Connecticut lawmakers are considering a bill that would help cities and towns raise money to purchase land to preserve as open space.
The bill would give towns the option to charge a one percent fee on the purchase of residential real estate.
The money would then go into a local fund that towns can use to purchase the land.
Democratic Representative Joe Gresko of Stratford supports the bill.
“Giving municipalities the option and the opportunity to pursue open space on the local level is very important. The legislation would allow for towns to create the option to generate additional funding to acquire that open space.”
Those against the bill argue that putting a new fee on real estate purchases could hurt sales or be viewed as a new tax.