Fasano, Boucher Urge Governor’s Transportation Panel to Hold Public Hearing
August 25, 2015Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano (R-North Haven) and Senator Toni Boucher (R-Wilton), Ranking Member of the General Assembly’s Transportation Committee, today wrote to the Governor’s Transportation Finance Panel emphasizing the need for a public hearing and urging them to reconsider a decision to not hold a public hearing prior to their report this fall.
Please find letter below and attached.
Mr. Cameron Staples
Chairman, Governor’s Transportation Finance Panel
c/o Garrett Eucalitto
Under Secretary for Transportation Policy and Planning
Office of Policy and Management
450 Capitol Avenue
Hartford, CT 06106-1379
Dear Mr. Staples and members of the Governor’s Transportation Finance Panel:
An Aug. 11 article in the Manchester Journal Inquirer indicates that your panel may not hold any additional hearings prior to issuing your report this fall. We know this can’t be true because it seems that in fairness and for the sake of transparency your ideas should be shared with the public to allow the public time to weigh in on your conclusions and solutions.
Your panel will be considering many transportation funding issues in the coming weeks and months.
- Among those issues could be the implementation of tolls in Connecticut.
- Also among those issues could be new and higher taxes. For example, a higher gas tax and mileage tax.
To not hold a hearing on the proposed solutions is to decide the issue in the dark. If this is the result, then one needs to question why you even bothered to hold your one and only hearing. Why not just say, “We are going to do what we want to do no matter what Connecticut residents think.” Why not just get together over dinner and make a decision yourselves? The public needs an opportunity to speak and comment on the ideas discussed. Without that opportunity, all the meetings you have held over the past few months would fail to truly serve the public good.
We urge your panel to reconsider.
New taxes and tolls will impact people’s lives across Connecticut. Not allowing the public to speak out would be an injustice and shirking responsibility.
We know you want ideas that are well-vetted and transparent in nature. We look forward to your prompt response so that we can inform our constituents of your intentions.
Sincerely,
Len Fasano
Senate Minority Leader
Toni Boucher
Ranking Member, Transportation Committee