Fasano: Lamont Administration Violates State Statute, Power Grab Injects Politics into School Construction Process

HARTFORD – Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano (R-North Haven) today raised questions about Governor Ned Lamont’s administrations’ attempt to move the state’s school construction program oversight from the Department of Administrative Services to the Office of Policy and Management.

“This move by Governor Lamont’s administration is playing politics with school construction and a direct violation of state law. The school construction program is required by state statute to be managed by the Department of Administrative Services. Moving this program into OPM, the governor’s budget office, is a massive overreach by the governor and in violation of state statute.

“The school construction process has always been managed in a nonpartisan way by DAS. To shift this program to the governor’s direct control injects politics into a process that should be free from partisan influence and always has been.

“Why is the governor doing this? What authority does he have to ignore state statute? This shows not only an extreme grasp for power by the governor, but a severe lack of understanding of state law.”