Connecticut 2023 2023 Regular Session

Connecticut Senate Bill SB00008 Comm Sub / Bill

Filed 03/21/2023

                     
 
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General Assembly  Substitute Bill No.  8  
January Session, 2023  
 
 
 
AN ACT CONCERNING HIGHER EDUCATION AFFORDABILITY AND 
GRADUATE RETENTION.  
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General 
Assembly convened: 
 
Section 1. Section 10a-174 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2023): 2 
(a) As used in this section: 3 
(1) "Award" means the greater of: (A) The unpaid portion, if any, of 4 
a qualifying student's eligible institutional costs after subtracting his or 5 
her financial aid, or (B) a minimum award of [two hundred fifty] one 6 
thousand dollars for a full-time student or [one hundred fifty] six 7 
hundred dollars for a part-time student; 8 
(2) "Eligible institutional costs" means the tuition and required fees 9 
incurred each semester by an individual student that are established 10 
by the Board of Regents for Higher Education for the regional 11 
community-technical colleges; 12 
(3) "Financial aid" means the sum of all scholarships, grants and 13 
federal, state and institutional aid received by a qualifying student. 14 
"Financial aid" does not include any federal, state or private student 15 
loans received by a qualifying student; 16 
(4) "Qualifying student" means any person who (A) graduated from 17  Substitute Bill No. 8 
 
 
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a public or nonpublic high school in the state, (B) enrolls as a full-time 18 
or part-time student for the fall semester of 2020, or any semester 19 
thereafter, [for the first time] at a regional community-technical college 20 
in a program leading to a degree or certificate, [and continues to be 21 
enrolled as a full-time or part-time student at a regional community-22 
technical college,] (C) is classified as an in-state student pursuant to 23 
section 10a-29, (D) is making satisfactory academic progress while 24 
enrolled at a regional community-technical college, (E) has completed 25 
the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and (F) has accepted all 26 
available financial aid; 27 
(5) "Full-time student" means a student who is enrolled at a regional 28 
community-technical college and (A) is carrying twelve or more credit 29 
hours in a semester, or (B) has a learning disability documented with 30 
the regional community-technical college in which he or she is enrolled 31 
and is enrolled in the maximum number of credit hours that is feasible 32 
for such student to attempt in a semester, as determined by such 33 
student's academic advisor; 34 
(6) "Semester" means the fall or spring semester of an academic year. 35 
"Semester" does not include a summer semester or session; and 36 
(7) "Part-time student" means a student who is enrolled at a regional 37 
community-technical college and is carrying not less than six but fewer 38 
than twelve credit hours in a semester. 39 
(b) [Not later than January 1, 2020, the] The Board of Regents for 40 
Higher Education shall (1) establish a debt-free community college 41 
program to make awards to qualifying students each semester, (2) 42 
adopt rules, procedures and forms necessary to implement the debt-43 
free community college program, and (3) submit a report outlining 44 
such rules, procedures and forms, in accordance with the provisions of 45 
section 11-4a, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly 46 
having cognizance of matters relating to higher education. 47 
(c) For the fall semester of 2020, and each semester thereafter, the 48  Substitute Bill No. 8 
 
