State Senator Eric D. Coleman
April 05, 2007
Coleman and Representative Feltman Push Racial Minority Participation in MDC Clean Water Project
Senator Coleman with Representative Feltman (standing to his left) during a news conference on legislation designed to ensure minority participation in MDC clean water project in Hartford. (April 5, 2007)
State Rep. Art Feltman (D- Hartford) and Senator Eric Coleman (D- Hartford, Bloomfield, Windsor), co-chairs of the General Assembly's Planning and Development Committee, at a news conference today discussed the importance of S.B. 1250.
The legislation will tie minority contractor set-asides and affirmative action employment measures to Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) implementation of a $1.6 billion sewer separation project approved by voters in a 2006 referendum. The project is required by a court order in settlement of an action brought against the MDC by the federal Environmental Protection Administration (EPA).
On March 23, 2007, one year to the day after the case was settled, the Planning and Development Committee of the General Assembly passed S.B. 1250, which will govern the sewer reconstruction project. The bill provides that 18.75% of the small business contracts needed to implement this project be set aside for minority-owned firms. Furthermore, 25% of those employed in the entire project must be minority persons and 5% must be ex offenders who have completed their probation or parole.
"During the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt, conceived the idea that a public works project could serve twin public purposes: a capital improvement of benefit to taxpayers, and an opportunity to work and earn wages for the unemployed. Decades later, his idea remains a model. The Clean Water Project works best for all when it puts everyone to work," Rep. Feltman stated.
"I think Senate Bill 1250 is an ambitious initiative because of the myriad of issues confronting poor communities, and communities of color in Hartford, such as high rates of unemployment, the instability of the economy, high crime rates and high incarceration rates," said Senator Coleman. "I hope that the MDC and others would see the wisdom of trying to use public works projects that involve a significant number of dollars in order to accomplish, not only the infrastructure improvements that are necessary, but also some of the social benefits because the project can also create opportunities for employment and training."
Joining the committee chairs were members of the Black and Latino caucus, the Hartford legislative delegation, the executive director of the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO), leaders of the Minority Contractors Council, the NAACP, the African American Alliance, the Connecticut Alliance, and the Capitol Region Workforce Development Council.
This bill now goes to the Finance Committee for consideration.
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