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Senate removes Hamden provision from Healthy Homes Fund after failing to make $12 surcharge optional
Summary
Lawmakers voted to remove a Hamden-specific allocation from the Healthy Homes Fund but rejected an amendment to make the $12 homeowner surcharge optional. Supporters said the surcharge helped remediate crumbling foundations; opponents called the surcharge a hidden tax and sought to phase it out.
The Connecticut Senate on Wednesday approved a technical change to the Healthy Homes Fund that removes a provision providing grants to owner‑occupied condominiums in Hamden but rejected an amendment that would have made the $12 per‑policy surcharge optional.
The bill, Senate Bill 1306, was described by Senator Marilyn Marx as eliminating a narrow provision that had directed earlier remittances from the Healthy Homes Fund to the Department of Housing for Hamden condominium owners with structurally deficient foundations. "This bill is just removing one small section … that is for condominiums in Hamden that is no longer needed," Marx said on the floor.
Why it mattered: The fund was created in response to a wave of crumbling foundations tied to pyrrhotite and has been supported by both bonding and the annual surcharge on homeowners’ insurance policies. Senator Rob Sampson offered an amendment (LCO 7923) to make the $12 surcharge optional and allow policyholders to write in any amount. Sampson said the fund had largely been addressed and called the surcharge "a hidden tax," arguing that bonding should cover the lion’s share of remediation costs. "All it does is it takes the required $12 healthy homes surcharge and makes it optional," Sampson said while urging a roll‑call vote on his amendment.
Supporters of the status quo warned the surcharge remains a needed revenue stream for ongoing claims. Senator Normon Gordon cited public data from Connecticut Foundation Solutions Indemnity Company and said, as of May 5, "there's been 1,072 home foundations remediated" and "around 1,351 foundations in process," and warned that converting the surcharge to voluntary payments could jeopardize reserves and ongoing remediation.
How the votes fell: The Senate voted down the Sampson amendment on a roll call (journal records show the amendment failed) and then approved the underlying bill, removing the Hamden provision. The clerk recorded the final passage of the bill on the Senate floor.
What’s next: The Senate passed the bill as amended on the floor; the journal records the roll‑call results and the bill proceeds per the legislative process.
