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Bill To Aid Homeowners With Crumbling Foundations Fails In Committee

Courtesy of Connecticut Coalition Against Crumbling Basements
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A bill that would have provided additional state assistance to thousands of homeowners with crumbling foundations in eastern Connecticut failed in the Judiciary Committee on Monday. It was defeated by a vote of 24 to 16.

State Senator Patrick Doyle, a Democrat from Wethersfield and co-chair of the Judiciary Committee, supports the bill. Doyle said it might lead to increased insurance premiums for Connecticut homeowners, but it’s necessary in order to prevent a downturn in the real estate market.

“If the real estate market goes down and there is no market for these properties, the towns will be impacted and all of the state will be impacted.”

Republican State Representative Robert Sampson of Wolcott, wasn’t buying it.

“Essentially what we are doing is asking every homeowner in the state who has a homeowner insurance policy to pay for claims that were never covered by insurance. And we are asking them to do that even though they don’t have the problem themselves.”

State officials say as many 35,000 homes built between the early 1980s and about 2011 with concrete from the Willington quarry in eastern Connecticut might be affected.

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.