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CT Republican lawmakers call for anti-corruption measures

Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding (R-Wolcott) speaks to the media.
Molly Ingram
/
WSHU
CT Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding (R-Wolcott) speaks to the media.

Connecticut’s Republican legislative minority wants stricter scrutiny for recipients of state grants earmarked by majority Democrats.

They are proposing that lawmakers consider changes to budget oversight and appropriations procedures when they meet in a special session later this month.

"More transparency is needed for lawmaker earmarks in the wake of the ongoing federal corruption trial of the state’s former head of school construction, scandals involving the State Pier and the chancellor of the Connecticut State Colleges and University system, and an FBI investigation of a Hartford social service agency," said Senator Stephen Harding (R-Wolcott), the Senate Republican minority leader.

“At some point, the Republicans have to be the adults in the room to say this is enough. This is taxpayer money. And at the very least, let's provide some oversight,” he said, at a news conference GOP House and Senate GOP lawmakers held in Hartford on Tuesday.

“We are trying to make this as reasonable as possible for organizations. But we do think we've reached a point where we need transparency,” said Representative Vincent Candelora (R-North Branford), the House minority leader.

Senate Democratic leaders responded by calling the Republican concern about transparency hypocritical.

The state’s GOP lawmakers are silent about massive corruption in Washington, they said.

The focus of the special session should be on mitigating the economic damage and health care crisis for Connecticut residents created by the Trump administration, they said.

As WSHU Public Radio’s award-winning senior political reporter, Ebong Udoma draws on his extensive tenure to delve deep into state politics during a major election year.