Zawistowski: Restore Public Programming Grant Funding or Drop Tax

From the House Republicans, Connecticut General Assembly:

HARTFORD—Shell game budgeting from lawmakers who control the legislature has jeopardized the viability of a grant program that helps keep Connecticut residents informed about what’s happening in their communities and local government, state Rep. Tami Zawistowski said this week.

Zawistowski testified Tuesday before the legislature’s Energy and Technology Committee on her proposal (S.B. 286) to allow towns and schools to again apply for grants through the Public, Education and Governmental Programming and Educational Investment Account (PEGPETIA) grant program. PEGPETIA has provided town governments and schools the ability to access money, through the grant process, to support electronic and technological program development for television programming.

“This type of content, whether a school or finance board meeting, is vital to transparency in cities and towns throughout the state,” said Zawistowski, who serves three norther Connecticut communities included in the 10- town Cable Advisory Council of Area 15. “Unfortunately, the story of this grant program is all too familiar—the program relied on a tax, but people who control the legislature eventually used the revenue to balance failing budgets that spent more than we could afford.”

Originally, it was a tax on cable and satellite providers that fed PEGPETIA. But the legislature in 2014 started raiding that money to pay for other government functions while continuing to provide PEGPETIA grants with borrowed money. Meanwhile, the tax that ultimately fell to satellite and cable subscribers was left in place. And today, there are no scheduled bond authorizations for the program.

The state’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority stopped accepting PEGPETIA applications last March, which prompted transparency advocates worried about the program’s future to provide testimony.

“Connecticut residents want us to return to the practice of using tax revenues for their intended purposes,” Zawistowski said. “If the state isn’t going to award these grants, then the legislature should pull the plug on this provider tax that cable companies are passing on to their customers.”