OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS
Legislative Office Building, Room 5200
Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa
sHB-6686
AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE
OFFICE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD.
Primary Analyst: LD 4/4/23
Contributing Analyst(s): ES
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 24 $ FY 25 $
Office of Early Childhood GF - See Below See Below See Below
Note: GF=General Fund
Municipal Impact:
Municipalities Effect FY 24 $ FY 25 $
Various Municipalities See Below See Below See Below
Explanation
The bill results in a cost of to the General Fund of at least $250,000 in
FY 24 and FY 25 to the Office of Early Childhood (OEC) to create a
parent cabinet, including hiring one full-time employee to provide
administrative assistance to meet the requirements of the bill.
The bill precludes future savings to OEC to the extent that the
eligibility expansion for the School Readiness program results in the
expenditure of funds that would have otherwise lapsed. Town-based
providers would experience a corresponding revenue impact associated
with the change in their School Readiness grant, based on the number
of children being served.
The bill also precludes future savings to OEC by eliminating the
sunset date of the Smart Start program. By making the program
permanent, OEC may incur future costs it otherwise would not have 2023HB-06686-R000404-FN.docx Page 2 of 2
had the program ended, while towns will experience a corresponding
revenue impact. The bill also potentially changes the distribution of
Smart Start funding to towns by eliminating the option to give priority
to plans that allocate spaces for children who are eligible for free and
reduced price lunches.
The bill also changes school readiness grant awards from annual to
biennial. While this does not change the total amount of funds
expended, it may alter the distribution of funds resulting in a revenue
impact to town-based providers
The bill makes technical, conforming, and other changes that have no
fiscal impact.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to inflation.