Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont is seeking to get the General Assembly to vote on tolls before the June 5 conclusion of the legislative session and not during a special session that he had requested.
Lamont met with majority Democratic leaders this week, asking to fast track the legislation.
“He reached out to leadership to see if there was one last try, to see if the votes were there for this session, and to not have to go into a special (session) for the issue of tolls,” state Sen. Carlo Leone, D-Stamford, co-chair of the Transportation Committee, told Hearst Connecticut Media.
This puts extra pressure on lawmakers, especially state Rep. Roland Lemar, D-New Haven, Leone”™s transportation co-chair, who would have to lead passage of tolls through the House, before the legislation can advance to the Senate.
Lamont does not have the majority of state residents on his side for tolls. A new poll by Sacred Heart University”™s Institute for Public Policy of 1,000 adults found 58.8 of respondents opposed to polls, with most of the opposition coming from those between the ages of 35 and 44 (63 percent) and the ages of 45 to 64 (64.5 percent). Strong opposition also came from respondents earning $50,000 to $100,000 (63.2 percent) and those earning $150,000 or more (60 percent).
The poll, which was conducted in partnership with the Hartford Courant, found 49.3 percent of Democrat respondents preferring tolls to pay for infrastructure improvements compared to only 20.9 percent of Republicans reporting the same.