 
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Board of Regents for Higher Education shall make awards to 49 
qualifying students within available appropriations. An award shall be 50 
available to a qualifying student for the first seventy-two credit hours 51 
earned by the qualifying student [during the first forty-eight months 52 
that such student is enrolled] at a regional community-technical 53 
college, provided the qualifying student meets and continues to meet 54 
the requirements of this section. The board shall not use an award to 55 
supplant any financial aid, including, but not limited to, state or 56 
institutional aid, otherwise available to a qualifying student. 57 
[(d) (1) Any qualifying student who takes an administratively 58 
approved medical or personal leave of absence from a regional 59 
community-technical college may continue to qualify for the debt-free 60 
community college program upon resuming his or her enrollment as a 61 
student at a regional community-technical college, provided such 62 
student (A) continues to meet the requirements of this section upon 63 
reenrollment, and (B) the total amount of time of all approved leaves of 64 
absence does not exceed six months. 65 
(2) Any qualifying student who is a member of the armed forces 66 
called to active duty during any semester may continue to qualify for 67 
the debt-free community college program upon resuming his or her 68 
enrollment as a student at a regional community-technical college, 69 
provided such student (A) continues to meet the requirements of this 70 
section upon reenrollment, and (B) reenrolls not later than four years 71 
after the date on which such student is released from active duty.] 72 
[(e)] (d) Not later than March 1, 2021, and October 1, 2021, and each 73 
semester thereafter, the Board of Regents for Higher Education shall 74 
report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the joint 75 
standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of 76 
matters relating to higher education and employment advancement 77 
and appropriations and the budgets of the state agencies regarding the 78 
debt-free community college program, including, but not limited to, (1) 79 
the number of qualifying students enrolled at the regional community-80 
technical colleges during each semester, (2) the number of qualifying 81  Substitute Bill No. 8 
 
 
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students receiving minimum awards and the number of qualifying 82 
students receiving awards for the unpaid portion of eligible 83 
institutional costs, (3) the average number of credit hours the 84 
qualifying students enrolled in each semester and the average number 85 
of credit hours the qualifying students completed each semester, (4) 86 
the average amount of the award made to qualifying students under 87 
this section for the unpaid portion of eligible institutional costs, and (5) 88 
the completion rates of qualifying students receiving awards under 89 
this section by degree or certificate program. 90 
Sec. 2. (Effective July 1, 2023) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, 91 
any amount allocated to the regional community-technical college 92 
system under the Roberta B. Willis Scholarship program, established 93 
pursuant to section 10a-173 of the general statutes, from the federal 94 
funds designated for the state pursuant to the provisions of Section 602 95 
of Subtitle M of Title IX of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, P.L. 96 
117-2, as amended from time to time, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 97 
2023, shall be reallocated to the Connecticut State University System to 98 
be expended, in accordance with section 10a-173 of the general 99 
statutes, as grants under the Roberta B. Willis Scholarship program. 100 
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2023) (a) The Connecticut Higher 101 
Education Supplemental Loan Authority shall establish, subject to 102 
available funding pursuant to section 4 of this act, the Student Loan 103 
Subsidy Program for the purpose of subsidizing interest rates on 104 
authority loans, as defined in subdivision (3) of section 10a-223 of the 105 
general statutes, to individuals employed in certain high-demand 106 
professions, as specified by the Chief Workforce Officer, and who meet 107 
the eligibility criteria established by the authority and the Chief 108 
Workforce Officer pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. 109 
(b) The authority and the Office of Workforce Strategy shall jointly 110 
establish the eligibility criteria and administrative guidelines for the 111 
Student Loan Subsidy Program. Such eligibility criteria and guidelines 112 
shall include, but need not be limited to, (1) applicant eligibility, (2) 113 
interest rate subsidies and principal limits on authority loans subject to 114  Substitute Bill No. 8 
 
 
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the Student Loan Subsidy Program, (3) the process for verifying the 115 
employment of the applicants, and (4) the requirement that an interest 116 
rate subsidy through the Student Loan Subsidy Program shall 117 
terminate for any subsidy recipient who ceases to meet the 118 
employment requirements of said program during the term of such 119 
recipient's loan from the authority. 120 
(c) Not later than September 1, 2023, the Chief Workforce Officer 121 
shall identify, and annually update, professions that are in high 122 
demand by employers in the state for the purpose of qualifying 123 
individuals employed in such professions for the Student Loan 124 
Subsidy Program. 125 
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2023) The Connecticut Higher 126 
Education Supplemental Loan Authority shall maintain a separate, 127 
nonlapsing account to hold funds for the Student Loan Subsidy 128 
Program established pursuant to section 3 of this act. The account shall 129 
contain any moneys required by law to be deposited in the account, 130 
including, but not limited to, state appropriations or proceeds from the 131 
sale of bonds authorized under section 5 of this act. Moneys in the 132 
account shall be expended by the authority for the purposes of the 133 
Student Loan Subsidy Program and for reasonable and necessary 134 
expenses for the administration of said program. 135 
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2023) (a) For the purposes described 136 
in subsection (b) of this section and section 3 of this act, the State Bond 137 
Commission shall have the power from time to time to authorize the 138 
issuance of bonds of the state in one or more series and in principal 139 
amounts not exceeding seven million dollars annually. 140 
(b) The proceeds of the sale of such bonds, to the extent of the 141 
amount stated in subsection (a) of this section, shall be used by the 142 
Connecticut Higher Education Supplemental Loan Authority for the 143 
purpose of the Student Loan Subsidy Program established under 144 
section 3 of this act. 145  Substitute Bill No. 8 
 
