Candelora Offers Alternative to Borrowing Plan Pitched by Democrats

HARTFORD — State Rep. Vincent Candelora on Wednesday rejected a bond package from Democrats that exceeds the governor's "debt diet" by earmarking superfluous spending for controversial initiatives, and instead voted for a borrowing plan that focuses on the state's critical needs while delivering overdue road and bridge repair money to municipalities. "It's been nearly two years since we've held a vote on a bond package, and it's unfortunate that the bill not only breaks one of the governor's biggest promises, his 'debt diet,' but that its positive aspects are eclipsed by unaffordable items we shouldn't do anyway," Candelora said. Candelora voted against the Democrats' bond package, which exceeds the governor's "debt diet" by more than $1 billion. The bill passed through the House and includes $65 million for renovation and property acquisition efforts at Hartford's XL Center, $20 million for East Hartford economic development initiatives, and $50 million to help get the state's payroll tax-fueled paid family leave program up and running. Their package also seeks to borrow $45 million for a new Municipal Redevelopment Authority (MRDA) created by Democrats in last year's budget—a still undefined entity that would dole out money to cities and towns in a manner that majority party lawmakers have yet to specify. Candelora offered an alternative to the Democrats' borrowing plan through an amendment that stripped the controversial earmarks from the bill while also setting aside $5 million for vocational-technical schools. The amendment would have created a transportation strategy board to help guide project prioritization, and it also blocked a recent Lamont administration decision to transfer school construction decisions into the governor's budget office. Democrats rejected that amendment, as well as another from Republicans that would have transferred the $45 million for MRDA into the Small Town Economic Assistance Program that many municipalities depend upon for significant capital projects. "I'm disappointed that this didn't end up as a truly bipartisan package because the core of the Republican and Democrat plans weren't all that different," Candelora said. "Both caucuses prioritized school construction money and emergency funds for Coronavirus response, and we weren't far apart on Urban Act grants and Housing Trust funding. In the end, what divided us was simply a handful of items Republicans believe the state just can't afford."