The Connecticut tolls issue has officially been tabled, at least for now.
House Speaker Joseph Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, and Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven ”“ both proponents of bringing tolls back to Connecticut”™s highways ”“ have acquiesced to Gov. Ned Lamont”™s decision to abandon the plan, which if passed was expected to raise about $175 million in annual revenue.
Looney”™s apparent reticence about bringing the bill up for a vote in the Senate ”“ the vote was rescheduled several times over the past couple of weeks, following months of debate about raising the topic before the legislative session began on Feb. 5 ”“ finally resulted in Lamont”™s declaration last week that he was shelving the issue.
“Don”™t say, ”˜I can”™t make up my mind, I need another week, I need another week, I need another week”™,” Lamont said at a Feb. 20 press conference. “I”™ve heard that for a year and I”™ve lost patience.”
“I think it”™s time to take a pause” on the issue, the governor said.
Nevertheless, Looney and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, issued a joint statement after Lamont”™s remarks indicating they were still looking for a way to introduce the bill in the Senate. Those plans have apparently fallen through.
The delay on voting reportedly involved reluctance by both chambers to vote first on the issue. Aresimowicz, confident that he had enough votes for passage in the House ”“ where Democrats hold a 91-60 majority ”“ and Looney both said that Looney had offered to flip a coin to decide the question, something Aresimowicz declined to do.
Looney foresaw a more difficult path in the Senate, where Democrats have a 22-14 majority. The leader believed he could count on 18 affirmative Democrat votes at best, which would have resulted in an 18-18 tie; nevertheless, that tie would have been broken in favor of tolls by Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz.
Remaining uncertain is how the state will now go about funding much-needed maintenance of and repairs to its transportation infrastructure. Lamont has announced plans to bond $200 million this year in place of the tolls income ”“ something that Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, a fierce tolls opponent, likened to his party”™s Prioritize Progress plan.
That plan, introduced in 2015, involved borrowing $700 million annually.
