits and meet
the conditions of the bill. For reference, there are approximately 3,400
current DOC correction officers, and this bill expands Workers'
Compensation benefits to all correction officers suffering from post-
traumatic stress injuries (PTSI).
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to inflation and the number of inmate
telephone calls.