A bill recently referred to Connecticut’s Committee on Public Health would add a 25-cent per month fee to phone lines to fund the 9-8-8 Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Lifeline and the 2-1-1 Infoline program.
The bill, introduced by Sen. Saud Anwar, D-Windsor, would assess the fee against phone lines capable of accessing 9-8-8 and 2-1-1. Funds would be deposited into the fund for the suicide prevention line and would also pay for administration of the 2-1-1 Infoline, which is administered by the United Way of Connecticut.
Currently, state statute stipulates that funding for the suicide prevention line, which provides 24/7 access to crisis counselors and support for individuals facing mental health crises, comes from legislative appropriations, grants or gifts, or from interests, premiums, or any other money the fund earns from investments.
9-8-8 was adopted nationally as the suicide helpline number in July 2022. The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) received a grant from Vibrant Emotional Health, which administers the line nationally, to establish a plan for the national rollout of the helpline. The state also received funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. DMHAS and the Department of Children and Families both fund the helpline, which is operated by the United Way of Connecticut.
The legislature’s final fiscal year 2026-2027 budget included $850,000 per year in funding for the suicide helpline.
The 2-1-1 Infoline has been around for much longer, since 1976, and provides 24/7 help and resources for a variety of social programs and services. The service has received a spike in requests since the COVID-19 pandemic, with demand for certain services also increasing in the past year in response to changes to federal funding of programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
According to the United Way of Connecticut’s data, 34.5 percent of requests for assistance received by the helpline in the past year have been for housing assistance. 36.9 percent of those requests involved assistance with low-cost housing.
Another 14.7 percent of requests received in the past year have been for food assistance, with over half of requests involving either help connecting with food pantries or soup kitchens.
Annually, the state provides just under $3.7 million for funding of the 2-1-1 Infoline. In January, Gov. Ned Lamont announced $2.6 million in funding for the 2-1-1 line to increase call handling capacity.
Should the bill become law, it would not be the first such fee to be tacked on to monthly phone bills
Last year, the legislature approved a monthly five-cent fee on phone lines to fund the firefighters’ cancer relief fund. Initially proposed as a standalone bill, the fee was passed as part of the budget implementer. Several Republicans likened the fee to the public benefits charge.
Language was added to the implementer, allowing phone customers to opt out of the fee, which was to go into effect on January 1, 2026. However, a bill passed during the November 2025 special session delayed implementation of the fee until January 1, 2027. That bill also removed the option to opt out of paying the fee.
The fund, which was created in 2016, provides wage replacement benefits for firefighters who are diagnosed with cancer as a result of exposure to heat, radiation, or carcinogens while on duty. The program was initially funded by redirecting one cent per-line from the enhanced emergency 9-1-1 program, but the Federal Communications Commission found this was unconstitutional. A 2023 law required municipalities to pay compensation and benefits for firefighters with cancer in the same manner and at the same level as state workers’ compensation requirements, but municipalities expressed concerns about their ability to fund the program if use increased.
The enhanced emergency 9-1-1 program is also funded by a surcharge on phone lines. The amount of the surcharge is determined by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA).
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