The Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee voted 46-4 to approve a bill that transfers control of the State Bond Commission, a statutorily created 10-member panel that acts as a check on borrowing, from the governor to the legislature. The state borrows billions of dollars annually to pay for school construction, capital projects at state universities, highway, bridge and rail upgrades, state building maintenance, open space and farmland preservation, and various smaller community projects. The governor is chairman of the 10-member commission and legislators only get four seats on the panel — two from each party. In addition, the governor’s budget office has sole authority to set the panel’s agenda — long a source of frustration for lawmakers.
Lawmakers make push to wrest control of CT’s credit card from governor