House & Senate Republicans Call for Transparency in Governor's CT Sun Purchase Proposal
Legislative Republicans push for clear accounting and openness regarding the governor’s plan to purchase Connecticut Sun assets.
Key Takeaways
- Republicans demanded Governor Lamont release full details on a plan to use state employee pension funds to buy a stake in the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun.
- GOP leaders argued the proposal lacks transparency and risks taxpayer and employee retirement dollars.
- They warned that Connecticut’s sole-fiduciary structure, where the State Treasurer alone controls investments, creates weak oversight.
HARTFORD—House and Senate Republicans on Thursday demanded Governor Lamont make public the details of his proposal to use the state employee pension fund to purchase a stake in the Connecticut Sun, while also calling for legislative action to prevent the Office of the State Treasurer from wielding sole fiduciary authority over such investment decisions.
House and Senate Republican Leaders Vincent Candelora (R-North Branford) and Stephen Harding (R-Brookfield) were joined at the Capitol Thursday by leading Republicans on the Finance Committee: Sen. Ryan Fazio (R-Greenwich) and Rep. Joe Polletta (R-Watertown). The lawmakers said Gov. Lamont and legislative Democrats pushing to keep the WNBA franchise in Connecticut must provide transparency on their proposal to controversially use public pension funds as leverage in the deal that they have so far failed to explain to the public.
"If the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and anyone else pushing the state to get into the basketball business wants this to happen, they need to be totally transparent about what they've proposed," Candelora and Harding said in a joint statement. "Given that they've pitched using the state employee pension fund as part of their proposal, it's shocking how carelessly they're treating this. They owe taxpayers and state employees more than a simple promise that this is a great investment."
Harding further explained that Senate Republicans had formally requested detailed information about the proposal from the Governor's office but have received no response despite the administration's public references to the plan.
Polletta, House Ranking Member of the Finance Committee, emphasized the stakes for Connecticut's financial stability: "These are public dollars—and given our state's well-documented struggles with unfunded liabilities, we must exercise extreme caution. We can't afford a misstep, particularly for an initiative that appears to be the leading edge of a public relations campaign."
Fazio, the Senate’s Ranking Member of the Finance Committee, noted that under Connecticut's current system, the State Treasurer holds sole authority over investment decisions for the pension fund, with only an advisory council—rather than a governing board with fiduciary duties—providing input. Controversy over investing the state’s pension funds to buy a stake in a single WNBA team—in this case, The Sun—highlights the urgent need for reform.
"Connecticut now stands alone as the only state in the nation with this outdated structure, after North Carolina became the final state to end their sole fiduciary status this year," said Fazio, who last session proposed legislation (S.B. 1557) that would establish a board of directors to share fiduciary responsibilities, reducing the concentrated authority currently held by the treasurer alone. “This concerning situation underscores the urgent need for legislative action to ensure robust governance and accountability. The time for reform is now—to better serve Connecticut's state workers, taxpayers, and the integrity of the Treasurer's office for generations to come."