Carlo Leone

Maynard & Leone: Senate Approves Bill to Welcome Troops Home on Electronic Highway Signs

Under a new initiative approved in the state Senate today, military units returning from service overseas would be welcomed back to Connecticut with “Welcome Home” messages displayed on electronic highway signs around the state.

The legislation—brought out on the Senate floor by Transportation Committee co-chair Senator Andrew Maynard (D-Stonington) with support from Select Committee on Veterans’ Affairs co-chair Senator Carlo Leone (D-Stamford)—the bill would empower the state Department of Transportation, which manages the electronic signs, to post the messages on the day that National Guard and other units return to Connecticut.

“Our troops and their families make daily sacrifices during their service overseas,” said Senator Maynard. “The very least we can do is acknowledge their dedication and, as a state, welcome them home. Not only is it a gesture of gratitude, it’s a reminder that we are still a country at war and that our servicemen and women are stationed abroad defending our freedoms.”

“Our military men and women deserve hearty congratulations and a warm welcome home after serving overseas,” said Senator Leone. “Too often in our history, military veterans have not received proper thanks for their service. By joining other states in welcoming troops home on our highway signs, we can display our gratitude to our veterans and remind all citizens of their daily sacrifices.”

The nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis determined that the bill would have no fiscal impact on the state.

The Senate approved the bill unanimously by consent. The legislation—Senate Bill 714, An Act Requiring the Display of “Welcome Home” Messages for Returning Connecticut Military Units on Overhead Highway Sign Boards—was approved unanimously in the General Assembly’s Transportation Committee last month. It now awaits action from the state House of Representatives.

The 2011 regular legislative session adjourns on June 8.

Andrew Maynard represents the communities of Griswold, Groton, North Stonington, Plainfield, Preston, Sterling, Stonington and Voluntown in the Connecticut Senate, where he serves as Senate chair of the Transportation Committee and vice chair of the Environment Committee. He previously served as co-chair of the Select Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

In his first term representing Stamford and Darien in the Connecticut Senate, Carlo Leone serves as chair of the Select Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, vice chair of the General Law Committee and as a member of the Transportation and the Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committees.