Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff’s (D-Norwalk) proposal to institute a transportation lockbox is one step closer to reality after winning the approval of the General Assembly’s Transportation Committee by a vote of 25-10. Senator Duff’s bill, Senate Joint Resolution No. 5, A Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the State Constitution Regarding the Special Transportation Fund, is headed to the Senate for consideration.
“A strong, modernized infrastructure is central to a thriving economy,” said Senator Duff who earlier this year testified before the Transportation Committee. “When I speak with business leaders in Norwalk and Darien and with others across the state, they repeatedly stress the need for an upgraded transportation system. Businesses need a transportation infrastructure that provides reliability and consistency in order to grow and succeed. This lockbox is to ensure that funds intended to be used for transportation remain reserved for that use only. I believe that creating a transportation lockbox is in the best interests of the fiscal health of Connecticut.”
Under Senator Duff’s proposal, funds deposited into the transportation lockbox would be used for public use or benefit, including but not limited to the payment of debt service on obligations incurred by the state for transportation purposes, road and bridge repair, and mass transit. Any monies placed in this protected fund are effectively sacrosanct and cannot be used for any purpose unrelated to transportation.
Under Article Twelve of our state constitution, this constitutional amendment would need the support and vote of three-fourths of the total membership of each house in order to be on the ballot for the voters’ consideration in November of 2018.
