News
Bill exempting stimulus checks from benefit eligibility calculations signed
By Governor Rell's office
May 21, 2008 - 10:14:41 AM

Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced she has signed into law Senate Bill 659, An Act Replacing Expedited Eligibility for Pregnant Women with Presumptive Eligibility Under the Social Security Act. An amendment to the bill excludes payments received under the federal Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 from being counted as income when determining eligibility for benefits from the state Department of Social Services.

Governor Rell asked for the amendment after Congress passed the Economic Stimulus Act to help forestall the effects of a national economic downturn. The Governor was concerned that the stimulus payments – up to $600 for adults and $300 for each qualifying child – might otherwise push the income of recipients over the allowable limit for certain social programs such as State-Administered General Assistance (cash and medical aid for single, temporarily unemployable adults), ConnPACE (prescription drug assistance for elders and people with disabilities) and the State Supplement Program (cash aid for low-income elders and people with disabilities).

“In March I asked DSS to work with the General Assembly to make sure we avoided this potential pitfall,” Governor Rell said. “Without these changes we might have inadvertently wound up hurting the families who rely on services the state provides and were also counting on the stimulus payments Congress and the President had approved. This was a win-win situation for families and for the state.”

In February, the Governor announced separately that the federal checks would not be subject to Connecticut income taxes.

The main provision of SB 659 involves a change in the way Medicaid coverage is provided for pregnant women. Under current practice, called expedited eligibility, coverage is provided once a number of eligibility criteria have been verified, including citizenship status. Under the new law, the state will switch to presumptive eligibility, providing coverage sooner but on a more limited scale until all criteria have been verified. The change is not expected to have a net fiscal impact.

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