OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS Legislative Office Building, Room 5200 Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200 http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa sSB-1221 AN ACT CONCERNING THE ENFORCEMENT OF VIOLATIONS OF THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT. As Amended by Senate "A" (LCO 9492) House Calendar No.: 635 Senate Calendar No.: 321 Primary Analyst: MT 6/5/23 Contributing Analyst(s): OFA Fiscal Note State Impact: Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 24 $ FY 25 $ Freedom of Information Com. GF - Potential Revenue Gain See Below See Below Note: GF=General Fund Municipal Impact: None Explanation This bill would create potential revenue gain for the Freedom of Information Commission. The bill's primary purpose would be to increase the maximum fine for violations from $1,000 to $10,000. The exact impact would depend on the number of fines imposed and the severity of the violations. Senate Amendment "A" makes a variety of changes to the underlying bill The amendment reduces the range of fines that can be levied by the Freedom of Information Commission (FOIC) from a maximum of $10,000 to $5,000. The amendment also empowers the FOIC to impose penalties of between $20 and $5,000 for custodian of records willful interference with public access to records available by the Freedom of Information Act. The exact revenue generated would depend on the number of violations and the penalties imposed on a case-by-case basis. 2023SB-01221-R01-FN.DOCX Page 2 of 2 The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation. The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation. The preceding Fiscal Impact statement is prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for the purposes of information, summarization and explanation and does not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.