OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS
Legislative Office Building, Room 5200
Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa
SB-421
AN ACT CONCERNING LAW ENFORCEMENT RECRUITMENT
AND RETENTION.
Primary Analyst: RP 4/2/24
Contributing Analyst(s): SB, LG, NN, MP
Reviewer: PR
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 25 $ FY 26 $
Department of Emergency
Services and Public Protection
GF - Cost 7.5 million -
15 million
7.5 million -
15 million
Department of Emergency
Services and Public Protection
GF - Cost Potential
Significant
Potential
Significant
Resources of the General Fund GF -
Appropriation
500,000 None
Higher Education Constituent
Units
Tuition Funds -
Revenue Loss
Potential
Significant
Potential
Significant
Higher Ed., Off. GF - Cost Significant Significant
CHFA CHFA - Potential
Cost/Revenue
Impact
See Below See Below
Comptroller GF - Cost 50,000 None
State Comptroller – Fringe
Benefits
1
GF - Cost At least
100,000
At least
100,000
Note: GF=General Fund; CHFA=Resources of CHFA
Municipal Impact:
Municipalities Effect FY 25 $ FY 26 $
Hartford; New Haven;
Waterbury; Bridgeport; Stamford;
Greenwich; Norwalk; Danbury;
New Britain; West Hartford
Revenue
Gain
See Below See Below
Various Municipalities Grand List
Reduction
None See 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 41.25% of payroll in FY 25. 2024SB-00421-R000223-FN.DOCX Page 2 of 8
Various Municipalities Potential
Revenue
Gain
See Below See Below
Various Municipalities Potential
Savings
See Below See Below
Various Municipalities Potential
Cost
See Below See Below
Explanation
The bill makes various changes regarding the recruitment and
retention of law enforcement officers, resulting in the various impacts
described below.
Section 1 requires the Department of Emergency Services and Public
Protection (DESPP) to develop a state-wide campaign to promote the
law enforcement profession. Section 21 appropriates $500,000 in FY 25
to DESPP for this purpose.
Section 2 requires DESPP to employ a full-time cadet or explorer
program coordinator, resulting in an estimated cost of $116,000 annually
beginning in FY 25. The starting salary of the program coordinator is
approximately $75,000, with associated fringe benefits of $31,000. There
is also an estimated cost of $10,000 for other expenses, including
educational supplies and promotional materials.
This section also requires DESPP to allocate $5,000 to each municipal
police department that operates or plans to operate a cadet or explorer
program each year, resulting in a potential cost to the state of up to
$475,000
2
in FY 25 and FY 26. There is a corresponding potential revenue
gain of $5,000 to each municipal police department that operates or
plans to operate a cadet or explorer program each year.
Section 3 requires DESPP to establish a grant program to reimburse
municipal police departments for the cost of basic training for police
officers, resulting in a cost to the state and savings to municipalities
2
As of October 2023, Connecticut has 95 municipal police departments. 2024SB-00421-R000223-FN.DOCX Page 3 of 8
ranging from about $5,000 to $70,000 per officer.
3
Costs will vary widely
depending on which expenses the grant covers and how many officers
attend basic training. For every 100 officers that attend basic training,
the cost can range from $500,000 to $7 million each year.
Section 4 requires the Police Officer Standards and Training Council
(POST) to examine criminal justice courses offered by colleges and
universities in the state, resulting in no fiscal impact to the state because
POST has the expertise to meet the requirements of the section.
Section 5 prohibits POST from denying police officer certification
and law enforcement units from denying someone employment as a
police officer solely because they are a lawful permanent resident
noncitizen, resulting in no fiscal impact to the state or municipalities.
