Senate Bill No. 1526 seeks to expand health insurance benefits to include state marshals as eligible participants in the group hospitalization and medical and surgical insurance plans managed by the Comptroller. The bill proposes to repeal subsections (a) to (l) of section 5-259 of the general statutes and replace them with new provisions that specifically add state marshals to the list of covered individuals, marked by the insertion of the phrase "and (9) state marshals, as provided in subdivision (2) of subsection (l) of this section." Additionally, it removes the previous provision covering surviving spouses and dependent children of municipal employees who died in the line of duty, indicated by the deletion of the phrase "and" before the new insertion. The bill also clarifies definitions of "employee" and "municipality" to ensure substantial benefits comparable to those of other eligible state employees, with an effective date of July 1, 2025.

Moreover, the bill introduces provisions for adoptive and foster parents to obtain group hospitalization and medical insurance coverage for themselves and their dependents, requiring them to pay 100% of the premium directly to the insurer. It outlines eligibility criteria for probate judges and court employees, specifying a minimum work requirement of twenty hours per week. The bill allows the Comptroller to provide health insurance coverage for employees of municipalities, nonprofit organizations, and small employers, with participation being voluntary. It also establishes the "Municipal Employee Health Insurance Plan" and modifies eligibility criteria for state marshals, changing the effective date for certain provisions to October 1, 2025, and requiring them to work at least 20 hours per week to qualify for participation in the state employee health insurance plan. The anticipated costs for implementing these changes are approximately $1.5 million for the partial year in FY 26 and $2.6 million annually thereafter.