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Committee flags foster-care fee waivers in S.123; SSI/SSDI treatment left for further testimony
Summary
S.123 includes fee waivers for individuals transitioning out of foster care up to age 23; lawmakers said this is the source of an approximately $15,000 estimate and asked DCF and JFO to provide further detail. Provisions related to SSI/SSDI discounts require additional testimony.
Senate Transportation Committee members on April 20 reviewed several sections of S.123 that would waive certain DMV fees for people transitioning out of foster care and would adjust discounts for Social Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) recipients.
A committee staff member explained that the foster-care language was spread across multiple sections of the bill and that, together, those sections account for an estimated $15,000 in fees that DCF previously paid to the DMV. The staff member said the $15,000 reflects a small population and that DCF historically paid these fees; under the bill those fees would stop being charged by DMV, eliminating the interagency payment and associated accounting time.
Representative Roe noted that DCF would not speak to SSI/SSDI recipients’ eligibility for reduced fees, so the committee flagged sections affecting SSI/SSDI for separate testimony. Committee members asked which sections required joint testimony and decided to hear DCF on all foster-care-related sections together, while scheduling SSI/SSDI-related details to be addressed with additional witnesses.
Why it matters: The bill would waive fees (including plate/registration-related charges) for some formerly in foster care up to age 23; the committee heard that the age choice was based on DCF’s benefit structure and that setting the cutoff at 23 better captured the small population the agencies sought to cover. One committee member said the age-23 threshold was proposed because it best matched the population used to estimate the $15,000 figure.
Outstanding questions and next steps: The committee asked DCF and JFO to appear together for the portions of the bill that relate to foster-care fee waivers, and asked staff to identify whether SSI/SSDI discounts exist elsewhere in Title 23. Members also flagged a desire to know whether DMV already collects the fees in question (Logan, the DMV deputy commissioner, said collection is tied to plate versus registration fees and that some collections may not have occurred because of the plate-vs-registration distinction).
Ending: No formal votes were taken. Committee members agreed to request joint agency testimony on foster-care sections and to schedule further clarification on SSI/SSDI fee treatment.