Section 6 requires DESPP to provide a grant to each of the top ten
most populous municipalities in the state to increase the salaries of
police officers serving such municipalities, resulting in a cost to the state
ranging from $7.3 million to $14.6 million in FY 25 and FY 26. It is
estimated that each of these approximately 2440 officers
4
will receive an
additional $3,000 to $6,000 annually to make their salaries competitive
with surrounding communities. The cost may be reduced if these grants
are only applied to starting salaries. The following table shows the
estimated revenue gain by municipality:
Municipality Officers
4
Revenue Gain Estimate $
Hartford 382 1,146,000 - 2,292,000
New Haven 352 1,056,000 - 2,112,000
Waterbury 293 879,000 - 1,758,000
Bridgeport 289 867,000 - 1,734,000
Stamford 273 819,000 - 1,638,000
Greenwich 182 546,000 - 1,092,000
Norwalk 179 537,000 - 1,074,000
Danbury 178 534,000 - 1,068,000
New Britain 162 486,000 - 972,000
West Hartford 150 450,000 - 900,000
Total: 2440 7,320,000 - 14,640,000
3
The cost of tuition and fees for a police officer to attend basic training may potentially
be as low as $5,000 per student, while including the cost of uniforms, equipment, and
salary while attending training can result in a cost of up to $70,000 per student.
4
From Office of Legislative Research Report 2023-R-0265. 2024SB-00421-R000223-FN.DOCX Page 4 of 8
Section 7 requires DESPP and POST to jointly submit a report to the
Public Safety and Security Committee with recommendations on giving
bonuses to encourage people to begin and continue careers as police
officers, resulting in no fiscal impact because the agencies have the
expertise to meet the requirements of the section.
Section 8 requires the Board of Regents for Higher Education,
UConn’s Board of Trustees, and POST to jointly submit a report that
includes a career pathway and schedule of credits to help police officers
earn higher education degrees, resulting in no fiscal impact because the
agencies have the expertise to meet the requirements of the section.
Sections 9-11 result in a potentially significant annual revenue loss
beginning in FY 25 to the higher education constituent units, associated
with waiving tuition for certain police officers and their dependents.
The tuition waivers will be available to: (1) a police officer who has at
least two years of service as an officer in Connecticut and (2) any
dependent child of a police officer who has at least five years of service
as an officer in the state.
There are an estimated 8,092 state and local police officers in
Connecticut. It is unknown how many individuals will be eligible for
the tuition waivers and take advantage of it, or which constituent unit
they would choose to attend. The scope of the revenue loss will vary
based on the number of waivers and the institution waiving tuition. For
example, 500 additional tuition waivers at UConn for the
undergraduate level results in a revenue loss of approximately $8.5
million annually while 1,000 additional community college waivers
results in a revenue loss of approximately $4.6 million annually. To the
extent that some of the waiver beneficiaries enrolling in Connecticut
State Colleges and Universities institutions might not have otherwise
attended, these institutions may experience higher fee and other
revenue (e.g., room and board) due to the bill. The exact number of
additional waivers that will occur because of the bill is unknown, but
the revenue loss to the constituent units may be significant.
2024SB-00421-R000223-FN.DOCX Page 5 of 8
Examples of Tuition Waiver Value, FY 25
# of Students UConn CSUs
CT State Community
College
Per-Student Value of
Undergraduate Tuition
Waiver, FY 25 17,012 6,998 4,608
100 1,701,200 699,800 460,800
500 8,506,000 3,499,000 2,304,000
1,000 17,012,000 6,998,000 4,608,000
Section 12 results in a significant annual cost to the Office of Higher
Education (OHE) beginning in FY 25 associated with a loan
reimbursement program for individuals employed as police officers in
Connecticut for at least ten years. Eligible participants may receive an
annual grant for up to ten years. The grant may equal up to 10% of their
loans and is capped at $5,000 per year.
OHE does not currently have the funds available to operate this
program. The scope of the costs is dependent upon the number of
reimbursements awarded annually and the amount of gifts, grants, and
donations received for the program (if any). OHE would require one
full-time program administrator, resulting in annual salary expenses of
approximately $92,250 and corresponding fringe benefit costs of
approximately $38,053, beginning in FY 25. Additionally, OHE would
require up to $50,000 in FY 25, associated with software and information
technology upgrades.
Section 13 exempts $10,000 in property taxes on property belonging
to or held in trust for a police officer who resides in a distressed
municipality. This results in a grand list reduction to distressed
municipalities beginning in FY 26. A grand list reduction results in a
revenue loss given a constant mill rate, however it is likely that a
municipality will adjust its mill rate to offset any predicted revenue loss.
According to a 2023 report, 16 of the distressed municipalities had 2024SB-00421-R000223-FN.DOCX Page 6 of 8
municipal police departments.