 
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(c) All provisions of section 3-20 of the general statutes, or the 146 
exercise of any right or power granted thereby, that are not 147 
inconsistent with the provisions of this section are hereby adopted and 148 
shall apply to all bonds authorized by the State Bond Commission 149 
pursuant to this section. Temporary notes in anticipation of the money 150 
to be derived from the sale of any such bonds so authorized may be 151 
issued in accordance with section 3-20 of the general statutes and from 152 
time to time renewed. Such bonds shall mature at such time or times 153 
not exceeding twenty years from their respective dates as may be 154 
provided in or pursuant to the resolution or resolutions of the State 155 
Bond Commission authorizing such bonds. None of such bonds shall 156 
be authorized except upon a finding by the State Bond Commission 157 
that there has been filed with it a request for such authorization that is 158 
signed by or on behalf of the Secretary of the Office of Policy and 159 
Management and states such terms and conditions as said commission, 160 
in its discretion, may require. Such bonds issued pursuant to this 161 
section shall be general obligations of the state and the full faith and 162 
credit of the state of Connecticut are pledged for the payment of the 163 
principal of and interest on such bonds as the same become due, and 164 
accordingly and as part of the contract of the state with the holders of 165 
such bonds, appropriation of all amounts necessary for punctual 166 
payment of such principal and interest is hereby made, and the State 167 
Treasurer shall pay such principal and interest as the same become 168 
due. 169 
Sec. 6. Subparagraph (B) of subdivision (20) of subsection (a) of 170 
section 12-701 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is 171 
substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 1, 2024): 172 
(B) There shall be subtracted therefrom: 173 
(i) To the extent properly includable in gross income for federal 174 
income tax purposes, any income with respect to which taxation by 175 
any state is prohibited by federal law; 176 
(ii) To the extent allowable under section 12-718, exempt dividends 177  Substitute Bill No. 8 
 
 
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paid by a regulated investment company; 178 
(iii) To the extent properly includable in gross income for federal 179 
income tax purposes, the amount of any refund or credit for 180 
overpayment of income taxes imposed by this state, or any other state 181 
of the United States or a political subdivision thereof, or the District of 182 
Columbia; 183 
(iv) To the extent properly includable in gross income for federal 184 
income tax purposes and not otherwise subtracted from federal 185 
adjusted gross income pursuant to clause (x) of this subparagraph in 186 
computing Connecticut adjusted gross income, any tier 1 railroad 187 
retirement benefits; 188 
(v) To the extent any additional allowance for depreciation under 189 
Section 168(k) of the Internal Revenue Code for property placed in 190 
service after September 27, 2017, was added to federal adjusted gross 191 
income pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ix) of this subdivision in 192 
computing Connecticut adjusted gross income, twenty-five per cent of 193 
such additional allowance for depreciation in each of the four 194 
succeeding taxable years; 195 
(vi) To the extent properly includable in gross income for federal 196 
income tax purposes, any interest income from obligations issued by or 197 
on behalf of the state of Connecticut, any political subdivision thereof, 198 
or public instrumentality, state or local authority, district or similar 199 
public entity created under the laws of the state of Connecticut; 200 
(vii) To the extent properly includable in determining the net gain 201 
or loss from the sale or other disposition of capital assets for federal 202 
income tax purposes, any gain from the sale or exchange of obligations 203 
issued by or on behalf of the state of Connecticut, any political 204 
subdivision thereof, or public instrumentality, state or local authority, 205 
district or similar public entity created under the laws of the state of 206 
Connecticut, in the income year such gain was recognized; 207 
(viii) Any interest on indebtedness incurred or continued to 208  Substitute Bill No. 8 
 
