The state Senate debated Friday over a plan to de-authorize a net $422 million in bond authoritizations that had been previously approved by the legislature.
As such, the state will now have more leeway to approve other projects because there were 255 individual cancelations Friday – paving the way for new bonding capacity for other programs.
Sen. Donald DeFronzo, a New Britain Democrat, handled most of the complex effort, which came after Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell initially offered bond cancelations as part of her budget in February.
“It’s a significant legislative achievement,” DeFronzo said, referring to a unanimous vote in the finance committee and the measure’s overall support. “This was a good example of bipartisanship. … No one in this building can remember the last time that we canceled this much in authorizations. … Almost everybody came forward this year and sacrificed something.”
Sen. Andrew Roraback, a Goshen Republican, said he hopes the legislature will “not reverse the progress that is being made today” by simply approving other bond projects in the coming months.
“Now that we’ve taken the step and tightened the belt,” lawmakers should not immediately approve other projects, said Sen. Leonard Fasano, a Senate GOP deputy leader. “This is a big step. We should look at this more often and continue to reduce our debt.”
After a relatively brief debate on the Senate floor, lawmakers moved shortly before 5 p.m. to place the bill on the “consent calendar” for bills that have no opposition.