5
If every one of these police officers
received the full exemption, it would result in a cumulative grand list
reduction of approximately $18.9 million. There would be an additional
grand list reduction for any state police that also qualified for the
exemption.
Section 14 results in potential marketing costs and a minimal revenue
impact for the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA),
beginning in FY 25, to enhance its assistance to police officers who seek
to purchase a home in the community where they serve.
6
To the extent
CHFA further reduces home mortgage interest rates for that group
beyond the 0.125% discount already offered through its Police
Homebuyer Program, CHFA would collect less revenue for each loan.
However, such losses may be offset by increased interest income from
additional loans to the extent lower interest rates increase demand for
CHFA’s mortgage products. Regardless, the revenue impact is
anticipated to be minimal as the existing police officer program
originated just four loans in the years 2017 to 2023. CHFA may incur
marketing costs, from its own resources, to promote the program. The
actual impact will depend on the way the authority decides to enhance
its current assistance and on the number of police officers taking
advantage of such assistance per year.
Section 15 will result in a cost of approximately $50,000 to the Office
of the State Comptroller in FY 25 in consulting fees to study retirement
options and make police health care coverage recommendations.
Section 16 directs the Governor to enter negotiations to amend any
5
According to the Department of Economic and Community Development's 2023
distressed municipalities and Police Office Standards and Training Council data; (1)
towns with a municipal police department consist of: Ansonia, Bridgeport, Derby, East
Hartford, East Haven, Hartford, Meriden, New Britain, New London, Norwich,
Plymouth, Putnam, Torrington, Waterbury, West Haven, and Winchester; and (2)
towns without a municipal police department consist of: Chaplin, Griswold, Lisbon,
Mansfield, Montville, Sprague, Sterling, Voluntown, and Windham.
6
CHFA is a quasi-public authority that issues its own federally tax-exempt and taxable
mortgage revenue bonds. The authority primarily pays its operating expenses using
funds derived from the excess of interest income from loans over bond interest
expenses. 2024SB-00421-R000223-FN.DOCX Page 7 of 8
collective bargaining agreement with state police officers to establish
conditions for retired officers to return to service, resulting in no fiscal
impact to the state or municipalities.
Section 17 requires collective bargaining agreements between
municipalities and municipal police officers to allow retired, POST-
certified officers to return to part or full-time employment, while
collecting a pension, resulting in a potential cost or potential savings to
municipalities in FY 25, depending on the extent to which the addition
of these officers defrays the current overtime costs of municipalities.
Section 18 creates a task force to study the volunteer police auxiliary
force resulting in no fiscal impact to the state because the task force has
the expertise to meet the requirements of the bill.
Section 19 requires DESPP to develop a pilot program to provide law
enforcement units with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), resulting in a
one-time cost in FY 25 that will vary widely depending on the scale of
the program and number of participating law enforcement units. To
administer the program, DESPP will need to hire one emergency
management program specialist, resulting in a total cost of $122,000
($83,000 salary, $34,000 fringe benefits, $5,000 other expenses).
UAVs used by law enforcement typically cost approximately $10,000
each but may range in price from $5,000 to over $50,000. There are also
additional training, software, and equipment expenses that are
incidental to purchasing a UAV. The bill does not limit which law
enforcement units are eligible to participate in this program, but should
ten law enforcement units participate, it is estimated to cost the state at
least $500,000.
Section 20 requires DESPP to administer a police mental health pilot
program, resulting in a potential one-time cost in FY 25. DESPP will
need to hire consultants or durational staff to develop suitable
programming as the agency lacks the required subject matter expertise.
The total cost will vary widely based on the scale of the program, which 2024SB-00421-R000223-FN.DOCX Page 8 of 8
may be required to address the needs of over 1,500 officers.
7
The bill
requires this program be administered within available resources and
does not specify a funding source.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to the number of grants administered,
tuition waivers granted, and property tax exemptions granted, as well
as employee wage increases.
The impacts identified in sections 15 and 19-21 are one-time costs and
have no out years effect.
Sources: Office of Legislative Research Report 2023-R-0265
7
The bill limits which law enforcement units are eligible to those with over 300 officers,
which currently include Hartford Police Department, New Haven Police Department,
and the State Police.