OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS
Legislative Office Building, Room 5200
Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa
sSB-1226
AN ACT CONCERNING STATE VOTING RIGHTS IN
RECOGNITION OF JOHN R. LEWIS.
Primary Analyst: MT 4/17/23
Contributing Analyst(s):
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 24 $ FY 25 $
Secretary of the State GF - Cost 5,141,119 1,141,119
State Comptroller - Fringe
Benefits
1
GF - Cost 263,822 263,822
Note: GF=General Fund
Municipal Impact:
Municipalities Effect FY 24 $ FY 25 $
Various Municipalities Potential
Cost
Significant Significant
Explanation
This bill would result in an estimated total cost to the state of
$5,404,941 in FY 24 and $1,404,941 in FY 25. The bill would also result in
significant cost to various municipalities across the state. The bill
generally codifies into state law several aspects of the federal Voting
Rights Act of 1965 which bans discrimination in voting and elections
and establishes a mechanism for certain jurisdictions with a history of
discrimination against racial and language minorities to seek
preapproval before changing their election laws.
The bill, which requires the Secretary of the State (SOTS) to establish
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 42.82% of payroll in FY 24. 2023SB-01226-R000610-FN.DOCX Page 2 of 3
and maintain a database containing a range of elections and
demographic data, results in a one-time start-up cost for equipment and
software of up to $4,000,000 in FY 24 and up to $500,000 annually
thereafter. There is also a cost for two additional staff: 1) one Manager
of the statewide database, as required in the bill, with an annual salary
of $110,000 and associated fringe of $47,102, and 2) one IT Analyst with
an annual salary of $92,372 and associated fringe of $39,554.
The bill also requires SOTS to make determinations of certain
municipal plans intended to protect specified classes of electors. This
determination process may include various municipalities
simultaneously in the years following a redistricting or court litigation.
This is estimated to result in an annualized cost to SOTS of $413,747 for
four additional staff and associated fringe to the Office of the State
Comptroller of $177,166 . The staff are anticipated to be one Deputy
Elections Director, two Staff Attorneys, and one Elections Officer.
Additionally, the bill requires a municipality to provide language-
related assistance in voting and elections if SOTS determines, based on
the American Community Survey results or data of similar quality, that
the municipality meets certain criteria. Additional costs to the SOTS will
be dependent on the number of municipalities that meet these criteria
and may be up to $25,000 annually. Under Federal law, ten
municipalities currently meet these criteria as of the most recent census
2
.
As the bill expands these criteria, this will likely include more
municipalities.
The State Elections Enforcement Commission, The Attorney General
and certain parties are allowed under this bill to bring an action in the
Superior Court in the district of an alleged violation. This is not
anticipated to result in a fiscal impact to the state or municipalities.
2
Federal Register, 2021 Report 2023SB-01226-R000610-FN.DOCX Page 3 of 3
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to inflation.