 
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purchase or carry obligations or securities the interest on which is 209 
subject to tax under this chapter but exempt from federal income tax, 210 
to the extent that such interest on indebtedness is not deductible in 211 
determining federal adjusted gross income and is attributable to a 212 
trade or business carried on by such individual; 213 
(ix) Ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred during the 214 
taxable year for the production or collection of income which is subject 215 
to taxation under this chapter but exempt from federal income tax, or 216 
the management, conservation or maintenance of property held for the 217 
production of such income, and the amortizable bond premium for the 218 
taxable year on any bond the interest on which is subject to tax under 219 
this chapter but exempt from federal income tax, to the extent that 220 
such expenses and premiums are not deductible in determining federal 221 
adjusted gross income and are attributable to a trade or business 222 
carried on by such individual; 223 
(x) (I) For taxable years commencing prior to January 1, 2019, for a 224 
person who files a return under the federal income tax as an 225 
unmarried individual whose federal adjusted gross income for such 226 
taxable year is less than fifty thousand dollars, or as a married 227 
individual filing separately whose federal adjusted gross income for 228 
such taxable year is less than fifty thousand dollars, or for a husband 229 
and wife who file a return under the federal income tax as married 230 
individuals filing jointly whose federal adjusted gross income for such 231 
taxable year is less than sixty thousand dollars or a person who files a 232 
return under the federal income tax as a head of household whose 233 
federal adjusted gross income for such taxable year is less than sixty 234 
thousand dollars, an amount equal to the Social Security benefits 235 
includable for federal income tax purposes; 236 
(II) For taxable years commencing prior to January 1, 2019, for a 237 
person who files a return under the federal income tax as an 238 
unmarried individual whose federal adjusted gross income for such 239 
taxable year is fifty thousand dollars or more, or as a married 240 
individual filing separately whose federal adjusted gross income for 241  Substitute Bill No. 8 
 
 
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such taxable year is fifty thousand dollars or more, or for a husband 242 
and wife who file a return under the federal income tax as married 243 
individuals filing jointly whose federal adjusted gross income from 244 
such taxable year is sixty thousand dollars or more or for a person who 245 
files a return under the federal income tax as a head of household 246 
whose federal adjusted gross income for such taxable year is sixty 247 
thousand dollars or more, an amount equal to the difference between 248 
the amount of Social Security benefits includable for federal income tax 249 
purposes and the lesser of twenty-five per cent of the Social Security 250 
benefits received during the taxable year, or twenty-five per cent of the 251 
excess described in Section 86(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code; 252 
(III) For the taxable year commencing January 1, 2019, and each 253 
taxable year thereafter, for a person who files a return under the 254 
federal income tax as an unmarried individual whose federal adjusted 255 
gross income for such taxable year is less than seventy-five thousand 256 
dollars, or as a married individual filing separately whose federal 257 
adjusted gross income for such taxable year is less than seventy-five 258 
thousand dollars, or for a husband and wife who file a return under 259 
the federal income tax as married individuals filing jointly whose 260 
federal adjusted gross income for such taxable year is less than one 261 
hundred thousand dollars or a person who files a return under the 262 
federal income tax as a head of household whose federal adjusted 263 
gross income for such taxable year is less than one hundred thousand 264 
dollars, an amount equal to the Social Security benefits includable for 265 
federal income tax purposes; and 266 
(IV) For the taxable year commencing January 1, 2019, and each 267 
taxable year thereafter, for a person who files a return under the 268 
federal income tax as an unmarried individual whose federal adjusted 269 
gross income for such taxable year is seventy-five thousand dollars or 270 
more, or as a married individual filing separately whose federal 271 
adjusted gross income for such taxable year is seventy-five thousand 272 
dollars or more, or for a husband and wife who file a return under the 273 
federal income tax as married individuals filing jointly whose federal 274  Substitute Bill No. 8 
 
