Sen. Fasano Response to Governor’s Transportation Lockbox Comments

September 22, 2015

Hartford – Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano (R-North Haven) released the following statement in response to Governor Malloy’s comments today on a transportation funding lockbox created through a constitutional amendment.

“I’m glad the governor has pledged his support for a constitutional amendment just as my caucus and I asked for back in January. I question why the governor didn’t include a constitutional lockbox in the recent budget he negotiated with Democrats, when he had the ability to do something about it. Nevertheless, Republicans have been and are still very serious about working together and taking action to protect this funding.

“Anything less than a constitutional amendment creating a transportation lockbox is merely a promise that Democrats and Governor Malloy have shown they are unable to keep. The reason we need such a strong lockbox is because the governor doesn’t trust himself or his party not to touch these funds. I want to remind the governor that it was Democrats who said a constitutional amendment was not needed and who dismissed the idea because of the lengthy process – at the same time funds were raided from transportation to fill other gaps in the state budget. Republicans, on the other hand, were the ones who actually first proposed the idea of making a lockbox permanent with a constitutional amendment. I agree that based on what we’ve seen in recent years the only way to truly secure transportation funds and prevent them from being misused is with a clear, enforceable constitutional amendment.”