Connecticut has approved nearly $2 billion for state projects at a special state Bond Commission meeting ahead of November’s general election.
Much of the borrowing will fund highway construction, housing, and municipal aid, with about $600 million designated for new school construction.
There’s also about $125 million for a hardship protection program from the COVID-19 period that had previously been financed through the public benefit charge on electric bills.
The move will help reduce but not eliminate the public benefit charge on electric bills, said Democratic Governor Ned Lamont, chair of the Bond Commission.
“A lot of the public benefit charge is related to what used to be the cost for paying for nuclear power,” Lamont said, who is seeking a third term in office this November.
“You have got to pay for your nuclear power. There’s no way to eliminate that or disappear that. You may say I’m tired of doing energy efficiency. But that’s a program that really saves people potentially hundreds of dollars per month," he said.
“A small portion of these programs can be rightsized and funded through our budget process,” Senator Ryan Fazio said, Lamont’s Republican challenger in the gubernatorial election.
“Almost all of them should be immediately or as soon as possible eliminated because there are mostly subsidies for private energy companies,” Fazio said.
Fazio is also a member of the commission and has promised to eliminate the public benefits charges.
He voted for the bond package.
The $1.9 billion in approvals by the bond commission is more than half of the state's legally mandated borrowing cap for the year.
