03/24/2022
March 24, 2022 Appropriations Committee, HB 5036
Public Hearing Testimony of
Danté Bartolomeo, Commissioner
Department of Labor
March 24, 2022
Good Afternoon Senator Osten, Representative Walker, Senator Miner, Representative France and members of the Appropriations Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to provide you with testimony regarding House Bill 5036: HB 5036: AN ACT MAKING DEFICIENCY APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2022. My name is Danté Bartolomeo and I am the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Labor.
Thank you for the opportunity to come before you today to provide further details to the Appropriations Committee about the $14,700,000 million deficiency in the Personnel Services (PS) line item for the Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL) for State Fiscal Year (SFY) ending 2022. Since CTDOL has received additional federal Unemployment Insurance (UI) funding from the US Department of Labor (USDOL) for both the Agency’s 1) UI base grant and 2) UI Above Base supplemental grant, these additional funds have negated the need for this PS deficiency in SFY 2022.
A UI base grant allocation is the base funding amount distributed to states for the operation of their UI programs. In addition, a state may earn an additional UI Above Base supplemental grant each Federal Fiscal Year quarter for actual UI claims workload above the base. These “above-base” funds are allocated at the state’s request once it has been determined that its workload has increased.
For the quarter ending September 30, 2021, CTDOL received $10.8 million in “above base” funds from US DOL on 12/31/2021 to assist with the Agency increased PS costs as a result of the high pandemic workload. In addition, for the quarter ending December 31, 2021, CTDOL will receive a total of $5.6 million. Cumulatively, the above base allocations will be $12.9 million higher than originally estimated.
However, as I have already testified before this Committee, CTDOL will still require additional state PS funding, inclusive of these additional federal UI Resources, to address projected needs for the upcoming state fiscal year. The Department is currently working with OPM to determine the anticipated FY 23 UI shortfall. At this time, we believe this to be less than the $30 million currently included in the Governor’s Recommended Adjustments. This additional state funding will be utilized evenly throughout the 12 months of SFY 2023 to support the Consumer Contact Center, as well as the additional Overpayments and Appeals backlog support
I hope that you find this explanation helpful. I am available, along with CTDOL subject matter experts who have joined me today, to answer any further questions that you may have.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide this testimony today.
Connecticut Department of Labor • www.ct.gov/dol
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer