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HARTFORD – State Rep. Joe Polletta (R-Watertown) joined House and Senate Republicans at a Capitol press conference on Thursday calling for more transparency from the Lamont administration regarding the details of the proposed use of the state employee pension fund to purchase a stake in the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun basketball franchise.
“Any use of taxpayer money, let alone state employee pension funds, deserves and requires the highest level of scrutiny and transparency,” said Rep. Polletta, who serves as the House Ranking Member of the Finance Committee. “Rather than looking for ways to take part in an exercise in venture capitalism, the state should be looking at less-risky, best practices to maximize returns on pension fund investments for the benefit of taxpayers and pensioners. ”
Rep. Polletta added that while keeping the WNBA franchise in Connecticut has its plusses, any proposal to do so using state pension funds, or any other public monies, must be vetted and fully transparent for all to see and consider.
“Right now, we don’t have any details on how purchasing a minority stake in the Sun would work, or the potential risks or rewards of doing so. My hope is we will see much more information coming forth very soon. The residents of Connecticut serve nothing less,” added Rep. Polletta.
