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sSB479 / File No. 480 1
General Assembly File No. 480
February Session, 2026 Substitute Senate Bill No. 479
Senate, April 7, 2026
The Committee on Human Services reported through SEN.
LESSER of the 9th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the
part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING OVERSIGHT OF FEDERAL FUND
APPLICATIONS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) As used in this section, (1) 1
"Rural Health Transformation Program" means a federal program 2
established pursuant to P.L. 119 -21 that provides grants to states to 3
improve the health of rural residents; and (2) "technical assistance 4
funding" means federal grants to states to implement system 5
modifications to implement eligibility changes for certain public 6
assistance programs, including, but not limited to, Medicaid required 7
pursuant to P.L. 119-21. 8
(b) Not later than thirty days before submitting an application for 9
Rural Health Transformation Program grants or for technical assistance 10
funding, the Commissioner of Social Services shall forward such 11
application to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly 12
having cognizance of matters relating to human services. The committee 13
may schedule a public hearing on such application and vote on whether 14
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to approve, deny or modify the application. 15
(c) If the committee does not vote to approve, deny or modify such 16
application not later than thirty days after receipt of such application 17
from the commissioner, the application shall be deemed approved. If 18
the committee votes to deny the application, the commissioner shall not 19
submit such application to the federal government. If the committee 20
votes to modify the application, the commissioner shall modify the 21
application in accordance with the committee's vote before submission 22
to the federal government. 23
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Subsec. (a)(1), "grant program" was changed to "program" and "to be
distributed" was changed to "that provides grants" for clarity.
HS Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO
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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:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
Social Services, Dept. Federal Funds -
See Below
See Below See Below
Note: GF=General Fund
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to submit
any application for Rural Health Transformation Program grants or
technical assistance funding to the Human Services Committee at least
30 days before submitting it for federal approval. DSS cannot submit the
application if the committee votes to deny it, or must submit a revised
application if the committee votes to modify it.
To the extent this delays or modifies funding that DSS would have
otherwise received, the state could experience a fiscal impact that cannot
be determined at this time.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to certain federal grant opportunities
and related committee actions.
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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 479
AN ACT CONCERNING OVERSIGHT OF FEDERAL FUND
APPLICATIONS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to forward
to the Human Services Committee any application for Rural Health
Transformation Program (see BACKGROUND) grants or technical
assistance funding at least 30 days before submitting it for federal
approval. Under the bill, “technical assistance funding” means federal
grants to implement system modifications to change eligibility for
certain public assistance programs, such as Medicaid.
The bill authorizes the Human Services Committee to hold a public
hearing on the application and vote to approve, deny, or modify it. If
the committee does not vote on an application within 30 days after
receiving it, it is deemed approved.
The bill also (1) prohibits DSS from submitting the application for
federal approval if the committee votes to deny it and (2) requires DSS
to modify the application before submitting it for federal approval if the
committee votes to do so.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
BACKGROUND
Rural Health Transformation Program
Under this program, created under 2025 federal legislation (P.L. 119-
21, § 71401), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is giving
all states grants to implement measures intended to expand rural health
care access and quality.
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Connecticut is receiving a first -year grant of $154 million under the
program. DSS will serve as the lead agency under the grant funding,
collaborating with several other agencies to implement projects across
four initiatives: population health outcomes, workforce, data and
technology, and care transformation and stability.
Related Bill
sSB 93 (File 44), favorably reported by the Public Health Committee,
allows the Department of Public Health (DPH), or its licensing boards
or commissions, to take disciplinary action against a practitioner who
fails to fulfill any obligation resulting from receiving DPH funding
under the Rural Health Transformation Program.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Human Services Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 16 Nay 7 (03/19/2026)