Senate Bill No. 1219 proposes to increase the financial threshold for classifying unemployment compensation fraud as a felony. Currently, under section 31-273 of the general statutes, fraud involving amounts of $500 or less is categorized as a class A misdemeanor, while amounts exceeding $500 are classified as a class D felony. The bill seeks to amend this by raising the threshold to $2,000, meaning that fraud involving $2,000 or less would be a class A misdemeanor, and amounts greater than $2,000 would be classified as a class D felony. The language changes include the deletion of "himself or herself" and "his or her" in favor of the more neutral "such person" and "such person's."

The bill is set to take effect on October 1, 2025, and is not expected to have any fiscal impact on the state or municipalities, as cases of unemployment compensation fraud are rare and no fines have been collected for this offense in the past two decades. The penalties for a class A misdemeanor include up to 364 days in prison and a fine of up to $2,000, while a class D felony can result in up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. The Labor and Public Employees Committee has reported the bill favorably, indicating support for its passage.