Democratic leaders in the Connecticut House stalled a vote on a controversial housing bill after it faced a filibuster from Republicans on Thursday.
Proponents said the bill is meant to tackle the state’s affordable housing crisis and includes some proposals from the Lamont administration.
On Thursday morning, confident he would get the bill to the floor for a vote, House Democratic Majority Leader Jason Rojas rebutted opponents who claimed the bill would remove local zoning authority from cities and towns.
“We started off at something that was far more demanding of communities and ended up at a place that’s more balanced,” Rojas said.
Rojas said the focus is on providing incentives for local housing authorities to build more units for families with incomes between zero and 30% of the area median income, the poorest of the poor.
“The private marketplace is not going to do anything for those individuals, and I think it’s appropriate for the government to step in and try and secure housing for those people who are most vulnerable to being homeless,” he said.
Republicans and some Democrats opposed the bill.
It would take away local control of zoning, claimed House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora.
“Planning and zoning commissions still make the decisions, but they are limiting those decisions that they can make. So that is how it takes away local control,” Candelora said.
Candelora threatened a 10 to 12 hour GOP filibuster and by Thursday night Democratic leaders responded by pulling the bill.
The threat points to the minority party's power at the end of a legislative session to talk until time runs out and a bill is dead.
