OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS
Legislative Office Building, Room 5200
Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa
sSB-1091
AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEFINITION OF DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE, REVISING STATUTES CONCERNING DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE, CHILD CUSTODY, FAMILY RELATIONS MATTER
FILINGS AND BIGOTRY OR BIAS CRIMES AND CREATING A
PROGRAM TO PROVIDE LEGAL COUNSEL TO INDIGENTS IN
RESTRAINING ORDER CASES.
As Amended by Senate "A" (LCO 8666)
Senate Calendar No.: 352
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 22 $ FY 23 $
Judicial Dept. GF - Cost 803,080 821,172
State Comptroller - Fringe GF - Cost 249,072 256,544
Benefits1
Social Services, Dept. GF - Potential See Below See Below
Cost
Note: GF=General Fund
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
Section 1-3 adds coercive control to the definition of domestic
violence and makes victims of such behavior eligible for support and a
civil restraining order. This change is anticipated to result in up to an
additional 4,000 petitions for a restraining order. In order to
accommodate the increase in petitions, it is anticipated that the Judicial
Department will have to hire up to six additional clerks and family
relations counselors for each of the busiest Judicial Districts
1The fringe benefit costs for most state employees are budgeted centrally in accounts
administered by the Comptroller. The estimated active employee fringe benefit cost
associated with most personnel changes is 41.3% of payroll in FY 22 and FY 23.
Primary Analyst: PR 5/19/21
Contributing Analyst(s):
Reviewer: ME
2021SB-01091-R01-FN.DOCX Page 2 of 3
(Bridgeport, Hartford, New Britain, New Haven, Norwich, and
Waterbury) at a cost of $603,080 annually for salaries and $249,072 for
fringe benefits.
Each restraining order application must be served by a state
marshal, resulting in a cost of approximately $200,000 annually.
Sections 13 and 14 could result in a cost to the Department of Social
Services (DSS) associated with providing temporary assistance to
domestic violence victims. The number of individuals who would
qualify for diversion assistance or state administered general
assistance and the value of the benefit under the amendment is
unknown. The maximum benefit cannot exceed the equivalent of three
months of Temporary Family Assistance benefits, which is
approximately $1,420 per case.
Section 15 establishes a grant program to provide legal assistance to
indigent individuals when applying for temporary restraining orders.
While the amendment does not specify a funding source for the
program, the amendment will result in significant costs to the Judicial
Department as a pass through to the administering entity.
A previous pilot program to provide legal representation for
applicants seeking a restraining order under the current definition of
domestic violence resulted in a cost of approximately $400,000 to the
Judicial Department and the Public Defenders. The pilot was limited
only to the Waterbury Judicial District and served approximately 500
clients.
Senate "A" strikes the underlying bill and the associated fiscal
impact. It results in the fiscal impact described above.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to inflation.
2021SB-01091-R01-FN.DOCX Page 3 of 3
The preceding Fiscal Impact statement is prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly,
solely for the purposes of information, summarization and explanation and does 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 analysts 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.


Statutes affected:
JUD Joint Favorable Substitute: 51-27h, 51-27i
File No. 617: 51-27h, 51-27i
APP Joint Favorable: 51-27h, 51-27i
Public Act No. 21-78: 51-27h, 51-27i