Public Hearing Testimony of Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo
Department of Labor
Labor and Public Employees Committee
March 10, 2026
Good morning, Senator Kushner, Representative Sanchez, Senator Sampson, Representative Weir and members of the Labor and Public Employees Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to provide you with written testimony regarding SB 357: AN ACT CONCERNING UNEMPLOYMENT DEPENDENCY ALLOWANCE. My name is Danté Bartolomeo, and I am the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL).
CTDOL understands the Labor Committee’s intent of raising the dependency allowance that eligible Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimants receive from $15 to $45 per dependent. As with all changes to ReEmployCT, our state’s UI system, the passage of SB 357 would require CTDOL to work in partnership with our vendor to implement this increase. The cost to fully implement this system change is estimated to be $380,000, which is not a permissible federal expenditure.
We would also like to highlight the impact that SB 357 would have on the ongoing efforts to move the UI Trust Fund (Trust Fund) toward solvency. As written, the impact on the Trust Fund is estimated to be an additional claimant payout of $12M per year. The impact on the Trust Fund would be even greater in the event of economic downturns that would increase the number of claimants.
CTDOL appreciates that the effective date of SB 357 is July 1, 2028. If this bill passes, that date will allow for the project to be added to our “queue” of enhancements and modifications that are already scheduled. for ReEmployCT.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide the Committee with this written testimony. My staff and I are reachable to further discuss SB 357 by directing any questions you may have to Billy Taylor, Legislative and Administrative Advisor at william.b.taylor@ct.gov or 203-947-4136.
