Connecticut childcare overhaul advances amid debate over payroll tax and timing of wage increases

Hartford — Lawmakers and stakeholders debated Senate Bill 1369 on Feb. 27 in a public hearing before the Connecticut General Assembly’s Committee on Children, focusing on proposals to cap family child-care costs at 7% of household income, create a dedicated workforce childcare fund and board, and finance it in part with a 1.5% employer payroll charge.

The bill’s backers, including child-care providers and advocacy groups, said the measure would make care more affordable for families and raise wages for the early-education workforce. Business groups, unions and some advocates warned the proposed payroll charge is regressive or could drive unintended harms unless the funding design and implementation timeline are changed.

Why it matters: Connecticut faces persistent childcare shortages and high costs that stakeholders say limit parents’ ability to work and suppress the labor force. SB 1369 would create a defined revenue stream for grants to raise pay, fund retention incentives and underwrite facility improvements while capping the share of household income parents pay for care.

Supporters described the bill as a long-term, structural fix. “This workforce childcare bill is an opportunity to address the critical issues that are overwhelming child care here right now and the working families in Connecticut,” said Eva Bermudez Zimmerman, Coalition Director of Child Care for CT. Bermudez Zimmerman…