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Senate
sSB389 / File No. 649 1
General Assembly File No. 649
February Session, 2026 Substitute Senate Bill No. 389
Senate, April 15, 2026
The Committee on Appropriations reported through SEN.
OSTEN of the 19th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the
part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING
FUNDS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 31-3mm of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2026): 2
(a) The Labor Department, within available appropriations, shall 3
establish a program to distribute youth employment and training funds 4
to regional workforce development boards for services to persons ages 5
fourteen to twenty-four. 6
(b) Funds provided for in this section shall be allocated [as follows: 7
(1) Thirty-two and five -tenths per cent to Capitol Workforce Partners; 8
(2) twenty-two and five -tenths per cent to The Workforce Alliance; (3) 9
twelve and five-tenths per cent to The Workplace, Inc.; (4) twenty -two 10
and five -tenths per cent to the Northwest Regional Workforce 11
Investment Board, Inc.; and (5) ten per cent to the Eastern Connecticut 12
Workforce Investment Board ] to the regional workforce development 13
sSB389 File No. 649
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boards by the Labor Commissioner based on a formula established by 14
the Labor Commissioner, in collaboration with the regional workforce 15
development boards, that utilizes available data, including, but not 16
limited to, (1) the number of students in each workforce development 17
region that are eligible for free or reduced -price lunch, (2) the number 18
of economically disadvantaged youth in each workforce development 19
region determined by the most recent American Community Survey 20
conducted by United States Census Bureau, and (3) the number of at -21
risk students, as defined in section 21 of public act 24 -45, in each 22
workforce development region. 23
(c) The Labor Commissioner, in collaboration with the regional 24
workforce development boards, may update the formula established 25
pursuant to subsection (b) of this section in order to reflect current 26
conditions in the workforce development regions. 27
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2026 31-3mm
APP Joint Favorable Subst.
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The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do 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.
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill modifies the allocation formula for the CT Youth
Employment Program from a currently established fixed percentage for
each of the five Workforce Development Boards to a formula established
by the Labor Commissioner. This new formula includes the number of
(1) students that are eligible for free or reduced -price lunch, (2)
economically disa dvantaged youth, and (3) at -risk students 1. The
General Fund supports this program annually2 through the Department
of Labor. This change does not result in any fiscal impact to the state.
The Out Years
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None
1 “At-risk student" means a student who is enrolled in high school and is in danger of
not graduating.
2 PA 25-168, the FY 26 and FY 27 Budget , appropriates $10.3 million for this program
in FY 27.
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OFA Bill Analysis
sSB 389
AN ACT CONCERNING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING
FUNDS.
SUMMARY:
This bill changes the methodology the Department of Labor uses to
distribute Connecticut Youth Employment Program funds to the state’s
five regional workforce development boards (WDBs), and it clarifies the
program services persons aged fourteen to twenty-four.
Current law dictates fixed statutory percentages for each board. The
bill replaces these fixed allocations with a formula established by the
Labor Commissioner, in collaboration with the regional WDBs, utilizing
data that includes (1) the number of students eligible for free or reduced-
price lunch, (2) the number of economically disadvantaged youth, and
(3) the number of at -risk students (not enrolled in high school and in
danger of not graduating.)
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2026
COMMITTEE ACTION
Appropriations Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 51 Nay 0 Absent 0