The bill under consideration, Substitute Senate Bill No. 249, proposes amendments to the Early Childhood Business Incubator Program. The bill allows the Commissioner of Early Childhood to issue licenses for family child care homes to individuals or groups who partner with various entities to provide child care services in approved spaces that are not private family homes. The bill removes the previous geographical restriction that limited the issuance of such licenses to specific cities (New Britain, New Haven, Bridgeport, Stamford, Hartford, Danbury, or Waterbury) and expands the potential for licensing to a total of twenty facilities throughout the state. Additionally, the bill eliminates the expiration date for licenses, which was previously set for June 30, 2026, allowing the licenses to remain valid indefinitely unless suspended or revoked by the commissioner.

The fiscal impact statement and bill analysis indicate that there is no anticipated state or municipal fiscal impact from the bill. The Office of Early Childhood (OEC) is expected to have the expertise to meet the licensing requirements without additional costs. The bill retains the commissioner's authority to suspend or revoke licenses at any time. The effective date of the bill is July 1, 2024, and it amends subsection (l) of section 19a-87b of the 2024 supplement to the general statutes. The Commerce Committee reported favorably on the bill.