Voters Voting on More Than Candidates on Election Day

MADISON, CT - While the focus in recent days and weeks has been on who will be the state of Connecticut’s next governor, there are also two other hot button issues that will be decided on voters on Election Day, Nov. 6th.

They are: an initiative that would no longer allow the state to raid the Special Transportation Fund (STF) to fund other programs besides transportation initiatives; and, a constitutional amendment to protect state land, such as Hammonasset State Park in Madison, from being sold or given away without public input.

The transportation lockbox amendment would reserve all money in the STF to be used solely for transportation purposes, including paying down transportation infrastructure debt.

In a press conference last week where a new report was released stating Connecticut had more than 300 bridges that were in a state of disrepair, Transportation Committee Co-Chairman Rep. Antonio Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill, said it is vital that voters pass the lockbox.

“It is so important that it be passed,” Guerrera said. “We can’t keep putting band-aids on this.”

Following the Mianus River Bridge collapse in 1983, in which three people were killed, the state created the Special Transportation Fund to make sure infrastructure improvements were funded. Revenue from the gas tax was put into the fund on a regular basis at the beginning.

“Back then we had one of the best bridge programs in the United States,” Guerrera said. “Unfortunately we had some gaps in our budget and that fund got raided.”

The bridge report was from TRIP, a national nonprofit transportation research group based in Washington, D.C. that is sponsored by insurance companies, equipment manufacturers and businesses involved in highway construction.

According to the 2017 study conducted by the national transportation nonprofit, more than 8 percent of Connecticut bridges, 308 in total, are considered structurally deficient.Which means they have significant deterioration and must be replaced or repaired.The report states 9 percent of bridges in the Bridgeport-Stamford area, 8 percent in Hartford, and 7 percent in New Haven are structurally deficient.

The vote on land conveyance, which the General Assembly uses to sell or give away land, in the past has been identified by environmentalists as problematic. The annual omnibus bill usually lands on lawmakers’ desks shortly before they adjourn and leaves many wondering whether the state is getting the best bang for its buck.

Usually, according to environmentalists, it’s not.

If voters agree, the General Assembly will no longer be able to enact any legislation requiring a state agency to sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of any real property or interest in real property that is under the custody or control of such agency to any person or entity other than another state agency, unless a committee has held a public hearing regarding such sale.

“The transfer of the Hartford Regional Market to the Capital Region Development Authority in the waning hours of the last day of session should be a wake-up call that public lands are changing hands without public input or scrutiny,” Eric Hammerling, executive director of the Connecticut Forest & Park Association, said.

“By requiring public hearings with community input, this measure will require the General Assembly to be transparent and open about its decisions on state parks and open spaces. It will end the secrecy around political deals to give away our parks and forests,” Hammerling said.

Hammerling noted that if the voters approve, the new law will also mandate that the changing of hands of state parks, forests, wildlife management areas and state-owned agricultural lands, the General Assembly must attain a 2/3 vote in each chamber.“Not everyone can afford to travel to special places like the Grand Canyon, but we have numerous state parks and forests right here in Connecticut to explore,” Hammerling said.

Hammerling added it is often forgotten that these lands are money-makers for the state.

“Public lands provide great value to Connecticut and deserve greater protection,” he said.

“According to a UConn economic study, state parks and forests attract 8-9 million visitors, generate over $1 billion in revenue for the state, and support over 9,000 private sector jobs every year. Furthermore, more jobs in Connecticut depend on outdoor recreation (69,000) than on the aerospace and defense industry (60,000), according to a 2017 report by the Outdoor Industry Association,” Hammerling said.

When the Senate passed the bill, Sen. Kevin Witkos, R-Canton said: “We’re trying to preserve open space.”
Witkos noted that the state has a goal of having 20 percent of open space protected from developers by the year 2020 “and we’re only in the high teens — we have a little way go.”

Photo by Jack Kramer