State officials today announced a supplemental plan to spend $18.7 million of the $500 million emergency fund created last November to address federal funding cuts.

At a press conference announcing the plan, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz announced the spending included $2 million for community health workers to help residents navigate recent changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and $11.4 million to the Department of Social Services to upgrade their information technology (IT) systems in keeping with requirements in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA).

The funding also includes roughly $4.5 million to replace funding from community school grants for the Clifford Beers school in New Haven, Waterbury Bridges to Success, and Hartford Public Schools.

This marks the second time Gov. Ned Lamont has announced expenditures from the $500 million fund. Previously, Lamont announced roughly $168 million in funds would be spent to address federal cuts to SNAP, to replace expiring healthcare subsidies, and to address cuts to federal homelessness programs.

As the legislature reconvenes next week, there is $330 million remaining in the emergency fund. State leaders noted during the press conference that the legislature will have to pass a resolution allowing Lamont to have continued authority to spend the funds.

At the press conference, Democratic leaders touted the success of the fund in allowing Connecticut to address sudden changes to funding coming from Washington.

Referencing several recent threats to cut funding from various programs that were later reversed, Bysiewicz says constituents and business leaders in the state “are saying the same thing: we need consistency.”

Speaker of the House Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, said there are “two conversations at play” regarding the emergency fund, one relating to the “buffer from chaos in Washington” it has created, and another having to do with affordability.

Both Ritter and Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, D-New Haven, emphasized the impact they say the funds have had on helping make life affordable for Connecticut families in recent months.

Looney also addressed criticisms that came from Republicans when the fund was created, arguing that the emergency fund should have come with more direction for how it could be spent. Looney said the “volatility and capriciousness” of Donald Trump’s administration have made it difficult to predict where the fund will be most needed.

Lamont also stated that the state is “trying to be responsible,” having only spent $175 million of the available money, but that the “emergency is not over and we still have a three-alarm fire.”

Republish This Story

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.