Rep. Carney Supports Fiscal Guardrail Extensions and Aviation Research at UConn

HARTFORD – State Representative Devin Carney (R-23) joined his colleagues in unanimous support of an emergency certification bill that came before the legislature yesterday to extend several fiscal guardrails and the establish a jet engine research facility at the University of Connecticut to name a few.

As part of the bipartisan budget passed in 2017 were several caps aimed at limiting the amount government could spend in a given year. The caps Revenue and Bond Cap were instrumental in providing Connecticut with the historic rainy-day fund it has today. With the passage of HB-6671, those caps will foreseeably remain in place for at least the next five years.

“I was pleased that the legislature took the initiative to protect the fiscal guardrails first implemented after the historic 2017 bipartisan budget,” Rep. Carney said. “These restraints have helped put Connecticut on a better financial path, pay down debt, and prevent the legislature from reckless spending and borrowing. I am hopeful we will continue this bipartisan collaboration in this year’s budget process.”

According to Representative Carney, another important item included within this bill was the Department of Economic Development providing funding for advanced aviation research in hydrogen powered propulsion at UConn. The funds provided by DECD are necessary for the university to apply for as much as $60 million in additional federal funding with the hopes of creating a facility on the school’s campus.

“I am also excited about the state’s investment into UConn and Pratt & Whitney’s partnership in seeking a state-of-the-art Center for Sustainable Aviation”, Rep. Carney added. “The prospect of this center, which would focus on developing clean, hydrogen-powered jet engines, is exactly the type of public-private partnership our government should be pursuing. ”

The Senate unanimously passed the bill Thursday evening. It will now head to the governor’s desk for his signature.