(a) The Labor Commissioner, in consultation with the State Treasurer shall, in accordance with chapter 54, adopt regulations to implement the provisions of sections 31-51ww to 31-51eee, inclusive, and to administer the Connecticut IDA Initiative. Such regulations shall establish standards and guidelines, consistent with the provisions of sections 31-51ww to 31-51eee, inclusive, for certified state IDA programs, including, but not limited to: (1) Income eligibility requirements for account holders; (2) permissible savings goals for certified state IDA programs; (3) the services that each certified state IDA program shall provide to assist its account holders in meeting their savings goals including credit history assessments, assistance in credit repair and ongoing credit stability, general financial education and asset-specific training, ongoing case management and other support services; (4) procedures and timelines for establishment of savings accounts within financial institutions and for the deposit of funds into individual savings accounts, the department's Individual Development Account Reserve Fund, and local reserve funds maintained by certified community-based organizations; (5) allowable uses of matching funds from the Individual Development Account Reserve Fund and procedures for the making of grants from such fund; (6) procedures and permissible reasons for emergency withdrawals of funds from individual accounts and leaves of absence from the program; (7) accounting and financial reporting procedures required of all certified community-based organizations; (8) required content of and deadlines for all program and evaluation reports by community-based organizations to the department; (9) required components of the approved plan between the account holder and the community-based organization, including but not limited to, savings goals, matching rates, required participation in education and training, contingency plans if the account holder fails to meet projected savings goals or schedules, savings withdrawal procedures and limitations, procedures for withdrawing from the program, provision for the disposition of funds in the event of the account holder's death, and provision for amendment of the plan with the concurrence of the account holder and the community-based organization; (10) the process of approval, certification, suspension and decertification of an individual development account program; and (11) the application and implementation of any restrictions on or requirements of funding expenditures as required under state or federal law.

(b) Such regulations shall specify the process by which the department shall solicit proposals from community-based organizations to operate certified state IDA programs, and the criteria and process that shall be used by the department in granting state certification and determining the number of individual development accounts eligible for matching funds from the Individual Development Account Reserve Fund. Criteria that shall be used in granting state certification and in allocating funds from the Individual Development Account Reserve Fund to certified state IDA programs shall include, but not be limited to, the community-based organization's level of competence in meeting all financial and programmatic requirements of a certified state IDA program and the fiscal capacity of the organization to meet all financial obligations of the program and, to the extent possible, the geographic location of the organization.

(P.A. 00-192, S. 9, 102.)

History: P.A. 00-192 effective May 26, 2000 (Revisor's note: In Subsec. (a), “with” was inserted editorially by the Revisors before “chapter 54”, for proper form).