More on State Borrowing

"'I believe it is imperative that the commission members have adequate information prior to its vote,' Candelora wrote this week to Rell, asking her to cancel the bond commission's Aug. 11 meeting. The panel, which is being asked to approve $520 million in new general obligation bonding for projects, including $260 million for the commuter line, has been rescheduled to meet Aug. 17." "Rell canceled Wednesday's scheduled State Bond Commission meeting after leaders of the legislature's Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee questioned why the $580 million in short-term borrowing - approved in April 2009 when the state was more than $1 billion in deficit - still hasn't been repaid. And Rep. Vincent J. Candelora of North Branford, ranking House Republican on the committee, said he was unaware the financing had been sought to keep the state's checkbook in balance, and not to finance capital projects." "About 27 percent of the funds in the state's cash pool at the end of January 2009 came from bonding, while that ratio had jumped to 52 percent one year later, said Candelora, who sponsored a measure enacted this year that requires the treasurer to issue monthly reports on the state's cash balance starting in October." Excerpts taken from Keith Phaneuf's Aug. 13 column in the CT Mirror.