Two-day special legislation session to address SNAP benefits
Gov. Ned Lamont said Friday that he had already authorized the state Department of Social Services to fully fund SNAP benefits through the end of this month by using up to $72 million from the state's rainy day fund.
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State lawmakers are back in Hartford for a special two-day legislation session that is expected to take up funding for SNAP benefits, that until now, has been cut by the federal government.
Gov. Ned Lamont said Friday that he had already authorized the state Department of Social Services to fully fund SNAP benefits through the end of this month by using up to $72 million from the state's rainy day fund.
Lamont and lawmakers agreed to direct another $500 million into the state's rainy day fund.
That fund is currently full - at its statutory limit of $4.3 billion - or 18% of the general fund.
The special session legislation will temporarily raise that limit to $4.8 billion through the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2026.
Lawmakers in both parties have been pushing Lamont to use that $500 million to fund food stamps and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
"So, it's going to be SNAP, the heating fund. It is WIC, women infant and children, making sure that pregnant mothers and little babies are being fed," State Sen. Ceci Maher told News 12 Connecticut.
"You set aside a little bit of money but certainly not the half a billion dollars that we're talking about here. I would hate to allocate funds to something when in reality we don't end up really needing it," said State Sen. Jason Perillo.
The special session coincides with the U.S. House returning to Washington, D.C., after nearly a two-month absence to vote on reopening the federal government.
That takes away the sense of urgency, at least among Republicans, for the governor to subsidize federal hunger, nutrition and home heating programs.