 
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adjusted gross income from such taxable year is one hundred 275 
thousand dollars or more or for a person who files a return under the 276 
federal income tax as a head of household whose federal adjusted 277 
gross income for such taxable year is one hundred thousand dollars or 278 
more, an amount equal to the difference between the amount of Social 279 
Security benefits includable for federal income tax purposes and the 280 
lesser of twenty-five per cent of the Social Security benefits received 281 
during the taxable year, or twenty-five per cent of the excess described 282 
in Section 86(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code; 283 
(xi) To the extent properly includable in gross income for federal 284 
income tax purposes, any amount rebated to a taxpayer pursuant to 285 
section 12-746; 286 
(xii) To the extent properly includable in the gross income for 287 
federal income tax purposes of a designated beneficiary, any 288 
distribution to such beneficiary from any qualified state tuition 289 
program, as defined in Section 529(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, 290 
established and maintained by this state or any official, agency or 291 
instrumentality of the state; 292 
(xiii) To the extent allowable under section 12-701a, contributions to 293 
accounts established pursuant to any qualified state tuition program, 294 
as defined in Section 529(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, established 295 
and maintained by this state or any official, agency or instrumentality 296 
of the state; 297 
(xiv) To the extent properly includable in gross income for federal 298 
income tax purposes, the amount of any Holocaust victims' settlement 299 
payment received in the taxable year by a Holocaust victim; 300 
(xv) To the extent properly includable in gross income for federal 301 
income tax purposes of an account holder, as defined in section 31-302 
51ww, interest earned on funds deposited in the individual 303 
development account, as defined in section 31-51ww, of such account 304 
holder; 305  Substitute Bill No. 8 
 
 
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(xvi) To the extent properly includable in the gross income for 306 
federal income tax purposes of a designated beneficiary, as defined in 307 
section 3-123aa, interest, dividends or capital gains earned on 308 
contributions to accounts established for the designated beneficiary 309 
pursuant to the Connecticut Homecare Option Program for the Elderly 310 
established by sections 3-123aa to 3-123ff, inclusive; 311 
(xvii) To the extent properly includable in gross income for federal 312 
income tax purposes, any income received from the United States 313 
government as retirement pay for a retired member of (I) the Armed 314 
Forces of the United States, as defined in Section 101 of Title 10 of the 315 
United States Code, or (II) the National Guard, as defined in Section 316 
101 of Title 10 of the United States Code; 317 
(xviii) To the extent properly includable in gross income for federal 318 
income tax purposes for the taxable year, any income from the 319 
discharge of indebtedness in connection with any reacquisition, after 320 
December 31, 2008, and before January 1, 2011, of an applicable debt 321 
instrument or instruments, as those terms are defined in Section 108 of 322 
the Internal Revenue Code, as amended by Section 1231 of the 323 
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to the extent any 324 
such income was added to federal adjusted gross income pursuant to 325 
subparagraph (A)(xi) of this subdivision in computing Connecticut 326 
adjusted gross income for a preceding taxable year; 327 
(xix) To the extent not deductible in determining federal adjusted 328 
gross income, the amount of any contribution to a manufacturing 329 
reinvestment account established pursuant to section 32-9zz in the 330 
taxable year that such contribution is made; 331 
(xx) To the extent properly includable in gross income for federal 332 
income tax purposes, (I) for the taxable year commencing January 1, 333 
2015, ten per cent of the income received from the state teachers' 334 
retirement system, (II) for the taxable years commencing January 1, 335 
2016, to January 1, 2020, inclusive, twenty-five per cent of the income 336 
received from the state teachers' retirement system, and (III) for the 337  Substitute Bill No. 8 
 
