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SB00347 • 2026

AN ACT INCREASING THE THRESHOLD AMOUNT FOR FELONY UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION FRAUD.

AN ACT INCREASING THE THRESHOLD AMOUNT FOR FELONY UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION FRAUD.

Crime Labor
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Labor and Public Employees Committee
Last action
2026-04-28
Official status
House Calendar Number 519
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide details on penalties for amounts up to $2,000 or specify a prosecution timeline.

Increasing the Amount for Felony Unemployment Fraud

This act raises the amount of unemployment compensation fraud needed to be considered a felony from $500 to $2,000.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the law so that receiving more than $2,000 in fraudulent unemployment benefits is now a felony.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who commit unemployment compensation fraud

Terms To Know

Felony
A serious crime that is punished by a year or more in prison.
Misdemeanor
A less serious crime that is usually punished with fines and up to one year in jail.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if someone commits fraud before the new law takes effect but gets caught after it.
  • It's unclear how this change will affect unemployment compensation programs in other states or at the federal level.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-28 Connecticut General Assembly

    Senate Passed

  2. 2026-04-28 Connecticut General Assembly

    Rules Suspended, Transmitted to the House

  3. 2026-04-28 Connecticut General Assembly

    Favorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, House

  4. 2026-04-28 Connecticut General Assembly

    House Calendar Number 519

  5. 2026-04-13 LCO

    Filed with Legislative Commissioners' Office

  6. 2026-04-13 LCO

    Reported Out of Legislative Commissioners' Office

  7. 2026-04-13 Connecticut General Assembly

    No New File by Committee on Judiciary

  8. 2026-04-13 Connecticut General Assembly

    Favorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, Senate

  9. 2026-04-10 JUD

    Joint Favorable

  10. 2026-04-08 Connecticut General Assembly

    Immediate Transmittal to Committee on Judiciary

  11. 2026-03-19 LCO

    Reported Out of Legislative Commissioners' Office

  12. 2026-03-19 Connecticut General Assembly

    Favorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, Senate

  13. 2026-03-19 Connecticut General Assembly

    Senate Calendar Number 82

  14. 2026-03-19 LCO

    File Number 82

  15. 2026-03-13 LCO

    Referred to Office of Legislative Research and Office of Fiscal Analysis 03/18/26 5:00 PM

  16. 2026-03-06 LCO

    Filed with Legislative Commissioners' Office

  17. 2026-03-05 LAB

    Joint Favorable

  18. 2026-02-27 Connecticut General Assembly

    Public Hearing 03/03

  19. 2026-02-26 Connecticut General Assembly

    Referred to Joint Committee on Labor and Public Employees

Official Summary Text

To increase the threshold dollar amount for an individual to become guilty of a felony for receiving unemployment benefits by fraudulent means.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
LCO 1276 1 of 2

General Assembly Raised Bill No. 347
February Session, 2026 LCO No. 1276

Referred to Committee on LABOR AND PUBLIC
EMPLOYEES

Introduced by:
(LAB)

AN ACT INCREASING THE THRESHOLD AMOUNT FOR FELONY
UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION FRAUD.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subsection (f) of section 31 -273 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 2
1, 2026): 3
(f) Any person who knowingly makes a false statement or 4
representation or fails to disclose a material fact in order to obtain, 5
increase, prevent or decrease any benefit, contribution or other payment 6
under this chapter, or under any similar law of another state or of the 7
United States in regard to which this state acted as agent pursuant to an 8
agreement authorized by section 31 -225, whether to be made to or by 9
[himself or herself] such person or any other person, and who receives 10
any such benefit, pays any such contribution or alters any such payment 11
to [his or her ] such person's advantage by such fraudulent means (1) 12
shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor if such benefit, contribution or 13
payment amounts to [five hundred] two thousand dollars or less, or (2) 14
Raised Bill No. 347

LCO 1276 2 of 2

shall be guilty of a class D felony if such benefit, contribution or 15
payment amounts to more than [five hundred] two thousand dollars. 16
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 54 -193, no person shall be 17
prosecuted for a violation of the provisions of this subsection committed 18
on or after October 1, 1977, except within five years next after such 19
violation has been committed. 20
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 October 1, 2026 31-273(f)

LAB Joint Favorable
JUD Joint Favorable