Lamont shifts, asks lawmakers to put tolls on fast track
HARTFORD — Gov. Ned Lamont has asked lawmakers to fast-track electronic highway tolls, reversing a previous position to let the issue slide for a special session after the June 5 adjournment of the General Assembly.
In meetings with majority Democratic leaders this week, Lamont asked for them to return his signature legislation to the front burner. Doing so would threaten hundreds of other bills that would die at 12:01 a.m. June 6 if they don’t get legislative approval.
“He reached out to leadership to see if there was one last try, to see if the votes were there for this session, and to not have to go into a special (session) for the issue of tolls,” said
Sen. Carlo Leone, D-Stamford, co-chair of the Transportation Committee.
This change now puts extra pressure on lawmakers, including Rep. Roland Lemar, D-New Haven, Leone’s transportation co-chair, who would have to lead passage of tolls through the House, before the legislation can advance to the Senate. Lemar was told by legislative leaders on Tuesday to get ready to run the bill in the House, he said.
“There is an opportunity, I think, to get tolls done in the regular session,” he said. “Now it’s just a matter of making sure the votes are there and people are prepared for, you know, it’s likely to be a long debate in the House.”
Leone said his chamber is also counting the votes in favor tolls now.
“The threat of doing nothing is real,” he said. “The infrastructure cannot stand the lack of investment.”
As recently as a week ago, there may have been time to finish crafting a far-reaching toll bill to address controversial items including in-state and commuter discounts, as well as the location of about 50 electronic gantries over interstates 95, 91, 84 and the Merritt and Wilbur Cross parkways. But now, Leone said worries he may not have the time to “get it right.”
“I don’t think that the possibility of passing tolls right now is the best thing to do because other bills die and there has been a lot of work put into them,” he said. “So I think we’re at the point where a special session might be the only recourse. A lot of bills might not see the light of day if we talk about one bill for hours on end.”
Some leaders said they see Lamont’s request as the flip flop of a new governor who isn’t acquainted with the dynamics, or the personalities, of the 151 members of the House and 36 senators. The administration disagrees.
“I don’t think we’ve had a change of position at all,” said Colleen Flanagan Johnson, senior adviser to Lamont. Last week, Lamont wanted to prioritize passing an “honest budget,” and now that budget negotiations are wrapping up, he believes the best use of the last week of session is pushing for investment in the state’s transportation infrastructure, she said.
“The governor and leaders are close to finalizing a budget agreement in the next 24 hours,” she said.
Tolls are a top Lamont priority. They will have no Republican support in the House and Senate. They remain a divisive topic for lawmakers in border districts.
Lamont won his election last fall in a campaign favoring trucks-only tolling, which he abandoned upon taking the oath of office, admitting that it wouldn’t generate enough revenue to funds the state’s neglected transportation infrastructure. In recent weeks, Lamont seemed to submit to the reality that lawmakers might not generate enough support among Democrats, or get crucial questions from federal transportation officials in time to act on a a final bill before June 5.
Rep. Chris Perone, D-Norwalk, said beating the midnight June 5 deadline might be a good idea for the survival of tolls, which he supports.
“We’re going to try to accomplish as much as possible by the end of session,” he said. “When you put things out into a special session, you’re putting things out in the summer months. It is not as easy to track down people in the summer as it is when we have everybody here now.”
He predicted the toll proposal may change again before it comes to the House floor for a final vote.
In the daily flow of paperwork for the legislature, including daily calendars and House and Senate journals from the day before, arrived the latest pieces of legislation to be written by the nonpartisan Office of legislative commissioner. Each active bill is given a file number. Wednesday mail included File 1012. Hundreds and hundreds of bills await action on the thick House and Senate calendars.
Leone said that Lamont might be surprised at the amount legislation that has been approved and awaits action in the House, Senate or both.
“I think he and many others just don’t understand how many bills get drafted and how much we try to get accomplished in a year,” Leone said. “Many will not pass because time runs out and I think he’s realizing that. But this was such a big issue, I just thought he tried to make it happen, if it had the possibility to happen. But now the clock is running out. We don’t have overtime in the session.”