 
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taxable year commencing January 1, 2021, and each taxable year 338 
thereafter, fifty per cent of the income received from the state teachers' 339 
retirement system or, for a taxpayer whose federal adjusted gross 340 
income does not exceed the applicable threshold under clause (xxi) of 341 
this subparagraph, the percentage pursuant to said clause of the 342 
income received from the state teachers' retirement system, whichever 343 
deduction is greater; 344 
(xxi) To the extent properly includable in gross income for federal 345 
income tax purposes, except for retirement benefits under clause (iv) of 346 
this subparagraph and retirement pay under clause (xvii) of this 347 
subparagraph, for a person who files a return under the federal income 348 
tax as an unmarried individual whose federal adjusted gross income 349 
for such taxable year is less than seventy-five thousand dollars, or as a 350 
married individual filing separately whose federal adjusted gross 351 
income for such taxable year is less than seventy-five thousand dollars, 352 
or as a head of household whose federal adjusted gross income for 353 
such taxable year is less than seventy-five thousand dollars, or for a 354 
husband and wife who file a return under the federal income tax as 355 
married individuals filing jointly whose federal adjusted gross income 356 
for such taxable year is less than one hundred thousand dollars, (I) for 357 
the taxable year commencing January 1, 2019, fourteen per cent of any 358 
pension or annuity income, (II) for the taxable year commencing 359 
January 1, 2020, twenty-eight per cent of any pension or annuity 360 
income, (III) for the taxable year commencing January 1, 2021, forty-361 
two per cent of any pension or annuity income, and (IV) for the taxable 362 
year commencing January 1, 2022, and each taxable year thereafter, 363 
one hundred per cent of any pension or annuity income; 364 
(xxii) The amount of lost wages and medical, travel and housing 365 
expenses, not to exceed ten thousand dollars in the aggregate, incurred 366 
by a taxpayer during the taxable year in connection with the donation 367 
to another person of an organ for organ transplantation occurring on 368 
or after January 1, 2017; 369 
(xxiii) To the extent properly includable in gross income for federal 370  Substitute Bill No. 8 
 
 
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income tax purposes, the amount of any financial assistance received 371 
from the Crumbling Foundations Assistance Fund or paid to or on 372 
behalf of the owner of a residential building pursuant to sections 8-442 373 
and 8-443; 374 
(xxiv) To the extent properly includable in gross income for federal 375 
income tax purposes, the amount calculated pursuant to subsection (b) 376 
of section 12-704g for income received by a general partner of a 377 
venture capital fund, as defined in 17 CFR 275.203(l)-1, as amended 378 
from time to time; 379 
(xxv) To the extent any portion of a deduction under Section 179 of 380 
the Internal Revenue Code was added to federal adjusted gross income 381 
pursuant to subparagraph (A)(xiv) of this subdivision in computing 382 
Connecticut adjusted gross income, twenty-five per cent of such 383 
disallowed portion of the deduction in each of the four succeeding 384 
taxable years; 385 
(xxvi) To the extent properly includable in gross income for federal 386 
income tax purposes, for a person who files a return under the federal 387 
income tax as an unmarried individual whose federal adjusted gross 388 
income for such taxable year is less than seventy-five thousand dollars, 389 
or as a married individual filing separately whose federal adjusted 390 
gross income for such taxable year is less than seventy-five thousand 391 
dollars, or as a head of household whose federal adjusted gross income 392 
for such taxable year is less than seventy-five thousand dollars, or for a 393 
husband and wife who file a return under the federal income tax as 394 
married individuals filing jointly whose federal adjusted gross income 395 
for such taxable year is less than one hundred thousand dollars, (I) for 396 
the taxable year commencing January 1, 2023, twenty-five per cent of 397 
any distribution from an individual retirement account other than a 398 
Roth individual retirement account, (II) for the taxable year 399 
commencing January 1, 2024, fifty per cent of any distribution from an 400 
individual retirement account other than a Roth individual retirement 401 
account, (III) for the taxable year commencing January 1, 2025, 402 
seventy-five per cent of any distribution from an individual retirement 403  Substitute Bill No. 8 
 
