Rep. Callahan Weighs in on Electric Lead Blower Mandate Bill
Key Takeaways
- Rep. Callahan opposes banning gas-powered leaf blower purchases.
- Bill retains CT Green Bank landscaper loan program for equipment financing.
- Program funding comes from the Public Benefits Charge on utility bills.
As this month moves forward, various legislative committees are coming up on deadlines to vote bills out of committee, to either the House or Senate, or other committees for further consideration. Both the Environment Committee and Transportation Committee have held their final meetings to advance bills that originated in those committees.
State Representative Patrick Callahan issued this statement on one bill in particular:
"In the Environment Committee, I voted against a bill that would have banned gas-powered leaf blowers for state agencies. That section was removed, but this bill is still an incremental step in that direction. The only part of the original proposal left is a landscaper loan program through the CT Green Bank. The quasi-public organization gets a lot of its funding through the Public Benefits Charge on all of our utility bills.