 
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account other than a Roth individual retirement account, and (IV) for 404 
the taxable year commencing January 1, 2026, and each taxable year 405 
thereafter, any distribution from an individual retirement account 406 
other than a Roth individual retirement account; [and] 407 
(xxvii) To the extent properly includable in gross income for federal 408 
income tax purposes, for the taxable year commencing January 1, 2022, 409 
the amount or amounts paid or otherwise credited to any eligible 410 
resident of this state under (I) the 2020 Earned Income Tax Credit 411 
enhancement program from funding allocated to the state through the 412 
Coronavirus Relief Fund established under the Coronavirus Aid, 413 
Relief, and Economic Security Act, P.L. 116-136, and (II) the 2021 414 
Earned Income Tax Credit enhancement program from funding 415 
allocated to the state pursuant to Section 9901 of Subtitle M of Title IX 416 
of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, P.L. 117-2; and 417 
(xxviii) To the extent not deductible in determining federal adjusted 418 
gross income, and to the extent allowable under section 7 of this act, 419 
the amount of interest paid during the taxable year on a student loan. 420 
Sec. 7. (NEW) (Effective January 1, 2024, and applicable to taxable years 421 
commencing on or after January 1, 2024) (a) For the purposes of this 422 
section: 423 
(1) "Qualified student loan" means a loan taken out solely to pay 424 
qualified education expenses (A) for the taxpayer, the taxpayer's 425 
spouse or a person who was a dependent of the taxpayer at the time 426 
when the taxpayer took out the loan, (B) paid or incurred within a 427 
reasonable period of time before or after the taxpayer took out the 428 
loan, (C) from a private or governmental lender, and (D) for education 429 
provided during an academic period for an eligible student; 430 
(2) "Qualified education expenses" means the total costs of attending 431 
an eligible institution of higher education, including graduate school, 432 
and includes amounts paid for the following items: (A) Tuition and 433 
fees; (B) room and board, provided the cost of room and board 434  Substitute Bill No. 8 
 
 
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qualifies only to the extent that it is not more than the greater of (i) the 435 
allowance for room and board, as determined by the eligible 436 
institution of higher education, that was included in the cost of 437 
attendance for a particular academic period and living arrangement of 438 
the student, or (ii) the actual amount charged if the student is residing 439 
in housing owned or operated by the eligible institution of higher 440 
education; (C) books, supplies and equipment; and (D) other necessary 441 
expenses, including, but not limited to, transportation; 442 
(3) "Eligible institution of higher education" means any institution of 443 
higher education that is eligible to participate in a student aid program 444 
administered by the United States Department of Education; and 445 
(4) "Eligible student" means a student who is or was enrolled at least 446 
part time in a certificate or degree program at an eligible institution of 447 
higher education. 448 
(b) The maximum annual modificat ion under subparagraph 449 
(B)(xxviii) of subdivision (20) of subsection (a) of section 12-701 of the 450 
general statutes, as amended by this act, shall be equal to the amount 451 
of interest paid on a qualified student loan, but shall not exceed two 452 
thousand five hundred dollars for each taxpayer, provided (1) the 453 
taxpayer's filing status is any filing status except married filing 454 
separately, (2) the taxpayer's modified adjusted gross income is not 455 
more than seventy-five thousand dollars for taxpayers whose filing 456 
status is single, head of household or qualifying widow or widower or 457 
not more than one hundred fifty thousand dollars for taxpayers whose 458 
filing status is married filing jointly, (3) no other person is claiming an 459 
exemption for the taxpayer on such other person's return, (4) the 460 
taxpayer is legally obligated to pay interest on a qualified student loan, 461 
and (5) the taxpayer paid interest on a qualified student loan. 462 
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following 
sections: 
 
Section 1 July 1, 2023 10a-174  Substitute Bill No. 8 
 
 
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Sec. 2 July 1, 2023 New section 
Sec. 3 July 1, 2023 New section 
Sec. 4 July 1, 2023 New section 
Sec. 5 July 1, 2023 New section 
Sec. 6 January 1, 2024 12-701(a)(20)(B) 
Sec. 7 January 1, 2024, and 
applicable to taxable years 
commencing on or after 
January 1, 2024 
New section 
 
Statement of Legislative Commissioners: 
In Section 7(b), "subparagraph (B)(xxiii)" was changed to 
"subparagraph (B)(xxviii)" for accuracy. 
 
HED Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO